truthout--2020-07-01--Jamaal Bowman Calls for Rent Cancellations and Defunding the NYPD

As a surge of progressive candidates of color see victories in Democratic primaries across the country , we speak with former Bronx middle school principal Jamaal Bowman about his upset victory over New York Congressmember Eliot Engel , the 16-term Foreign Affairs Committee chair .
Bowman ran on a Green New Deal , Medicare for All platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality .
He says his upset over Engel came down to mobilizing people who are “ disenfranchised and ignored ” by the political establishment .
“ We didn ’ t just target @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We targeted everyone , ” he says .
Looking forward , he describes his support for Palestine , a rent strike and police accountability .
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 in New York City , with my co-host Juan González joining from his home in New Brunswick , New Jersey .
Hi , Juan .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Hi , Amy .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viewers across the country and around the world .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , as voters went to the polls Tuesday in Colorado , Utah and Oklahoma , the results from last Tuesday ’ s primary race in Kentucky came in , and former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath has been declared the winner over progressive state Representative Charles Booker .
McGrath outspent Booker by a margin of nearly 10 to 1 .
Booker ’ s popularity soared in recent weeks as he took part in Black Lives Matter protests and campaigned with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the holler.
” He took a brief lead in votes last week , but McGrath ’ s campaign pulled ahead Tuesday after the final mail-in ballots were counted .
This comes amidst a surge of victories for progressive candidates of color in congressional primaries , including here in New York , where Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres are poised to become the first two openly gay Black men in Congress , replacing lawmakers who are retiring after decades in Washington .
And in what would be a major upset , Jamaal Bowman has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Engel , the Foreign Affairs Committee chair who ’ s served in Congress for more than 30 years .
Bowman is currently leading by 25 percentage points , but absentee ballots are still being counted .
Bowman ran on a Green New Deal , Medicare for All platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality .
He ’ s a former Bronx middle school principal who was endorsed by Senators Elizabeth Warren , Bernie Sanders , Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and The New York Times .
In a minute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but first , this is part of his address to supporters last Tuesday night .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s Jamaal Bowman addressing supporters on election night .
Many have compared his apparent victory to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ’ s stunning defeat of Democrat Joe Crowley just two years ago .
Progressive political strategist Karthik Ganapathy said , quote , “ A middle school principal with no prior political experience defeating a 20-year incumbent — that is an AOC-level upset.
” Well , Jamaal Bowman joins us now from his home in Yonkers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democracy Now !
, Jamaal Bowman .
Thank you so much for being with us .
And if you could continue to respond , as you did on primary night , this — well , the final results are not in , but it looks like you have such a major lead right now .
What do you think did it ?
JAMAAL BOWMAN : We connected with the people very early on in this campaign — all people , not just a small segment of the district .
We went to Co-op @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Gun Hill Projects .
We connected with those who have been — who had been mostly disenfranchised and ignored by Congressman Engel in our political system for decades .
We wanted to connect with them first .
We didn ’ t just target those who consistently vote in primaries .
We targeted everyone .
Those who are registered Democrats but have become disengaged from the system , we wanted to let them know that their voices mattered , that they were important , and we needed their brilliance and experience to help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to be fighting for in Washington .
And we had an amazing team and an amazing field program to help us get that done .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Jamaal Bowman , I wanted to delve into how your experience as a public school teacher and an assistant principal helped frame your view of progressive politics when it comes to education .
We just heard about the Supreme Court decision that is going to make it easier for religious schools to be able to access scholarships through tax credits , and we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DeVos , wants to increasingly provide federal assistance to private education and to religious schools .
And in the Bronx , you had to deal with growing charter school chains , which are semi-private , like Success Academy and the KIPP Academy and others .
Can you talk about this whole issue of education , privatization , and how this has shaped your view of progressive politics in America ?
JAMAAL BOWMAN : Absolutely .
You know , I had a front-row seat to the attack on public schools , attack on teachers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our schools and the taking of resources from public schools and investments in charter schools .
I had a front-row seat to that throughout my 20-year career , and particularly throughout my 10 years as a middle school principal .
And outside of serving as a principal , I also worked on education organizing , with organizations like AQE , CEJ , NYSAPE , pushing back against charter schools , calling for a national moratorium on charter schools , and pushing back against the overuse of standardized testing , because it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a weapon to call schools and kids and teachers failing , so they can ultimately be closed and reopened as for-profit charter entities .
So , it ’ s something I ’ ve been fighting for and against throughout my career , but particularly over the last 10 years .
But that privatization is not just happening in public schools .
It ’ s happening in housing .
It ’ s happening in healthcare .
It ’ s happening when you look at utilities and when you look at the impact of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we continue to support fossil fuels and not move towards clean , renewable energy .
So , the corporatization , the privatization and the wealthy elite are attacking all of our public institutions .
And it ’ s our time .
It ’ s our job right now to fight against that .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And you ’ ve also been on record as supporting a reconstruction platform , of supporting of defunding the police .
What ’ s your reaction to the latest results in City Council , where there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the police budget that Mayor de Blasio and the council have supported , but critics are saying this is basically playing with numbers , shifting some services to other agencies but not really affecting the size of the police department , except for one academy class that will not be — will not take place this summer ?
JAMAAL BOWMAN : Yes , I agree with the critics .
We need a hiring freeze with the NYPD .
We need to truly cut $ 1 billion in NYPD spending , not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Education , for example , to maintain school safety agents who will act in the same capacity and conduct the same functions that they did prior to the so-called cut .
This requires leadership , and this requires a reimagining of public safety and a restructuring of the way our schools and our NYPD currently conduct themselves .
We need investment , true investment , in school counselors , school psychologists , social workers , additional teachers , especially now as we respond or come back from COVID-19 .
You know , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now growing .
And if we don ’ t invest in more teachers and more infrastructure to make sure we can lower class size and focus on one-on-one instruction and mental health supports , our kids will continue to suffer .
So we need a true defunding and a true reinvestment in public health .
AMY GOODMAN : Last month , Eliot Engel was caught on a News 12 mic asking the Bronx Borough president , Rubén Díaz Jr. , if he could speak at a rally , after a night of protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Díaz that , quote , “ If I didn ’ t have a primary , I wouldn ’ t care.
” Listen closely .
AMY GOODMAN : So , I want to turn to Eliot Engel reacting to AOC ’ s endorsement of your campaign on a candidate forum .
AMY GOODMAN : Jamaal Bowman , you got endorsed by AOC , by Senators Sanders and Warren .
And Eliot Engel , who is the former chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee , was endorsed by Nancy Pelosi , as well as Hillary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting with the Green New Deal , your differences and how you think you ’ ll challenge even the Democratic leadership in Congress , not just the Republicans , the direction you think they need to be going in that ’ s different right now ?
JAMAAL BOWMAN : Well , number one , I don ’ t take any corporate PAC money .
We are completely supported by grassroots organizations and individuals who support our campaign financially , so we take no corporate PAC money at all .
We ’ re accountable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not accountable to corporations .
Number two , my background as an educator has prepared me and trained me to , first and foremost , serve the people in my district .
So , while I ’ ll also be in Washington fighting for the right policy and resources and pushing a racial justice agenda , I ’ m also going to be here serving the people and providing exemplary constituent services — something that Congressman Engel was criticized for throughout his campaign .
And then , the third piece — I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I said before — racial justice and institutional racism is something that we have to fight very directly , very urgently , and it ’ s something that lives within every American institution .
So part of our reconstruction agenda involves putting together a truth and reconciliation committee to look at the history of racism and slavery , and its impact on us today .
We see it in police brutality and mass incarceration , but it ’ s also in housing and miseducation and health outcomes , as we ’ ve seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s something that Congressman Engel had not done .
He had not been a leader on any of those issues throughout his time in Congress .
And that ’ s why the people have resoundingly voted us in at this point in this race .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Jamaal Bowman , I ’ d like to ask you about the — in terms of housing , you ’ ve been in support of the “ Cancel the Rent ” movement as a result of the economic dislocation that the country is going through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that that ’ s not realistic , that landlords also have bills , and especially small landlords , but yet there are over 800,000 rent-stabilized tenants in New York City , many of them suffering because they can ’ t pay the rent .
Talk about the “ Cancel the Rent ” movement .
JAMAAL BOWMAN : Yeah .
If people don ’ t have jobs and they can ’ t pay their rent , how are we going to hold them accountable by taking them to eviction ?
And in terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you know , a moratorium on mortgages regarding small landlords , because they are small and they do have their struggles .
But we ’ re talking about larger real estate corporations and the real estate lobby that has been dictating how we do housing policy in New York state for decades .
We need a cancellation of rent .
We need a cancellation of small mortgages .
We need a cancellation of utilities .
We need to end evictions .
We need a blockade on evictions , as that runs out today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
We need to invest in the people , the working-class people of our city , state and country .
It was very easy for us to write trillions of dollars — write a $ 1.5 trillion check for Wall Street , very easy for us to bail out the airline industry and the cruise industry .
We need to bail out the working-class people of this country .
And that ’ s what the cancellation of rent is all about .
Let ’ s focus on the people .
Let ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let ’ s uplift the people .
AMY GOODMAN : So , Jamaal Bowman , do you think Governor Cuomo didn ’ t go far enough ?
He just signed this measure yesterday to prevent tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent during this period of the coronavirus .
But , of course , they will have to pay that full rent soon .
JAMAAL BOWMAN : It needs to be canceled .
As we deal with this coronavirus and we get a handle on it and people endure what ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be canceled outright , not a moratorium , because they ’ re going to be held accountable for that on the backend , which is something we ’ re against .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to ask you about a challenge you got about a week before the primary election by Rabbi Avi Weiss in your district , when he wrote an open letter in the Riverdale Press condemning what he called your anti-Israel views .
You replied to him in your own open letter .
I want to read a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The uprising across the country against police violence also makes me empathize with the everyday experience and fear that comes with living under occupation .
Just as the police force is an intimidating force in so many black communities , I can connect to what it feels like for Palestinians to feel the presence of the military in their daily lives in the West Bank .
I can also understand the crushing poverty and deprivation in the Gaza strip .
I believe Palestinians have the same rights to freedom and dignity as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will fight for their liberation just as hard as I will fight for yours , ” you wrote .
I was wondering if you could expand on that and then comment on the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu ’ s plans to annex the occupied West Bank , parts of the occupied West Bank — he has put it off for today — and the letter that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote , that was supported by Senator Sanders and others , saying that if he moves forward , the U.S. should cut military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yes .
So , first of all , I ’ m a Black man in America , and I know what it feels like to feel inferior because of the color of your skin or because of who you are , and to feel like you ’ re constantly under attack because of your race .
I understand the history of this country completely , and I know what my ancestors have gone through in this country .
In that understanding , you know , I can connect with Palestinian suffering , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world , and I can connect with Jewish suffering in terms of their safety and security in their history .
What I ’ ve talked about from the very beginning of this campaign is our common trauma and our common humanity .
And that ’ s something — that ’ s what I ’ m trying to bridge — that ’ s how I ’ m trying to bridge these gaps and open doors to new understanding and new conversation amongst the Black community , the Jewish community , the Palestinian community and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s felt oppressed in this country or throughout the world .
In terms of the annexation , it ’ s something we ’ ve been very critical of throughout our campaign — the annexation , the occupation and the detaining of Palestinian children .
Palestinian people have the right to self-determination , to safety and security , and to their own country , which is why we support a two-state solution .
And the annexation undermines us getting to a two-state solution , which is why we ’ ve been critical of it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And , Jamaal Bowman , when do you expect the final results to be in , in your primary race , though you are many points ahead ?
JAMAAL BOWMAN : We ’ ve heard next Wednesday or Thursday , so hopefully we ’ ll get the results then .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , I want to thank you so much for being with us .
Jamaal Bowman claimed victory last week in the Democratic Party ’ s nomination for the 16th Congressional District in Westchester County and the Bronx over 16-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee .
Jamaal Bowman has been endorsed by Senators Warren and Sanders , Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and The New York Times .
Former Bronx middle school principal .
This is Democracy Now !
When we come back , the man who predicted the pandemic two years ago , Atlantic writer Ed Yong .
Stay with us .
Note : This transcript has been lightly edited and condensed for publication on Truthout .

As a surge of progressive candidates of color see victories in Democratic primaries across the country, we speak with former Bronx middle school principal Jamaal Bowman about his upset victory over New York Congressmember Eliot Engel, the 16-term Foreign Affairs Committee chair. Bowman ran on a Green New Deal, Medicare for All platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality. He says his upset over Engel came down to mobilizing people who are “disenfranchised and ignored” by the political establishment. “We didn’t just target those who consistently vote in primaries. We targeted everyone,” he says. Looking forward, he describes his support for Palestine, a rent strike and police accountability.
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 in New York City, with my co-host Juan González joining from his home in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Hi, Juan.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Hi, Amy. And welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, as voters went to the polls Tuesday in Colorado, Utah and Oklahoma, the results from last Tuesday’s primary race in Kentucky came in, and former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath has been declared the winner over progressive state Representative Charles Booker. McGrath outspent Booker by a margin of nearly 10 to 1. Booker’s popularity soared in recent weeks as he took part in Black Lives Matter protests and campaigned with the slogan “From the hood to the holler.” He took a brief lead in votes last week, but McGrath’s campaign pulled ahead Tuesday after the final mail-in ballots were counted.
This comes amidst a surge of victories for progressive candidates of color in congressional primaries, including here in New York, where Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres are poised to become the first two openly gay Black men in Congress, replacing lawmakers who are retiring after decades in Washington.
And in what would be a major upset, Jamaal Bowman has claimed victory over New York Congressmember Eliot Engel, the Foreign Affairs Committee chair who’s served in Congress for more than 30 years. Bowman is currently leading by 25 percentage points, but absentee ballots are still being counted. Bowman ran on a Green New Deal, Medicare for All platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality. He’s a former Bronx middle school principal who was endorsed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and The New York Times. In a minute, he’ll join us, but first, this is part of his address to supporters last Tuesday night.
JAMAAL BOWMAN: The impact of poverty on our children, and dealing with issues of institutional racism and sexism and classism and xenophobia and everything that keeps the majority of us oppressed, is what we designed this campaign to fight against. So, tonight, as we celebrate, we don’t just celebrate me as an individual. We celebrate this movement, a movement designed to push back against a system that’s literally killing us. It’s killing Black and Brown bodies disproportionately, but it’s killing all of us. … Eliot Engel — and I’ll say his name once — used to say that he was a thorn in the side of Donald Trump. But you know what Donald Trump is more afraid of than anything else? A Black man with power. That is what Donald Trump is afraid of.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Jamaal Bowman addressing supporters on election night. Many have compared his apparent victory to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning defeat of Democrat Joe Crowley just two years ago. Progressive political strategist Karthik Ganapathy said, quote, “A middle school principal with no prior political experience defeating a 20-year incumbent — that is an AOC-level upset.”
Well, Jamaal Bowman joins us now from his home in Yonkers, New York.
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Jamaal Bowman. Thank you so much for being with us. And if you could continue to respond, as you did on primary night, this — well, the final results are not in, but it looks like you have such a major lead right now. What do you think did it?
JAMAAL BOWMAN: We connected with the people very early on in this campaign — all people, not just a small segment of the district. We went to Co-op City, We went to Edenwald Projects, Gun Hill Projects. We connected with those who have been — who had been mostly disenfranchised and ignored by Congressman Engel in our political system for decades. We wanted to connect with them first. We didn’t just target those who consistently vote in primaries. We targeted everyone. Those who are registered Democrats but have become disengaged from the system, we wanted to let them know that their voices mattered, that they were important, and we needed their brilliance and experience to help us craft the policy that we’re going to be fighting for in Washington. And we had an amazing team and an amazing field program to help us get that done.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Jamaal Bowman, I wanted to delve into how your experience as a public school teacher and an assistant principal helped frame your view of progressive politics when it comes to education. We just heard about the Supreme Court decision that is going to make it easier for religious schools to be able to access scholarships through tax credits, and we know how the education secretary, Betsy DeVos, wants to increasingly provide federal assistance to private education and to religious schools. And in the Bronx, you had to deal with growing charter school chains, which are semi-private, like Success Academy and the KIPP Academy and others. Can you talk about this whole issue of education, privatization, and how this has shaped your view of progressive politics in America?
JAMAAL BOWMAN: Absolutely. You know, I had a front-row seat to the attack on public schools, attack on teachers’ unions, and the privatization of our schools and the taking of resources from public schools and investments in charter schools. I had a front-row seat to that throughout my 20-year career, and particularly throughout my 10 years as a middle school principal. And outside of serving as a principal, I also worked on education organizing, with organizations like AQE, CEJ, NYSAPE, pushing back against charter schools, calling for a national moratorium on charter schools, and pushing back against the overuse of standardized testing, because it’s been used, as you know, as a weapon to call schools and kids and teachers failing, so they can ultimately be closed and reopened as for-profit charter entities. So, it’s something I’ve been fighting for and against throughout my career, but particularly over the last 10 years.
But that privatization is not just happening in public schools. It’s happening in housing. It’s happening in healthcare. It’s happening when you look at utilities and when you look at the impact of fossil fuels on our environments and how we continue to support fossil fuels and not move towards clean, renewable energy. So, the corporatization, the privatization and the wealthy elite are attacking all of our public institutions. And it’s our time. It’s our job right now to fight against that.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you’ve also been on record as supporting a reconstruction platform, of supporting of defunding the police. What’s your reaction to the latest results in City Council, where there’s supposedly a $1 billion reduction in the police budget that Mayor de Blasio and the council have supported, but critics are saying this is basically playing with numbers, shifting some services to other agencies but not really affecting the size of the police department, except for one academy class that will not be — will not take place this summer?
JAMAAL BOWMAN: Yes, I agree with the critics. We need a hiring freeze with the NYPD. We need to truly cut $1 billion in NYPD spending, not just shifting that money to the Department of Education, for example, to maintain school safety agents who will act in the same capacity and conduct the same functions that they did prior to the so-called cut.
This requires leadership, and this requires a reimagining of public safety and a restructuring of the way our schools and our NYPD currently conduct themselves. We need investment, true investment, in school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, additional teachers, especially now as we respond or come back from COVID-19. You know, the learning gap that was there before is now growing. And if we don’t invest in more teachers and more infrastructure to make sure we can lower class size and focus on one-on-one instruction and mental health supports, our kids will continue to suffer. So we need a true defunding and a true reinvestment in public health.
AMY GOODMAN: Last month, Eliot Engel was caught on a News 12 mic asking the Bronx Borough president, Rubén Díaz Jr., if he could speak at a rally, after a night of protests against police violence. He then told Díaz that, quote, “If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care.” Listen closely.
RUBÉN DÍAZ JR.: Please bear with me. I’ll announce everybody. I appreciate you coming. But then I’ve got to then go down the list, and it’s just too many folks here. REP. ELIOT ENGEL: If I didn’t have a primary , I wouldn’t care. RUBÉN DÍAZ JR.: Say that again? REP. ELIOT ENGEL: If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care. RUBÉN DÍAZ JR.: Don’t do that to me. We’re not going to do this. We’re not going to politicize this. Everybody has a primary, you know? I’m sorry.
AMY GOODMAN: So, I want to turn to Eliot Engel reacting to AOC’s endorsement of your campaign on a candidate forum.
REP. ELIOT ENGEL: This is not a dictatorship. This is a democracy. We shouldn’t have one person from high, even though she’s a colleague of mine, think that she can anoint whoever is elected to Congress. That’s not what democracy is all about.
AMY GOODMAN: Jamaal Bowman, you got endorsed by AOC, by Senators Sanders and Warren. And Eliot Engel, who is the former chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, was endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, as well as Hillary Clinton. If you can delineate, starting with the Green New Deal, your differences and how you think you’ll challenge even the Democratic leadership in Congress, not just the Republicans, the direction you think they need to be going in that’s different right now?
JAMAAL BOWMAN: Well, number one, I don’t take any corporate PAC money. We are completely supported by grassroots organizations and individuals who support our campaign financially, so we take no corporate PAC money at all. We’re accountable to the people; we’re not accountable to corporations.
Number two, my background as an educator has prepared me and trained me to, first and foremost, serve the people in my district. So, while I’ll also be in Washington fighting for the right policy and resources and pushing a racial justice agenda, I’m also going to be here serving the people and providing exemplary constituent services — something that Congressman Engel was criticized for throughout his campaign.
And then, the third piece — I’ll reiterate, you know, what I said before — racial justice and institutional racism is something that we have to fight very directly, very urgently, and it’s something that lives within every American institution. So part of our reconstruction agenda involves putting together a truth and reconciliation committee to look at the history of racism and slavery, and its impact on us today. We see it in police brutality and mass incarceration, but it’s also in housing and miseducation and health outcomes, as we’ve seen from the COVID-19 epidemic. That’s something that Congressman Engel had not done. He had not been a leader on any of those issues throughout his time in Congress. And that’s why the people have resoundingly voted us in at this point in this race.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Jamaal Bowman, I’d like to ask you about the — in terms of housing, you’ve been in support of the “Cancel the Rent” movement as a result of the economic dislocation that the country is going through from the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics say that that’s not realistic, that landlords also have bills, and especially small landlords, but yet there are over 800,000 rent-stabilized tenants in New York City, many of them suffering because they can’t pay the rent. Talk about the “Cancel the Rent” movement.
JAMAAL BOWMAN: Yeah. If people don’t have jobs and they can’t pay their rent, how are we going to hold them accountable by taking them to eviction? And in terms of the small landlords, we support, you know, a moratorium on mortgages regarding small landlords, because they are small and they do have their struggles. But we’re talking about larger real estate corporations and the real estate lobby that has been dictating how we do housing policy in New York state for decades.
We need a cancellation of rent. We need a cancellation of small mortgages. We need a cancellation of utilities. We need to end evictions. We need a blockade on evictions, as that runs out today in New York state and across the country. We need to invest in the people, the working-class people of our city, state and country. It was very easy for us to write trillions of dollars — write a $1.5 trillion check for Wall Street, very easy for us to bail out the airline industry and the cruise industry. We need to bail out the working-class people of this country. And that’s what the cancellation of rent is all about. Let’s focus on the people. Let’s invest in the people. And let’s uplift the people.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Jamaal Bowman, do you think Governor Cuomo didn’t go far enough? He just signed this measure yesterday to prevent tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent during this period of the coronavirus. But, of course, they will have to pay that full rent soon.
JAMAAL BOWMAN: It needs to be canceled. As we deal with this coronavirus and we get a handle on it and people endure what’s happening in their lives, it needs to be canceled outright, not a moratorium, because they’re going to be held accountable for that on the backend, which is something we’re against.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about a challenge you got about a week before the primary election by Rabbi Avi Weiss in your district, when he wrote an open letter in the Riverdale Press condemning what he called your anti-Israel views. You replied to him in your own open letter. I want to read a part of it. You wrote, “The uprising across the country against police violence also makes me empathize with the everyday experience and fear that comes with living under occupation. Just as the police force is an intimidating force in so many black communities, I can connect to what it feels like for Palestinians to feel the presence of the military in their daily lives in the West Bank. I can also understand the crushing poverty and deprivation in the Gaza strip. I believe Palestinians have the same rights to freedom and dignity as my Jewish brothers and sisters. I will fight for their liberation just as hard as I will fight for yours,” you wrote.
I was wondering if you could expand on that and then comment on the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to annex the occupied West Bank, parts of the occupied West Bank — he has put it off for today — and the letter that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote, that was supported by Senator Sanders and others, saying that if he moves forward, the U.S. should cut military aid to Israel.
JAMAAL BOWMAN: Yes. So, first of all, I’m a Black man in America, and I know what it feels like to feel inferior because of the color of your skin or because of who you are, and to feel like you’re constantly under attack because of your race. I understand the history of this country completely, and I know what my ancestors have gone through in this country. In that understanding, you know, I can connect with Palestinian suffering, not just in Israel-Palestine, but across the world, and I can connect with Jewish suffering in terms of their safety and security in their history.
What I’ve talked about from the very beginning of this campaign is our common trauma and our common humanity. And that’s something — that’s what I’m trying to bridge — that’s how I’m trying to bridge these gaps and open doors to new understanding and new conversation amongst the Black community, the Jewish community, the Palestinian community and all communities, and everyone who’s felt oppressed in this country or throughout the world.
In terms of the annexation, it’s something we’ve been very critical of throughout our campaign — the annexation, the occupation and the detaining of Palestinian children. Palestinian people have the right to self-determination, to safety and security, and to their own country, which is why we support a two-state solution. And the annexation undermines us getting to a two-state solution, which is why we’ve been critical of it throughout our campaign.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Jamaal Bowman, when do you expect the final results to be in, in your primary race, though you are many points ahead?
JAMAAL BOWMAN: We’ve heard next Wednesday or Thursday, so hopefully we’ll get the results then.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you so much for being with us. Jamaal Bowman claimed victory last week in the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 16th Congressional District in Westchester County and the Bronx over 16-term Congressmember Eliot Engel, who is the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Jamaal Bowman has been endorsed by Senators Warren and Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and The New York Times. Former Bronx middle school principal.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, the man who predicted the pandemic two years ago, Atlantic writer Ed Yong. Stay with us.
Note: This transcript has been lightly edited and condensed for publication on Truthout.


truthout--2020-07-01--Sanders Files Amendments to Force Pentagon to Pass Audit, Mass Produce Masks

Sen. Bernie Sanders late Tuesday filed a slate of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act aiming to force the Pentagon to pass an independent audit , require the federal government to mass-produce and deliver free masks to everyone in the U.S. , and bar funding for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen .
The amendments came in addition to the Vermont senator ’ s plan to slash the Senate ’ s proposed $ 740.5 billion Pentagon budget by 10 % and redirect the savings toward funding healthcare , housing , education , and jobs in impoverished U.S. communities .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much waste , fraud , and abuse at the Pentagon is the fact that the Defense Department remains the only federal agency in America that hasn ’ t been able to pass an independent audit , ” Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday .
“ It is time to hold the Defense Department to the same level of accountability as the rest of the government.
” Sanders ’ amendment — introduced alongside Sens .
Ron Wyden ( D-Ore. ) , Chuck Grassley ( R-Iowa ) , and Mike Lee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pentagon to pass a clean audit by fiscal year 2025 and would penalize Defense Department agencies that fail to pass an audit by forcing them to return a portion of their budgets to the Treasury .
The Vermont senator also filed an NDAA amendment that would use the Defense Production Act to mass-produce and distribute five free face masks per month to every person in the U.S. through the Postal Service — a proposal Dr. Anthony Fauci , the nation ’ s top infectious disease expert , endorsed during a Senate hearing earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listening to the science and saving lives , ” Sanders said .
“ Here is what my amendment will do : It would require the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to make hundreds of millions of high-quality masks and deliver five of them , per person , directly to every household in America on a monthly basis , until the pandemic has ended.
” “ There are so many things we don ’ t know about Covid-19 , ” the Vermont senator continued .
“ But on this issue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ save lives .
We must act now to save tens of thousands of lives by forcing the Trump administration to follow basic science and protect the American people — and that ’ s what this amendment is all about.
” In addition to the major public health benefits of face masks , a team of economists at Goldman Sachs estimated that a nationwide mask mandate would save the U.S. economy $ 1 trillion by reducing the need for widespread lockdowns .
“ A face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” wrote Jan Hatzius , Goldman Sachs ’ chief economist .
As the Washington Post ’ s Christopher Ingraham noted , “ the authors of the report are economists and not public health experts ” and “ their primary motivation is to protect the economic interests of Goldman Sachs ’ investors , which is why they ’ re interested in the effects of federal policy on gross domestic product.
” “ But their findings are in line with a number of other published studies on the efficacy of masks , ” Ingraham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released a summary of the senator ’ s six amendments to the NDAA for fiscal year 2021 : • Cut 10 % of annual Pentagon spending to invest in education , health care and poverty reduction in America ’ s most marginalized communities .
The amendment , cosponsored by Senators Ed Markey ( D-Mass . )
and Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
, and Representatives Mark Pocan ( D-Wis. ) and Rep. Barbara Lee ( D-Calif. ) , would take $ 74 billion in annual savings from the Pentagon — exempting salaries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal grant program to fund healthcare , housing , childcare , and educational opportunities for cities and towns experiencing a poverty rate of 25 % or more .
This amendment garnered the support of more than 60 national organizations fighting for economic , environmental , and racial justice , and peace .
• Require the federal government to manufacture and distribute high-quality face masks to every individual in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic .
In questioning by Sanders during today ’ s Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Anthony Fauci , the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , expressed support for the proposal .
A new study found that nationwide use of face masks would not only fight the virus and save lives , but it would save the U.S. economy $ 1 trillion .
At a time when the Trump administration has failed to respond to the dire coronavirus pandemic , which has killed nearly 130,000 Americans , the amendment would require the president to utilize the Defense Production Act and all available authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distribute masks via the Postal Service to every household in the country .
• Require the Defense Department to pass a clean audit by Fiscal Year 2025 .
Sanders was joined by Senators Grassley ( R-Iowa ) , Wyden ( D-Ore. ) , and Lee ( R-Utah ) on the measure , which would penalize Pentagon agencies that fail to pass an independent audit by returning a portion of their annual budgets to the Treasury .
The Pentagon is the only federal department in America that hasn ’ t been able to pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress required it to do so .
• Prohibit funding for military aid and logistical support for unconstitutional and unauthorized U.S. military participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen .
Senators Lee ( R-Utah ) and Murphy ( D-Conn. ) cosponsored the amendment .
A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate has already voted three times to halt all U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen , and in April 2019 a bipartisan , bicameral majority of Congress passed the first-ever War Powers Resolution in our American history to direct the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conflict .
Sanders ’ landmark legislation , was vetoed by Trump in 2019 .
• Provide statutory authorization for Beyond the Yellow Ribbon programs , which are state grants provided by the Department of Defense for programs which help members of the Armed Forces and their families in preparation for deployment , during deployment , and in reintegration post-deployment .
These programs have helped thousands of service members , veterans , and their family members cope with the challenges associated with deployments and military service .
• Implement a 0.1 % cut to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the State Department for cultural and educational exchange programs between the people of the United States and other countries .
These important programs bring young people , students , scholars , and professionals from other countries to the U.S. to see our country , experience what life is like here , meet our people , and send our people to other countries to do the same .
These programs promote greater cultural awareness , understanding and cooperation between different countries and emphasizes our common humanity , while decreasing conflict .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs , missiles , jet fighters , tanks , submarines , nuclear warheads , and other weapons of mass destruction , ” Sanders said in his floor speech Tuesday .
“ National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of our people , many of whom have been abandoned by our government decade after decade .
”

“National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of our people,” Sanders said in his speech.
Sen. Bernie Sanders late Tuesday filed a slate of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act aiming to force the Pentagon to pass an independent audit, require the federal government to mass-produce and deliver free masks to everyone in the U.S., and bar funding for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.
The amendments came in addition to the Vermont senator’s plan to slash the Senate’s proposed $740.5 billion Pentagon budget by 10% and redirect the savings toward funding healthcare, housing, education, and jobs in impoverished U.S. communities.
“A major reason why there is so much waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon is the fact that the Defense Department remains the only federal agency in America that hasn’t been able to pass an independent audit,” Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. “It is time to hold the Defense Department to the same level of accountability as the rest of the government.”
Sanders’ amendment — introduced alongside Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — would require the Pentagon to pass a clean audit by fiscal year 2025 and would penalize Defense Department agencies that fail to pass an audit by forcing them to return a portion of their budgets to the Treasury.
The Vermont senator also filed an NDAA amendment that would use the Defense Production Act to mass-produce and distribute five free face masks per month to every person in the U.S. through the Postal Service — a proposal Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, endorsed during a Senate hearing earlier Tuesday.
“This amendment is about listening to the science and saving lives,” Sanders said. “Here is what my amendment will do: It would require the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to make hundreds of millions of high-quality masks and deliver five of them, per person, directly to every household in America on a monthly basis, until the pandemic has ended.”
“There are so many things we don’t know about Covid-19,” the Vermont senator continued. “But on this issue, the science is absolutely clear: masks save lives. We must act now to save tens of thousands of lives by forcing the Trump administration to follow basic science and protect the American people — and that’s what this amendment is all about.”
In addition to the major public health benefits of face masks, a team of economists at Goldman Sachs estimated that a nationwide mask mandate would save the U.S. economy $1 trillion by reducing the need for widespread lockdowns.
“A face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP,” wrote Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs’ chief economist.
As the Washington Post’s Christopher Ingraham noted, “the authors of the report are economists and not public health experts” and “their primary motivation is to protect the economic interests of Goldman Sachs’ investors, which is why they’re interested in the effects of federal policy on gross domestic product.”
“But their findings are in line with a number of other published studies on the efficacy of masks,” Ingraham wrote.
Increasing the number of people who wear masks by 15% could save the U.S. $1 trillion. Guess who has an amendment to manufacture + send free face masks to everyone in the country? (hint: it’s @SenSanders)https://t.co/cu6g0MPWVy — Marissa D. Barrera (@mdb2) June 30, 2020
Sanders’ office on Tuesday released a summary of the senator’s six amendments to the NDAA for fiscal year 2021:
Cut 10% of annual Pentagon spending to invest in education, health care and poverty reduction in America’s most marginalized communities. The amendment, cosponsored by Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), would take $74 billion in annual savings from the Pentagon — exempting salaries and healthcare — to create a domestic federal grant program to fund healthcare, housing, childcare, and educational opportunities for cities and towns experiencing a poverty rate of 25% or more. This amendment garnered the support of more than 60 national organizations fighting for economic, environmental, and racial justice, and peace. Require the federal government to manufacture and distribute high-quality face masks to every individual in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. In questioning by Sanders during today’s Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, expressed support for the proposal. A new study found that nationwide use of face masks would not only fight the virus and save lives, but it would save the U.S. economy $1 trillion. At a time when the Trump administration has failed to respond to the dire coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 130,000 Americans, the amendment would require the president to utilize the Defense Production Act and all available authorities to manufacture and procure face masks and distribute masks via the Postal Service to every household in the country. Require the Defense Department to pass a clean audit by Fiscal Year 2025. Sanders was joined by Senators Grassley (R-Iowa), Wyden (D-Ore.), and Lee (R-Utah) on the measure, which would penalize Pentagon agencies that fail to pass an independent audit by returning a portion of their annual budgets to the Treasury. The Pentagon is the only federal department in America that hasn’t been able to pass an independent audit — 30 years after Congress required it to do so. Prohibit funding for military aid and logistical support for unconstitutional and unauthorized U.S. military participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Senators Lee (R-Utah) and Murphy (D-Conn.) cosponsored the amendment. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate has already voted three times to halt all U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, and in April 2019 a bipartisan, bicameral majority of Congress passed the first-ever War Powers Resolution in our American history to direct the withdrawal of unauthorized U.S. forces from a conflict. Sanders’ landmark legislation, was vetoed by Trump in 2019. Provide statutory authorization for Beyond the Yellow Ribbon programs, which are state grants provided by the Department of Defense for programs which help members of the Armed Forces and their families in preparation for deployment, during deployment, and in reintegration post-deployment. These programs have helped thousands of service members, veterans, and their family members cope with the challenges associated with deployments and military service. Implement a 0.1% cut to the Pentagon budget and transfer that funding to the State Department for cultural and educational exchange programs between the people of the United States and other countries. These important programs bring young people, students, scholars, and professionals from other countries to the U.S. to see our country, experience what life is like here, meet our people, and send our people to other countries to do the same. These programs promote greater cultural awareness, understanding and cooperation between different countries and emphasizes our common humanity, while decreasing conflict.
“If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, jet fighters, tanks, submarines, nuclear warheads, and other weapons of mass destruction,” Sanders said in his floor speech Tuesday. “National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of our people, many of whom have been abandoned by our government decade after decade.”
Watch the senator’s full speech:
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--2020-07-01--Amid Pandemic, Oklahoma Residents Vote to Expand Medicaid Coverage

A measure to expand Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma passed by a slim , 1 percent margin on Tuesday night , as the state grapples with growing concerns over coronavirus in recent weeks .
The measure officially amends the state ’ s constitution to implement an expansion of the federal health program to residents earning up to 138 percent of the national poverty level — translating to about $ 35,000 in earned wages for a family of four .
While other states , such as Idaho , Maine , Nebraska and Utah , have passed referenda altering their statutes to expand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the first to do so by specifically changing their Constitution .
Doing so will require a more difficult and arduous process to undo the change should Republicans , who oppose the expansion in the state , try to alter or end the expansion in some way .
Before the vote on Tuesday , Oklahoma was among 14 states in the U.S. that had not yet expanded Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act .
In August , Missouri , another state that has not yet expanded Medicaid , will follow in Oklahoma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provision that would amend the state ’ s constitution .
The vote in Oklahoma on Tuesday night was a tight one , with just 50.5 percent of voters supporting the amendment , while 49.5 percent opposed it .
Opinions on the expansion fell largely along a city-rural divide , with those in support of the measure more likely to be living in city centers , versus those living in the countryside being more likely to go against it .
Besides being the first in the nation to vote to amend its constitution to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first state to do so during the coronavirus pandemic .
Organizers said that the crisis itself likely convinced many voters of the need to support the measure , as the state has seen infection numbers grow in recent weeks .
On the same day that the vote happened , 585 new cases were identified in Oklahoma , a record-high for the state .
Although coronavirus is a concern for many of the state ’ s residents , others in Oklahoma defied health officials ’ recommendations about social distancing to attend a campaign event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June 20 .
Bruce Dart , the director of Tulsa ’ s City-County Health Department , had urged the campaign to reconsider coming to the state at the time .
“ I think it ’ s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community , but not during a pandemic , ” Dart told The Tulsa World days before the event .
“ I ’ m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large , indoor event , and I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president stays safe as well.
” As of Wednesday morning , 13,757 cases of coronavirus have been identified in the state , with 387 having died from the disease so far , according to tracking data from The New York Times .

A measure to expand Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma passed by a slim, 1 percent margin on Tuesday night, as the state grapples with growing concerns over coronavirus in recent weeks.
The measure officially amends the state’s constitution to implement an expansion of the federal health program to residents earning up to 138 percent of the national poverty level — translating to about $35,000 in earned wages for a family of four.
While other states, such as Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah, have passed referenda altering their statutes to expand the popular health program, Oklahoma residents are the first to do so by specifically changing their Constitution. Doing so will require a more difficult and arduous process to undo the change should Republicans, who oppose the expansion in the state, try to alter or end the expansion in some way.
Before the vote on Tuesday, Oklahoma was among 14 states in the U.S. that had not yet expanded Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act. In August, Missouri, another state that has not yet expanded Medicaid, will follow in Oklahoma’s footsteps and vote on a provision that would amend the state’s constitution.
The vote in Oklahoma on Tuesday night was a tight one, with just 50.5 percent of voters supporting the amendment, while 49.5 percent opposed it. Opinions on the expansion fell largely along a city-rural divide, with those in support of the measure more likely to be living in city centers, versus those living in the countryside being more likely to go against it.
Besides being the first in the nation to vote to amend its constitution to expand Medicaid, Oklahoma is also the first state to do so during the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers said that the crisis itself likely convinced many voters of the need to support the measure, as the state has seen infection numbers grow in recent weeks. On the same day that the vote happened, 585 new cases were identified in Oklahoma, a record-high for the state.
Although coronavirus is a concern for many of the state’s residents, others in Oklahoma defied health officials’ recommendations about social distancing to attend a campaign event for President Donald Trump in Tulsa on June 20. Bruce Dart, the director of Tulsa’s City-County Health Department, had urged the campaign to reconsider coming to the state at the time.
“I think it’s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic,” Dart told The Tulsa World days before the event. “I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”
As of Wednesday morning, 13,757 cases of coronavirus have been identified in the state, with 387 having died from the disease so far, according to tracking data from The New York Times.
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--2020-07-01--Prisoners Mobilize for Black Lives and Against Brutality Behind Bars

Over Memorial Day weekend , a mob of ten or more prison guards maced and beat “ Pooh Bear , ” a Black man incarcerated in Alabama ’ s Kilby Correctional Facility , in the head arms , ribs , legs and back with clubs .
An officer had kicked him the night before , an incident that Pooh Bear reported .
To retaliate against this “ snitching , ” two guards , officers with the last names of Moss and Turner , ordered Pooh Bear to go outside .
Every incarcerated person at Kilby knows , reportedly , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beating .
Moss called for backup , then struck Pooh Bear in the face with his stick .
More and more officers joined in , beating him all over his body , while yelling racial slurs , as detailed in 10 corroborating letters written by incarcerated witnesses that were sent to the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) and Truthout .
The guards reportedly high-fived each other after the beating , while the sergeant and lieutenant coached Officers Moss and Turner on how to write the statement report .
On the phone , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prefers the pseudonym Nick , told Truthout , “ It ’ s known it ’ s OK to jump on an inmate , lock him up , charge him for assault and that ’ s gon na be that.
” Nick chose not to send the DOJ his eyewitness account of Pooh Bear ’ s beating because of retaliation he faced previously .
Prisoners say that abuse reminiscent of the “ modern day lynching ” of George Floyd is common practice behind bars .
Swift Justice , who is also incarcerated at Kilby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tells Truthout : “ What happens in here is just like the rhetoric police on the street used to justify killings.
” Outside of prison the officers say , “ ‘ He had a gun or appeared to have a gun , ’ ” Swift explains .
In prison they often say , “ ‘ he had a knife , or failed to comply with the direct order.
’ And in here it ’ s hard to prove different and , we don ’ t have cell phones to capture it .
These @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scares them !
And rightfully so.
” Potential , another Black man confined at a different facility in Alabama , says that guards “ know where the cameras are and where they aren ’ t .
They take guys where there aren ’ t cameras and they will beat the sh*t out of them .
That ’ s the system here .
And the supervisors allow it … because there ’ s no camera we can ’ t substantiate that , it ’ s like it never happened.
” Even though the spotlight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bars , the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement is energizing and inspiring hope for some incarcerated people .
“ Of course , when we see everyone united and riding together and taking a stand , we all excited and stuff in here , ’ ” Potential says .
“ And we all understand the potential that these protests have as far as affecting the guys on the inside and what it means for society in general.
” Nick says he sometimes feels hopeful , but becomes discouraged when he notices old patterns taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I see the same faces representing the stuff that [ ’ s ] always seen representing … Al Sharpton , Ben Crump … and there ’ s no [ real ] solution.
” But , he adds , “ As long as you start a spark somewhere you can always start a fire .
The protests out there right now is definitely a spark.
” Some people behind bars are , to the extent possible , supporting the emerging Black liberation uprising .
On June 7 , Jeremy Hammond ’ s Support Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the FBI entrapped him in a hacking case , released footage of Hammond and others chanting “ no justice no peace no racist police !
, ” from their cells at a transfer facility in Oklahoma .
“ Free the people , ” one man says .
Another says , “ All the protesters out there , man , thank you .
We really support everything y ’ all doing.
” In a second video , Hammond fires off : “ We support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the front lines , abused , we got your back !
” Incarcerated people at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia tapped on the windows as BLM demonstrators walked by , while others inside Baltimore City Correctional Center reportedly led a “ No Justice No Peace ” chant .
People confined in Sydney , Australia , spelled out “ BLM ” with towels after prison guards used so much tear gas against them that nearby residents were gassed in their homes .
Over sixty individuals went on hunger strike “ in memory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oscar Grant and Tony McDade , ” in a unit at the Mesa Verde immigrant detention center in Bakersfield , California .
Incarcerated writer Christopher Blackwell similarly reported that men in Washington have been shouting solidarity slogans behind bars , and carrying ‘ Black Lives Matter ’ signs .
“ Watching the recent events unfold has left prisoners feeling like the atrocities we experienced are finally coming to light , ” he wrote .
“ It has been invigorating to watch the entire world take a stand against these systems .
Maybe this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maybe this time we ’ ll see real change take place in the United States.
” Blackwell added that many prisoners want to be out in the streets .
Joshua Williams , an incarcerated Ferguson protester with a seven-year prison sentence related to attempted property destruction and stealing a bag of chips , iterated this point in his interview with GQ .
“ I feel good about it , because I can see they still got the fight in them , ” he said .
“ They ’ re still fighting for what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t give up .
But I want to be there with them too , though .
So it ’ s bittersweet.
” In addition to physical barriers , institutional ones can prevent incarcerated people from fully entering the discourse .
Many confined people don ’ t have access to the news beyond mainstream TV channels , which oftentimes provide an uncritical , narrow interpretation of the news .
Potential says this censorship can hamper peoples ’ analysis of events .
Without his contraband cell phone , he would be in the dark .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leap Press created booklets with news that can be printed and sent to people behind bars .
Even with access to an abundance of media coverage and books , many people on the outside have much to learn about the historical context of prisons and policing .
While most believe police exist to ‘ protect and serve ’ the public , their historical origins lie in patrolling enslaved people , attacking Indigenous people and disciplining the working class .
As Swift Justice puts it : “ The question is how many people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continuation of slavery ending in results of slave catchers exercising immunity from their actions ?
’ I call it ‘ Blue Privilege.
’ ” Swift expresses solidarity with the movement , and also hopes prisoner struggles won ’ t be left out of the conversation .
“ I would love to see people of America get just as mad about the police murders in the prison plantations as they are about those occurring in our streets , ” he says .
“ Our problems are related !
” As COVID-19 leads to increasingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people incarcerated in the United States , support from the outside is incredibly urgent .
At least 589 incarcerated people have died from the virus .
In Alabama , a prison system the DOJ already reported as violating the eighth amendment ban on “ cruel and unusual punishment , ” they are at complete mercy of the virus .
As Potential looks around his dorm , an open room with hundreds of bunk beds “ packed like sardines , ” he sees just one man with a mask .
He says COVID-19 is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them right now , but believes sustained pressure from the movement could eventually improve their conditions and lead to decarceration .
“ We are hoping it will trickle down to the guys on the inside with long sentences , and hoping we get some fairness across the board .
”

Part of the Series The Road to Abolition
Over Memorial Day weekend, a mob of ten or more prison guards maced and beat “Pooh Bear,” a Black man incarcerated in Alabama’s Kilby Correctional Facility, in the head arms, ribs, legs and back with clubs.
An officer had kicked him the night before, an incident that Pooh Bear reported. To retaliate against this “snitching,” two guards, officers with the last names of Moss and Turner, ordered Pooh Bear to go outside. Every incarcerated person at Kilby knows, reportedly, that such an order is code for a beating. Moss called for backup, then struck Pooh Bear in the face with his stick. More and more officers joined in, beating him all over his body, while yelling racial slurs, as detailed in 10 corroborating letters written by incarcerated witnesses that were sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Truthout. The guards reportedly high-fived each other after the beating, while the sergeant and lieutenant coached Officers Moss and Turner on how to write the statement report.
On the phone, a Black man incarcerated at Kilby who prefers the pseudonym Nick, told Truthout, “It’s known it’s OK to jump on an inmate, lock him up, charge him for assault and that’s gonna be that.” Nick chose not to send the DOJ his eyewitness account of Pooh Bear’s beating because of retaliation he faced previously.
Prisoners say that abuse reminiscent of the “modern day lynching” of George Floyd is common practice behind bars. Swift Justice, who is also incarcerated at Kilby Correctional Facility and prefers a pseudonym, tells Truthout: “What happens in here is just like the rhetoric police on the street used to justify killings.” Outside of prison the officers say, “‘He had a gun or appeared to have a gun,’” Swift explains. In prison they often say, “‘he had a knife, or failed to comply with the direct order.’ And in here it’s hard to prove different and, we don’t have cell phones to capture it. These guys in here know it and it scares them! And rightfully so.”
Potential, another Black man confined at a different facility in Alabama, says that guards “know where the cameras are and where they aren’t. They take guys where there aren’t cameras and they will beat the sh*t out of them. That’s the system here. And the supervisors allow it … because there’s no camera we can’t substantiate that, it’s like it never happened.”
Even though the spotlight isn’t directly on brutality behind bars, the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement is energizing and inspiring hope for some incarcerated people. “Of course, when we see everyone united and riding together and taking a stand, we all excited and stuff in here,’” Potential says. “And we all understand the potential that these protests have as far as affecting the guys on the inside and what it means for society in general.”
“I would love to see people get just as mad about the police murders in the prison plantations as they are about those occurring in our streets.”
Nick says he sometimes feels hopeful, but becomes discouraged when he notices old patterns taking shape. “When I look, I see the same faces representing the stuff that[’s] always seen representing … Al Sharpton, Ben Crump … and there’s no [real] solution.” But, he adds, “As long as you start a spark somewhere you can always start a fire. The protests out there right now is definitely a spark.”
Organizing for Black Lives Behind Bars
Some people behind bars are, to the extent possible, supporting the emerging Black liberation uprising. On June 7, Jeremy Hammond’s Support Committee, a group that has supported Hammond since he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the FBI entrapped him in a hacking case, released footage of Hammond and others chanting “no justice no peace no racist police!,” from their cells at a transfer facility in Oklahoma. “Free the people,” one man says. Another says, “All the protesters out there, man, thank you. We really support everything y’all doing.” In a second video, Hammond fires off: “We support the thousands of warriors out there arrested on the front lines, abused, we got your back!”
Incarcerated people at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia tapped on the windows as BLM demonstrators walked by, while others inside Baltimore City Correctional Center reportedly led a “No Justice No Peace” chant. People confined in Sydney, Australia, spelled out “BLM” with towels after prison guards used so much tear gas against them that nearby residents were gassed in their homes. Over sixty individuals went on hunger strike “in memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Oscar Grant and Tony McDade,” in a unit at the Mesa Verde immigrant detention center in Bakersfield, California.
Incarcerated writer Christopher Blackwell similarly reported that men in Washington have been shouting solidarity slogans behind bars, and carrying ‘Black Lives Matter’ signs. “Watching the recent events unfold has left prisoners feeling like the atrocities we experienced are finally coming to light,” he wrote. “It has been invigorating to watch the entire world take a stand against these systems. Maybe this time our communities will see justice. Maybe this time we’ll see real change take place in the United States.”
“We are hoping it will trickle down to the guys on the inside with long sentences, and hoping we get some fairness across the board.”
Blackwell added that many prisoners want to be out in the streets. Joshua Williams, an incarcerated Ferguson protester with a seven-year prison sentence related to attempted property destruction and stealing a bag of chips, iterated this point in his interview with GQ. “I feel good about it, because I can see they still got the fight in them,” he said. “They’re still fighting for what I fought for. They didn’t give up. But I want to be there with them too, though. So it’s bittersweet.”
In addition to physical barriers, institutional ones can prevent incarcerated people from fully entering the discourse. Many confined people don’t have access to the news beyond mainstream TV channels, which oftentimes provide an uncritical, narrow interpretation of the news. Potential says this censorship can hamper peoples’ analysis of events. Without his contraband cell phone, he would be in the dark. Beginning to address this issue, True Leap Press created booklets with news that can be printed and sent to people behind bars.
Even with access to an abundance of media coverage and books, many people on the outside have much to learn about the historical context of prisons and policing. While most believe police exist to ‘protect and serve’ the public, their historical origins lie in patrolling enslaved people, attacking Indigenous people and disciplining the working class. As Swift Justice puts it: “The question is how many people in the movement outside realize this is a continuation of slavery ending in results of slave catchers exercising immunity from their actions?’ I call it ‘Blue Privilege.’”
Swift expresses solidarity with the movement, and also hopes prisoner struggles won’t be left out of the conversation. “I would love to see people of America get just as mad about the police murders in the prison plantations as they are about those occurring in our streets,” he says. “Our problems are related!”
As COVID-19 leads to increasingly worse conditions for the almost 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States, support from the outside is incredibly urgent. At least 589 incarcerated people have died from the virus. In Alabama, a prison system the DOJ already reported as violating the eighth amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment,” they are at complete mercy of the virus.
As Potential looks around his dorm, an open room with hundreds of bunk beds “packed like sardines,” he sees just one man with a mask. He says COVID-19 is the most “immediate threat” to them right now, but believes sustained pressure from the movement could eventually improve their conditions and lead to decarceration.
“We are hoping it will trickle down to the guys on the inside with long sentences, and hoping we get some fairness across the board.”
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--2020-07-02--Trump Campaign Faces Outcry for Selling T-Shirts With Nazi-Like Symbol

Several users on social media this week took note of a product for sale on the website for President Donald Trump ’ s reelection campaign , and condemned the item for its apparent Nazi symbolism .
It ’ s the second time in the past few weeks that the Trump campaign has used such imagery that looks to be derived from Nazi-era Germany , as the campaign had also created a Facebook ad in June that featured an upside-down triangle — an image that was used by Germany under Hitler ’ s control to denote political prisoners in concentration camps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violated the site ’ s policy against “ organized hate.
” It appears that the campaign didn ’ t learn anything from that ordeal , as it ’ s now selling clothing items on its website that also look as though they took inspiration from other Nazi symbols .
The T-shirt in question has the words “ America First ” emblazoned on its front and at the top — a phrase that was popularized in the 1940s by The America First Committee , an organization with several prominent members who espoused anti-Semitism and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sympathizers before the United States ’ entry into World War II .
Below that phrase is an eagle that is looking to its left , its wings spread out , and its talons gripping a circular version of the U.S. flag .
Users on social media were quick to note the image looked eerily similar to the Iron Eagle , a frequently used symbol by the Nazi Party .
Bend the Arc , a progressive American Jewish organization , posted pictures of both Trump ’ s campaign T-shirt and the Nazi ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two images were .
“ It ’ s not an accident .
Bigotry is their entire brand , ” the group wrote in its tweet .
While the eagle is also a symbol of the United States , it ’ s typically portrayed in a much different way than how it was during the 1930s and 1940s by Nazi Germany .
The U.S. version of the eagle , for instance , is usually seen holding an olive branch in one talon , as well as a scroll in its beak that reads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of many , one ) .
Upon close inspection , the eagle featured on the Trump campaign ’ s T-shirt appears to have more similarities to the Nazi version .
Suggestions that the imagery may be purposeful rather than accidental coincides with the innumerable actions and statements Trump himself has made in the past few years that suggest he harbors authoritarian or fascistic leanings , including the promotion of war-mongering policies and anti-immigrant sentiments in his 2020 State of the Union address , his immigration policy that has separated children from their parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ border , and the denial of entry to the United States for individuals that come from predominantly Muslim nations .
In the summer of 2019 , he wrote race-baiting and contemptuous tweets directed toward Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Ilhan Omar , Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley , telling them to “ go back ” to the places they came from .
And more recently , Trump praised the “ good bloodlines ” of noted anti-Semite Henry Ford .
Trump also has pushed nativist ideals and promoted himself as an apologetic nationalist during campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his political critics and the press , decrying them as treasonous with little regard for what the word ’ s definition actually entails .

The image on the shirt seems to have closer resemblance to Nazi Germany’s Iron Eagle than the U.S. version of the bird.
Several users on social media this week took note of a product for sale on the website for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, and condemned the item for its apparent Nazi symbolism.
It’s the second time in the past few weeks that the Trump campaign has used such imagery that looks to be derived from Nazi-era Germany, as the campaign had also created a Facebook ad in June that featured an upside-down triangle — an image that was used by Germany under Hitler’s control to denote political prisoners in concentration camps. Facebook removed the ads because they violated the site’s policy against “organized hate.”
It appears that the campaign didn’t learn anything from that ordeal, as it’s now selling clothing items on its website that also look as though they took inspiration from other Nazi symbols.
The T-shirt in question has the words “America First” emblazoned on its front and at the top — a phrase that was popularized in the 1940s by The America First Committee, an organization with several prominent members who espoused anti-Semitism and were viewed by many as being Nazi sympathizers before the United States’ entry into World War II.
Below that phrase is an eagle that is looking to its left, its wings spread out, and its talons gripping a circular version of the U.S. flag. Users on social media were quick to note the image looked eerily similar to the Iron Eagle, a frequently used symbol by the Nazi Party.
Bend the Arc, a progressive American Jewish organization, posted pictures of both Trump’s campaign T-shirt and the Nazi’s eagle on Twitter to demonstrate how similar the two images were.
“It’s not an accident. Bigotry is their entire brand,” the group wrote in its tweet.
The President of the United States is campaigning for reelection with a Nazi symbol. Again. On the left: an official Trump/Pence “America First” tee. On the right; the Iron Eagle, the official symbol of the Nazi party.
⁰It’s not an accident. Bigotry is their entire brand. pic.twitter.com/mSOBxwf7Wa — Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) July 1, 2020
While the eagle is also a symbol of the United States, it’s typically portrayed in a much different way than how it was during the 1930s and 1940s by Nazi Germany. The U.S. version of the eagle, for instance, is usually seen holding an olive branch in one talon, as well as a scroll in its beak that reads “E Pluribus Unum” (out of many, one).
Upon close inspection, the eagle featured on the Trump campaign’s T-shirt appears to have more similarities to the Nazi version.
Suggestions that the imagery may be purposeful rather than accidental coincides with the innumerable actions and statements Trump himself has made in the past few years that suggest he harbors authoritarian or fascistic leanings, including the promotion of war-mongering policies and anti-immigrant sentiments in his 2020 State of the Union address, his immigration policy that has separated children from their parents and guardians as they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, and the denial of entry to the United States for individuals that come from predominantly Muslim nations.
In the summer of 2019, he wrote race-baiting and contemptuous tweets directed toward Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, telling them to “go back” to the places they came from. And more recently, Trump praised the “good bloodlines” of noted anti-Semite Henry Ford.
Trump also has pushed nativist ideals and promoted himself as an apologetic nationalist during campaign rallies. Additionally, he regularly denounces his political critics and the press, decrying them as treasonous with little regard for what the word’s definition actually entails.
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--2020-07-02--New Study Suggests Thousands of Deaths Are Missing From Coronavirus Toll

A new study published this week suggests that tens of thousands of deaths in the United States have not been included in national COVID-19 death tolls despite the fact that many of those fatalities are likely attributable to the disease .
The Yale School of Public Health looked at total deaths in the country from the beginning of March to the end of May and found that 781,000 Americans died — a count that is 19 percent higher than what was typically seen in previous years .
Of the 122,300 deaths that exceeded expected numbers , 95,235 were attributed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 27,000 excess deaths unaccounted for — a number that Yale researchers believe should be added to the official death toll .
“ Our analyses suggest that the official tally of deaths due to COVID-19 represent a substantial undercount of the true burden , ” epidemiologist and lead author of the Yale study Dan Weinberger said to CNBC .
COVID can affect different organ systems , so it ’ s possible that a death from a heart attack , for example , wouldn ’ t be attributed to coronavirus , even if the illness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yale study also pointed out a high number of excess deaths that occurred after patients reported having an “ influenza-like illness.
” Some other excess deaths may have been indirectly caused by coronavirus .
For example , a number of people may have died from other illnesses because they chose not to go to the hospital in order to avoid COVID-19 .
Researchers don ’ t believe , however , that indirect excess deaths were as numerous as deaths directly caused by the coronavirus .
The findings announced this week are consistent with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Research from Yale conducted in April found that as many as 9,000 deaths from March 8 to April 11 were likely caused by the COVID-19 but not included in official death tolls .
There are no signs of coronavirus abating anytime soon in the United States .
Indeed , on Wednesday , more than 52,000 cases of coronavirus were identified across the country , the highest single-day count so far since the pandemic reached the U.S .
In total , around 2.7 million coronavirus cases have been identified in the country , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the illness , according to Johns Hopkins University .
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ( IHME ) at the University of Washington also predicts that the death toll could reach 175,000 by October 1 — although , according to the researchers ’ calculations , that number would be significantly lower if everyone wore a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .

Numbers observed in the U.S. from March to May could mean as many as 27,000 deaths are missing from the official tally.
A new study published this week suggests that tens of thousands of deaths in the United States have not been included in national COVID-19 death tolls despite the fact that many of those fatalities are likely attributable to the disease.
The Yale School of Public Health looked at total deaths in the country from the beginning of March to the end of May and found that 781,000 Americans died — a count that is 19 percent higher than what was typically seen in previous years.
Of the 122,300 deaths that exceeded expected numbers, 95,235 were attributed to coronavirus. But that left more than 27,000 excess deaths unaccounted for — a number that Yale researchers believe should be added to the official death toll.
“Our analyses suggest that the official tally of deaths due to COVID-19 represent a substantial undercount of the true burden,” epidemiologist and lead author of the Yale study Dan Weinberger said to CNBC.
COVID can affect different organ systems, so it’s possible that a death from a heart attack, for example, wouldn’t be attributed to coronavirus, even if the illness was responsible for causing it. The Yale study also pointed out a high number of excess deaths that occurred after patients reported having an “influenza-like illness.”
Some other excess deaths may have been indirectly caused by coronavirus. For example, a number of people may have died from other illnesses because they chose not to go to the hospital in order to avoid COVID-19. Researchers don’t believe, however, that indirect excess deaths were as numerous as deaths directly caused by the coronavirus.
The findings announced this week are consistent with other studies from earlier this year. Research from Yale conducted in April found that as many as 9,000 deaths from March 8 to April 11 were likely caused by the COVID-19 but not included in official death tolls.
There are no signs of coronavirus abating anytime soon in the United States. Indeed, on Wednesday, more than 52,000 cases of coronavirus were identified across the country, the highest single-day count so far since the pandemic reached the U.S.
In total, around 2.7 million coronavirus cases have been identified in the country, and more than 128,000 Americans have died from the illness, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington also predicts that the death toll could reach 175,000 by October 1 — although, according to the researchers’ calculations, that number would be significantly lower if everyone wore a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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--2020-07-02--Trump Does U-Turn Stating He’s “All for Masks” as Case Numbers Soar

As his disapproval numbers rise amid the coronavirus crisis , and as nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the pandemic will get worse , President Donald Trump appears to be shifting his position when it comes to wearing masks .
Trump has famously been adamant about not wearing facial coverings .
In April , he defended not covering his face , suggesting that it would emasculate him in front of other dignitaries from around the world .
“ I just don ’ t want to be doing — I don ’ t know , somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Resolute Desk , I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents , prime ministers , dictators , kings , queens .
I don ’ t know , somehow , I don ’ t see it for myself , ” he said at the time .
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published in June , Trump also said that he believed facial coverings were an affront to him politically , a sign of disapproval of his presidency from those wearing them .
Yet in spite of his long insistence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a change of heart on Wednesday .
During a Fox Business interview , the president said , “ I ’ m all for masks , ” and added that he had “ no problem ” with wearing facial coverings in public .
In fact , Trump said he thought it made him look like The Lone Ranger .
However , the fictional character ’ s mask covers his eyes , not his mouth or nose , as is needed to prevent the transmission of coronavirus .
Trump also encouraged others to wear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ departure from previous marks .
“ If people feel good about it they should do it , ” he said .
Those sentiments may come as a shock to those who have listened to the president in the past few months .
During a tour of a Ford Motors facility earlier this year , for example , Trump did his best to avoid getting his picture taken while wearing a mask , quipping that he didn ’ t want to “ give the press the pleasure ” of seeing him with one on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mask likely played a role in politicizing preventative measures .
Many Americans have refused to wear masks themselves , with social media postings showcasing abhorrent behavior from some of those individuals , including videos of customers coughing on retail workers after being asked to wear masks .
Polling also indicates that the issue is partisan , with Republicans less likely to wear masks than Democrats .
While it is encouraging to hear the president now supporting one of the most helpful measures in preventing the spread of the coronavirus , Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more to do with reelection strategy than legitimate concern for public health .
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week shows that nearly half of all respondents ( 49 percent ) say the president has done a “ poor ” job handling the coronavirus pandemic .
And on who can handle the crisis better — Trump or his Democratic Party challenger , Joe Biden — Americans favor Biden by a margin of 14 percent .
Indeed , Trump ’ s disapproval rating has slipped to 59 percent in the poll , likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crisis .
Other polls show a striking difference between public opinion and many of Trump ’ s positions on coronavirus .
An ABC News poll conducted late last month found that 89 percent of Americans had worn a mask in the preceding week .
Meanwhile , 65 percent of Americans believe the pandemic is getting worse , not better , according to a Gallup poll .
Trump contradicted that viewpoint weeks ago during a Fox Business interview , when he said he believes the virus is “ going to sort of just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had at the beginning of the crisis in March .

The president has previously said he viewed some people wearing masks as a political statement against him.
As his disapproval numbers rise amid the coronavirus crisis, and as nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the pandemic will get worse, President Donald Trump appears to be shifting his position when it comes to wearing masks.
Trump has famously been adamant about not wearing facial coverings. In April, he defended not covering his face, suggesting that it would emasculate him in front of other dignitaries from around the world.
“I just don’t want to be doing — I don’t know, somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens. I don’t know, somehow, I don’t see it for myself,” he said at the time.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published in June, Trump also said that he believed facial coverings were an affront to him politically, a sign of disapproval of his presidency from those wearing them.
Yet in spite of his long insistence against wearing masks, Trump appeared to have a change of heart on Wednesday. During a Fox Business interview, the president said, “I’m all for masks,” and added that he had “no problem” with wearing facial coverings in public. In fact, Trump said he thought it made him look like The Lone Ranger. However, the fictional character’s mask covers his eyes, not his mouth or nose, as is needed to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.
Trump also encouraged others to wear masks or facial coverings, a stark departure from previous marks. “If people feel good about it they should do it,” he said.
Those sentiments may come as a shock to those who have listened to the president in the past few months. During a tour of a Ford Motors facility earlier this year, for example, Trump did his best to avoid getting his picture taken while wearing a mask, quipping that he didn’t want to “give the press the pleasure” of seeing him with one on.
Trump’s refusal to wear a mask likely played a role in politicizing preventative measures. Many Americans have refused to wear masks themselves, with social media postings showcasing abhorrent behavior from some of those individuals, including videos of customers coughing on retail workers after being asked to wear masks. Polling also indicates that the issue is partisan, with Republicans less likely to wear masks than Democrats.
While it is encouraging to hear the president now supporting one of the most helpful measures in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, Trump’s shift on the issue might have more to do with reelection strategy than legitimate concern for public health. A new Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week shows that nearly half of all respondents (49 percent) say the president has done a “poor” job handling the coronavirus pandemic. And on who can handle the crisis better — Trump or his Democratic Party challenger, Joe Biden — Americans favor Biden by a margin of 14 percent. Indeed, Trump’s disapproval rating has slipped to 59 percent in the poll, likely in part due to his handling of the crisis.
Other polls show a striking difference between public opinion and many of Trump’s positions on coronavirus. An ABC News poll conducted late last month found that 89 percent of Americans had worn a mask in the preceding week. Meanwhile, 65 percent of Americans believe the pandemic is getting worse, not better, according to a Gallup poll. Trump contradicted that viewpoint weeks ago during a Fox Business interview, when he said he believes the virus is “going to sort of just disappear” — echoing similar sentiments he had at the beginning of the crisis in March.
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.