truthout--2020-08-31--Intelligence Officials Scale Back Election Security Briefings Ahead of Election

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff ( D-Calif. ) indicated on Sunday that his committee may subpoena intelligence officials , following Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe ’ s announcement that regular election security briefings will be scaled back ahead of the general election .
“ This intelligence paid for by taxpayers doesn ’ t belong to Donald Trump , it doesn ’ t belong to the intelligence agencies , it belongs to the American people , ” Schiff told Dana Bash on CNN ’ s “ State of the Union.
” Democrats expressed outrage over the weekend after Ratcliffe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ receiving in-person briefings on election security , even amid concerns that foreign powers are attempting to interfere with the 2020 general election .
In what Democratic leaders called a “ shocking abdication ” of responsibility , Ratcliffe sent letters to members of the Senate and House Saturday evening , indicating that only written briefings will be provided until the November election and blaming leaks from Congress for the decision .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) and Schiff ( D-Calif. ) accused Ratcliffe of betraying “ the public ’ s right to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subvert our democracy.
” “ This intelligence belongs to the American people , not the agencies which are its custodian .
And the American people have both the right and the need to know that another nation , Russia , is trying to help decide who their president should be , ” said Pelosi and Schiff , referring to intelligence shared in a briefing last month .
On Twitter , Schiff accused President Donald Trump of “ lying and projecting ” after Trump spoke about the decision in a press conference .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said of Ratcliffe ’ s decision .
“ And what ’ s even worse , they leaked the wrong information .
And he got tired of it .
So he wants to do it in a different forum , because you have leakers on the committee.
” The scaling-back of briefings comes a month after Politico reported on a classified security briefing given to all members of Congress by William Evanina , director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center .
At the meeting , Evanina acknowledged that “ Russia is again trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reelection and denigrate his opponent.
” Democrats in the briefing urged Evanina to acknowledge the information publicly and denounced an earlier public statement he made in which he warned of potential election interference by Russia , China , and Iran .
The vague statement was “ almost meaningless ” and not helpful to voters , Democrats said .
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of using Ratcliffe , a loyalist to the president who was elevated to his current position after serving in the House , “ to hide the ugly truth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president is again receiving the help of the Kremlin.
” “ DNI Ratcliffe has made clear he ’ s in the job only to protect Trump from democracy , not democracy from Trump , ” said Schumer .
Previously , Trump and his postmaster general , Louis DeJoy , have overseen what critics call the sabotage of the U.S .
Postal Service .
Ahead of a general election in which millions of Americans will rely on voting-by-mail due to the coronavirus pandemic , DeJoy ordered cuts to overtime , the removal of mailboxes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post office hours .
The president has also baselessly claimed that the use of mail-in ballots will invite fraud , despite the fact that he himself has voted by mail , and openly admitted that undermining the USPS will ensure universal voting-by-mail is not possible .
The Mueller Report , released in 2019 , found that Trump campaign officials had extensive contacts with Russians and that many lied about those communications , but stopped short of accusing the president and his advisors of conspiring with Russia in 2016 .
Trump had long accused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and a “ hoax ” about Russia ’ s involvement .
This year , former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub tweeted , “ if America has a legitimate election , it ’ ll be in spite of Trump ’ s best efforts to prevent one.
” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden , who was at the center of Trump ’ s impeachment trial last year regarding the president ’ s attempt to bribe Ukraine to open a public investigation into Biden ’ s son , accused Ratcliffe and Trump of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security and sovereignty.
” “ For the DNI to curtail one of the most basic duties of our nonpartisan Intelligence Community — to keep the United States Congress fully informed about threats to our nation , in this case , about the real and rising threat of foreign election interference — is nothing less than a shameless partisan manipulation to protect the personal interests of President Trump , ” said Biden .
“ And it is a betrayal of the oath sworn to the American people and our Constitution .
”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) indicated on Sunday that his committee may subpoena intelligence officials, following Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe’s announcement that regular election security briefings will be scaled back ahead of the general election.
“This intelligence paid for by taxpayers doesn’t belong to Donald Trump, it doesn’t belong to the intelligence agencies, it belongs to the American people,” Schiff told Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Democrats expressed outrage over the weekend after Ratcliffe announced that lawmakers will no longer be receiving in-person briefings on election security, even amid concerns that foreign powers are attempting to interfere with the 2020 general election.
In what Democratic leaders called a “shocking abdication” of responsibility, Ratcliffe sent letters to members of the Senate and House Saturday evening, indicating that only written briefings will be provided until the November election and blaming leaks from Congress for the decision.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Schiff (D-Calif.) accused Ratcliffe of betraying “the public’s right to know how foreign powers are trying to subvert our democracy.”
“This intelligence belongs to the American people, not the agencies which are its custodian. And the American people have both the right and the need to know that another nation, Russia, is trying to help decide who their president should be,” said Pelosi and Schiff, referring to intelligence shared in a briefing last month.
On Twitter, Schiff accused President Donald Trump of “lying and projecting” after Trump spoke about the decision in a press conference.
As usual, President Trump is lying and projecting. Trump fired the last DNI for briefing Congress on Russian efforts to help his campaign. Now he’s ending briefings altogether. Trump doesn’t want the American people to know about Russia’s efforts to aid his re-election. https://t.co/bERk44WcvQ — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) August 29, 2020
“They leaked the information,” Trump said of Ratcliffe’s decision. “And what’s even worse, they leaked the wrong information. And he got tired of it. So he wants to do it in a different forum, because you have leakers on the committee.”
The scaling-back of briefings comes a month after Politico reported on a classified security briefing given to all members of Congress by William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. At the meeting, Evanina acknowledged that “Russia is again trying to boost President Donald Trump’s reelection and denigrate his opponent.”
Democrats in the briefing urged Evanina to acknowledge the information publicly and denounced an earlier public statement he made in which he warned of potential election interference by Russia, China, and Iran.
The vague statement was “almost meaningless” and not helpful to voters, Democrats said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of using Ratcliffe, a loyalist to the president who was elevated to his current position after serving in the House, “to hide the ugly truth from the American people — that the president is again receiving the help of the Kremlin.”
“DNI Ratcliffe has made clear he’s in the job only to protect Trump from democracy, not democracy from Trump,” said Schumer.
Previously, Trump and his postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, have overseen what critics call the sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service. Ahead of a general election in which millions of Americans will rely on voting-by-mail due to the coronavirus pandemic, DeJoy ordered cuts to overtime, the removal of mailboxes and mail-sorting machines, and changes to post office hours. The president has also baselessly claimed that the use of mail-in ballots will invite fraud, despite the fact that he himself has voted by mail, and openly admitted that undermining the USPS will ensure universal voting-by-mail is not possible.
The Mueller Report, released in 2019, found that Trump campaign officials had extensive contacts with Russians and that many lied about those communications, but stopped short of accusing the president and his advisors of conspiring with Russia in 2016. Trump had long accused Mueller of leading a “witch hunt” and a “hoax” about Russia’s involvement.
This year, former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub tweeted, “if America has a legitimate election, it’ll be in spite of Trump’s best efforts to prevent one.”
If America has a legitimate election, it’ll be in spite of Trump’s best efforts to prevent one. The only hope of overcoming his effort to rig the election is massive turnout. Make sure everyone you know votes. — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) August 29, 2020
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who was at the center of Trump’s impeachment trial last year regarding the president’s attempt to bribe Ukraine to open a public investigation into Biden’s son, accused Ratcliffe and Trump of violating the country’s “national security and sovereignty.”
“For the DNI to curtail one of the most basic duties of our nonpartisan Intelligence Community — to keep the United States Congress fully informed about threats to our nation, in this case, about the real and rising threat of foreign election interference — is nothing less than a shameless partisan manipulation to protect the personal interests of President Trump,” said Biden. “And it is a betrayal of the oath sworn to the American people and our Constitution.”
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truthout--2020-08-31--In COVID Era, Artists Are Generating Hope and Illustrating Pandemic Inequities

Almost immediately after the coronavirus began to spread throughout New York City , art historian Han Hongzheng , an immigrant from China , started seeing anti-Asian slurs on social media .
Then he experienced the hatred at close range .
“ One day in early March , my partner , who is white , and I were walking our dog on the Upper West Side of Manhattan , ” Hongzheng says .
“ All of a sudden , this guy on skates got very close to us and screamed the word ‘ traitor ’ at my partner.
” Hongzheng describes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but says that he decided , almost immediately , to pull together an artistic response to the xenophobia he ’ d witnessed .
Together with his friend , curator Chandler Allen , they began reaching out to artists of Asian descent , some of them well-established and others just starting out .
The result , Within Global Isolation : Asian Artists in America , brought 10 artists together in a virtual exhibition that combines imagery with artist interviews .
“ Essentially , we wanted to focus on the idea that xenophobia is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ A lot of artists have been making art about racial dynamics , immigration and xenophobia for decades .
Our goal was to publish work that had been completed prior to the pandemic but that deals with issues that can be recontextualized due to COVID , making it relevant to this moment.
” Indeed , as the pandemic enters its sixth month , artists throughout the U.S. are finding ways to document the moment , creating murals , sculptures , puppetry , as well as oil , acrylic and watercolor paintings to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condemnation of racism and racial disparities in health care access , to memorials to the dead .
In addition , some works honor medical professionals , delivery people , store clerks and agricultural workers , while other images are meant to boost morale and lift spirits .
Several months ago , Austin Zucchini-Fowler got permission to paint a wall in the River North Arts District in Denver , Colorado .
His first mural depicted a nurse with angel wings , her hands covered by boxing gloves .
His goal , Zucchini-Fowler says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health professionals battling the pandemic.
” The community response was so positive that he has since painted eight additional murals honoring workers who ’ ve put their lives on the line .
“ Everyone appreciates being recognized , ” he told Truthout .
Muralists in Atlanta , Georgia , have taken a different tack , focusing attention on the Black community .
The new grassroots arts-based , multimedia campaign Big Facts , Small Acts , underscores the message , noting that African Americans make up 30 percent of COVID-19 cases despite being only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What ’ s more , African Americans are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to suffer from underlying health concerns including diabetes , heart disease and hypertension .
These facts led Big Facts , Small Acts to come up with an artistic response to promote mask wearing , social distancing and getting tested for the virus .
But rather than creating something new , affiliated artists opted to put removable vinyl masks over the mouths and noses of Colin Kaepernick , Martin Luther King Jr. , Bob Marley , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ located throughout Atlanta .
The organization also sells masks with pointed messages : “ Just Trying to Stay Alive While Black ” and “ Mask-Up , Don ’ t Shut Up ” among them .
“ This is Georgia , where mask-wearing is contentious , but I wanted to say , ‘ Put a mask on and keep it on , ’ ” Big Facts muralist Dwayne “ Dubelyoo ” Wright told Truthout .
“ The goal is to cover our vulnerable Black and Brown communities with messages for us , by us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect right now and it starts with community health.
” Joe Dreher , aka JOEKINGATL , says that he contacted Big Facts because he wanted to do “ something impactful.
” About six years ago , he took a photo of a young Black man named Brian who worked in a gas station in his Cabbagetown neighborhood .
“ One day he had this hat on , with the word Atlanta on it , ” Dreher recalls .
“ I asked to take his picture .
When I looked at the photo later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot about the mood of the city , Yes , there is a lot of hope and pride here , but there is also a lot of frustration.
” There is a huge disparity between rich and poor in the city , and homelessness is a big issue , he continues .
“ I hear again and again that Atlanta is having a renaissance but we haven ’ t made it a reality , ” Dreher said .
“ I made a mural of that photo which Brian told me made him feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Lives Matter to the mural — with Brian ’ s consent .
He also added a mask .
“ It was the least I could do to promote the idea that we have to care about others as well as ourselves .
Wearing a mask is an act of kindness and consideration.
” Philly Muralists Use Art to Evoke Joy and Optimism Mural Arts Philadelphia , the largest public art program in the U.S. , is promoting a variation on this theme .
Jane Golden , the group ’ s executive director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the organization teamed up with city agencies , including the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services , to create what they call Safe Pads .
These are creative , multilingual signs that urge social distancing in stores , food pantries and other heavily trafficked sites .
Later , the Department of Public Health asked Mural Arts to create decals , signs , posters and banners with messages about wearing a mask , staying six feet apart , washing hands and staying home when possible .
All told , 1,000 artists have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They ’ ve also painted several murals — something that Golden admits has become more of a challenge because of COVID .
“ We ’ ve developed a protocol for working outdoors during the pandemic , ” Golden says .
“ We now have much smaller painting teams , three to six painters rather than 10 or 15 , and masks must be worn by everyone at all times .
We ’ ve added hand-washing stations at each site , as well as Porta Potties.
” Similar protocols were used in New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Theresa Rivera Designs .
The murals — which Rivera says are meant to evoke joy and optimism — were commissioned by several Manhattan Business Improvement Districts and health care providers .
“ As the lockdown began , businesses were starting to lock up and cover up with plywood , and the realization that people needed color and lightness became clear , ” Rivera says .
A series of Matisse-inspired graphics went up on the wood , with mural sizes ranging from eight feet-by-eight feet to nearly an entire city block .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money generated going to Feeding America , Meals on Wheels and the Loveland Foundation for BIPOC Girls and Women .
Fine artists — painters , sculptors and other creatives — have also found a plethora of ways to respond to the virus .
For Mary Flinn , the pandemic not only inspired a series of four oil paintings , it has also caused her to question art ’ s purpose .
“ I ’ ve asked myself what art is for and wondered about what people need to see right now .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best serve , ” she says .
“ These concerns have always been there for me , but they feel more urgent now .
One of her most recent pieces , What A Long , Strange Trip It ’ s Been , depicts a figure navigating a dragon boat .
“ It shows how bizarre this is for us , but stresses that we might also feel a sense of adventure in these times.
” Poet/painter/philanthropist Danny Simmons works in North Philadelphia .
“ At the beginning of the pandemic , I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but I basically painted for many hours a day .
My work was loosely inspired by COVID and each painting shows something moving , something encroaching , ” he told Truthout .
“ The work also shows multiple ways of connecting , ” person to person and between the individual artist and the community — a passion for Simmons .
“ There are no other art sources in North Philly besides us and the library , so we —Rush Philanthropic , the group I started with my brothers — felt the need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children on Saturday mornings , ” he said .
“ We ’ ve also organized virtual studio tours where we ’ ve highlighted artists of color and artists from other underrepresented groups .
Simmons is not alone , and many other artists say that they struggled to adjust to making art during the pandemic .
“ I like solitude , but hate isolation , ” New York City-based painter Arlene Rush says .
As previously scheduled exhibitions were canceled or postponed , Rush says that she found herself at loose ends .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gut .
Feelings of panic and fear arose.
” For a time , she says , she was only able to do administrative tasks , but slowly , ideas for art pieces began to percolate .
“ I ’ m doing an installation with toilet paper rolls , on which I put the use dates .
I think it ’ s important to mark history so that when people look back , they ’ ll realize that at one point in time , toilet paper was a precious commodity , ” she told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surgical masks , one with a picture of Harriet Tubman embellished with plastic pearls and crystals , and another in celebration of Black Lives Matter .
But as jolting as COVID-19 has been for many people , artist/teacher/researcher/activist Mary Ting reminds us that “ the whole topic of environmental destruction is not new.
” In fact , she says that this theme has been at the forefront of her art for years .
“ My work is basically about turning grief into action.
, ” she says .
A COVID-inspired prose poem , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illustrated by Ting , offers many stark , precise observations : The night is not silent All is not calm Sirens wail Helicopters circle 2019 ended with a continent on fire One billion animals incinerated alive 2020 began with a new deadly virus leaping across species and oceans People hide in their homes Airplanes stay on the ground Our hive is sick .
Sculptor Bob Clyatt says that for the past 40 years , he has sought to “ make art with a human purpose.
” The idea , he says , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I had this extraordinary thing happen to me in 1980 , ” he says .
“ I had just finished college and got a job in the south of France .
After a convoluted series of events , I was fired because I supported the South Africa boycott .
Most people did not know about the boycott at that time , but Baldwin , who was living in the town where I was based , got word of my being fired and invited me to dinner.
” Clyatt and Baldwin subsequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need for art to have a social conscience .
“ I ’ ve always wanted my art to have a human element , whether a specific political message or an affirmation of our humanity , ” Clyatt says .
“ Baldwin impressed on me that an artist ’ s job is to help paint the culture we ’ re living in and probe it.
” Clyatt ’ s current work does just that , and his sculptures include figures with fully and partially covered masked faces .
He ’ s also done a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emotions he ’ s felt since the start of the pandemic : among them endurance , anger and acceptance .
Other artists are creating memorials to the more than 180,000 people whose lives have been lost to the virus .
Robin Bell — best known for projecting “ Experts Agree : Trump is a Pig ” onto the Trump International Hotel in Washington , D.C. — joined digital artist Duncan Meisel in April to project enormous photos of people who ’ ve died of COVID alongside short statements about them onto a wall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Morgan neighborhood .
Meisel later projected 150 stories about people who had died as part of a digital archive of remembrance .
Another tribute by painter Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada pays homage to Ydelfonso DeCoo , a 70-year-old pediatrician who died of the virus .
The 20,000-foot painting of DeCoo — located in Queens , New York — is intended to be visible by satellites in space and was commissioned by Make the Road New York and Somos Community Health Network .
But no matter what form of expression their art takes , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — inside or outside the artistic community — is having an easy time of things during this pandemic .
“ We ’ re like rocks in a stream , ” sculptor Clyatt says .
“ But I ’ m trying to be open … so maybe something I do will give some sort of solace.
” That idea motivates Allen and Hongzheng as well .
“ Shortly after Within Global Isolation was posted , we heard from a 16-year-old girl in California , ” Allen told Truthout .
“ She is half Chinese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the show , she contacted us and said she has faced microaggressions for her entire life .
She then told us that the exhibition gave her a way to feel less alone .
This was a benchmark for us to know we were doing something necessary .
”

As the pandemic enters its sixth month, artists throughout the U.S. are finding ways to document the moment.
Almost immediately after the coronavirus began to spread throughout New York City, art historian Han Hongzheng, an immigrant from China, started seeing anti-Asian slurs on social media.
Then he experienced the hatred at close range.
“One day in early March, my partner, who is white, and I were walking our dog on the Upper West Side of Manhattan,” Hongzheng says. “All of a sudden, this guy on skates got very close to us and screamed the word ‘traitor’ at my partner.”
Hongzheng describes the incident as both frightening and hurtful, but says that he decided, almost immediately, to pull together an artistic response to the xenophobia he’d witnessed.
Together with his friend, curator Chandler Allen, they began reaching out to artists of Asian descent, some of them well-established and others just starting out. The result, Within Global Isolation: Asian Artists in America, brought 10 artists together in a virtual exhibition that combines imagery with artist interviews.
“Essentially, we wanted to focus on the idea that xenophobia is not new,” Allen told Truthout. “A lot of artists have been making art about racial dynamics, immigration and xenophobia for decades. Our goal was to publish work that had been completed prior to the pandemic but that deals with issues that can be recontextualized due to COVID, making it relevant to this moment.”
Indeed, as the pandemic enters its sixth month, artists throughout the U.S. are finding ways to document the moment, creating murals, sculptures, puppetry, as well as oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings to express a range of emotions — from condemnation of racism and racial disparities in health care access, to memorials to the dead. In addition, some works honor medical professionals, delivery people, store clerks and agricultural workers, while other images are meant to boost morale and lift spirits.
Austin Zucchini-Fowler
Honoring Essential Workers
Several months ago, Austin Zucchini-Fowler got permission to paint a wall in the River North Arts District in Denver, Colorado. His first mural depicted a nurse with angel wings, her hands covered by boxing gloves.
His goal, Zucchini-Fowler says, was to “pay gratitude to the health professionals battling the pandemic.” The community response was so positive that he has since painted eight additional murals honoring workers who’ve put their lives on the line. “Everyone appreciates being recognized,” he told Truthout.
Muralists in Atlanta, Georgia, have taken a different tack, focusing attention on the Black community. The new grassroots arts-based, multimedia campaign Big Facts, Small Acts, underscores the message, noting that African Americans make up 30 percent of COVID-19 cases despite being only 13 percent of the U.S. population.
What’s more, African Americans are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to suffer from underlying health concerns including diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. These facts led Big Facts, Small Acts to come up with an artistic response to promote mask wearing, social distancing and getting tested for the virus.
But rather than creating something new, affiliated artists opted to put removable vinyl masks over the mouths and noses of Colin Kaepernick, Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Marley, and other luminaries who are depicted in murals located throughout Atlanta.
The organization also sells masks with pointed messages: “Just Trying to Stay Alive While Black” and “Mask-Up, Don’t Shut Up” among them.
“This is Georgia, where mask-wearing is contentious, but I wanted to say, ‘Put a mask on and keep it on,’” Big Facts muralist Dwayne “Dubelyoo” Wright told Truthout. “The goal is to cover our vulnerable Black and Brown communities with messages for us, by us. There’s a lot to protect right now and it starts with community health.”
Joe Dreher, aka JOEKINGATL, says that he contacted Big Facts because he wanted to do “something impactful.” About six years ago, he took a photo of a young Black man named Brian who worked in a gas station in his Cabbagetown neighborhood. “One day he had this hat on, with the word Atlanta on it,” Dreher recalls. “I asked to take his picture. When I looked at the photo later, I realized that it said a lot about the mood of the city, Yes, there is a lot of hope and pride here, but there is also a lot of frustration.”
There is a huge disparity between rich and poor in the city, and homelessness is a big issue, he continues. “I hear again and again that Atlanta is having a renaissance but we haven’t made it a reality,” Dreher said. “I made a mural of that photo which Brian told me made him feel immortalized.”
Dreher recently added the words Black Lives Matter to the mural — with Brian’s consent. He also added a mask. “It was the least I could do to promote the idea that we have to care about others as well as ourselves. Wearing a mask is an act of kindness and consideration.”
Danny Simmons
Philly Muralists Use Art to Evoke Joy and Optimism
Mural Arts Philadelphia, the largest public art program in the U.S., is promoting a variation on this theme. Jane Golden, the group’s executive director, says that in early March, the organization teamed up with city agencies, including the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, to create what they call Safe Pads. These are creative, multilingual signs that urge social distancing in stores, food pantries and other heavily trafficked sites. Later, the Department of Public Health asked Mural Arts to create decals, signs, posters and banners with messages about wearing a mask, staying six feet apart, washing hands and staying home when possible.
All told, 1,000 artists have been commissioned to create this messaging.
They’ve also painted several murals — something that Golden admits has become more of a challenge because of COVID. “We’ve developed a protocol for working outdoors during the pandemic,” Golden says. “We now have much smaller painting teams, three to six painters rather than 10 or 15, and masks must be worn by everyone at all times. We’ve added hand-washing stations at each site, as well as Porta Potties.”
Similar protocols were used in New York City, where 14 murals were created by Theresa Rivera Design. The murals — which Rivera says are meant to evoke joy and optimism — were commissioned by several Manhattan Business Improvement Districts and health care providers.
“As the lockdown began, businesses were starting to lock up and cover up with plywood, and the realization that people needed color and lightness became clear,” Rivera says. A series of Matisse-inspired graphics went up on the wood, with mural sizes ranging from eight feet-by-eight feet to nearly an entire city block.
The panels will eventually be auctioned, with money generated going to Feeding America, Meals on Wheels and the Loveland Foundation for BIPOC Girls and Women.
Philadelphia Mural Arts
Fine Artists Respond
Fine artists — painters, sculptors and other creatives — have also found a plethora of ways to respond to the virus.
For Mary Flinn, the pandemic not only inspired a series of four oil paintings, it has also caused her to question art’s purpose. “I’ve asked myself what art is for and wondered about what people need to see right now. I’ve asked myself how I can best serve,” she says. “These concerns have always been there for me, but they feel more urgent now.
One of her most recent pieces, What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been, depicts a figure navigating a dragon boat. “It shows how bizarre this is for us, but stresses that we might also feel a sense of adventure in these times.”
Poet/painter/philanthropist Danny Simmons works in North Philadelphia. “At the beginning of the pandemic, I was not used to staying in place, but I basically painted for many hours a day. My work was loosely inspired by COVID and each painting shows something moving, something encroaching,” he told Truthout. “The work also shows multiple ways of connecting,” person to person and between the individual artist and the community — a passion for Simmons.
“There are no other art sources in North Philly besides us and the library, so we —Rush Philanthropic, the group I started with my brothers — felt the need to provide a free virtual art class for children on Saturday mornings,” he said. “We’ve also organized virtual studio tours where we’ve highlighted artists of color and artists from other underrepresented groups.
Simmons is not alone, and many other artists say that they struggled to adjust to making art during the pandemic. “I like solitude, but hate isolation,” New York City-based painter Arlene Rush says. As previously scheduled exhibitions were canceled or postponed, Rush says that she found herself at loose ends. “It was like a knife to the gut. Feelings of panic and fear arose.” For a time, she says, she was only able to do administrative tasks, but slowly, ideas for art pieces began to percolate.
“I’m doing an installation with toilet paper rolls, on which I put the use dates. I think it’s important to mark history so that when people look back, they’ll realize that at one point in time, toilet paper was a precious commodity,” she told Truthout.
Rush has also decorated several surgical masks, one with a picture of Harriet Tubman embellished with plastic pearls and crystals, and another in celebration of Black Lives Matter.
But as jolting as COVID-19 has been for many people, artist/teacher/researcher/activist Mary Ting reminds us that “the whole topic of environmental destruction is not new.” In fact, she says that this theme has been at the forefront of her art for years. “My work is basically about turning grief into action.,” she says.
A COVID-inspired prose poem, Our Hive is Sick, composed and illustrated by Ting, offers many stark, precise observations:
The night is not silent
All is not calm
Sirens wail
Helicopters circle
2019 ended with a continent on fire
One billion animals incinerated alive
2020 began with a new deadly virus leaping across species and oceans
People hide in their homes
Airplanes stay on the ground
Our hive is sick.
Arlene Rush
Sculpting Masked Life
Sculptor Bob Clyatt says that for the past 40 years, he has sought to “make art with a human purpose.” The idea, he says, was suggested to him by writer James Baldwin. “I had this extraordinary thing happen to me in 1980,” he says. “I had just finished college and got a job in the south of France. After a convoluted series of events, I was fired because I supported the South Africa boycott. Most people did not know about the boycott at that time, but Baldwin, who was living in the town where I was based, got word of my being fired and invited me to dinner.”
Clyatt and Baldwin subsequently became friends and frequently talked about the need for art to have a social conscience.
“I’ve always wanted my art to have a human element, whether a specific political message or an affirmation of our humanity,” Clyatt says. “Baldwin impressed on me that an artist’s job is to help paint the culture we’re living in and probe it.”
Clyatt’s current work does just that, and his sculptures include figures with fully and partially covered masked faces. He’s also done a series of self-portraits illustrating the range of emotions he’s felt since the start of the pandemic: among them endurance, anger and acceptance.
Philadelphia Mural Arts
Remembering the Dead
Other artists are creating memorials to the more than 180,000 people whose lives have been lost to the virus. Robin Bell — best known for projecting “Experts Agree: Trump is a Pig” onto the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. — joined digital artist Duncan Meisel in April to project enormous photos of people who’ve died of COVID alongside short statements about them onto a wall in the capital city’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. Meisel later projected 150 stories about people who had died as part of a digital archive of remembrance.
Philadelphia Mural Arts
Another tribute by painter Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada pays homage to Ydelfonso DeCoo, a 70-year-old pediatrician who died of the virus. The 20,000-foot painting of DeCoo — located in Queens, New York — is intended to be visible by satellites in space and was commissioned by Make the Road New York and Somos Community Health Network.
But no matter what form of expression their art takes, it’s fair to say that no one — inside or outside the artistic community — is having an easy time of things during this pandemic. “We’re like rocks in a stream,” sculptor Clyatt says. “But I’m trying to be open … so maybe something I do will give some sort of solace.”
That idea motivates Allen and Hongzheng as well.
“Shortly after Within Global Isolation was posted, we heard from a 16-year-old girl in California,” Allen told Truthout. “She is half Chinese and half Korean. After she saw the show, she contacted us and said she has faced microaggressions for her entire life. She then told us that the exhibition gave her a way to feel less alone. This was a benchmark for us to know we were doing something necessary.”
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truthout--2020-08-31--Trump Is Denying the US’s Racism While Stoking Its Flames in Kenosha

In Part Two of our interview with Ibram X. Kendi , director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University , we air excerpts from the families of Jacob Blake and George Floyd at the massive protest marking the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington , and discuss President Trump ’ s planned visit to Kenosha , Wisconsin , as he blames Democrats for violence during protests there and in Portland , Oregon .
“ Racism has spread to every part of the body , ” says Kendi , comparing U.S. racism to cancer , “ and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it doesn ’ t exist.
” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , the Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
We are spending the hour with now Boston University Professor Ibram X. Kendi , founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research , contributing writer at The Atlantic , and author of many books including Stamped from the Beginning : The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and How to Be an Antiracist .
Well , as we said , on Friday , thousands gathered for the 57th March on Washington on the National Mall for an event organized by the National Action Network .
Among those who spoke were family members of victims of police violence .
This is Jacob Blake Sr. , the father of Jacob Blake , followed by George Floyd ’ s brother Philonise Floyd and the mother of Breonna Taylor , Tamika Palmer .
AMY GOODMAN : So , there you have the March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the March on Washington .
We are going to turn right now to Ibram X. Kendi to talk about the significance of what has been taking place and President Trump promising to go to Kenosha , Wisconsin , despite the pleading of the governor of Wisconsin , Evers , the lieutenant governor , the first African-American lieutenant , Mandela Barnes .
He says he is going to Kenosha , Wisconsin , tomorrow .
Can you talk about the latest , Professor Kendi , from Kenosha to Portland to the Republican convention to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
You have used the metaphor of cancer to describe what we are confronting in America today .
IBRAM X. KENDI : The United States is facing a form of metastatic cancer , a form of metastatic racism in which literally racism has spread to every part of the body politic .
And how do we know that ?
We know that because racial inequities and injustices are all around us .
And we see the pain that is stemming from that metastatic racism .
We see the people whose lives are being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president who is claiming that it doesn ’ t exist .
Just as Jacob Blake , Sr. sort of charges America with guilty , America , particularly Americans like Trump , are saying , “ No .
Not guilty .
Not racist.
” Meanwhile , so many people are dying of COVID-19 because of the administration of course trying to look the other way , or so many black and brown and indigenous people are dying at disproportionate rates .
All the while , people are saying “ Not racist.
” All the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this spread .
And what happens when you deny the existence of cancer , of the spread of cancer , of even certainly the spread of racism ?
It ’ s only going to get worse !
And we see , what we have been seeing this summer is it ’ s only going to get worse and it is only going to continue to get worse until we face it , until we admit it , until we acknowledge that indeed we have racism that spreads to every part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who are aware of it but then they don ’ t want to get the treatment because the treatment is painful , the treatment is uncomfortable .
Yes , the treatment is going to be painful or uncomfortable , but it is the only thing that is going to give us as a nation and as a people the chance to live .
AMY GOODMAN : You have the situation in Kenosha where a white police officer at point-blank range last Sunday shoots Jacob Blake at least seven times .
Jacob Blake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and whose grandfather is also Jacob Blake .
He was the well-known pastor in Chicago who led the housing desegregation movement in an organization that he cofounded called NOW [ sp ] , has a housing complex named for him , the Jacob Blake Manor .
The young 29-year-old now paralyzed , Jacob Blake , grew up , went to high school and middle school in Evanston where his grandfather did his ministry and his civil rights work .
And then you have Kyle Rittenhouse , the 17-year-old who turned himself in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the streets of Kenosha .
He gunned down , allegedly gunned down two Black Lives Matter protesters , murdered them on Tuesday night .
This is during the Republican convention .
The Trump administration , neither Pence nor President Trump mentioned this .
He ’ s illegally carrying a long gun , an AR-15 , through the streets with his hands up in the air .
The police do not stop him as so many protesters saying “ He just murdered people.
” Now he has been accused , charged with first-degree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Illinois and turned himself in .
That ’ s what it took to get him to stop .
Your thoughts ?
He is a white militia member , 17 years old , wannabe cop .
IBRAM X. KENDI : First , the fact that he is a wannabe cop demonstrates the types of folks , particularly the types of white men , who are currently attracted to American policing .
And so then the question becomes , why are so many white disaffected racist young men who want to shoot and kill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to American policing ?
But I think what ’ s also fascinating is that it is improbable , it is impossible for a black person to be holding an AR-15 and walking towards the police and walking away from people who are saying they just shot someone , and for the police to let him go on by .
I mean , that is impossible !
But it ’ s possible when it comes to white people because even when white people are armed , they seem unarmed even to police officers !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are armed and dangerous .
And I think that ’ s fundamentally the sickness of racist ideas—that it allows for so many people who are unarmed and certainly not dangerous to die while so many people who are white who are armed and dangerous and just shot people to go to their home and sleep in their bed and certainly to not be harassed by the police .
AMY GOODMAN : In response to Jacob Blake being handcuffed to his hospital bed , you tweeted , Professor Kendi , “ An allegory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities , paralyzed economically and politically , fighting hard to recover but inexplicably still shackled.
” IBRAM X. KENDI : Yeah .
Like so many people , I was just outraged that Jacob had not committed a crime , he was shot seven times in the back , he was paralyzed and then on top of that he is being sort of chained to a bed as if he is the criminal .
And again , that ’ s part of the problem is the black victim , the person who was unarmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still being framed by America or by the state or by police officers as the criminal .
Because of blackness !
It doesn ’ t really matter .
And I think that ’ s what people are so outraged by .
Because his life does not matter .
Even when he is the victim of a hail of gunfire and he is paralyzed , he still is viewed as somebody who is dangerous that needs to be shackled .
AMY GOODMAN : How has the work of antiracist protesters over the last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what do you think people should be doing now in this absolutely critical period , what some call the most important moment , especially this election , in U.S. history ?
IBRAM X. KENDI : Well , I think first and foremost , no one should be fooled by the law-and -order rhetoric that ’ s coming from the Trump Administration .
When they speak of law and order , they ’ re talking about the law and order of racism and black death .
That ’ s what they want .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then you support the order of black death and racism .
But I think more importantly , we should be joining organizations and supporting organizations that are challenging racism and racist policy and white supremacy .
We should certainly be thinking very seriously about voting for folks who are striving to be antiracist , but even more than that , we should figure out ways to be civically engaged .
Every single one of us has power .
We have the power to resist .
We have the power to resist policy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And one of the sort of guiding principles that antiracist activists have sort of lived by for centuries , for decades , for years , for months is that they have the power .
Because racist power has been trying to convince us that we don ’ t have power .
Whether it is enslaved people or even people today who are trying to figure out what can they do in the face of this juggernaut of racism , don ’ t think ever that you don ’ t have the power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is by coming together , is by organizing together , is by challenging through our organizational strength .
IBRAM X. KENDI : Oh , without question .
And anyone who in any way can make a case that he is not a white supremacist based on what he says and based on what he does and that he ’ s not a racist—and again , I ’ m only stating this—if someone is pushing policies that lead to white supremacy , they are a white supremacist .
AMY GOODMAN : Ibram X. Kendi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spending this hour with us , Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University , founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research .

In Part Two of our interview with Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, we air excerpts from the families of Jacob Blake and George Floyd at the massive protest marking the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, and discuss President Trump’s planned visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he blames Democrats for violence during protests there and in Portland, Oregon. “Racism has spread to every part of the body,” says Kendi, comparing U.S. racism to cancer, “and then we have a president who is claiming that it doesn’t exist.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, Democracynow.org, the Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We are spending the hour with now Boston University Professor Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research, contributing writer at The Atlantic, and author of many books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and How to Be an Antiracist.
Well, as we said, on Friday, thousands gathered for the 57th March on Washington on the National Mall for an event organized by the National Action Network. Among those who spoke were family members of victims of police violence. This is Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake, followed by George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd and the mother of Breonna Taylor, Tamika Palmer.
JACOB BLAKE, SR.: We’re going to hold court today. We’re going to hold court on systematic racism. We’re going to have court right now. Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Racism against all of us. Guilty! Guilty! Racism against Trayvon Martin. We find them guilty! Racism against George Floyd. We find them guilty! Racism against Jacob Blake. Abdul Diwalla [sp]. If I said the name wrong, Allah forgive me. Guilty! And we’re not taking it anymore! Related Story Op-Ed | Politics & Elections Trump Signals to His Followers That Violence Is His Best Hope for Reelection Armed men in pickup trucks are "Great Patriots!" according to our president. Truthout PHILONISE FLOYD: I wish George were here to see this right now. That is who I am marching for. I am marching for George, for Breonna, for Ahmaud.
AMY GOODMAN: So, there you have the March on August 28th, the anniversary of the March on Washington. We are going to turn right now to Ibram X. Kendi to talk about the significance of what has been taking place and President Trump promising to go to Kenosha, Wisconsin, despite the pleading of the governor of Wisconsin, Evers, the lieutenant governor, the first African-American lieutenant, Mandela Barnes. He says he is going to Kenosha, Wisconsin, tomorrow. Can you talk about the latest, Professor Kendi, from Kenosha to Portland to the Republican convention to the issue of white supremacy in this country? You have used the metaphor of cancer to describe what we are confronting in America today.
IBRAM X. KENDI: The United States is facing a form of metastatic cancer, a form of metastatic racism in which literally racism has spread to every part of the body politic. And how do we know that? We know that because racial inequities and injustices are all around us. And we see the pain that is stemming from that metastatic racism. We see the people whose lives are being lost. And then we have a president who is claiming that it doesn’t exist. Just as Jacob Blake, Sr. sort of charges America with guilty, America, particularly Americans like Trump, are saying, “No. Not guilty. Not racist.” Meanwhile, so many people are dying of COVID-19 because of the administration of course trying to look the other way, or so many black and brown and indigenous people are dying at disproportionate rates. All the while, people are saying “Not racist.” All the while, people are denying the existence of this spread.
And what happens when you deny the existence of cancer, of the spread of cancer, of even certainly the spread of racism? It’s only going to get worse! And we see, what we have been seeing this summer is it’s only going to get worse and it is only going to continue to get worse until we face it, until we admit it, until we acknowledge that indeed we have racism that spreads to every part of the body politic. But then you have people who are aware of it but then they don’t want to get the treatment because the treatment is painful, the treatment is uncomfortable. Yes, the treatment is going to be painful or uncomfortable, but it is the only thing that is going to give us as a nation and as a people the chance to live.
AMY GOODMAN: You have the situation in Kenosha where a white police officer at point-blank range last Sunday shoots Jacob Blake at least seven times. Jacob Blake, whose father is also Jacob Blake, and whose grandfather is also Jacob Blake. He was the well-known pastor in Chicago who led the housing desegregation movement in an organization that he cofounded called NOW [sp], has a housing complex named for him, the Jacob Blake Manor. The young 29-year-old now paralyzed, Jacob Blake, grew up, went to high school and middle school in Evanston where his grandfather did his ministry and his civil rights work.
And then you have Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who turned himself in. I emphasize this because he was on the streets of Kenosha. He gunned down, allegedly gunned down two Black Lives Matter protesters, murdered them on Tuesday night. This is during the Republican convention. The Trump administration, neither Pence nor President Trump mentioned this. He’s illegally carrying a long gun, an AR-15, through the streets with his hands up in the air. The police do not stop him as so many protesters saying “He just murdered people.” Now he has been accused, charged with first-degree intentional homicide. But he drove home to Illinois and turned himself in. That’s what it took to get him to stop. Your thoughts? He is a white militia member, 17 years old, wannabe cop.
IBRAM X. KENDI: First, the fact that he is a wannabe cop demonstrates the types of folks, particularly the types of white men, who are currently attracted to American policing. And so then the question becomes, why are so many white disaffected racist young men who want to shoot and kill and get away with it being attracted to American policing?
But I think what’s also fascinating is that it is improbable, it is impossible for a black person to be holding an AR-15 and walking towards the police and walking away from people who are saying they just shot someone, and for the police to let him go on by. I mean, that is impossible! But it’s possible when it comes to white people because even when white people are armed, they seem unarmed even to police officers! But when black people are unarmed, they are armed and dangerous. And I think that’s fundamentally the sickness of racist ideas—that it allows for so many people who are unarmed and certainly not dangerous to die while so many people who are white who are armed and dangerous and just shot people to go to their home and sleep in their bed and certainly to not be harassed by the police.
AMY GOODMAN: In response to Jacob Blake being handcuffed to his hospital bed, you tweeted, Professor Kendi, “An allegory of what racism has done to black communities, paralyzed economically and politically, fighting hard to recover but inexplicably still shackled.”
IBRAM X. KENDI: Yeah. Like so many people, I was just outraged that Jacob had not committed a crime, he was shot seven times in the back, he was paralyzed and then on top of that he is being sort of chained to a bed as if he is the criminal. And again, that’s part of the problem is the black victim, the person who was unarmed and shot in the back seven times is still being framed by America or by the state or by police officers as the criminal. Because of blackness! It doesn’t really matter. And I think that’s what people are so outraged by. Because his life does not matter. Even when he is the victim of a hail of gunfire and he is paralyzed, he still is viewed as somebody who is dangerous that needs to be shackled.
AMY GOODMAN: How has the work of antiracist protesters over the last decades, over the last centuries, what do you think people should be doing now in this absolutely critical period, what some call the most important moment, especially this election, in U.S. history?
IBRAM X. KENDI: Well, I think first and foremost, no one should be fooled by the law-and -order rhetoric that’s coming from the Trump Administration. When they speak of law and order, they’re talking about the law and order of racism and black death. That’s what they want. And if you support law and order, then you support the order of black death and racism.
But I think more importantly, we should be joining organizations and supporting organizations that are challenging racism and racist policy and white supremacy. We should certainly be thinking very seriously about voting for folks who are striving to be antiracist, but even more than that, we should figure out ways to be civically engaged. Every single one of us has power. We have the power to resist. We have the power to resist policy. We have the power to resist policymakers.
And one of the sort of guiding principles that antiracist activists have sort of lived by for centuries, for decades, for years, for months is that they have the power. Because racist power has been trying to convince us that we don’t have power. Whether it is enslaved people or even people today who are trying to figure out what can they do in the face of this juggernaut of racism, don’t think ever that you don’t have the power. And the way we have power is by coming together, is by organizing together, is by challenging through our organizational strength.
AMY GOODMAN: Would you call President Trump a white supremacist?
IBRAM X. KENDI: Oh, without question. And anyone who in any way can make a case that he is not a white supremacist based on what he says and based on what he does and that he’s not a racist—and again, I’m only stating this—if someone is pushing policies that lead to white supremacy, they are a white supremacist.
AMY GOODMAN: Ibram X. Kendi, we thank you so much for spending this hour with us, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research.


truthout--2020-08-31--Trump Signals to His Followers That Violence Is His Best Hope for Reelection

President Trump was having a normal one on Sunday morning , tweeting and retweeting 89 times over the course of three and a half hours .
Many of them were tweets of polling numbers from obscure firms showing him in the lead after the Republican convention .
But most of the tweets and retweets were incitement to violence among his true believers and complaints about “ Democrat cities , ” an ongoing mantra which he seems to think is a slam dunk to get him re-elected .
He repeatedly insulted and mocked Joe Biden , of course , and Portland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to change his phone number after the president of the United States posted it on Twitter so his followers could call and demand his resignation .
He also showed support for one of his fans in Wisconsin : It was a horrifying tweet spree and one that couldn ’ t have shown the president ’ s state of mind any more clearly .
Biden has said Trump is “ rooting for violence , ” and I don ’ t think anyone can reasonably argue with that .
In fact , Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loud .
Fox News ’ s Chris Wallace asked Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump whether she agreed with White House counselor Kellyanne Conway ’ s assertion that “ the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns , the better it is for the very clear choice on who ’ s best on public safety and law and order.
” Lara answered , “ Well , I think it paints a very clear picture.
” She might as well have said , “ You go , boys !
” On CNN on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , agreed with Trump that the shootings by a 17-year-old Trump fan last Tuesday night in Kenosha were understandable : What the president did was he offered to surge manpower and resources so the violence could end .
The governor did not accept that that day , that night tragically two people lost their lives because citizens took matters into their own hands .
I ’ m not for vigilantism .
I ’ m not sure that ’ s what was happening .
People felt , because the governor — local officials were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not accept the help , and so there was not the resolve to end the rioting , and so people took matters into their own hands , and that ’ s what ended up happening .
People die .
Johnson is confused about everything , as usual .
Trump publicly berated Wisconsin Gov .
Tony Evers for failing to call in the National Guard hours after Evers had already done so , telling his followers that Evers wasn ’ t protecting the city .
Johnson basically said that people felt they needed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president had lied to them and told them the governor wasn ’ t protecting them .
Yet somehow he ’ s against vigilantism .
Everything about that is a grotesque inversion of anything one could call “ law and order.
” Trump was at it again later on Sunday , tweeting in response to a press conference by Wheeler , the Portland mayor .
Trump called him a “ dummy ” and ranted on , saying , “ He would like to blame me and the federal government for going in , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet .
We have only been there with a small group to defend our U.S. courthouse , because he couldn ’ t do it.
” Conway ’ s little gaffe in which she admitted that the White House and the Trump campaign believe street violence is good for them illuminates the president ’ s fanning of the flames .
He has finally grasped that he can not unilaterally send in a bunch of federal cops , as he did in Washington to stage his photo-op last June .
Instead , he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are going to have to take action on their own if they hope to scare people into voting for him .
Leave the propaganda to him , just ramp up the chaos .
He tweeted that MAGA “ protesters ” who came to Portland in a caravan on Saturday night were “ Great Patriots !
” and later explained why their behavior was understandable : The Atlantic ’ s Ron Brownstein wondered on Twitter whether “ suburban voters look at these pictures and say , ‘ yes , where I belong is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who crowd into pickup trucks w/guns , as in Bosnia 1998 or a Third World dictatorship ? '
” ( Those huge flags flying behind them reminded me of men crowded “ into pickup trucks w/guns , ” as in news photographs of ISIS fighters . )
It ’ s a jarringly familiar sight , but it doesn ’ t look like anything we ’ ve seen in America before .
There was an actual shooting that night and someone died .
It ’ s unclear what exactly happened .
But it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is something that Trump and his henchmen are actively stoking for political gain.. As I wrote on Friday , this is hardly the first time Trump has deployed crude , racist fear-mongering .
He ’ s been doing it for years , going all the way back to the full-page Central Park Five ad .
If it isn ’ t marauding gangs of Black teenagers , it ’ s Muslim terrorists or Mexican rapists or left-wing anarchists .
There ’ s always some bogeyman coming to get you .
The only thing he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finger at “ the other ” and then promise people that he ’ s the only one who can save them .
He feels confident that he ’ s got the troops to back him up , one way or the other .
He gave an interview with Breitbart back in 2019 in which he made this explicit : Yes , it would be very bad .
The question is whether or not anyone will believe that Donald Trump is the man who can save America from all this mayhem he is creating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been promising to do that ever since he came down that elevator .
Here he is at the 2016 Republican convention : I guess that ’ s yet another promise he ’ ll fulfill after he makes America Great Again — Again .

President Trump was having a normal one on Sunday morning, tweeting and retweeting 89 times over the course of three and a half hours. Many of them were tweets of polling numbers from obscure firms showing him in the lead after the Republican convention. But most of the tweets and retweets were incitement to violence among his true believers and complaints about “Democrat cities,” an ongoing mantra which he seems to think is a slam dunk to get him re-elected.
He repeatedly insulted and mocked Joe Biden, of course, and Portland, Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler will undoubtedly have to change his phone number after the president of the United States posted it on Twitter so his followers could call and demand his resignation.
He also showed support for one of his fans in Wisconsin:
It was a horrifying tweet spree and one that couldn’t have shown the president’s state of mind any more clearly. Biden has said Trump is “rooting for violence,” and I don’t think anyone can reasonably argue with that.
In fact, Trump’s surrogates are saying it right out loud. Fox News’s Chris Wallace asked Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump whether she agreed with White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s assertion that “the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order.” Lara answered, “Well, I think it paints a very clear picture.” She might as well have said, “You go, boys!”
On CNN on Sunday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., agreed with Trump that the shootings by a 17-year-old Trump fan last Tuesday night in Kenosha were understandable:
What the president did was he offered to surge manpower and resources so the violence could end. The governor did not accept that that day, that night tragically two people lost their lives because citizens took matters into their own hands. I’m not for vigilantism. I’m not sure that’s what was happening. People felt, because the governor — local officials were looking for help. The governor did not accept the help, and so there was not the resolve to end the rioting, and so people took matters into their own hands, and that’s what ended up happening. People die.
Johnson is confused about everything, as usual. Trump publicly berated Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers for failing to call in the National Guard hours after Evers had already done so, telling his followers that Evers wasn’t protecting the city. Johnson basically said that people felt they needed to take matters into their own hands because the president had lied to them and told them the governor wasn’t protecting them. Yet somehow he’s against vigilantism. Everything about that is a grotesque inversion of anything one could call “law and order.”
Trump was at it again later on Sunday, tweeting in response to a press conference by Wheeler, the Portland mayor. Trump called him a “dummy” and ranted on, saying, “He would like to blame me and the federal government for going in, but he hasn’t seen anything yet. We have only been there with a small group to defend our U.S. courthouse, because he couldn’t do it.”
Conway’s little gaffe in which she admitted that the White House and the Trump campaign believe street violence is good for them illuminates the president’s fanning of the flames. He has finally grasped that he cannot unilaterally send in a bunch of federal cops, as he did in Washington to stage his photo-op last June. Instead, he’s not-very-subtly signaling to his gun-toting fans that they are going to have to take action on their own if they hope to scare people into voting for him. Leave the propaganda to him, just ramp up the chaos.
He tweeted that MAGA “protesters” who came to Portland in a caravan on Saturday night were “Great Patriots!” and later explained why their behavior was understandable:
The big backlash going on in Portland cannot be unexpected after 95 days of watching and incompetent Mayor admit that he has no idea what he is doing. The people of Portland won’t put up with no safety any longer.The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard! https://t.co/bM6ypak94t — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2020
The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein wondered on Twitter whether “suburban voters look at these pictures and say, ‘yes, where I belong is in the same political coalition as men who crowd into pickup trucks w/guns, as in Bosnia 1998 or a Third World dictatorship?'” (Those huge flags flying behind them reminded me of men crowded “into pickup trucks w/guns,” as in news photographs of ISIS fighters.)
It’s a jarringly familiar sight, but it doesn’t look like anything we’ve seen in America before.
There was an actual shooting that night and someone died. It’s unclear what exactly happened. But it is very clear that this kind of confrontation is something that Trump and his henchmen are actively stoking for political gain..
As I wrote on Friday, this is hardly the first time Trump has deployed crude, racist fear-mongering. He’s been doing it for years, going all the way back to the full-page Central Park Five ad. If it isn’t marauding gangs of Black teenagers, it’s Muslim terrorists or Mexican rapists or left-wing anarchists. There’s always some bogeyman coming to get you.
The only thing he knows how to do is point a finger at “the other” and then promise people that he’s the only one who can save them. He feels confident that he’s got the troops to back him up, one way or the other. He gave an interview with Breitbart back in 2019 in which he made this explicit:
You know, the left plays a tougher game, it’s very funny. I actually think that the people on the right are tougher, but they don’t play it tougher. Okay? I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.
Yes, it would be very bad. The question is whether or not anyone will believe that Donald Trump is the man who can save America from all this mayhem he is creating. After all, he’s been promising to do that ever since he came down that elevator. Here he is at the 2016 Republican convention:
Trump at the 2016 RNC: “The attacks on our police and the terrorism of our cities threaten our very way of life … Beginning on January 20th of 2017, safety will be restored.” pic.twitter.com/Q4Jw32I4nW — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 30, 2020
I guess that’s yet another promise he’ll fulfill after he makes America Great Again — Again.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
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truthout--2020-08-31--Trump’s New COVID Adviser Is Pushing Herd Immunity, Which Some Liken to Eugenics

A new top COVID-19 adviser to President Trump , Scott Atlas , is pushing the White House to embrace a “ herd immunity ” approach to the pandemic , which would allow the virus to spread nearly unmitigated through the population while protecting nursing home residents and other vulnerable people , reports The Washington Post .
Building herd immunity in this way is an extremely controversial strategy and has been condemned by epidemiologists and the World Health Organization ( WHO ) .
WHO ’ s chief scientist , Soumya Swaminathan , says that 60 to 70 percent of the population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stop transmission .
Though the death rate is low , “ even if 1 % of people who get infected are ultimately going to die , then this can add up to a huge number of people , ” said Swaminathan in a WHO podcast .
Herd immunity is commonly discussed alongside vaccination , as vaccines lower the rate of transmission by building population-level immunity to an illness , but the form of herd immunity being discussed in the White House does not appear to focus on vaccines .
With 6 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that adds up to less than 2 percent of the population that ’ s had the virus .
If 60 to 70 percent of the U.S. population gets the virus , that would add up to hundreds of millions of cases , and over a million deaths at a 1-percent death rate .
Even in survivors , there appear to be persistent long-term effects of the virus , like respiratory damage and “ brain fog.
” William Hanage , a Harvard professor of epidemiology , likens herd immunity as a coronavirus policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guardian : Instead of putting out the fire to stop it from spreading house to house , the “ government has inexplicably chosen to encourage the flames , in the misguided notion that somehow they will be able to control them.
” Atlas denies that the Trump administration is considering herd immunity , saying in a statement that “ there is no policy of the President or this administration of achieving herd immunity .
There never has been any such policy recommended to the President or to anyone else from me.
” But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would indicate otherwise , encouraging the reopening of schools and businesses far before infection rates have gone down and expediting testing in nursing homes but discouraging it elsewhere .
At last week ’ s Republican National Convention finale , when Trump formally accepted his presidential nomination on the White House south lawn , the 1,500 audience members were not even given basic screenings .
One senior White House official said then that “ everybody is going to catch this thing eventually.
” In July , Atlas was on Fox News appearing to promote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ there are other ways to be immune , ” referencing a phenomena that some scientists have studied called T-cell immunity , which could explain why some people are hit harder by the virus than others .
According to his back-of-napkin math , cases are down in New York city because “ it may already have herd immunity , ” he said at the time .
However , public health experts have said that cases likely dropped in New York because the delayed effect of stay-at-home orders kicked in .
Atlas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , does not have a background in infectious diseases .
By only protecting the elderly in nursing homes , which the Trump administration appears to be doing , the White House seems to be operating under the false assumption that young people are immune to the virus .
But there are a host of factors other than age that can make one vulnerable to coronavirus , from underlying conditions like diabetes or asthma to socioeconomic factors like race and income .
The administration says it ’ s taken steps to protect people with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Again guidelines , but the plan does not outline specific policy or special conditions for these populations — only that states recommend that they shelter in place and social distance .
The guidelines do not consider race and class in their consideration of vulnerable people , defining them only in terms of certain health conditions .
The coronavirus has been particularly deadly for Black and poor communities .
Racism and lack of health care access make these communities particularly vulnerable .
Because of the vulnerability of some communities over others , some people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Corbyn have likened the form of herd immunity that the White House seems to be pushing to a dangerous form of population control and social engineering , with Corbyn calling it “ eugenic.
” Others , too , have compared this form of herd immunity to eugenics .
In an opinion piece for Al Jazeera , anthropologists and professors Vito Laterza and Louis Philippe Romer write that “ It is hard not to read eugenic implications in this kind of thinking : The ‘ herd ’ will survive , but for that to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of society need to be sacrificed .
”

A new top COVID-19 adviser to President Trump, Scott Atlas, is pushing the White House to embrace a “herd immunity” approach to the pandemic, which would allow the virus to spread nearly unmitigated through the population while protecting nursing home residents and other vulnerable people, reports The Washington Post.
Building herd immunity in this way is an extremely controversial strategy and has been condemned by epidemiologists and the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, says that 60 to 70 percent of the population would have to have immunity to COVID-19 to stop transmission. Though the death rate is low, “even if 1% of people who get infected are ultimately going to die, then this can add up to a huge number of people,” said Swaminathan in a WHO podcast. Herd immunity is commonly discussed alongside vaccination, as vaccines lower the rate of transmission by building population-level immunity to an illness, but the form of herd immunity being discussed in the White House does not appear to focus on vaccines.
With 6 million total cases so far in the U.S., that adds up to less than 2 percent of the population that’s had the virus. If 60 to 70 percent of the U.S. population gets the virus, that would add up to hundreds of millions of cases, and over a million deaths at a 1-percent death rate. Even in survivors, there appear to be persistent long-term effects of the virus, like respiratory damage and “brain fog.”
William Hanage, a Harvard professor of epidemiology, likens herd immunity as a coronavirus policy to letting a house burn in The Guardian: Instead of putting out the fire to stop it from spreading house to house, the “government has inexplicably chosen to encourage the flames, in the misguided notion that somehow they will be able to control them.”
Atlas denies that the Trump administration is considering herd immunity, saying in a statement that “there is no policy of the President or this administration of achieving herd immunity. There never has been any such policy recommended to the President or to anyone else from me.”
But the administration has already taken steps that would indicate otherwise, encouraging the reopening of schools and businesses far before infection rates have gone down and expediting testing in nursing homes but discouraging it elsewhere. At last week’s Republican National Convention finale, when Trump formally accepted his presidential nomination on the White House south lawn, the 1,500 audience members were not even given basic screenings. One senior White House official said then that “everybody is going to catch this thing eventually.”
In July, Atlas was on Fox News appearing to promote the idea of herd immunity, saying that “there are other ways to be immune,” referencing a phenomena that some scientists have studied called T-cell immunity, which could explain why some people are hit harder by the virus than others. According to his back-of-napkin math, cases are down in New York city because “it may already have herd immunity,” he said at the time. However, public health experts have said that cases likely dropped in New York because the delayed effect of stay-at-home orders kicked in. Atlas, a neuroradiologist at a conservative think tank, does not have a background in infectious diseases.
By only protecting the elderly in nursing homes, which the Trump administration appears to be doing, the White House seems to be operating under the false assumption that young people are immune to the virus. But there are a host of factors other than age that can make one vulnerable to coronavirus, from underlying conditions like diabetes or asthma to socioeconomic factors like race and income.
The administration says it’s taken steps to protect people with underlying conditions in its Opening Up America Again guidelines, but the plan does not outline specific policy or special conditions for these populations — only that states recommend that they shelter in place and social distance. The guidelines do not consider race and class in their consideration of vulnerable people, defining them only in terms of certain health conditions.
The coronavirus has been particularly deadly for Black and poor communities. Racism and lack of health care access make these communities particularly vulnerable. Because of the vulnerability of some communities over others, some people like former U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn have likened the form of herd immunity that the White House seems to be pushing to a dangerous form of population control and social engineering, with Corbyn calling it “eugenic.”
Others, too, have compared this form of herd immunity to eugenics. In an opinion piece for Al Jazeera, anthropologists and professors Vito Laterza and Louis Philippe Romer write that “It is hard not to read eugenic implications in this kind of thinking: The ‘herd’ will survive, but for that to happen, other ‘weaker’ members of society need to be sacrificed.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.