truthout--2020-08-24--Trump Is Losing Support From Dozens of GOP Voices Ahead of Republican Convention

President Trump was formally nominated Monday afternoon as the Republican Party ’ s candidate for this year ’ s presidential race .
Yet as he is set to accept the party ’ s nomination this week , a number of Republicans won ’ t be voting for him , preferring instead to support his main rival , Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden .
More than two dozen former Republican lawmakers endorsed Biden ’ s candidacy on the same day that Trump was nominated .
As part of a group called “ Republicans for Biden , ” they seek to attract @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country , hoping to convince them to vote against Trump and for Biden in the 2020 election .
Perhaps the most prominent member of the group is former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona , a Republican who frequently clashed with Trump on social media .
Flake most recently criticized Trump for not denouncing a “ birtherism ” conspiracy about vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris .
“ It was bad enough when , as a private citizen , President Trump led the birtherism parade against Barack Obama , ” Flake wrote .
“ To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States , a similar falsehood about Kamala Harris is even more abhorrent.
” The Biden campaign explained in a statement that Republicans for Trump may not agree ideologically with the Democratic Party ’ s candidate for president , but recognize the current president is pushing the country in a direction that neither party wants to see it go .
“ These former members of Congress cited Trump ’ s corruption , destruction of democracy , blatant disregard for moral decency , and urgent need to get the country back on course as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the statement read .
Last week , more than 70 former GOP national security officials also announced they would be backing the Democratic challenger in this year ’ s presidential race .
The Democratic National Convention ( DNC ) also showcased Republican officials backing Biden , such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Ohio Gov .
John Kasich .
Trump does not have any endorsements from a former living president .
Although only one former president who is still alive is a Republican , George W. Bush said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidency in this year ’ s race .
Both Bush and his father , former President George H.W .
Bush , declined to endorse Trump in 2016 .
All three of the other living presidents — Jimmy Carter , Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — all Democrats — endorsed Biden during last week ’ s DNC .
Republican endorsements for Biden have piled up just as newly released recordings of Trump ’ s sister , former Judge Maryanne Trump Barry , revealed her own doubts regarding the president ’ s integrity .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to his base , ” she was recorded as having said .
“ He has no principles .
None .
None .
”

President Trump was formally nominated Monday afternoon as the Republican Party’s candidate for this year’s presidential race. Yet as he is set to accept the party’s nomination this week, a number of Republicans won’t be voting for him, preferring instead to support his main rival, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
More than two dozen former Republican lawmakers endorsed Biden’s candidacy on the same day that Trump was nominated. As part of a group called “Republicans for Biden,” they seek to attract wayward GOP voters in communities across the country, hoping to convince them to vote against Trump and for Biden in the 2020 election.
Perhaps the most prominent member of the group is former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a Republican who frequently clashed with Trump on social media. Flake most recently criticized Trump for not denouncing a “birtherism” conspiracy about vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“It was bad enough when, as a private citizen, President Trump led the birtherism parade against Barack Obama,” Flake wrote. “To now amplify, as President of the United States, a similar falsehood about Kamala Harris is even more abhorrent.”
The Biden campaign explained in a statement that Republicans for Trump may not agree ideologically with the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, but recognize the current president is pushing the country in a direction that neither party wants to see it go.
“These former members of Congress cited Trump’s corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency, and urgent need to get the country back on course as a reason why they support Biden,” the statement read.
Last week, more than 70 former GOP national security officials also announced they would be backing the Democratic challenger in this year’s presidential race. The Democratic National Convention (DNC) also showcased Republican officials backing Biden, such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Trump does not have any endorsements from a former living president. Although only one former president who is still alive is a Republican, George W. Bush said he would not be supporting Trump’s presidency in this year’s race. Both Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, declined to endorse Trump in 2016.
All three of the other living presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — all Democrats — endorsed Biden during last week’s DNC.
Republican endorsements for Biden have piled up just as newly released recordings of Trump’s sister, former Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, revealed her own doubts regarding the president’s integrity.
“All he wants to do is appeal to his base,” she was recorded as having said. “He has no principles. None. None.”
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.
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truthout--2020-08-24--Postmaster DeJoy Has Undermined Faith in Election, Postal Historian Says

The battle over the future of the United States Postal Service is intensifying , with a record number of mail-in ballots expected to be cast in the 2020 presidential election , and Democrats and Republicans locked in a fight over the future of the agency .
Historian Philip Rubio , who teaches at North Carolina A & T State University and worked as a mail carrier for two decades before that , says decades of political interference have caused a “ manufactured crisis ” at the U.S .
Postal Service .
“ The damage has been done , ” Rubio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s changes .
“ I think he ’ s discouraged a lot of voters who were hoping to vote by mail to vote safely and securely because of the pandemic.
” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : The battle over the future of the U.S .
Postal Service is intensifying .
For weeks , Democrats have accused the Trump administration and the new postmaster general , Louis DeJoy , of sabotaging the Postal Service in the lead-up to the election , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are expected to be cast .
On Saturday , the Democrat-led House approved a bill to give the Postal Service $ 25 billion and to stop DeJoy from making more changes to the Postal Service , which have already led to long delays in processing and delivering mail .
This is Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan .
AMY GOODMAN : Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is refusing to take up the House bill .
DeJoy , who is a major donor to Trump , is testifying before the House Oversight Committee today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same day protests were held at over 800 post offices across the country to condemn the actions of DeJoy , who became postmaster general in June and still holds investments worth up to $ 75 million in assets in competitors to the U.S. post office or contractors with it .
During a Senate hearing Friday , DeJoy claimed the cost-cutting measures he ’ s implemented have nothing to do with the election , and said the Postal Service is , quote , “ fully capable ” of delivering mail-in ballots on time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DeJoy about his refusal to restore recently disconnected mail sorting machines .
AMY GOODMAN : While Postmaster DeJoy is refusing to reconnect the sorting machines , postal workers in Dallas , Texas , and Tacoma , Washington , have defied orders and reconnected the machines .
This all comes as more questions are being raised over the role of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the post office shake-up .
The New York Times reports Mnuchin met with two Republican members of the Postal Service ’ s Board of Governors in early February and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to push Trump ’ s agenda .
We ’ re joined now by Philip Rubio , history professor at North Carolina A & T State University , author of Undelivered : From the Great Postal Strike of 1970 to the Manufactured Crisis of the U.S .
Postal Service .
Prior to becoming a history professor , Rubio carried mail for the Postal Service for 20 years .
It ’ s great to have you with us , Professor Rubio .
PHILIP RUBIO : Thank you for having me .
AMY GOODMAN : If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Senate hearing on Friday , the bill that was passed , and what ’ s expected to happen today with the House hearing ?
This isn ’ t just Democrats accusing the White House and the post office of making it difficult or delaying the mail so that mail ballots won ’ t get in on time .
That was clearly stated by the post office itself , saying that they did not think they would be able to handle all this mail , though DeJoy told a very different story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
PHILIP RUBIO : That ’ s correct .
And this postmaster general really does have a credibility problem .
He came into office just two months ago with claims that he was going to run it like a business and correct past inefficiencies , and he was going to , first of all , clean house , replacing 23 senior management positions and cutting overtime , banning late leaving from mail processing plants and also from stations — so , slowing the mail down , in effect — and , added to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail collection boxes and decommissioning these mail sorting machines , and then denying that , and then admitting that but saying it ’ s not had that much of an effect .
But the damage has been done .
I think he ’ s demoralized postal workers .
I think he has discouraged a lot of voters who are hoping to vote by mail , to vote safely and securely because of the pandemic .
And he has also made , I think , people , as postal consumers , discouraged by promising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and these other policies of his after the election .
AMY GOODMAN : Have you seen anything like this before ?
For example , the post office in Tacoma , Washington , in Dallas , Texas , reconnecting letter sorting machines that were disconnected under orders from the postmaster general ?
PHILIP RUBIO : Well , I can ’ t think of anything like that .
But we have to remember , on the one hand , these are isolated incidents , but , on the other hand , they are revealing of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past — taken measures into their own hands — and it ’ s a promise of what might happen in the future .
That is , postal workers — because we have to remember , postal workers are really the heart of what I would call the service culture that ’ s still alive in the post office — OK ?
— as opposed to the business culture of just trying to cut costs .
And so , to actually take a risk at being fired for insubordination , you know , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we might see — that takes a great effort , and we might see something like postal workers defying bans on overtime to make sure that ballots get through .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to go to David C. Williams , the former Postal Service inspector general , former vice chair of the Postal Board of Governors .
In his opening remarks to the House Progressive Caucus last week , Williams criticized Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you respond to that , Professor Philip Rubio ?
PHILIP RUBIO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the watchdog , and he was one of two watchdogs , the other being Ronald Stroman , who also — well , he resigned under pressure .
So , they were looking out for the Postal Service , and they both resigned because they saw it being politicized .
You know , the Postal Service , or the post office , that we ’ ve had around for 245 years , most of that time was a political institution , but we didn ’ t see that kind of partisan intervention — well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Andrew Jackson and the spoils system with hiring , but as far as manipulating the Postal Service and driving it into the ground .
So , I ’ m glad to see him testifying .
I ’ m glad to see Ron Stroman , former Board of Governors member , testifying .
AMY GOODMAN : Are you surprised that — with the enormous response across the country , the outcry , with the Postal Service having like a 91 % positive rating , which delivers drugs , pharmaceuticals to veterans , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so relied on — I mean , the VA now looking for alternatives to the USPS because they ’ re concerned , you know , drugs won ’ t get to veterans on time , that the — are you concerned the damage has already been done , but surprised that DeJoy would say , “ OK , we ’ ll hold off on changes until after the election ” ?
Now , that ’ s really something , because it ’ s saying to people all across the country , if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to gut the post office then .
PHILIP RUBIO : No , but I ’ m not surprised by anything that Postmaster General DeJoy is saying , because , apparently , he ’ s telling different people what he thinks they want to hear .
And right now the outrage has forced him to back down , but he is making promises that he will resume essentially dismantling the Postal Service , which was instituted in 1971 after the great postal strike of 1970 , and the idea being we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it ’ s going to be a hybrid government agency/business .
What he assumes that he was given was a mandate to take it further in the business direction .
And , you know , unintentionally and ironically , both he and Trump , I think , have dramatized how — the perils of postal privatization and partisan intervention and driving our post office into the ground , that we don ’ t have to accept this , that we shouldn ’ t have to accept this , we shouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m not surprised that there has been popular protest , popular outrage , because that ’ s something that people learned from the springtime with the George Floyd protests .
And so , when you see people not getting their medications , when you see people not getting their mail on time , of course they ’ re going to speak up .
And they ’ ve learned that protests can change things .
And I think that ’ s forced Congress to be — well , I should say , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this on the agenda .
But it ’ s still not enough .
What Democrats in the House and Senate are doing is the best they can do to keep putting pressure , with investigations and putting bills forward , that the American people will hopefully respond to .
AMY GOODMAN : President Trump tweeted — I ’ m going to go back and look at what he tweeted — on Sunday , “ So now the Democrats are using Mail Drop Boxes , which are a voter security disaster .
Among other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a person to vote multiple times .
Also , who controls them , are they placed in Republican or Democrat areas ?
They are not Covid sanitized .
A big fraud !
” Now Twitter has flagged the tweet for violating Twitter rules about civic and election integrity .
He is suggesting you will get COVID if you drop your ballot into a ballot box .
PHILIP RUBIO : So , this is just more distraction that Trump and his administration are doing , as they ’ ve done around so many other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And what is gratifying is to see that lots and lots of people , including politicians , are pushing back against that , are not being satisfied with DeJoy ’ s responses and are rebutting Trump ’ s claims .
But what all of this does is to — what it ’ s intended to do is to distract and discourage .
And what we have to do as individuals , as well as a collective body , is to remember that we do have a right to vote .
We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service is mandated to provide universal service , whatever that service is , even if more than half of us vote by mail , to make sure that enough overtime is in effect , enough postal workers are deployed , to get all those ballots counted , for people to register and vote early , to vote in person if they feel safe enough doing that , but to vote and to keep putting pressure on the postmaster general .
AMY GOODMAN : And can anything legally be done ?
I mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was passed in the House , now the House hearing today .
Not clear what will happen in the Senate , though it doesn ’ t look like Mitch McConnell would take it up , though there is bipartisan attack on Trump and DeJoy — of course , it starts at the top — for going after the Postal Service , so much so that Trump inexplicably , after attacking it for so long , sent out a tweet last week saying , ” SAVE THE POST OFFICE !
” He just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” from himself .
PHILIP RUBIO : Right .
And he and his wife and other administration members also vote by mail , and they are also encouraging Republicans to vote by mail .
So , however you vote , people need to remember that they do have a right to vote , and they do have the right to expect that the postmaster general , who — even though it ’ s not a very strong political position , has a lot of power and can reverse these policy changes and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make sure that the ballots are counted .
But in the end , it will probably come down to postal workers , who make sure that the mail does get through , just as we always did .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , Philip Rubio , I want to thank you for joining us .
Key that you said , “ just as we always did , ” because before being a historian , you were a U.S. postman for 20 years , now a history professor at North Carolina A & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : From the Great Postal Strike of 1970 to the Manufactured Crisis of the U.S .
Postal Service .
Next up , we ’ ll look at the arrest of Trump ’ s former campaign manager Steve Bannon and others on fraud charges connected to the “ We Build the Wall ” effort .
We ’ ll find out what that is .
Stay with us .

The battle over the future of the United States Postal Service is intensifying, with a record number of mail-in ballots expected to be cast in the 2020 presidential election, and Democrats and Republicans locked in a fight over the future of the agency. Historian Philip Rubio, who teaches at North Carolina A&T State University and worked as a mail carrier for two decades before that, says decades of political interference have caused a “manufactured crisis” at the U.S. Postal Service. “The damage has been done,” Rubio says of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s changes. “I think he’s discouraged a lot of voters who were hoping to vote by mail to vote safely and securely because of the pandemic.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The battle over the future of the U.S. Postal Service is intensifying. For weeks, Democrats have accused the Trump administration and the new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, of sabotaging the Postal Service in the lead-up to the election, when a record number of mail-in ballots are expected to be cast.
On Saturday, the Democrat-led House approved a bill to give the Postal Service $25 billion and to stop DeJoy from making more changes to the Postal Service, which have already led to long delays in processing and delivering mail. This is Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB: Let it be clear: This administration is waging an authoritarian campaign to sabotage this election by manipulating the Postal Service to suppress our votes. And they are threatening the livelihood of our postal workers, our seniors, our veterans and so many more in the process. This is not a conspiracy theory; this is fascism. We will not stand for this, now or ever. Related Story Op-Ed | Politics & Elections GOP Is Waging a War on Voting. Here Are 8 Ways You Can Protect Election 2020. The GOP has a plan to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend $20 million in 15 key states to influence who gets to vote. Truthout
AMY GOODMAN: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is refusing to take up the House bill. DeJoy, who is a major donor to Trump, is testifying before the House Oversight Committee today.
Saturday’s vote came on the same day protests were held at over 800 post offices across the country to condemn the actions of DeJoy, who became postmaster general in June and still holds investments worth up to $75 million in assets in competitors to the U.S. post office or contractors with it.
During a Senate hearing Friday, DeJoy claimed the cost-cutting measures he’s implemented have nothing to do with the election, and said the Postal Service is, quote, “fully capable” of delivering mail-in ballots on time. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan questioned DeJoy about his refusal to restore recently disconnected mail sorting machines.
SEN. GARY PETERS: Will you be bringing back any mail sorting machines that have been removed since you’ve become postmaster general? Will any of those come back? POSTMASTER GENERAL LOUIS DEJOY: There’s no intention to do that. They’re not needed, sir. SEN. GARY PETERS: So, you will not bring back any processors? POSTMASTER GENERAL LOUIS DEJOY: They’re not needed, sir.
AMY GOODMAN: While Postmaster DeJoy is refusing to reconnect the sorting machines, postal workers in Dallas, Texas, and Tacoma, Washington, have defied orders and reconnected the machines.
This all comes as more questions are being raised over the role of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the post office shake-up. The New York Times reports Mnuchin met with two Republican members of the Postal Service’s Board of Governors in early February and pressed them to select a postmaster general to push Trump’s agenda.
We’re joined now by Philip Rubio, history professor at North Carolina A&T State University, author of Undelivered: From the Great Postal Strike of 1970 to the Manufactured Crisis of the U.S. Postal Service. Prior to becoming a history professor, Rubio carried mail for the Postal Service for 20 years.
It’s great to have you with us, Professor Rubio.
PHILIP RUBIO: Thank you for having me.
AMY GOODMAN: If you can talk about the latest developments, the Senate hearing on Friday, the bill that was passed, and what’s expected to happen today with the House hearing? This isn’t just Democrats accusing the White House and the post office of making it difficult or delaying the mail so that mail ballots won’t get in on time. That was clearly stated by the post office itself, saying that they did not think they would be able to handle all this mail, though DeJoy told a very different story when he testified before the Senate Friday.
PHILIP RUBIO: That’s correct. And this postmaster general really does have a credibility problem. He came into office just two months ago with claims that he was going to run it like a business and correct past inefficiencies, and he was going to, first of all, clean house, replacing 23 senior management positions and cutting overtime, banning late leaving from mail processing plants and also from stations — so, slowing the mail down, in effect — and, added to that, pulling up thousands of blue mail collection boxes and decommissioning these mail sorting machines, and then denying that, and then admitting that but saying it’s not had that much of an effect.
But the damage has been done. I think he’s demoralized postal workers. I think he has discouraged a lot of voters who are hoping to vote by mail, to vote safely and securely because of the pandemic. And he has also made, I think, people, as postal consumers, discouraged by promising that he will resume decommissioning these machines and these other policies of his after the election.
AMY GOODMAN: Have you seen anything like this before? For example, the post office in Tacoma, Washington, in Dallas, Texas, reconnecting letter sorting machines that were disconnected under orders from the postmaster general?
PHILIP RUBIO: Well, I can’t think of anything like that. But we have to remember, on the one hand, these are isolated incidents, but, on the other hand, they are revealing of what postal workers have always done in the past — taken measures into their own hands — and it’s a promise of what might happen in the future. That is, postal workers — because we have to remember, postal workers are really the heart of what I would call the service culture that’s still alive in the post office — OK? — as opposed to the business culture of just trying to cut costs. And so, to actually take a risk at being fired for insubordination, you know, to plugging those machines back in, we might see — that takes a great effort, and we might see something like postal workers defying bans on overtime to make sure that ballots get through.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to David C. Williams, the former Postal Service inspector general, former vice chair of the Postal Board of Governors. In his opening remarks to the House Progressive Caucus last week, Williams criticized Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
DAVID WILLIAMS: I recently resigned as the vice chairman of the Postal Board of Governors, when it became clear to me that the administration was politicizing the Postal Service, with the treasury secretary as the lead figure for the White House in that effort. By statute, the Treasury was made responsible for providing the Postal Service with a line of credit. The Treasury was using that responsibility to make demands that I believe would turn the Postal Service into a political tool, ending its long history as an apolitical public infrastructure.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you respond to that, Professor Philip Rubio?
PHILIP RUBIO: Well, David C. Williams was the watchdog, and he was one of two watchdogs, the other being Ronald Stroman, who also — well, he resigned under pressure. So, they were looking out for the Postal Service, and they both resigned because they saw it being politicized.
You know, the Postal Service, or the post office, that we’ve had around for 245 years, most of that time was a political institution, but we didn’t see that kind of partisan intervention — well, of course, with the exception of Andrew Jackson and the spoils system with hiring, but as far as manipulating the Postal Service and driving it into the ground. So, I’m glad to see him testifying. I’m glad to see Ron Stroman, former Board of Governors member, testifying.
AMY GOODMAN: Are you surprised that — with the enormous response across the country, the outcry, with the Postal Service having like a 91% positive rating, which delivers drugs, pharmaceuticals to veterans, to people who aren’t veterans, so relied on — I mean, the VA now looking for alternatives to the USPS because they’re concerned, you know, drugs won’t get to veterans on time, that the — are you concerned the damage has already been done, but surprised that DeJoy would say, “OK, we’ll hold off on changes until after the election”? Now, that’s really something, because it’s saying to people all across the country, if you stick with this administration, we’re going to gut the post office then.
PHILIP RUBIO: No, but I’m not surprised by anything that Postmaster General DeJoy is saying, because, apparently, he’s telling different people what he thinks they want to hear. And right now the outrage has forced him to back down, but he is making promises that he will resume essentially dismantling the Postal Service, which was instituted in 1971 after the great postal strike of 1970, and the idea being we’re going to create a nonpolitical institution and it’s going to be a hybrid government agency/business. What he assumes that he was given was a mandate to take it further in the business direction.
And, you know, unintentionally and ironically, both he and Trump, I think, have dramatized how — the perils of postal privatization and partisan intervention and driving our post office into the ground, that we don’t have to accept this, that we shouldn’t have to accept this, we shouldn’t have to take it.
I’m not surprised that there has been popular protest, popular outrage, because that’s something that people learned from the springtime with the George Floyd protests. And so, when you see people not getting their medications, when you see people not getting their mail on time, of course they’re going to speak up. And they’ve learned that protests can change things.
And I think that’s forced Congress to be — well, I should say, it’s encouraged Democrats in Congress to put this on the agenda. But it’s still not enough. What Democrats in the House and Senate are doing is the best they can do to keep putting pressure, with investigations and putting bills forward, that the American people will hopefully respond to.
AMY GOODMAN: President Trump tweeted — I’m going to go back and look at what he tweeted — on Sunday, “So now the Democrats are using Mail Drop Boxes, which are a voter security disaster. Among other things, they make it possible for a person to vote multiple times. Also, who controls them, are they placed in Republican or Democrat areas? They are not Covid sanitized. A big fraud!” Now Twitter has flagged the tweet for violating Twitter rules about civic and election integrity. He is suggesting you will get COVID if you drop your ballot into a ballot box.
PHILIP RUBIO: So, this is just more distraction that Trump and his administration are doing, as they’ve done around so many other issues, but around the Postal Service. And what is gratifying is to see that lots and lots of people, including politicians, are pushing back against that, are not being satisfied with DeJoy’s responses and are rebutting Trump’s claims.
But what all of this does is to — what it’s intended to do is to distract and discourage. And what we have to do as individuals, as well as a collective body, is to remember that we do have a right to vote. We have a right to vote safely. The Postal Service is mandated to provide universal service, whatever that service is, even if more than half of us vote by mail, to make sure that enough overtime is in effect, enough postal workers are deployed, to get all those ballots counted, for people to register and vote early, to vote in person if they feel safe enough doing that, but to vote and to keep putting pressure on the postmaster general.
AMY GOODMAN: And can anything legally be done? I mean, you’ve got the bill that was passed in the House, now the House hearing today. Not clear what will happen in the Senate, though it doesn’t look like Mitch McConnell would take it up, though there is bipartisan attack on Trump and DeJoy — of course, it starts at the top — for going after the Postal Service, so much so that Trump inexplicably, after attacking it for so long, sent out a tweet last week saying, ”SAVE THE POST OFFICE!” He just didn’t write “from me,” from himself.
PHILIP RUBIO: Right. And he and his wife and other administration members also vote by mail, and they are also encouraging Republicans to vote by mail. So, however you vote, people need to remember that they do have a right to vote, and they do have the right to expect that the postmaster general, who — even though it’s not a very strong political position, has a lot of power and can reverse these policy changes and can also work better with the states to make sure that the ballots are counted. But in the end, it will probably come down to postal workers, who make sure that the mail does get through, just as we always did.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Philip Rubio, I want to thank you for joining us. Key that you said, “just as we always did,” because before being a historian, you were a U.S. postman for 20 years, now a history professor at North Carolina A&T State University, author of Undelivered: From the Great Postal Strike of 1970 to the Manufactured Crisis of the U.S. Postal Service.
Next up, we’ll look at the arrest of Trump’s former campaign manager Steve Bannon and others on fraud charges connected to the “We Build the Wall” effort. We’ll find out what that is. Stay with us.


truthout--2020-08-24--Republican Convention Takes on the Weighty Task of Boosting Trump’s Bruised Ego

The Republican National Convention ( RNC ) begins tonight , and I honestly don ’ t know how to complete this sentence .
Many will watch , many more will not , and I ’ ll be fixated on this four-day failapalooza for one reason only : to see if the Audience of One phenomenon rears its orange head and burns the whole project to the ground .
I very strongly suspect it will .
The “ Audience of One ” media phenomenon is perhaps the most vivid , daily available evidence of the stranglehold Donald Trump has on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration , or someone who wants to be a member of the administration , or a senator looking to curry White House favor , will go on a news show and spout astonishing conspiracy nonsense or hateful lies that cut deeply against the grain of basic , established reality .
Because they know Trump is watching , because he is always watching , because watching TV is almost all he does .
This is how the president is reached : Not via phone or in a meeting , but through a “ Fox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters tune in to such broadcasts over the course of a given year , but they don ’ t matter to the person in the studio trying to reach the Audience of One .
The only one that matters is the member of the audience squatting in the White House , remote control in one sweaty hand , Twitter phone in the other .
For the next four days , those who partake in the RNC ’ s festivities will bear witness to the Audience of One phenomenon swollen to obscene proportions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ purpose : to bolster the battered self-image of the president of the United States .
The GOP didn ’ t even bother with a platform this year .
Instead , they released a letter essentially declaring that everything Trump has done or will ever do is cool with them , period .
And that ’ s before the thing has even started .
“ This week ’ s Republican National Convention will be The Trump Show from start to finish , aiming for ratings-juicing stunts , attention-grabbing speeches from MAGA stars , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports Jonathan Swan for Axios .
“ President Trump made clear to aides that he wanted a grand , raucous convention — to the extent such things are achievable during a pandemic… .
People familiar with the planning said Trump will be portrayed as the ‘ tough ’ leader standing between safe streets and leftist anarchy.
” The glaring “ tell ” of the whole thing is the fact that Trump will be appearing all four nights of the convention .
Usually , the nominee for either party will do a very brief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech .
It ’ s a time-honored way to build momentum and anticipation for the big finale on the final night .
Not this convention .
Because Trump can not stand to be anything but the center of attention for any meaningful length of time , he will install himself in the middle of each night in an apoplexy of “ Me !
” The stakes are particularly high at present .
In the space of one week — being last week — Trump watched his former campaign wizard Steve Bannon get arrested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his nonsense southern border wall .
His own sister slagged him in the public prints .
A Republican Senate committee released a scathing report on his Russia dealings that went far beyond the Mueller Report , and the courts told him to go pound sand regarding the secrecy of his precious financial records .
To top it all off , the RNC is coming hot on the heels of a Democratic Convention that was pulled off without a hitch , despite the restrictions of a pandemic world .
Last week ’ s days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s corruption , greed , lawlessness and failure , while the evenings fairly sang with powerhouse speakers coming down the mountain to grind his relentlessly shabby record under their heel .
At present , it sounds like the producers will still be painting the set when the curtain goes up .
“ As Monday ’ s kickoff looms , Republican officials were still deciding what segments to air live and what would be taped in advance , ” reports The New York Times .
“ Typically , convention broadcasts require weeks of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , producers at the major TV networks had only a foggy idea of what to expect , although Republicans provided a more detailed rundown on Saturday evening .
Still , broadcasters will head into the week with some unknowns.
” Besides Trump , the convention ’ s slate of speakers is a perfect distillation of where the Republican Party finds itself at this juncture in history .
This evening ’ s presenters include Kimberly Guilfoyle , Donald Jr. ’ s girlfriend , before Junior himself rises to rock the mic .
The execrable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give Florida and Ohio a bad name , again .
Mark and Patricia McCloskey , the wealthy couple who menaced peaceful protesters with firearms , will have their say .
Turning Point USA founder and Trump othermind Charlie Kirk will speak .
The absence of Republican Party heavyweights is vivid .
Instead , a great many of the week ’ s speakers are either family-connected to Trump , or are people who gained fame by going viral in a video that Trump likely saw in his Twitter feed .
Due entirely to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it all , the Republican National Convention appears poised to be little more than a trolling festival designed to “ own the libs.
” I have a feeling it will be that very man in the middle who might cause the most trouble of all .
Imagine the Audience of One the morning after some speaker or another fails to adequately bathe him in rapture .
We could very well see/read the Republican nominee attack his own convention because it didn ’ t make him feel sufficiently good about himself .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and because of his flailing between Charlotte and Jacksonville , the planners have had very little time to nail this four-day megaproduction together .
Forecasters predict a possible shitshow , followed by two tropical storms and a dead cat bounce in the polls .
Take appropriate precautions .

The Republican National Convention (RNC) begins tonight, and I honestly don’t know how to complete this sentence. Many will watch, many more will not, and I’ll be fixated on this four-day failapalooza for one reason only: to see if the Audience of One phenomenon rears its orange head and burns the whole project to the ground. I very strongly suspect it will.
The “Audience of One” media phenomenon is perhaps the most vivid, daily available evidence of the stranglehold Donald Trump has on the Republican Party. A member of the administration, or someone who wants to be a member of the administration, or a senator looking to curry White House favor, will go on a news show and spout astonishing conspiracy nonsense or hateful lies that cut deeply against the grain of basic, established reality.
Why?
Because they know Trump is watching, because he is always watching, because watching TV is almost all he does. This is how the president is reached: Not via phone or in a meeting, but through a “Fox & Friends” segment. Millions of voters tune in to such broadcasts over the course of a given year, but they don’t matter to the person in the studio trying to reach the Audience of One. The only one that matters is the member of the audience squatting in the White House, remote control in one sweaty hand, Twitter phone in the other.
For the next four days, those who partake in the RNC’s festivities will bear witness to the Audience of One phenomenon swollen to obscene proportions. This convention exists to serve a single purpose: to bolster the battered self-image of the president of the United States. The GOP didn’t even bother with a platform this year. Instead, they released a letter essentially declaring that everything Trump has done or will ever do is cool with them, period.
And that’s before the thing has even started.
The “Audience of One” media phenomenon is perhaps the most vivid, daily available evidence of the stranglehold Donald Trump has on the Republican Party.
“This week’s Republican National Convention will be The Trump Show from start to finish, aiming for ratings-juicing stunts, attention-grabbing speeches from MAGA stars, and executive power as performance art,” reports Jonathan Swan for Axios. “President Trump made clear to aides that he wanted a grand, raucous convention — to the extent such things are achievable during a pandemic…. People familiar with the planning said Trump will be portrayed as the ‘tough’ leader standing between safe streets and leftist anarchy.”
The glaring “tell” of the whole thing is the fact that Trump will be appearing all four nights of the convention. Usually, the nominee for either party will do a very brief fly-by or two before delivering their acceptance speech. It’s a time-honored way to build momentum and anticipation for the big finale on the final night. Not this convention. Because Trump cannot stand to be anything but the center of attention for any meaningful length of time, he will install himself in the middle of each night in an apoplexy of “Me!”
The stakes are particularly high at present. In the space of one week — being last week — Trump watched his former campaign wizard Steve Bannon get arrested for defrauding a fund meant to build his nonsense southern border wall. His own sister slagged him in the public prints. A Republican Senate committee released a scathing report on his Russia dealings that went far beyond the Mueller Report, and the courts told him to go pound sand regarding the secrecy of his precious financial records.
To top it all off, the RNC is coming hot on the heels of a Democratic Convention that was pulled off without a hitch, despite the restrictions of a pandemic world. Last week’s days were filled with news stories of Trump’s corruption, greed, lawlessness and failure, while the evenings fairly sang with powerhouse speakers coming down the mountain to grind his relentlessly shabby record under their heel.
At present, it sounds like the producers will still be painting the set when the curtain goes up. “As Monday’s kickoff looms, Republican officials were still deciding what segments to air live and what would be taped in advance,” reports The New York Times. “Typically, convention broadcasts require weeks of highly technical preparation. By the weekend, producers at the major TV networks had only a foggy idea of what to expect, although Republicans provided a more detailed rundown on Saturday evening. Still, broadcasters will head into the week with some unknowns.”
I have a feeling it will be that very man in the middle who might cause the most trouble of all.
Besides Trump, the convention’s slate of speakers is a perfect distillation of where the Republican Party finds itself at this juncture in history. This evening’s presenters include Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Jr.’s girlfriend, before Junior himself rises to rock the mic. The execrable Reps. Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan will give Florida and Ohio a bad name, again. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the wealthy couple who menaced peaceful protesters with firearms, will have their say. Turning Point USA founder and Trump othermind Charlie Kirk will speak.
The absence of Republican Party heavyweights is vivid. Instead, a great many of the week’s speakers are either family-connected to Trump, or are people who gained fame by going viral in a video that Trump likely saw in his Twitter feed. Due entirely to the influence of the man at the middle of it all, the Republican National Convention appears poised to be little more than a trolling festival designed to “own the libs.”
I have a feeling it will be that very man in the middle who might cause the most trouble of all. Imagine the Audience of One the morning after some speaker or another fails to adequately bathe him in rapture. We could very well see/read the Republican nominee attack his own convention because it didn’t make him feel sufficiently good about himself.
Trump is a bull in a china shop, and because of his flailing between Charlotte and Jacksonville, the planners have had very little time to nail this four-day megaproduction together. Forecasters predict a possible shitshow, followed by two tropical storms and a dead cat bounce in the polls. Take appropriate precautions.
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.


truthout--2020-08-24--Black Workers Face Higher Joblessness, But Are Less Likely to Get Unemployment

Record numbers of Americans are receiving unemployment insurance during the pandemic .
That ’ s because of the enormous scale of jobs lost — but also because Congress greatly expanded the number of workers eligible for benefits .
For the first time , thanks to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program , part-timers , independent contractors and gig workers qualify for unemployment payments .
Black workers are overrepresented in these nontraditional positions , which in the past has contributed to making them less likely to receive unemployment payments than other groups .
Yet despite the expansion of eligibility , a smaller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment benefits than white workers during the pandemic , according to national survey data from NORC at the University of Chicago : 13 % of jobless Black workers received such payments between April and June , compared with 22 % for Hispanic workers and 24 % for white workers .
During the Pandemic , White Unemployed Workers Have Been More Likely to Receive Unemployment Benefits According to an analysis of national survey data , Black unemployed workers were about half as likely to receive such benefits .
“ In every recession , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ William Spriggs , a Howard University economist who analyzed the data .
After the 2008 financial crisis , for example , 23.8 % of jobless Black workers received unemployment vs. 33.2 % for white workers , according to a 2012 study of national claims data by the Urban Institute .
Some of the continuing disparity is explained by geography , according to Michele Evermore , a senior policy analyst with the National Employment Law Project .
Many states have made it more difficult to access benefits in recent years .
In the 1950s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobless people were able to regularly access benefits ; by the end of 2019 , that average had fallen to 28 % of workers .
The states that have made the deepest cuts to their unemployment programs are mostly in the South and have a higher share of Black residents .
In states such as Florida and North Carolina , fewer than 12 % of jobless individuals received benefits last year .
Many States Have Severely Limited Who Is Eligible for Benefits … In the South , and other states shaded lightly below @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to receive unemployment benefits .
For example , 10 % of jobless residents in North Carolina got benefits in 2018 , compared with 50 % in New Jersey .
… And Benefits for Those Who Receive Them Are Less Generous Among those who received unemployment benefits in 2018 , the program replaced 36 % of lost wages in Louisiana , compared with 53 % in Iowa .
The Share of Jobless Residents Who Are Black Is Higher in the South As a result , the weaker benefits in those states disproportionately affect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment benefits is all the more damaging because Black workers have been more likely to be unemployed in both the current downturn and in past recessions .
Even when the economy is healthy , Black unemployment is dramatically higher — often double — that of white workers .
The gap can not be explained by gender , age or education level .
( Were it not for the fact that Black workers are overrepresented in transit and service industry jobs currently deemed “ essential , ” the rate of Black unemployment today would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have long suffered from lower wages , lower incomes and fewer assets to fall back on than white households .
“ Because Black households have one-tenth of the wealth of white households , it ’ s that much more important that unemployment insurance kicks in to reduce the different experiences across these racial groups , ” said Damon Jones , an economist who teaches at the University of Chicago .
“ If you start out with less wealth and you have less access to unemployment insurance , you ’ re doubling down on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be playing out today .
A Pew study in April found 48 % of Black Americans were having trouble paying bills , compared with 44 % for Hispanics and 26 % for whites .
Even when Black workers do obtain benefits , they often receive smaller payments than white workers , since the benefits are determined by salary and Black workers earn less at every education level .
“ If your historical earnings reflect labor market discrimination , you ’ re going to get hit with lower benefits , ” said Jared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Budget and Policy Priorities .
“ The underlying formulas of the system reflect this historical discrimination.
” Black workers are also more likely to exhaust the standard 26 weeks of benefits than white counterparts because they tend to stay unemployed longer than their white peers .
Job discrimination in the labor market and fewer workplace protections mean that Black workers are typically the first to lose their jobs and the last to get them back .
If the longstanding gulf suggests a two-tiered unemployment system , that ’ s by design .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ so messy and complicated , ” Jones said .
“ And then you look back in the history and you see that the origins of some of these barriers were driven by racism and xenophobia.
” The Social Security Act established unemployment insurance , in 1935 , as a joint federal-state system .
It had a narrow definition of who deserved benefits : full-time breadwinners who had been momentarily laid off but would return to work as soon as business picked up .
This definition deliberately excluded agricultural and domestic workers , jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its purview .
Historians have debated the extent to which these exclusions stemmed from racial animus .
But whatever the motivations , the original definitions had a disparate impact : 65 % of Black workers fell outside the reach of the new program , and in agrarian parts of South , that number went up to 80 % , according to Larry DeWitt , a former historian for the Social Security Administration .
The economy has radically changed , but the unemployment system has remained largely the same .
( Domestic workers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bill . )
“ Our unemployment system has not kept up with the changing demographics of the American labor force , ” Spriggs said .
It ’ s been decades since employers began abandoning traditional work practices , in which full-time staffers put in 40-hour weeks , in favor of part-time arrangements and independent contractors .
One study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found “ all the net employment growth in the United States from 2010 to 2015 ” took place through what it called “ precarious ” arrangements : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , contract work and independent contracting .
Such arrangements account for 40 % of all jobs , according to estimates in a 2015 GAO report , and are expected to increase as the economy emerges from the pandemic .
Despite the pandemic assistance program passed by Congress in March , the outdated vision of employment in most state unemployment systems continues to put Black , Hispanic and female workers at a disadvantage .
These workers not only disproportionately hold on-call , temp or contingent positions .
They also get shut out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white men to work sporadically or leave work for child care — scenarios that render them ineligible for benefits .
Meanwhile , the pandemic program that expands unemployment eligibility is temporary ; it expires on Dec. 31 .
So far , the various rounds of negotiations on extending congressional funding for unemployment have not focused on continuing the expanded eligibility .
Economists like Evermore have called for legislation that would permanently include contingent workers — and increase the amount and duration of benefits .
The continuing inequities , she said , make the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less effective at countering recessions than it could be .
”

Record numbers of Americans are receiving unemployment insurance during the pandemic. That’s because of the enormous scale of jobs lost — but also because Congress greatly expanded the number of workers eligible for benefits. For the first time, thanks to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, part-timers, independent contractors and gig workers qualify for unemployment payments. Black workers are overrepresented in these nontraditional positions, which in the past has contributed to making them less likely to receive unemployment payments than other groups.
Yet despite the expansion of eligibility, a smaller percentage of unemployed Black workers are receiving unemployment benefits than white workers during the pandemic, according to national survey data from NORC at the University of Chicago: 13% of jobless Black workers received such payments between April and June, compared with 22% for Hispanic workers and 24% for white workers.
During the Pandemic, White Unemployed Workers Have Been More Likely to Receive Unemployment Benefits
According to an analysis of national survey data, Black unemployed workers were about half as likely to receive such benefits.
Source: Nyanya Browne and William Spriggs, Howard University, analysis of COVID Impact Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation, April 20 to June 8, 2020.
“In every recession, we see these same disparities,” said William Spriggs, a Howard University economist who analyzed the data. After the 2008 financial crisis, for example, 23.8% of jobless Black workers received unemployment vs. 33.2% for white workers, according to a 2012 study of national claims data by the Urban Institute.
Some of the continuing disparity is explained by geography, according to Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst with the National Employment Law Project. Many states have made it more difficult to access benefits in recent years. In the 1950s, an average of 50% of jobless people were able to regularly access benefits; by the end of 2019, that average had fallen to 28% of workers. The states that have made the deepest cuts to their unemployment programs are mostly in the South and have a higher share of Black residents. In states such as Florida and North Carolina, fewer than 12% of jobless individuals received benefits last year.
Many States Have Severely Limited Who Is Eligible for Benefits …
In the South, and other states shaded lightly below, it’s much harder for people to receive unemployment benefits. For example, 10% of jobless residents in North Carolina got benefits in 2018, compared with 50% in New Jersey.
Source: Analysis of United States Department of Labor 2018 data by Michele Evermore, National Employment Law Project Source: Analysis of United States Department of Labor 2018 data by Michele Evermore, National Employment Law Project
… And Benefits for Those Who Receive Them Are Less Generous
Among those who received unemployment benefits in 2018, the program replaced 36% of lost wages in Louisiana, compared with 53% in Iowa.
Source: Analysis of United States Department of Labor 2018 data by Michele Evermore, National Employment Law Project Source: Analysis of United States Department of Labor 2018 data by Michele Evermore, National Employment Law Project
The Share of Jobless Residents Who Are Black Is Higher in the South
As a result, the weaker benefits in those states disproportionately affect Black unemployed workers.
Source: ProPublica analysis of 2018 IPUMS CPS data, University of Minnesota Source: ProPublica analysis of 2018 IPUMS CPS data, University of Minnesota
The inequity in unemployment benefits is all the more damaging because Black workers have been more likely to be unemployed in both the current downturn and in past recessions. Even when the economy is healthy, Black unemployment is dramatically higher — often double — that of white workers. The gap cannot be explained by gender, age or education level. (Were it not for the fact that Black workers are overrepresented in transit and service industry jobs currently deemed “essential,” the rate of Black unemployment today would be even worse.)
Black households have long suffered from lower wages, lower incomes and fewer assets to fall back on than white households. “Because Black households have one-tenth of the wealth of white households, it’s that much more important that unemployment insurance kicks in to reduce the different experiences across these racial groups,” said Damon Jones, an economist who teaches at the University of Chicago. “If you start out with less wealth and you have less access to unemployment insurance, you’re doubling down on this negative impact.”
That scenario appears to be playing out today. A Pew study in April found 48% of Black Americans were having trouble paying bills, compared with 44% for Hispanics and 26% for whites.
Even when Black workers do obtain benefits, they often receive smaller payments than white workers, since the benefits are determined by salary and Black workers earn less at every education level. “If your historical earnings reflect labor market discrimination, you’re going to get hit with lower benefits,” said Jared Bernstein, a fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “The underlying formulas of the system reflect this historical discrimination.”
Black workers are also more likely to exhaust the standard 26 weeks of benefits than white counterparts because they tend to stay unemployed longer than their white peers. Job discrimination in the labor market and fewer workplace protections mean that Black workers are typically the first to lose their jobs and the last to get them back.
If the longstanding gulf suggests a two-tiered unemployment system, that’s by design. “You wonder why this system is so messy and complicated,” Jones said. “And then you look back in the history and you see that the origins of some of these barriers were driven by racism and xenophobia.”
The Social Security Act established unemployment insurance, in 1935, as a joint federal-state system. It had a narrow definition of who deserved benefits: full-time breadwinners who had been momentarily laid off but would return to work as soon as business picked up. This definition deliberately excluded agricultural and domestic workers, jobs held predominantly by Black Americans, from its purview.
Historians have debated the extent to which these exclusions stemmed from racial animus. But whatever the motivations, the original definitions had a disparate impact: 65% of Black workers fell outside the reach of the new program, and in agrarian parts of South, that number went up to 80%, according to Larry DeWitt, a former historian for the Social Security Administration.
The economy has radically changed, but the unemployment system has remained largely the same. (Domestic workers and farmworkers were included in 1950s amendments to the bill.) “Our unemployment system has not kept up with the changing demographics of the American labor force,” Spriggs said.
It’s been decades since employers began abandoning traditional work practices, in which full-time staffers put in 40-hour weeks, in favor of part-time arrangements and independent contractors. One study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found “all the net employment growth in the United States from 2010 to 2015” took place through what it called “precarious” arrangements: temporary help agency work, on-call work, contract work and independent contracting. Such arrangements account for 40% of all jobs, according to estimates in a 2015 GAO report, and are expected to increase as the economy emerges from the pandemic.
Despite the pandemic assistance program passed by Congress in March, the outdated vision of employment in most state unemployment systems continues to put Black, Hispanic and female workers at a disadvantage. These workers not only disproportionately hold on-call, temp or contingent positions. They also get shut out of the system because they are more likely than white men to work sporadically or leave work for child care — scenarios that render them ineligible for benefits.
Meanwhile, the pandemic program that expands unemployment eligibility is temporary; it expires on Dec. 31. So far, the various rounds of negotiations on extending congressional funding for unemployment have not focused on continuing the expanded eligibility. Economists like Evermore have called for legislation that would permanently include contingent workers — and increase the amount and duration of benefits. The continuing inequities, she said, make the nation’s unemployment system “far less effective at countering recessions than it could be.”
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.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-24--Progressive Group Projects Photos of Jobless Workers Onto Hotel Near RNC

On the eve of the 2020 Republican National Convention , a progressive advocacy group representing 15,000 unemployed workers on Sunday projected onto a Charlotte , North Carolina hotel the photos and stories of jobless workers struggling to meet basic needs after the GOP allowed the $ 600-per-week unemployment benefit boost to expire last month , slashing the incomes of some 30 million Americans .
“ It ’ s unbearable that the Republican Party and the Trump administration are celebrating and campaigning while millions of families are suffering because they refuse to extend the $ 600 benefit that was keeping us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Action said in a statement .
“ I want them to see the faces of people who are struggling because of their inaction.
” “ I can ’ t support myself and my granddaughter on $ 225 a week , ” said Rizzo , who lives in Roxboro , North Carolina .
“ Republicans caused this unemployment crisis by botching the response to Covid , and then abandoned us to face eviction , hunger , and debt on our own.
” While the Republican convention will largely take place virtually due to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expected to appear physically in Charlotte , the originally planned site of the event .
Republican officials who arrived in Charlotte Sunday evening may have spotted the massive projections on building of the Hilton Garden Inn , a hotel located just blocks away from the convention site .
“ I don ’ t have any family , and few friends .
Losing my job was terrifying .
I don ’ t have anyone to turn to , ” read one of the projections .
“ The only way I was able to survive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ I worked as a server .
My rent alone is more than unemployment , and my landlord isn ’ t being understanding , ” read another .
“ I don ’ t have money left for food , my car , my bills.
” The projections come just days after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that more than a million Americans filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending August 8 — just one of many signs that the economic recovery sputtering as the coronavirus continues to spread across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ congressional leaders and the Trump White House failed to reach an agreement to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits , allowing a key lifeline to lapse as hunger surged and tens of millions faced possible eviction .
Democrats — along with economists , workers , and advocacy groups — demanded that the $ 600-per-week additional payments be extended while the White House and congressional Republicans pushed for a lower figure , with some saying publicly that they wouldn ’ t mind letting the benefits expire completely .
After Congress and White House negotiators failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump took executive action to extend the federal unemployment boost at $ 300 per week while requesting that cash-strapped states kick in an extra $ 100 per week .
Experts decried the directive — which leaves out the poorest by design — as unworkable and a false promise to the millions of Americans who relied on the enhanced benefits to afford food , housing , and other necessities .
“ As more details of the plan — known as Lost Wages Assistance — have emerged , so have problems with finding the funding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who need it , ” the New York Times reported Sunday .
“ By Thursday , only one state , Arizona , had started paying out .
”

On the eve of the 2020 Republican National Convention, a progressive advocacy group representing 15,000 unemployed workers on Sunday projected onto a Charlotte, North Carolina hotel the photos and stories of jobless workers struggling to meet basic needs after the GOP allowed the $600-per-week unemployment benefit boost to expire last month, slashing the incomes of some 30 million Americans.
“It’s unbearable that the Republican Party and the Trump administration are celebrating and campaigning while millions of families are suffering because they refuse to extend the $600 benefit that was keeping us afloat,” Cynthia Rizzo of Unemployed Action said in a statement. “I want them to see the faces of people who are struggling because of their inaction.”
“I can’t support myself and my granddaughter on $225 a week,” said Rizzo, who lives in Roxboro, North Carolina. “Republicans caused this unemployment crisis by botching the response to Covid, and then abandoned us to face eviction, hunger, and debt on our own.”
While the Republican convention will largely take place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, some Republican leaders are expected to appear physically in Charlotte, the originally planned site of the event.
Republican officials who arrived in Charlotte Sunday evening may have spotted the massive projections on building of the Hilton Garden Inn, a hotel located just blocks away from the convention site.
“I don’t have any family, and few friends. Losing my job was terrifying. I don’t have anyone to turn to,” read one of the projections. “The only way I was able to survive was because of the extra $600.”
“I worked as a server. My rent alone is more than unemployment, and my landlord isn’t being understanding,” read another. “I don’t have money left for food, my car, my bills.”
A group called Unemployed Action is projecting images of Americans who have lost their jobs due to #COVID19. They claim their lives have been devastated by the #GOP’s failed response to the pandemic. This is on Caldwell and Stonewall Street. @wcnc pic.twitter.com/FPpxBBHmXZ — Lexi Wilson (@LexiWCNC) August 24, 2020
The projections come just days after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that more than a million Americans filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending August 8 — just one of many signs that the economic recovery sputtering as the coronavirus continues to spread across the nation.
Earlier this month, Democratic congressional leaders and the Trump White House failed to reach an agreement to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits, allowing a key lifeline to lapse as hunger surged and tens of millions faced possible eviction. Democrats — along with economists, workers, and advocacy groups — demanded that the $600-per-week additional payments be extended while the White House and congressional Republicans pushed for a lower figure, with some saying publicly that they wouldn’t mind letting the benefits expire completely.
After Congress and White House negotiators failed to strike a deal, President Donald Trump took executive action to extend the federal unemployment boost at $300 per week while requesting that cash-strapped states kick in an extra $100 per week. Experts decried the directive — which leaves out the poorest by design — as unworkable and a false promise to the millions of Americans who relied on the enhanced benefits to afford food, housing, and other necessities.
“As more details of the plan — known as Lost Wages Assistance — have emerged, so have problems with finding the funding and getting it to the hands of those who need it,” the New York Times reported Sunday. “By Thursday, only one state, Arizona, had started paying out.”
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.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-24--Protests Erupt After Wisconsin Police Shoot Unarmed Black Man Seven Times

Jacob Blake , a 29-year-old Black man from Kenosha , Wisconsin , was shot seven times in the back by police officers on Sunday evening as he attempted to enter his own car .
A video circulating on social media shows Blake walking toward his car while officers follow him with their guns drawn .
Blake opens his car door and enters the vehicle when one of the officers pulls back on his shirt .
He is then shot multiple times in the back , while witnesses at the scene scream in shock .
Blake ’ s three sons were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot .
Gov .
Tony Evers ( D-Wisconsin ) reacted to news of the shooting .
“ While we do not have all of the details yet , what we know for certain is that [ Blake ] is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country , ” Evers wrote .
Police had arrived on the scene in response to reports of a domestic dispute .
Blake was not one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that altercation , but he had attempted to break up a fight between two women before police arrived , witnesses to the events said .
He did not act aggressively toward either of the officers and was not armed with a gun or any other weapon , they added .
After he was shot , Blake was rushed to a hospital in Milwaukee , where he was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit .
As of Monday morning , he was removed from the ICU and reported to be in stable condition .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was shot , and protests began later that evening .
Small fires were set in the streets , and there were reports of protesters causing property damage .
A city dump truck was set ablaze and a courthouse building downtown was covered with graffiti condemning the violence of the police .
Local media also reported that law enforcement used tear gas on protesters in an attempt to break up the demonstrations .
Benjamin Crump , the lawyer representing George Floyd ’ s family , said that Blake ’ s sons “ will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being shot , adding , “ We can not let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us .
Our kids deserve better !
!
” Clint Smith , who writes for The Atlantic , expressed his frustration at witnessing another instance of an unarmed Black person being shot .
“ I ’ m sad .
I ’ m furious .
I ’ m tired of seeing this happen over and over and over and over and over again , ” Smith said .
“ Our lives have so little value that ofcrs are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talking , negotiation , disabling vehicles , ” Sherrilyn Ifill , President of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund , tweeted .
“ It ’ s shorter ; the ofcr doesn ’ t have to get physically involved ; and the result is guaranteed.
” Wisconsin law dictates that all police-perpetrated shootings must be investigated by the state Department of Justice ’ s Division of Criminal Investigation ( DCI ) .
“ All involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation , ” a statement from the department read .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on administrative leave.
” Even as that investigation has begun , many are demanding that the officers involved in Blake ’ s shooting be issued criminal charges .
A Change.org petition with those demands garnered more than 27,000 signatures as of 9:45 am Central Time .
“ The cops who shot him need to be charged with at least attempted murder , ” that petition reads .
“ Jacob Blake needs our help fighting for justice .
”

Witnesses say Jacob Blake was trying to break up a domestic dispute and had not acted aggressively in any way.
Warning: The following article contains a link to a graphic video detailing a police shooting of an unarmed individual.
Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot seven times in the back by police officers on Sunday evening as he attempted to enter his own car.
A video circulating on social media shows Blake walking toward his car while officers follow him with their guns drawn. Blake opens his car door and enters the vehicle when one of the officers pulls back on his shirt. He is then shot multiple times in the back, while witnesses at the scene scream in shock.
Blake’s three sons were reportedly in the vehicle when he was shot.
Gov. Tony Evers (D-Wisconsin) reacted to news of the shooting. “While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that [Blake] is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country,” Evers wrote.
Police had arrived on the scene in response to reports of a domestic dispute. Blake was not one of the two parties directly involved in that altercation, but he had attempted to break up a fight between two women before police arrived, witnesses to the events said. He did not act aggressively toward either of the officers and was not armed with a gun or any other weapon, they added.
After he was shot, Blake was rushed to a hospital in Milwaukee, where he was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit. As of Monday morning, he was removed from the ICU and reported to be in stable condition.
Crowds gathered near the scene where Blake was shot, and protests began later that evening. Small fires were set in the streets, and there were reports of protesters causing property damage. A city dump truck was set ablaze and a courthouse building downtown was covered with graffiti condemning the violence of the police.
Local media also reported that law enforcement used tear gas on protesters in an attempt to break up the demonstrations.
Benjamin Crump, the lawyer representing George Floyd’s family, said that Blake’s sons “will be traumatized forever” after witnessing their father being shot, adding, “We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our kids deserve better!!”
Confirmed: Jacob Blake’s 3 SONS were IN THE CAR he was getting into when @KenoshaPolice shot him tonight. They saw a cop shoot their father. They will be traumatized forever. We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our kids deserve better!! #JusticeForJacobBlake — Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 24, 2020
Clint Smith, who writes for The Atlantic, expressed his frustration at witnessing another instance of an unarmed Black person being shot.
“I’m sad. I’m furious. I’m tired of seeing this happen over and over and over and over and over again,” Smith said.
Thinking of Jacob Blake's family. Thinking of the Kenosha community. Thinking of Black folks across the country falling asleep to this news and those who will be waking up to it. I’m sad. I’m furious. I’m tired of seeing this happen over and over and over and over and over again. — Clint Smith (@ClintSmithIII) August 24, 2020
“Our lives have so little value that ofcrs are using fatal gunshots as a shortcut to talking, negotiation, disabling vehicles,” Sherrilyn Ifill, President of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, tweeted. “It’s shorter; the ofcr doesn’t have to get physically involved; and the result is guaranteed.”
Our lives have so little value that ofcrs are using fatal gunshots as a shortcut to talking, negotiation, disabling vehicles. It’s shorter; the ofcr doesn’t have to get physically involved; and the result is guaranteed. The killing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. Again. — Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) August 24, 2020
Wisconsin law dictates that all police-perpetrated shootings must be investigated by the state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). “All involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation,” a statement from the department read. “The involved officers have been placed on administrative leave.”
Even as that investigation has begun, many are demanding that the officers involved in Blake’s shooting be issued criminal charges. A Change.org petition with those demands garnered more than 27,000 signatures as of 9:45 am Central Time.
“The cops who shot him need to be charged with at least attempted murder,” that petition reads. “Jacob Blake needs our help fighting for justice.”
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