truthout--2020-09-14--Undocumented Farmworkers Face Triple Threat as West Coast Burns

As devastating fires burn across the West Coast , some of the most vulnerable people are farmworkers — many of whom are undocumented .
Despite the risks of the pandemic and the climate-fueled fires , many feel they have to keep working even if that means working inside evacuation zones .
The state of California has repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders putting workers at great risk .
Estella Cisneros , legal director of the agriculture worker program for California Rural Legal Assistance , says farmworkers who speak out against unsafe working conditions risk losing their jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during this whole time , despite fears of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace , despite fears of getting heat stress while they ’ re at work , and now despite fears of the dangers that wildfire smoke brings , ” Cisneros says .
This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : California , Oregon and Washington continue to face a climate apocalypse as devastating fires burn across the West Coast .
At least 35 people have died , but the death toll is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says it ’ s bracing for a , quote , “ mass fatality event.
” Entire towns have been destroyed .
Nearly 5 million acres have already burned .
Parts of the West Coast now have some of the worst air quality in the world .
President Trump is visiting California today but refuses to link the fires to the climate crisis .
California Governor Gavin Newsom says there ’ s no question about the climate crisis .
AMY GOODMAN : Some of the most vulnerable people on the West Coast have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
First came the pandemic , now the climate-fueled fires .
Despite the risks , many feel they have to keep working , even if that means working inside evacuation zones .
Authorities in California have repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders , putting workers at great risk .
The Intercept reports agricultural commissioners in California ’ s wine regions have worked closely with the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and Sonoma County Winegrowers to repeatedly grant permission to grape growers to harvest in wildfire evacuation zones .
The issue is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sonoma County Agricultural Commission issued evacuation zone entry permits to 280 groups of people to conduct , quote , “ critical functions.
” The Intercept reports such critical functions included , quote , “ harvesting , feeding and watering livestock , managing fermentations , and irrigating nursery crops , ” unquote .
Farmworkers have also been disproportionately hit by the pandemic .
Gervacio Peña López is a former farmworker who now serves as the executive director of the Cultural Movement of Indigenous Alliance .
AMY GOODMAN : We ’ ll hear more from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re joined by Estella Cisneros , the agriculture worker program legal director at California Rural [ Legal ] Assistance .
She joins us from Fresno , California .
Estella , welcome to Democracy Now !
It ’ s great to have you with us , although under these extremely dire circumstances .
Can you explain what farmworkers are facing right now ?
So many in California who are not being forced to evacuate are staying in their homes , if at all possible , because the horrendous air quality conditions from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But what about the farmworkers ?
ESTELLA CISNEROS : Thank you , Amy .
Such a pleasure to be here .
Right now farmworkers are facing a triple threat .
They are facing the dangers of COVID-19 , wildfire smoke , as well as an unprecedented heat wave .
Farmworkers , as many already know , are essential workers .
They have continued working throughout this entire pandemic .
Agricultural workers include those who work in the fields , but also those who work in dairies , as well as meat processing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as people who work in packing houses and nurseries .
Now , farmworkers have continued to work during this whole time despite fears of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace , despite fears of getting heat stress while they ’ re at work , and now despite fears of the dangers that wildfire smoke brings .
Now , the reason wildfire smoke is so dangerous , not just for farmworkers , but anybody who inhales it , is because smoke tends to have particulate matter which is 2.5 [ micrometers ] or smaller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s called particulate matter 2.5 or smaller is very , very dangerous for one ’ s health .
It can lead to long-term both lung , heart and respiratory illnesses .
So , the fact that farmworkers are out there working in the fields , facing the dangers of COVID-19 , as well as the dangers of heat stress and wildfire smoke , is a very , very dire situation right now in California .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to turn to go back to former farmworker Gervacio Peña López , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Indigenous Alliance , describing to Democracy Now !
the dangerous working conditions that undocumented farmworkers face as they ’ re forced to work in the vineyards of Sonoma County amidst the wildfires .
AMY GOODMAN : So , Estella , if you can explain further : Are the farmers , are the owners of , for example , the vineyards — are they forcing workers to work ?
Do they lose their jobs if they don ’ t ?
And also , what kind of access do they have to masks ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ there are a lot of farmworkers who face the very real risk of losing their jobs if they either speak up about unsafe working conditions or if they refuse to work , before being provided , in this case , an N-95 respirator .
We have had a lot of cases of workers who have faced retaliation after they have spoken up in the workplace about their rights , and so there is a very , very real danger of losing your job if you speak up .
Now , there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s also the unspoken aspect of working in a workplace where N-95 respirators are not provided to you .
Even if an employer doesn ’ t tell you , “ You will be fired if you stop working , ” what kind of message are workers getting when employers are not affirmatively following their duty in California , which is to address workplace health and safety hazards ?
What kind of message are employers sending it they are not proactively , as the law requires them to do , providing the training @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the materials , the personal protective equipment that people need to access ?
Now , when it comes to whether farmworkers are having access to N-95 masks , unfortunately , the reports that we ’ re hearing out in the fields is that hardly any farmworker is getting access to N-95 respirators , which is really the only thing that is going to keep them safe from particulate matter inhalation .
AMY GOODMAN : And I want to talk about the people that are coming out to the fields , even more so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gervacio Peña López .
This is what he said , when you were talking about the triple threat .
AMY GOODMAN : So , Estella Cisneros , can you talk about who are the farmworkers in the fields , and tell us further where they ’ re coming from ?
ESTELLA CISNEROS : Certainly .
So , farmworkers in the state of California , and certainly across the nation , tend to be immigrants .
They tend to be undocumented .
And they tend to speak a language other than English .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very similar situation to what the gentleman was describing , in the sense that they were working in another industry , they ’ ve been displaced from that industry , and they ’ ve translated that skill set to working in the fields .
However , there are a very large number of farmworkers who are essentially lifelong agricultural workers , and so they have been working in the fields for many , many years .
And that ’ s certainly the population that is still active in the fields today .
AMY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paid ?
And what about during this horrific period ?
ESTELLA CISNEROS : The state minimum wage in California , which is one of the highest , if not the highest , currently is $ 13 an hour , if you have 26 or more employees , but it ’ s $ 12 an hour if you have 25 or fewer employees .
Now , eventually , that minimum wage is going to increase to $ 15 , but we ’ re still a couple of years off .
Farm work tends to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States .
And so , even when workers are paid by what ’ s called piece rate , which is when you ’ re paid by the bucket or the pound , something other than by the hour , farmworkers still have very low wages .
And actually , the fact that you ’ re paid by piece rate is actually a disincentive in terms of slowing down , in terms of taking health and safety breaks , because the more that you work , the more that you get paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers who are being paid the minimum wage , which is not enough , nowhere near enough , or you have workers who are paid by piece rate , which actually is a disincentive , to continue to work more and work through all the rest breaks and lunch breaks that are more legally required , as well as work through the pandemic and wildfires and the heat .
AMY GOODMAN : And what kind of benefits do they get from the government , dealing with this period of the pandemic and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worker has legal status , which a lot of farmworkers don ’ t , they may have access to the state ’ s unemployment insurance program , as well as , you know , a variety of other public assistance programs .
However , such a large percentage of the farmworker population is undocumented .
They really don ’ t have any other recourse in terms of income replacement .
They are really struggling right now , if they are displaced , either by the fires or by the wildfire smoke , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the safety nets that citizens and residents of the United States do — AMY GOODMAN : And what kind of — ESTELLA CISNEROS : — including stimulus payments , as well as unemployment insurance payments .
AMY GOODMAN : And what kind of — and what languages are instructions given in ?
Are people getting accurate information about what ’ s happening , from COVID to the climate catastrophe ?
ESTELLA CISNEROS : Unfortunately , we have heard reports of either employers or other individuals in the community giving incorrect information about COVID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We anticipate that there may — that that may also exist for information about heat stress , as well as the wildfire smoke .
I mean , even the information that ’ s provided by state and government and other governmental agencies , unfortunately , is not provided in Spanish .
Just this morning — or , last night , I should say , I looked on the CAL FIRE website , as well as the website for the Fresno County Sheriff ’ s Department , which are the two agencies that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as evacuation zones , as well as evacuation orders .
Neither of those are available in Spanish .
That ’ s one issue .
The other issue , of course , is that a lot of farmworkers don ’ t speak Spanish ; they speak Native Mexican Indigenous languages , such as Mixteco , Trique , Zapoteco .
And these communities are facing even a greater challenge to the very critical and necessary information that they need in order to keep themselves and their families safe .
AMY GOODMAN : Finally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Intercept at the top , which has an article saying “ In California ’ s Wine Country , Undocumented Grape Pickers Forced to Work in Fire Evacuation Zones , ” the article stating , quote , “ Officials that regulate evacuation order exemptions have close relationships to agricultural associations that serve local business owners ’ interests.
” Your response , and what needs to be done ?
ESTELLA CISNEROS : So , while I don ’ t have personal information about the facts that are cited in that article , unfortunately , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience that the safety of farmworkers is not prioritized and is actually sacrificed in the name of profit and business interests .
Certainly , the reasons that those permits were given — taking care of livestock , picking fruits and vegetables — to a farmworker , the fact that some people may believe that that ’ s essential — right ?
— is very difficult to comprehend , when their literal health and safety , as well as that of their families , is being compromised .
The other part , of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are not being evacuated , there is so much wildfire smoke in the air that you have two sets of workers that you ’ re worried about .
One are the workers who are working in evacuation zones , such as those cited in that article , but then you also have a significant number of farmworkers who continue to work despite the air quality index being at hazardous levels .
What we ’ re asking for is for , first of all , employers to follow the law — there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently in effect in California that requires employers to provide workers with N-95 masks or mask respirators — as well as take other measures to ensure that if a worker must work outside and they are exposed to wildfire smoke , that they have the correct equipment in order to protect them from inhaling that harmful smoke , as well as the wide distribution of N-95 masks — we have yet to speak to a worker , actually , that has actually been provided one by their employer — as well as robust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AMY GOODMAN : Estella Cisneros , we want to thank you for being with us , agricultural worker program legal director at the California Rural Legal Assistance .
When we come back , we go to Oregon to speak with a former firefighter , now wildland fire ecologist , amidst the climate apocalypse .
As devastating fires burn across the West Coast , President Trump continues to deny the climate crisis .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Pressure Drop ” by Toots and the Maytals .
Reggae pioneer Toots Hibbert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday .

As devastating fires burn across the West Coast, some of the most vulnerable people are farmworkers — many of whom are undocumented. Despite the risks of the pandemic and the climate-fueled fires, many feel they have to keep working even if that means working inside evacuation zones. The state of California has repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders putting workers at great risk. Estella Cisneros, legal director of the agriculture worker program for California Rural Legal Assistance, says farmworkers who speak out against unsafe working conditions risk losing their jobs. “Farmworkers have continued to work during this whole time, despite fears of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace, despite fears of getting heat stress while they’re at work, and now despite fears of the dangers that wildfire smoke brings,” Cisneros says.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: California, Oregon and Washington continue to face a climate apocalypse as devastating fires burn across the West Coast. At least 35 people have died, but the death toll is expected to be far higher. Oregon says it’s bracing for a, quote, “mass fatality event.” Entire towns have been destroyed. Nearly 5 million acres have already burned. Parts of the West Coast now have some of the worst air quality in the world.
President Trump is visiting California today but refuses to link the fires to the climate crisis. California Governor Gavin Newsom says there’s no question about the climate crisis.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: The debate is over around climate change. Just come to the state of California. Observe it with your own eyes. It’s not an intellectual debate. It’s not even debatable any longer, what we are experiencing — the extreme droughts, the extreme atmospheric rivers, the extreme heat. Just think. In the last few weeks alone, we’ve experienced the hottest August in California history. We had 14,000 dry lightning strikes over a three-day period. We’re experiencing temperatures, world record-breaking temperatures, in the state of California, 130 degrees. Related Story News | Economy & Labor Undocumented Farmworkers Are Refusing COVID Tests for Fear of Losing Their Jobs Anti-immigrant policies, a lack of basic labor protections and stigma could make outbreaks harder to contain. Truthout
AMY GOODMAN: Some of the most vulnerable people on the West Coast have been farmworkers, many of whom are undocumented. First came the pandemic, now the climate-fueled fires. Despite the risks, many feel they have to keep working, even if that means working inside evacuation zones. Authorities in California have repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders, putting workers at great risk. The Intercept reports agricultural commissioners in California’s wine regions have worked closely with the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and Sonoma County Winegrowers to repeatedly grant permission to grape growers to harvest in wildfire evacuation zones.
The issue is not new. In 2017, the Sonoma County Agricultural Commission issued evacuation zone entry permits to 280 groups of people to conduct, quote, “critical functions.” The Intercept reports such critical functions included, quote, “harvesting, feeding and watering livestock, managing fermentations, and irrigating nursery crops,” unquote.
Farmworkers have also been disproportionately hit by the pandemic. Gervacio Peña López is a former farmworker who now serves as the executive director of the Cultural Movement of Indigenous Alliance.
GERVACIO PEÑA LÓPEZ: [translated] From the beginning of the pandemic, there was the recommendation to stay home and protect yourself. But for our immigrant community, that was not a viable option. How are you going to survive — at the time, we thought, for the next two or three weeks, now it’s been half a year — without an income and without support from the government? This was almost impossible.
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll hear more from Gervacio Peña López. But first we’re joined by Estella Cisneros, the agriculture worker program legal director at California Rural [Legal] Assistance. She joins us from Fresno, California.
Estella, welcome to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us, although under these extremely dire circumstances. Can you explain what farmworkers are facing right now? So many in California who are not being forced to evacuate are staying in their homes, if at all possible, because the horrendous air quality conditions from the fires, this on top of COVID-19. But what about the farmworkers?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: Thank you, Amy. Such a pleasure to be here.
Right now farmworkers are facing a triple threat. They are facing the dangers of COVID-19, wildfire smoke, as well as an unprecedented heat wave. Farmworkers, as many already know, are essential workers. They have continued working throughout this entire pandemic. Agricultural workers include those who work in the fields, but also those who work in dairies, as well as meat processing and other food processing locations, as well as people who work in packing houses and nurseries. Now, farmworkers have continued to work during this whole time despite fears of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace, despite fears of getting heat stress while they’re at work, and now despite fears of the dangers that wildfire smoke brings.
Now, the reason wildfire smoke is so dangerous, not just for farmworkers, but anybody who inhales it, is because smoke tends to have particulate matter which is 2.5 [micrometers] or smaller. Now, the inhalation of what’s called particulate matter 2.5 or smaller is very, very dangerous for one’s health. It can lead to long-term both lung, heart and respiratory illnesses. So, the fact that farmworkers are out there working in the fields, facing the dangers of COVID-19, as well as the dangers of heat stress and wildfire smoke, is a very, very dire situation right now in California.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to go back to former farmworker Gervacio Peña López, now executive director of the Cultural Movement of Indigenous Alliance, describing to Democracy Now! the dangerous working conditions that undocumented farmworkers face as they’re forced to work in the vineyards of Sonoma County amidst the wildfires.
GERVACIO PEÑA LÓPEZ: [translated] The situation with the smoke, because we have experienced this before, it is already known that employers, if they are conscious, they should provide N-95 masks to protect their workers, which is the only thing that filters the toxic particles. But working in the fields, everything moves very fast. Sometimes the workers themselves do not want to bring masks because they cannot breathe well. They have to move at a very fast pace because the promise is that they are paid for the work they produce. The typical amount of product to harvest in one day or one night is like two tons of grapes. So they receive two payments, or two minimum wages, but it is because they have to earn it.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Estella, if you can explain further: Are the farmers, are the owners of, for example, the vineyards — are they forcing workers to work? Do they lose their jobs if they don’t? And also, what kind of access do they have to masks?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: So, unfortunately, there are a lot of farmworkers who face the very real risk of losing their jobs if they either speak up about unsafe working conditions or if they refuse to work, before being provided, in this case, an N-95 respirator. We have had a lot of cases of workers who have faced retaliation after they have spoken up in the workplace about their rights, and so there is a very, very real danger of losing your job if you speak up.
Now, there’s that aspect of things, but there’s also the unspoken aspect of working in a workplace where N-95 respirators are not provided to you. Even if an employer doesn’t tell you, “You will be fired if you stop working,” what kind of message are workers getting when employers are not affirmatively following their duty in California, which is to address workplace health and safety hazards? What kind of message are employers sending it they are not proactively, as the law requires them to do, providing the training, as well as the equipment and the materials, the personal protective equipment that people need to access?
Now, when it comes to whether farmworkers are having access to N-95 masks, unfortunately, the reports that we’re hearing out in the fields is that hardly any farmworker is getting access to N-95 respirators, which is really the only thing that is going to keep them safe from particulate matter inhalation.
AMY GOODMAN: And I want to talk about the people that are coming out to the fields, even more so, and start with the former farmworker Gervacio Peña López. This is what he said, when you were talking about the triple threat.
GERVACIO PEÑA LÓPEZ: [translated] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were left without work in other industries, such as hotels, restaurants or factories. So, many people in our community, because they have the necessity, and others because they do not have documents and do not receive aid from the local or state or federal government, they have no other option but to go to work in the fields. And many of them do not know the risks.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Estella Cisneros, can you talk about who are the farmworkers in the fields, and tell us further where they’re coming from?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: Certainly. So, farmworkers in the state of California, and certainly across the nation, tend to be immigrants. They tend to be undocumented. And they tend to speak a language other than English. So, a lot of farmworkers have a very similar situation to what the gentleman was describing, in the sense that they were working in another industry, they’ve been displaced from that industry, and they’ve translated that skill set to working in the fields. However, there are a very large number of farmworkers who are essentially lifelong agricultural workers, and so they have been working in the fields for many, many years. And that’s certainly the population that is still active in the fields today.
AMY GOODMAN: How much do farmworkers get paid? And what about during this horrific period?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: The state minimum wage in California, which is one of the highest, if not the highest, currently is $13 an hour, if you have 26 or more employees, but it’s $12 an hour if you have 25 or fewer employees. Now, eventually, that minimum wage is going to increase to $15, but we’re still a couple of years off.
Farm work tends to be one of the lowest-paid industries in the United States. And so, even when workers are paid by what’s called piece rate, which is when you’re paid by the bucket or the pound, something other than by the hour, farmworkers still have very low wages. And actually, the fact that you’re paid by piece rate is actually a disincentive in terms of slowing down, in terms of taking health and safety breaks, because the more that you work, the more that you get paid.
And so, you either have workers who are being paid the minimum wage, which is not enough, nowhere near enough, or you have workers who are paid by piece rate, which actually is a disincentive, to continue to work more and work through all the rest breaks and lunch breaks that are more legally required, as well as work through the pandemic and wildfires and the heat.
AMY GOODMAN: And what kind of benefits do they get from the government, dealing with this period of the pandemic and the fires?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: If a worker has legal status, which a lot of farmworkers don’t, they may have access to the state’s unemployment insurance program, as well as, you know, a variety of other public assistance programs. However, such a large percentage of the farmworker population is undocumented. They really don’t have any other recourse in terms of income replacement. They are really struggling right now, if they are displaced, either by the fires or by the wildfire smoke, because they don’t have access to the safety nets that citizens and residents of the United States do —
AMY GOODMAN: And what kind of —
ESTELLA CISNEROS: — including the —
AMY GOODMAN: Go ahead.
ESTELLA CISNEROS: — including stimulus payments, as well as unemployment insurance payments.
AMY GOODMAN: And what kind of — and what languages are instructions given in? Are people getting accurate information about what’s happening, from COVID to the climate catastrophe?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: Unfortunately, we have heard reports of either employers or other individuals in the community giving incorrect information about COVID. So that’s one issue. We anticipate that there may — that that may also exist for information about heat stress, as well as the wildfire smoke.
I mean, even the information that’s provided by state and government and other governmental agencies, unfortunately, is not provided in Spanish. Just this morning — or, last night, I should say, I looked on the CAL FIRE website, as well as the website for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, which are the two agencies that are giving information on the wildfires, as well as evacuation zones, as well as evacuation orders. Neither of those are available in Spanish. That’s one issue.
The other issue, of course, is that a lot of farmworkers don’t speak Spanish; they speak Native Mexican Indigenous languages, such as Mixteco, Trique, Zapoteco. And these communities are facing even a greater challenge to the very critical and necessary information that they need in order to keep themselves and their families safe.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Estella Cisneros, we quoted The Intercept at the top, which has an article saying “In California’s Wine Country, Undocumented Grape Pickers Forced to Work in Fire Evacuation Zones,” the article stating, quote, “Officials that regulate evacuation order exemptions have close relationships to agricultural associations that serve local business owners’ interests.” Your response, and what needs to be done?
ESTELLA CISNEROS: So, while I don’t have personal information about the facts that are cited in that article, unfortunately, it has been a common occurrence in our experience that the safety of farmworkers is not prioritized and is actually sacrificed in the name of profit and business interests. Certainly, the reasons that those permits were given — taking care of livestock, picking fruits and vegetables — to a farmworker, the fact that some people may believe that that’s essential — right? — is very difficult to comprehend, when their literal health and safety, as well as that of their families, is being compromised.
The other part, of course, is that even in areas where you are not being evacuated, there is so much wildfire smoke in the air that you have two sets of workers that you’re worried about. One are the workers who are working in evacuation zones, such as those cited in that article, but then you also have a significant number of farmworkers who continue to work despite the air quality index being at hazardous levels.
What we’re asking for is for, first of all, employers to follow the law — there is a wildfire smoke emergency regulation that is currently in effect in California that requires employers to provide workers with N-95 masks or mask respirators — as well as take other measures to ensure that if a worker must work outside and they are exposed to wildfire smoke, that they have the correct equipment in order to protect them from inhaling that harmful smoke, as well as the wide distribution of N-95 masks — we have yet to speak to a worker, actually, that has actually been provided one by their employer — as well as robust and widespread enforcement of current regulations.
AMY GOODMAN: Estella Cisneros, we want to thank you for being with us, agricultural worker program legal director at the California Rural Legal Assistance.
When we come back, we go to Oregon to speak with a former firefighter, now wildland fire ecologist, amidst the climate apocalypse. As devastating fires burn across the West Coast, President Trump continues to deny the climate crisis. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Pressure Drop” by Toots and the Maytals. Reggae pioneer Toots Hibbert passed away at the age of 77 Friday.


truthout--2020-09-14--Sanders Says Climate Disaster Is Much More Expensive Than a Green New Deal

Sen. Bernie Sanders used a virtual town hall on Saturday to call out his fellow members of Congress who — in the midst of record-shattering heat waves , massively destructive storms , and unprecedented wildfires — continue to insist that a Green New Deal aimed at combating the climate emergency and creating millions of good-paying jobs in the process would be too costly .
“ Turn on the TV and you see the West Coast of the United States , some of the most beautiful land in our country , burning , ” said the Vermont senator .
“ Hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of unprecedented climate change and the warming of the planet .
Now , there are people out there in Washington , my colleagues in the Senate , they say the Green New Deal is too expensive .
We can ’ t afford it.
” “ Well , ” Sanders continued , “ you tell me the alternative .
Tell me the alternative if we ’ re going to be looking at a planet which is burning up , if we ’ re looking at more and more drought and the decline of food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at more and more extreme weather disturbances , hurricanes , and tornadoes , if you ’ re looking at more and more disease… The Green New Deal is not too expensive because the alternative is far , far more dreadful , more destructive , and much more expensive.
” Sanders ’ remarks echoed arguments that climate activists have voiced in recent days as wildfires — fueled , according to experts , by the human-caused climate crisis — continue to ravage the western U.S. and another major storm barrels toward the northern Gulf Coast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region .
In a petition urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) to back the Green New Deal — which she dismissed last year as “ the green dream or whatever they call it ” — progressive advocacy group Justice Democrats and the youth-led Sunrise Movement declare that “ we are already experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis and we need policies and solutions that match the scale of this crisis.
” “ Nancy Pelosi is the only member of Congress in the Bay Area who doesn ’ t support the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note .
“ California is engulfed in forest fires and the skies are orange because of smoke.
” Last August , as Common Dreams reported , Sanders unveiled a sweeping $ 16 trillion Green New Deal proposal that would transition the U.S. to 100 % renewable energy in electricity and transportation by 2030 at the latest and create 20 million jobs by investing heavily in sustainable infrastructure .
The plan also calls for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for their role in driving the climate emergency .
“ The climate crisis is the greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time .
“ It ’ s also our single greatest opportunity to build a just and equitable future .
”

Sen. Bernie Sanders used a virtual town hall on Saturday to call out his fellow members of Congress who — in the midst of record-shattering heat waves, massively destructive storms, and unprecedented wildfires — continue to insist that a Green New Deal aimed at combating the climate emergency and creating millions of good-paying jobs in the process would be too costly.
“Turn on the TV and you see the West Coast of the United States, some of the most beautiful land in our country, burning,” said the Vermont senator. “Hundreds of thousands of acres are burning because of unprecedented climate change and the warming of the planet. Now, there are people out there in Washington, my colleagues in the Senate, they say the Green New Deal is too expensive. We can’t afford it.”
“Well,” Sanders continued, “you tell me the alternative. Tell me the alternative if we’re going to be looking at a planet which is burning up, if we’re looking at more and more drought and the decline of food production, if you’re looking at more and more extreme weather disturbances, hurricanes, and tornadoes, if you’re looking at more and more disease… The Green New Deal is not too expensive because the alternative is far, far more dreadful, more destructive, and much more expensive.”
Watch:
Sanders’ remarks echoed arguments that climate activists have voiced in recent days as wildfires — fueled, according to experts, by the human-caused climate crisis — continue to ravage the western U.S. and another major storm barrels toward the northern Gulf Coast just weeks after Hurricane Laura battered the region.
In a petition urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to back the Green New Deal — which she dismissed last year as “the green dream or whatever they call it” — progressive advocacy group Justice Democrats and the youth-led Sunrise Movement declare that “we are already experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis and we need policies and solutions that match the scale of this crisis.”
“Nancy Pelosi is the only member of Congress in the Bay Area who doesn’t support the Green New Deal,” the groups note. “California is engulfed in forest fires and the skies are orange because of smoke.”
Last August, as Common Dreams reported, Sanders unveiled a sweeping $16 trillion Green New Deal proposal that would transition the U.S. to 100% renewable energy in electricity and transportation by 2030 at the latest and create 20 million jobs by investing heavily in sustainable infrastructure. The plan also calls for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for their role in driving the climate emergency.
“The climate crisis is the greatest challenge facing humanity,” Sanders said at the time. “It’s also our single greatest opportunity to build a just and equitable future.”
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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--2020-09-14--Every Trump Lie Is a Confession

Every Trump Lie Is a Confession

Donald Trump played host to what can only be described as a deliberate COVID super-spreader event in Nevada on Sunday .
It is journalistically perilous to bandy words like “ deliberate ” and “ super-spreader , ” but I watched every galling second of his rally at the Xtreme Manufacturing plant in Henderson , and those words deserve to share the same space as “ water ” and “ wet ” in the context of what went down in the desert yesterday .
A thousand of Trump ’ s most avid devotees came from miles around to stuff themselves into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stood packed like cattle in a high-density field , maskless almost to a person , screaming and sweating all over each other in an orgiastic celebration of the death of reason .
I picture a COVID-19 virion , its crowns bristling red , feet up and reclined on its Barcalounger after a hard day at work killing people , looking serenely over that mob of reckless idolators before leaning to a virion friend and saying , “ Hold my beer.
” We will be hearing about the medical consequences from Sunday evening ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if the pattern holds , which it has with nearly unfailing consistency since this dismal year began .
Trump ’ s speech was an abomination of lies , distortions , exhortations and puling complaints .
In other words , it was every speech he has given at every rally since he came down the golden escalator five years ago .
It was a triumph of the mundane , proof itself of the banality of evil , so boring after endless repetition that none of the networks , not even C-SPAN , bothered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work to find the thing .
As I let the bilge tide of Trump ’ s gibberish wash over me , however , I found myself encased in a rare moment of clarity .
It is difficult to think straight when the president is ruining your country in real time at the top of his voice and right in your face .
That , of course , is the entire point of the exercise .
“ For those who have been beaten down by the Trumpian disaster porn , ” writes Tim Miller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as this don ’ t really make a mark any longer.
” As I watched this latest one , though , Trump seemed to me to be receding down a long hallway .
I could hear him fine , but the mind-scrambling impact of his weaponized nonsense faded , and I found myself , for the first time in months , actually listening to what he was saying .
It came to me suddenly in a burst of inner light : Every accusation this man makes , every lie he tells , very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public confession of his own corruption and venality .
It is far beyond the Karl Rove tactic of using your opponent ’ s best strength against them .
With Trump , it is a bending of the light itself , of reality , a transference of personal responsibility so comprehensive as to be virtually seamless .
“ Whether it ’ s in North Carolina , whether it ’ s in Michigan , whether it ’ s in other states where they ’ re sending out , they ’ re going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Trump yesterday in Nevada .
“ And it ’ s Democrats .
They ’ re trying to rig this election , at every single place in the last year , year and a half , go modern day , forget about… Tiny amounts , a congressional race in New York , a small number of votes .
If you go to New Jersey , if you go to Virginia , if you go to Pennsylvania , if you go to California , look at some of these races , every one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots .
And I don ’ t mean like 1 percent .
I mean like 20 percent , 25 percent , they ’ re trying to rig the election.
” … says the man who is actively attempting to dismantle the United States Postal Service and the practice of mail-in voting itself , because he believes the only way he can win the election at this point is to steal it .
That was a confession .
“ Sleepy Joe Biden , who surrendered , you know where he is now , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Trump yesterday .
“ No , he ’ s in his basement.
” … says the man who himself surrendered utterly to COVID-19 , because doing otherwise required hard work and a dollop of humility , neither of which this president would recognize if they pissed in his face .
He surrendered to that COVID-bait crowd before him , to his belligerent base , because they believed him when he called the pandemic a “ hoax ” all those weeks ago , and now he must maintain that deadly illusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Another confession .
“ Biden and his party of liberal hypocrites want to lock law-abiding Americans in their homes , which is what they ’ re doing , ” said Trump .
“ And they want to keep them out of church.
” … says the most irreligious president in U.S. history , whose use of the military and federal law enforcement against civilians — including snatching protesters off the street and stuffing them into unmarked vans — very nearly toppled the country into a constitutional crisis .
Another confession .
“ How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump .
“ That ’ s not too bad , right ?
You didn ’ t think you ’ d ever see those prices , those under-two-dollar prices , did you ?
Thank you , President Trump , I appreciate it , sir.
” … says the man whose lethal bungling of the pandemic brought about an economic tailspin that will take years to recover from .
Want to know why gasoline is so cheap ?
Because the price of petroleum happily collapsed to literally less than zero after the pandemic locked down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I suppose , was his confession to being incomprehensibly oblivious to and uninterested in the ocean of suffering he has unleashed .
It ’ s all one long stream-of-consciousness confession now .
I hope I ’ m not the only one taking notes .

Donald Trump played host to what can only be described as a deliberate COVID super-spreader event in Nevada on Sunday. It is journalistically perilous to bandy words like “deliberate” and “super-spreader,” but I watched every galling second of his rally at the Xtreme Manufacturing plant in Henderson, and those words deserve to share the same space as “water” and “wet” in the context of what went down in the desert yesterday.
A thousand of Trump’s most avid devotees came from miles around to stuff themselves into an enclosed indoor space, where they stood packed like cattle in a high-density field, maskless almost to a person, screaming and sweating all over each other in an orgiastic celebration of the death of reason.
I picture a COVID-19 virion, its crowns bristling red, feet up and reclined on its Barcalounger after a hard day at work killing people, looking serenely over that mob of reckless idolators before leaning to a virion friend and saying, “Hold my beer.” We will be hearing about the medical consequences from Sunday evening’s event before the calendar page turns, if the pattern holds, which it has with nearly unfailing consistency since this dismal year began.
Trump’s speech was an abomination of lies, distortions, exhortations and puling complaints. In other words, it was every speech he has given at every rally since he came down the golden escalator five years ago. It was a triumph of the mundane, proof itself of the banality of evil, so boring after endless repetition that none of the networks, not even C-SPAN, bothered to broadcast it. I had to work to find the thing.
As I let the bilge tide of Trump’s gibberish wash over me, however, I found myself encased in a rare moment of clarity. It is difficult to think straight when the president is ruining your country in real time at the top of his voice and right in your face. That, of course, is the entire point of the exercise. “For those who have been beaten down by the Trumpian disaster porn,” writes Tim Miller for The Bulwark, “rallies such as this don’t really make a mark any longer.”
As I watched this latest one, though, Trump seemed to me to be receding down a long hallway. I could hear him fine, but the mind-scrambling impact of his weaponized nonsense faded, and I found myself, for the first time in months, actually listening to what he was saying.
It came to me suddenly in a burst of inner light: Every accusation this man makes, every lie he tells, very nearly every word he speaks, is a public confession of his own corruption and venality. It is far beyond the Karl Rove tactic of using your opponent’s best strength against them. With Trump, it is a bending of the light itself, of reality, a transference of personal responsibility so comprehensive as to be virtually seamless.
It is difficult to think straight when the president is ruining your country in real time at the top of his voice and right in your face. That, of course, is the entire point of the exercise.
“Whether it’s in North Carolina, whether it’s in Michigan, whether it’s in other states where they’re sending out, they’re going to be sending out 80 million ballots,” said Trump yesterday in Nevada. “And it’s Democrats. They’re trying to rig this election, at every single place in the last year, year and a half, go modern day, forget about… Tiny amounts, a congressional race in New York, a small number of votes. If you go to New Jersey, if you go to Virginia, if you go to Pennsylvania, if you go to California, look at some of these races, every one of these races was a fraud, missing ballots. And I don’t mean like 1 percent. I mean like 20 percent, 25 percent, they’re trying to rig the election.”
… says the man who is actively attempting to dismantle the United States Postal Service and the practice of mail-in voting itself, because he believes the only way he can win the election at this point is to steal it. That was a confession.
“Sleepy Joe Biden, who surrendered, you know where he is now, he’s in his damn basement again,” said Trump yesterday. “No, he’s in his basement.”
… says the man who himself surrendered utterly to COVID-19, because doing otherwise required hard work and a dollop of humility, neither of which this president would recognize if they pissed in his face. He surrendered to that COVID-bait crowd before him, to his belligerent base, because they believed him when he called the pandemic a “hoax” all those weeks ago, and now he must maintain that deadly illusion in order to maintain their loyalty. Another confession.
“Biden and his party of liberal hypocrites want to lock law-abiding Americans in their homes, which is what they’re doing,” said Trump. “And they want to keep them out of church.”
… says the most irreligious president in U.S. history, whose use of the military and federal law enforcement against civilians — including snatching protesters off the street and stuffing them into unmarked vans — very nearly toppled the country into a constitutional crisis. Another confession.
“How about your gas prices?” asked Trump. “That’s not too bad, right? You didn’t think you’d ever see those prices, those under-two-dollar prices, did you? Thank you, President Trump, I appreciate it, sir.”
… says the man whose lethal bungling of the pandemic brought about an economic tailspin that will take years to recover from. Want to know why gasoline is so cheap? Because the price of petroleum happily collapsed to literally less than zero after the pandemic locked down travel all around the world. This, I suppose, was his confession to being incomprehensibly oblivious to and uninterested in the ocean of suffering he has unleashed.
It’s all one long stream-of-consciousness confession now. I hope I’m not the only one taking notes.
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--2020-09-14--Trump’s Main Strategy for Winning the Election Is to Discredit It

Donald Trump recently held his first indoor rally since the super-spreader event in Tulsa , Oklahoma , in June .
The campaign sent out a snotty statement to justify this : The protests take place outdoors with people moving about mostly wearing masks .
The casinos hand out masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines — and have the most advanced air ventilation systems in the nation .
Putting several thousand people indoors , telling them that those who wear masks have psychiatric issues and encouraging them to stand closely together , screaming and cheering for hours , is something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evident comorbidities of many of Trump ’ s most enthusiastic supporters , some will get sick and perhaps die .
Who knows how many others they will spread it to ?
It seems counterintuitive that you would want to kill your own voters but it ’ s clear that Trump and his henchmen have decided that we ’ re close enough to the election now that the sickness and death that will likely result won ’ t make a difference in the outcome .
And that ’ s all they care about .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump campaign , though .
Every super-spreader rally he holds also spreads Joe Biden ’ s message that Trump is an irresponsible , reckless , unfit leader .
There he is , mocking his own government ’ s public health guidelines that save lives , up on a big stage demonstrating his total disregard for the American people , including his own cheering crowds .
You might think Trump would have sobered up about the virus in the wake of the revelations in Bob Woodward ’ s tapes that prove that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was “ deadly stuff , ” much worse than the “ most strenuous flu , ” and that he admittedly “ played it down.
” His recent insistence that we are “ rounding the corner ” on the pandemic is absurd .
Logically , that can only be seen as a macabre celebration of rounding the corner to the imminent milestone of 200,000 dead Americans ( which is , tragically , now only a few days away ) .
The president ’ s disastrous mismanagement of the greatest crisis of his presidency is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll asked the question directly : Asked if their opinion of Trump ’ s coronavirus response has changed because of Woodward ’ s big scoop — a tape of Trump privately acknowledging the virus was “ deadly stuff ” even as he publicly sought , in his own words , “ to play it down ” — nearly a quarter of Americans ( 23 percent ) say yes .
Even 15 percent of those who voted for Trump in 2016 say the Woodward news has changed their mind about the president ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seem like small numbers .
But in an age of extreme polarization , they could augur a real shift .
Overall , 15 percent of Americans say the Woodward quotes have made them less likely to vote to reelect the president in November — and a third of these were 2016 Trump supporters .
It ’ s obvious by now that Trump is no longer trying to win the election by legitimate means .
He ’ s tried to scare suburban women with the specter of rioters in their cul-de-sacs , and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he could hurriedly broker some “ deals ” in the Middle East and win the Nobel Peace Prize , but nobody takes him seriously on foreign policy .
His alleged love of the military has been seriously called into question and his demands that government agencies push unproven cures and vaccines before they are ready haven ’ t helped his standing .
So this is all that ’ s left : “ The only way we can lose this election is if it ’ s rigged — remember that , ” pretty much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the first time Trump has made claims like that .
Back in 2016 he told rally-goers that he would only accept the results of the election if he won .
Trump ’ s efforts to delegitimize mail-in voting have been well-covered .
He ’ s not being subtle about it .
He ’ s had his hatchet-man postmaster general sabotage the Postal Service just as it faces a massive upsurge of mail-in ballots .
He has literally told his followers to vote by mail and then show up at their polling places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course is illegal .
He has repeatedly lied about states sending ballots only to Democratic voters and not Republicans .
He has insisted that Democratic officials “ control millions of votes ” which they intend to steal for their own party .
If you wonder about the veracity of any of these claims , look no further than the words of the most prominent Republican election lawyer in the country , Benjamin Ginsberg , who says in this Washington Post op-ed that it ’ s all bunk .
It ’ s clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large numbers , potentially record numbers .
The big question is how long it will take to count the votes and whether the public will accept the results whenever we finally get them .
Trump and his Republican allies are working overtime to persuade his supporters that only the in-person votes counted on election night are legitimate .
The idea here is to end election night with Trump in the lead and cement the idea that he ’ s the winner , no matter what .
This isn ’ t unprecedented .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advantage of the fact that they were in the lead in Florida on election night to frame Bush as the true winner and Al Gore ’ s campaign as the “ sore-losermen ” who were trying to overturn the result .
The media was complicit in spreading that 20 years ago , and it remains to be seen if they ’ ll do things differently this time around .
Brian Stelter of CNN ’ s “ Reliable Sources ” recently asked ABC ’ s Jonathan Karl how his network planned to handle election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the facts and the numbers and basically report the returns straight .
We ’ ll see .
But considering that the one state Trump has endorsed as having a reliable mail-in voting system is Florida , this observation from Karl was particularly interesting : Florida is always important .
But doing battle against this “ perception of winning ” makes Florida even more important than usual , which may just explain this news : The Democrats are well aware that Florida counts its mail-in votes quickly , so winning there is more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump will find the tables turned on him and will suddenly have to tell his voters to wait for the mail-in votes in other states to be counted .
He ’ ll still cause chaos and declare that the vote was stolen elsewhere , of course .
But it sure won ’ t look good if his “ perfect ” state goes the wrong way .

Donald Trump recently held his first indoor rally since the super-spreader event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June. The campaign sent out a snotty statement to justify this:
If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States.
The protests take place outdoors with people moving about mostly wearing masks. The casinos hand out masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines — and have the most advanced air ventilation systems in the nation. Putting several thousand people indoors, telling them that those who wear masks have psychiatric issues and encouraging them to stand closely together, screaming and cheering for hours, is something else again. Considering the age and evident comorbidities of many of Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters, some will get sick and perhaps die. Who knows how many others they will spread it to?
It seems counterintuitive that you would want to kill your own voters but it’s clear that Trump and his henchmen have decided that we’re close enough to the election now that the sickness and death that will likely result won’t make a difference in the outcome. And that’s all they care about.
There’s a problem here for the Trump campaign, though. Every super-spreader rally he holds also spreads Joe Biden’s message that Trump is an irresponsible, reckless, unfit leader. There he is, mocking his own government’s public health guidelines that save lives, up on a big stage demonstrating his total disregard for the American people, including his own cheering crowds.
You might think Trump would have sobered up about the virus in the wake of the revelations in Bob Woodward’s tapes that prove that he knew very early on that the virus was “deadly stuff,” much worse than the “most strenuous flu,” and that he admittedly “played it down.” His recent insistence that we are “rounding the corner” on the pandemic is absurd. Logically, that can only be seen as a macabre celebration of rounding the corner to the imminent milestone of 200,000 dead Americans (which is, tragically, now only a few days away).
The president’s disastrous mismanagement of the greatest crisis of his presidency is taking a toll. This Yahoo News/YouGov poll asked the question directly:
Asked if their opinion of Trump’s coronavirus response has changed because of Woodward’s big scoop — a tape of Trump privately acknowledging the virus was “deadly stuff” even as he publicly sought, in his own words, “to play it down”— nearly a quarter of Americans (23 percent) say yes. Even 15 percent of those who voted for Trump in 2016 say the Woodward news has changed their mind about the president’s handling of the pandemic. Those might seem like small numbers. But in an age of extreme polarization, they could augur a real shift. Overall, 15 percent of Americans say the Woodward quotes have made them less likely to vote to reelect the president in November — and a third of these were 2016 Trump supporters.
It’s obvious by now that Trump is no longer trying to win the election by legitimate means. He’s tried to scare suburban women with the specter of rioters in their cul-de-sacs, and that hasn’t worked. He hoped he could hurriedly broker some “deals” in the Middle East and win the Nobel Peace Prize, but nobody takes him seriously on foreign policy. His alleged love of the military has been seriously called into question and his demands that government agencies push unproven cures and vaccines before they are ready haven’t helped his standing.
So this is all that’s left:
“The only way we can lose this election is if it’s rigged — remember that,” pretty much says it all. It’s not the first time Trump has made claims like that. Back in 2016 he told rally-goers that he would only accept the results of the election if he won.
Trump’s efforts to delegitimize mail-in voting have been well-covered. He’s not being subtle about it. He’s had his hatchet-man postmaster general sabotage the Postal Service just as it faces a massive upsurge of mail-in ballots. He has literally told his followers to vote by mail and then show up at their polling places and try to vote again, which of course is illegal. He has repeatedly lied about states sending ballots only to Democratic voters and not Republicans. He has insisted that Democratic officials “control millions of votes” which they intend to steal for their own party.
If you wonder about the veracity of any of these claims, look no further than the words of the most prominent Republican election lawyer in the country, Benjamin Ginsberg, who says in this Washington Post op-ed that it’s all bunk.
It’s clear that Americans are going to vote in large numbers, potentially record numbers. The big question is how long it will take to count the votes and whether the public will accept the results whenever we finally get them. Trump and his Republican allies are working overtime to persuade his supporters that only the in-person votes counted on election night are legitimate.
The idea here is to end election night with Trump in the lead and cement the idea that he’s the winner, no matter what. This isn’t unprecedented. The George W. Bush campaign of 2000 took advantage of the fact that they were in the lead in Florida on election night to frame Bush as the true winner and Al Gore’s campaign as the “sore-losermen” who were trying to overturn the result. The media was complicit in spreading that 20 years ago, and it remains to be seen if they’ll do things differently this time around.
Brian Stelter of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” recently asked ABC’s Jonathan Karl how his network planned to handle election returns and Karl said they would stick to the facts and the numbers and basically report the returns straight. We’ll see.
But considering that the one state Trump has endorsed as having a reliable mail-in voting system is Florida, this observation from Karl was particularly interesting:
In terms of how long this is going to go, look early in the night on election night. Florida — despite what happened 20 years ago, Florida is a state that has its act together, has had a lot of mail-in voting, won’t have a dramatic increase this time. It’ll be very similar to what’s happened before. If you remember, the networks called Florida before 11:00 four years ago. If Donald Trump doesn’t win Florida, it’s not a very long night.
Florida is always important. But doing battle against this “perception of winning” makes Florida even more important than usual, which may just explain this news:
The Bloomberg playbook in ’18 often involved striking very late. Most of the time, they didn’t show their hand until they played it. And why should they? There’s plenty of evidence that late ads are most effective. Striking late means no opportunity to organize a counter. — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) September 13, 2020
The Democrats are well aware that Florida counts its mail-in votes quickly, so winning there is more important than ever. If that happens Trump will find the tables turned on him and will suddenly have to tell his voters to wait for the mail-in votes in other states to be counted. He’ll still cause chaos and declare that the vote was stolen elsewhere, of course. But it sure won’t look good if his “perfect” state goes the wrong way.
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--2020-09-14--Years of Neglect Have Created Devastating Consequences for Tribal Colleges

As students return to college this fall , Americans committed to racial equity and justice must awaken to the situation beyond the walls of their own institutions and alma maters .
As usual , challenges facing predominantly white institutions are dominating public dialogue , Congressional hearings and dinner conversations .
Meanwhile , significant threats to Tribal Colleges and Universities ( TCUs ) , lifelines to rural and disenfranchised Native American communities across the nation , are barely discussed .
This is especially problematic given the pandemic ’ s disproportionate impact on American Indian and Alaskan Native communities .
In May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and New Jersey for the highest per capita Covid-19 rate in the nation .
American Indian and Alaskan Native people in states such as New Mexico and Wyoming were experiencing infections at five to ten times the rate of the general population .
As we work towards an inclusive national recovery , we must remember that the nation ’ s 37 TCUs are more than educational institutions – they are community and intellectual hubs , and critical avenues of support and opportunity for the nearly 100,000 students they serve .
Their multifaceted missions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are focused on increasing college attainment for Native Americans , nation-building and counteracting the deleterious and lasting effects government-forced assimilation .
In an environment where the popular press and influential college rankings focus attention on just 50 of the more than 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide , it is all too easy to forget about Tribal Colleges and Universities .
But we do so at our collective peril .
Most TCUs operate in extremely rural settings in the Midwest and Southwest , where some students must hitchhike more than 40 miles just to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internet service , providing access to some of the 35 percent of tribal land residents who do not have broadband service .
Fully 85 percent of TCU students were eligible for Pell grants , a marker for financial need , before the pandemic .
Thus , if federal and state governments were committed to equity and justice in American higher education and the federal government was truly upholding its treaty and trust obligations , TCUs would receive greater support .
Instead , TCUs have been systematically and severely underfunded since their inception .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ were visible even before the pandemic .
TCUs typically do not receive funding from state and local governments or property taxes , and because Tribes have limited resources to support the well-being of their communities , they are usually unable to provide financial resources for operations of TCUs .
The devastating results have been visible for a long time .
In fall 2019 , our teams at the Hope Center for College , Community , and Justice and the American Indian College Fund partnered to field our # RealCollege survey at seven TCUs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Great Plains and Southwest .
We found that 80 percent of the respondents experienced food insecurity , housing insecurity or homelessness during the previous year .
That rate was about 20 percentage points higher than figures for non-TCU students .
Another survey conducted by the College Fund found that same fall 2019 , one in 10 students said they were at risk of leaving college due to financial concerns .
By March 2020 , that number had reached one in five .
Without enough food to eat or a safe place to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focus on school .
It is therefore unsurprising that on average , 80 percent of Native American students at TCUs do not earn four-year degrees within six years or two-year degrees within three years .
Poverty rates among Native people are nearly double the rates of other groups at 25.8 percent compared to 14.1 percent , according to U.S. Census data , with affordable food and housing already in short supply before the pandemic .
For example , tribal housing ( a form of public housing provided primarily through federal appropriations ) is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is common .
Last fall we learned that almost 70 percent of TCU respondents experienced housing insecurity in the previous year and 29 percent of TCU students experienced homelessness .
A staggering 50 percent of TCU students ran short of food in the month prior to the survey , and more than one in three went hungry .
In comparison , at other types of institutions 39 percent of students experienced food insecurity , 46 percent experienced housing insecurity and 17 percent experienced homelessness .
Employment is an insufficient shield against basic needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s survey revealed that 60 percent of TCU respondents who experienced food insecurity , housing insecurity and/or homelessness were gainfully employed .
Now , due to the pandemic , Tribes are dealing with an estimated loss of more than $ 4.4 billion in economic activity .
The Hope Center ’ s latest survey ( which did not include tribal colleges ) found that nearly 70 percent of students who lost a job due to the Covid-19 pandemic experienced basic needs insecurity , as did 63 percent of students whose pay or hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fund survey of its students , half of the group ’ s scholars reported they work to support themselves or their families while attending college .
We suspect the effects of unemployment at TCUs are even larger now .
As Congress works on the next stimulus package , the needs of TCU students must be at the forefront .
The CARES Act provided $ 23 million to TCUs , a woefully insufficient amount , and the funds were delayed in reaching the institutions and students .
To address financial shortfalls that jeopardize students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Student Emergency Aid Fund specific to TCUs must be established and supported with at least $ 40 million per year , as part of a broader package of emergency support of at least $ 1 billion for all minority-serving institutions .
The American Indian Higher Education Consortium is rightly calling on Congress to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional support to stabilize the institutions , ensure students have digital access to an education and address long-overdue facilities repairs , technology updates and upgrades needed to bring students safely back to campuses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This country was built at the expense of Indigenous Americans , and the debt we owe and will probably never pay back will haunt us for generations .
We can not sweep the lives of TCU students aside .
Their struggles are our struggles .
Their recovery and survival , their health , education and well-being , is the latest test of our commitment to equity and justice .
When you think of what will happen to higher education this fall , think about TCUs and Native American students .
This story about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Report , a nonprofit , independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education .
Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter .

As students return to college this fall, Americans committed to racial equity and justice must awaken to the situation beyond the walls of their own institutions and alma maters. As usual, challenges facing predominantly white institutions are dominating public dialogue, Congressional hearings and dinner conversations.
Meanwhile, significant threats to Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), lifelines to rural and disenfranchised Native American communities across the nation, are barely discussed.
This is especially problematic given the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on American Indian and Alaskan Native communities. In May, the Navajo Nation eclipsed New York and New Jersey for the highest per capita Covid-19 rate in the nation. American Indian and Alaskan Native people in states such as New Mexico and Wyoming were experiencing infections at five to ten times the rate of the general population.
As we work towards an inclusive national recovery, we must remember that the nation’s 37 TCUs are more than educational institutions – they are community and intellectual hubs, and critical avenues of support and opportunity for the nearly 100,000 students they serve. Their multifaceted missions are enduring and essential; these institutions are focused on increasing college attainment for Native Americans, nation-building and counteracting the deleterious and lasting effects government-forced assimilation.
In an environment where the popular press and influential college rankings focus attention on just 50 of the more than 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide, it is all too easy to forget about Tribal Colleges and Universities. But we do so at our collective peril.
Most TCUs operate in extremely rural settings in the Midwest and Southwest, where some students must hitchhike more than 40 miles just to get to class. Many offer much-needed internet service, providing access to some of the 35 percent of tribal land residents who do not have broadband service.
Fully 85 percent of TCU students were eligible for Pell grants, a marker for financial need, before the pandemic. Thus, if federal and state governments were committed to equity and justice in American higher education and the federal government was truly upholding its treaty and trust obligations, TCUs would receive greater support.
Instead, TCUs have been systematically and severely underfunded since their inception. The consequences of insufficient funding and support were visible even before the pandemic. TCUs typically do not receive funding from state and local governments or property taxes, and because Tribes have limited resources to support the well-being of their communities, they are usually unable to provide financial resources for operations of TCUs.
The devastating results have been visible for a long time. In fall 2019, our teams at the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice and the American Indian College Fund partnered to field our #RealCollege survey at seven TCUs in as many states in the Midwest, Great Plains and Southwest.
We found that 80 percent of the respondents experienced food insecurity, housing insecurity or homelessness during the previous year. That rate was about 20 percentage points higher than figures for non-TCU students.
Another survey conducted by the College Fund found that same fall 2019, one in 10 students said they were at risk of leaving college due to financial concerns. By March 2020, that number had reached one in five.
Without enough food to eat or a safe place to sleep, it is very difficult to focus on school. It is therefore unsurprising that on average, 80 percent of Native American students at TCUs do not earn four-year degrees within six years or two-year degrees within three years.
Poverty rates among Native people are nearly double the rates of other groups at 25.8 percent compared to 14.1 percent, according to U.S. Census data, with affordable food and housing already in short supply before the pandemic. For example, tribal housing (a form of public housing provided primarily through federal appropriations) is under-capitalized and food insecurity in Native communities is common.
Last fall we learned that almost 70 percent of TCU respondents experienced housing insecurity in the previous year and 29 percent of TCU students experienced homelessness. A staggering 50 percent of TCU students ran short of food in the month prior to the survey, and more than one in three went hungry.
In comparison, at other types of institutions 39 percent of students experienced food insecurity, 46 percent experienced housing insecurity and 17 percent experienced homelessness.
Employment is an insufficient shield against basic needs insecurity for TCU students. Last fall’s survey revealed that 60 percent of TCU respondents who experienced food insecurity, housing insecurity and/or homelessness were gainfully employed.
Now, due to the pandemic, Tribes are dealing with an estimated loss of more than $4.4 billion in economic activity. The Hope Center’s latest survey (which did not include tribal colleges) found that nearly 70 percent of students who lost a job due to the Covid-19 pandemic experienced basic needs insecurity, as did 63 percent of students whose pay or hours were cut.
According to a College Fund survey of its students, half of the group’s scholars reported they work to support themselves or their families while attending college. We suspect the effects of unemployment at TCUs are even larger now.
As Congress works on the next stimulus package, the needs of TCU students must be at the forefront. The CARES Act provided $23 million to TCUs, a woefully insufficient amount, and the funds were delayed in reaching the institutions and students.
To address financial shortfalls that jeopardize students’ health and educational trajectory, a Student Emergency Aid Fund specific to TCUs must be established and supported with at least $40 million per year, as part of a broader package of emergency support of at least $1 billion for all minority-serving institutions.
The American Indian Higher Education Consortium is rightly calling on Congress to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional support to stabilize the institutions, ensure students have digital access to an education and address long-overdue facilities repairs, technology updates and upgrades needed to bring students safely back to campuses, such as HVAC/air purification systems.
This country was built at the expense of Indigenous Americans, and the debt we owe and will probably never pay back will haunt us for generations.
We cannot sweep the lives of TCU students aside. Their struggles are our struggles. Their recovery and survival, their health, education and well-being, is the latest test of our commitment to equity and justice.
When you think of what will happen to higher education this fall, think about TCUs and Native American students.
This story about tribal colleges was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.
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--2020-09-14--Black Lives Matter Is a Continuum of Black Protest Over Centuries

The world is watching as Donald Trump and his team incite violence against nonwhite Americans across the United States .
Trump ’ s team spans a broad array of warriors : his core staffers at the White House , senior Justice Department officers , many police departments across the country , key politicians in Congress , Fox News and other extreme media outlets , invisible right-wing trolls behind keyboards , armed vigilante militias , and many others .
Their violent rhetoric spawns physical violence and emotional trauma on the vulnerable .
For viewers afar , these flashpoints are baffling as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land of the U.S .
Yet , for Black America , this is a continuation of the American odyssey .
History is replete with unfathomable violence against Black people .
The U.S. ’ s proclamation of exceptionalism bears out the saturation of military-style weaponry among its civilian population and by the extraordinary level of violence meted out by both the state apparatus and individual citizens within a democratic society .
In Trump ’ s America , this violence has been exposed with the confluence of social media and a president who unleashes his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ era brings to mind the fable of Rip Van Winkle , an ordinary villager in colonial America , who , upon waking up from a deep sleep of 20 years , discovered that he had slumbered through the American Revolution , and that life as he knew it had passed him by .
Like Rip Van Winkle , some Americans do not understand the current moment ; they yearn for a return to the past , to the way things used to be , to a time of unchallenged racial supremacy , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Make America Great Again .
For some , it is difficult to distinguish the Trump team rhetoric , as was recently aired during the Republican National Convention , from reality .
Others are acutely aware that this fable is a cover-up for white supremacy .
They understand the codes of Trump ’ s presidency and that he articulates white grievances and racial bigotry .
The violence of this rhetoric is multifaceted and all-encompassing ; it is historical and contemporary .
It is the lived experience of Black people , who , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 400 years , Black people have expressed in countless ways that Black Lives Matter .
“ Black Lives Matter ” was articulated through the responses of the enslaved as they resisted sheer brutality ; it was articulated through distorting of Black bodies in agony and the contorted expressions of anguish on their faces that connoted their humanity .
Today , Black Lives Matter is a continuum of protest against systemic discrimination , against physical violence by the apparatus of the state , against economic violence , against environmental violence , against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structural violence .
The actions of police reflect societal values .
They work as agents of the state ; designed to protect property and affluence , and to protect those with excess from those with little .
They employ lethal force , even in the absence of threat .
In many instances , such brutality is met with impunity .
The relentless shooting of Black people by agents of the state and the ensuing rhetoric from the president ’ s team attempts to dehumanize the victims .
The police officer who put his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and murdered him while other officers stood by intended to show through a spectacular use of force that Black lives have no value , and that Black people do not deserve the air they breathe or the blood that courses through their arteries .
Despite witnessing these spectacular acts of violence against Black people , Trump and his team remain unperturbed .
Like Rip Van Winkle , they sleep during a monumental period .
When we protest injustices , Trump and his team persecute us .
Their aversion to protest shows that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acquiesce and validate subjugation .
We are expected to be complicit with violence against us and with the destruction of Black bodies .
We are expected to remain silent .
Evolutionarily , even lower species in our ecosystem develop mechanisms to resist destructive stimuli .
There is no reason a complex human being would do the contrary .
Putting your knees on our necks and expecting our submission and our complicity defy all physiological and mental instincts of living beings to respond to adverse stimuli .
Trump and his team seek to cling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Black villain ” who intends to “ invade ” the suburbs .
This was reinforced at the Republican National Convention when the McCloskeys , a couple from Missouri who had threatened violence against protesters , warned fellow ( white ) Americans that their suburban way of life would be abolished and that their children would no longer be able to play in the backyard without fear if Donald Trump is not reelected .
Despite the rhetorical disinformation , they were right on one account : The quest for a good life is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other groups , desire the good life , be it anywhere , including the suburbs , where our children can also play in the backyard without fear .
Black people want the same bounty of the “ American dream ” that white people want for their children .
Trump ’ s campaign cry in 2016 was to cordon off the southern border .
In the 2020 election season , his attention has turned to internal borders between urban and suburban spaces , the cordon within .
Trump intends to protect and reinforce this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ physical violence .
We can not erect artificial walls internally and assume they are unscalable .
We can not continue to lay dormant as the police employ violence against a segment of our society .
We , the American people , have the power and the authority to end this trajectory of violence .
As the world watches , we can change our course and be exceptional for constructive action .
Black people ask for nothing more than to be treated for who we are : full and contributing members of the human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its security apparatus to acknowledge our humanity and treat us with dignity .
We implore our fellow Americans in positions of power and influence — whether at educational , financial , and other economic and social institutions — to grant us equitable access .
As Americans , with progressive action , we can be a true beacon on the hill .

The world is watching as Donald Trump and his team incite violence against nonwhite Americans across the United States. Trump’s team spans a broad array of warriors: his core staffers at the White House, senior Justice Department officers, many police departments across the country, key politicians in Congress, Fox News and other extreme media outlets, invisible right-wing trolls behind keyboards, armed vigilante militias, and many others. Their violent rhetoric spawns physical violence and emotional trauma on the vulnerable. For viewers afar, these flashpoints are baffling as they are incompatible with the imagined promised land of the U.S. Yet, for Black America, this is a continuation of the American odyssey. History is replete with unfathomable violence against Black people.
The U.S.’s proclamation of exceptionalism bears out the saturation of military-style weaponry among its civilian population and by the extraordinary level of violence meted out by both the state apparatus and individual citizens within a democratic society. In Trump’s America, this violence has been exposed with the confluence of social media and a president who unleashes his most private impulses.
The contemporary political era brings to mind the fable of Rip Van Winkle, an ordinary villager in colonial America, who, upon waking up from a deep sleep of 20 years, discovered that he had slumbered through the American Revolution, and that life as he knew it had passed him by. Like Rip Van Winkle, some Americans do not understand the current moment; they yearn for a return to the past, to the way things used to be, to a time of unchallenged racial supremacy, and as Trump’s slogan evokes, to Make America Great Again. For some, it is difficult to distinguish the Trump team rhetoric, as was recently aired during the Republican National Convention, from reality. Others are acutely aware that this fable is a cover-up for white supremacy. They understand the codes of Trump’s presidency and that he articulates white grievances and racial bigotry.
The violence of this rhetoric is multifaceted and all-encompassing; it is historical and contemporary. It is the lived experience of Black people, who, for centuries, have resisted violence. For more than 400 years, Black people have expressed in countless ways that Black Lives Matter. “Black Lives Matter” was articulated through the responses of the enslaved as they resisted sheer brutality; it was articulated through distorting of Black bodies in agony and the contorted expressions of anguish on their faces that connoted their humanity. Today, Black Lives Matter is a continuum of protest against systemic discrimination, against physical violence by the apparatus of the state, against economic violence, against environmental violence, against interpersonal violence, and all forms of structural violence.
The actions of police reflect societal values. They work as agents of the state; designed to protect property and affluence, and to protect those with excess from those with little. They employ lethal force, even in the absence of threat. In many instances, such brutality is met with impunity. The relentless shooting of Black people by agents of the state and the ensuing rhetoric from the president’s team attempts to dehumanize the victims.
The police officer who put his knee on the neck of George Floyd and murdered him while other officers stood by intended to show through a spectacular use of force that Black lives have no value, and that Black people do not deserve the air they breathe or the blood that courses through their arteries. Despite witnessing these spectacular acts of violence against Black people, Trump and his team remain unperturbed. Like Rip Van Winkle, they sleep during a monumental period.
When we protest injustices, Trump and his team persecute us. Their aversion to protest shows that they expect us to be indifferent or to acquiesce and validate subjugation. We are expected to be complicit with violence against us and with the destruction of Black bodies. We are expected to remain silent. Evolutionarily, even lower species in our ecosystem develop mechanisms to resist destructive stimuli. There is no reason a complex human being would do the contrary. Putting your knees on our necks and expecting our submission and our complicity defy all physiological and mental instincts of living beings to respond to adverse stimuli.
Trump and his team seek to cling onto power by stoking fear of the “Black villain” who intends to “invade” the suburbs. This was reinforced at the Republican National Convention when the McCloskeys, a couple from Missouri who had threatened violence against protesters, warned fellow (white) Americans that their suburban way of life would be abolished and that their children would no longer be able to play in the backyard without fear if Donald Trump is not reelected. Despite the rhetorical disinformation, they were right on one account: The quest for a good life is universal. Black people, like all other groups, desire the good life, be it anywhere, including the suburbs, where our children can also play in the backyard without fear. Black people want the same bounty of the “American dream” that white people want for their children.
Trump’s campaign cry in 2016 was to cordon off the southern border. In the 2020 election season, his attention has turned to internal borders between urban and suburban spaces, the cordon within. Trump intends to protect and reinforce this wall within the U.S. through rhetorical and physical violence.
We cannot erect artificial walls internally and assume they are unscalable. We cannot continue to lay dormant as the police employ violence against a segment of our society. We, the American people, have the power and the authority to end this trajectory of violence. As the world watches, we can change our course and be exceptional for constructive action. Black people ask for nothing more than to be treated for who we are: full and contributing members of the human family. We call on the state and its security apparatus to acknowledge our humanity and treat us with dignity. We implore our fellow Americans in positions of power and influence — whether at educational, financial, and other economic and social institutions — to grant us equitable access. As Americans, with progressive action, we can be a true beacon on the hill.
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.