truthout--2020-08-18--Politics Slows Flow of US Pandemic Relief Funds to Public Health Agencies

As the coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring , Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis .
Money for test kits .
Money to administer tests .
Money to hire contact tracers .
Yet even more money for a service that helps tracers communicate with residents in dozens of languages .
While Musicant diverted workers from violence prevention and other core programs to the COVID-19 response , state officials debated how to distribute $ 1.87 billion Minnesota received in federal aid .
As she waited for federal help , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal money to continue operations , and a debt collection company outside Minneapolis received at least $ 5 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program , according to federal data .
It was not until Aug. 5 — months after Congress approved aid for the pandemic — that Musicant ’ s department finally received $ 1.7 million , the equivalent of $ 4 per Minneapolis resident .
“ It ’ s more a hope and a prayer that we ’ ll have enough money , ” Musicant said .
Since the pandemic began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars to ease the crisis .
A joint KHN and Associated Press investigation finds that many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money on local public health departments for work such as testing and contact tracing .
Others , like Minnesota , were slow to do so .
For example , the states , territories and 154 large cities and counties that received allotments from the $ 150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund reported spending only 25 % of it through June 30 , according to reports that recipients submitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ localities have deployed more money since that June 30 reporting deadline , and both Republican and Democratic governors say they need more to avoid layoffs and cuts to vital state services .
Still , as cases in the U.S. top 5.2 million and deaths soar past 167,000 , Republicans in Congress are pointing to the slow spending to argue against sending more money to state and local governments to help with their pandemic response .
“ States and localities have only spent about a fourth of the money we already sent them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mitch McConnell said Tuesday .
Congressional Democrats ’ efforts to get more money for states , he said , “ aren ’ t based on math .
They aren ’ t based on the pandemic.
” Negotiations over a new pandemic relief bill broke down last week , in part because Democrats and Republicans could not agree on funding for state and local governments .
KHN and the AP requested detailed spending breakdowns from recipients of money from the Coronavirus Relief Fund — created in March as part of the $ 1.9 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23 states and 62 cities and counties .
Those entities dedicated 23 % of their spending from the fund through June to public health and 7 % to public health and safety payroll .
An additional 22 % was transferred to local governments , some of which will eventually pass it down to health departments .
The rest went to other priorities , such as distance learning .
So little money has flowed to some local health departments for many reasons : Bureaucracy has bogged things down , politics have crept into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take time away from critical needs to navigate the red tape required to justify asking for extra dollars .
“ It does not make sense to me how anyone thinks this is a way to do business , ” said E. Oscar Alleyne , chief of programs and services at the National Association of County and City Health Officials .
“ We are never going to get ahead of the pandemic response if we are still handicapped.
” Last month , KHN and the AP detailed how state and local public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for decades .
Over 38,000 public health worker jobs have been lost since 2008 , and per capita spending on local health departments has been cut by 18 % since 2010 .
That ’ s left them underfunded and without adequate resources to confront the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Public health has been cut and cut and cut over the years , but we ’ re so valuable every time you turn on the television , ” said Jan Morrow , the director and 41-year veteran of Ripley County health department in rural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the pieces , but the money is not there .
They ’ ve cut our budget until there ’ s nothing left.
” Why did the Minneapolis health department have to wait so long for CARES Act money ?
Congress mandated that the Coronavirus Relief Fund be distributed to states and local governments based on population .
Minneapolis , with 430,000 residents , missed the threshold of 500,000 people that would have allowed it to receive money directly .
The state of Minnesota , however , received $ 1.87 billion , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sent to local communities .
Lawmakers initially sent some state money to tide communities over until the federal money came through — the Minneapolis health department got about $ 430,000 in state money to help pay for things like testing .
But when it came time to decide how to use the CARES Act money , lawmakers in Minnesota ’ s Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House were at loggerheads .
Myron Frans , commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget , said that disagreement , on top of the economic crisis and pandemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis , the city erupted in protests over racial injustice , making a difficult situation even more challenging .
Democratic Gov .
Tim Walz favored targeting some of the money to harder-hit communities , a move that might have helped Minneapolis , where cases have surged since mid-July .
But lawmakers couldn ’ t agree .
Negotiations dragged on , and a special session merely prolonged the standoff .
Finally , the governor divvied up the money using a population-based formula developed earlier by Republican and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into account COVID-19 caseloads or racial disparities .
“ We knew we needed to get it out the door , ” Frans said .
The state then sent hundreds of millions of dollars to local communities .
Still , even after the money got to Minneapolis a month ago , Musicant had to wait as city leaders made difficult choices about how to spend the money as the economy cratered and the list of needs grew .
“ Even when it gets to the local government , you still have to figure out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health , ” Musicant said .
Meanwhile , some in Minneapolis have noticed a lack of services .
Dr. Jackie Kawiecki has been providing help to people at a volunteer medical station near the place where Floyd was killed ― an area that at times has drawn hundreds or thousands of people per day .
She said the city did not do enough free , easy-to-access testing in its neighborhoods this summer .
“ I still don ’ t think that the amount of testing offered is adequate , from a public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coalition of groups that includes the National Governors Association has blamed the spending delays on the federal government , saying the final guidance on how states could spend the money came late in June , shortly before the reporting period ended .
The coalition said state and local governments had moved “ expeditiously and responsibly ” to use the money as they deal with skyrocketing costs for health care , emergency response and other vital programs .
New York ’ s Nassau County was among six counties , cities and states that had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funds by June 30 .
While most of the money was not spent before then , the National Association of State Budget Officers says a July 23 survey of 45 states and territories found they had allocated , or set aside , an average of 74 % of the money .
But if they have , that money has been slow to make it to many local health departments .
As of mid-July in Missouri , at least 50 local health departments had yet to receive any of the federal money they requested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The money must first flow through local county commissioners , some of whom aren ’ t keen on sending money to public health agencies .
“ You closed their businesses down in order to save their people ’ s lives and so that hurt the economy , ” said Larry Jones , executive director of the Missouri Center for Public Health Excellence , an organization of public health leaders .
“ So they ’ re mad at you and don ’ t want to give you money.
” The winding path federal money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states and cities also could exacerbate the stark economic and health inequalities in the U.S. if equity isn ’ t considered in decision-making , said Wizdom Powell , director of the University of Connecticut Health Disparities Institute .
“ Problems are so vast you could unintentionally further entrench inequities just by how you distribute funds , ” Powell said .
Some cities received large federal grants , including Louisville , Kentucky , whose health department was given $ 42 million by April , more than doubling its annual budget .
Because of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s health department alone received more money from the CARES Act than the entire government of the city of Minneapolis , which received $ 32 million in total .
Philadelphia ’ s health department was awarded $ 100 million from a separate fund from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Honolulu County , where COVID cases have remained relatively low , received $ 124,454 for every positive case it had reported as of Aug. 9 , while El Paso County in Texas got just $ 1,685 per case .
Multnomah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarter of its state ’ s COVID-19 cases — landed only 2 % , or $ 28 million , of the state ’ s $ 1.6 billion allotment .
Rural Saline County in Missouri received the same funding as counties of similar size , even though the virus hit the area particularly hard .
In April , outbreaks began tearing through a Cargill meatpacking plant and a local factory there .
By late May , the health department confirmed 12 positive cases at a local jail .
Tara Brewer , Saline ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were ringing off the hook , jamming the system .
Eventually , several department employees handed out their personal cellphone numbers to take calls from residents looking to be tested or seeking care for coronavirus symptoms .
The school vaccination clinic in April was canceled , and a staffer who works as a Spanish translator for the Women , Infants and Children nutritional program was enlisted to contact-trace for additional COVID-19 exposures .
All food inspections stopped .
It was late July when $ 250,000 in federal CARES Act money finally reached the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four months after Congress approved the spending and three months after the county ’ s first outbreak .
That was far too late for Brewer to hire the army of contact tracers that might have helped slow the spread of the virus back in April .
She said the money already has been spent on antibody testing and reimbursements for groceries and medical equipment the department had bought for quarantined residents .
Another problem : Some local health officials say that the laborious process required to qualify for some of the federal aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying to secure more money and that funds can be uneven in arriving .
Lisa Macon Harrison , public health director for Granville Vance Public Health in rural Oxford , North Carolina , said it ’ s tough to watch major hospital systems — some of which are sitting on billions in reserves — receive direct deposits , while her department received only about $ 122,000 through three grants by the end of July .
Her team filled out a 25-page application just to get one of them .
She is now waiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By contrast , the Duke University Hospital System , which includes a facility that serves Granville , already has received over $ 67.3 million from the federal Provider Relief Fund .
“ I just don ’ t understand the extra layers of onus for the bureaucracy , especially if hundreds of millions of dollars are going to the hospitals and we have to be responsible to apply for 50 grants , ” she said .
The money comes from dozens of funds , including several programs within the CARES Act .
Nebraska @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief funding sources .
Robert Miller , director of health for the Eastern Highlands Health District in Connecticut , which covers 10 towns , received $ 29,596 of the $ 2.5 million the state distributed to local departments from the CDC fund and nothing from CARES .
It was only enough to pay for some contact tracing and employee mileage .
Miller said that he could theoretically apply for a little more from the Federal Emergency Management Agency , but that the reporting requirements — which include collecting every receipt — are extremely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So he wonders : “ Is the squeeze worth the juice ?
” Back in Minneapolis , Musicant said the new money from CARES allowed the department to run a free COVID-19 testing site Saturday , at a church that serves the Hispanic community about a mile from the site of Floyd ’ s killing .
It will take more money to do everything the community needs , she says , but with Congress deadlocked , she ’ s not sure they ’ ll get it anytime soon .
AP writers Camille Fassett @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

As the coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring, Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis. Money for test kits. Money to administer tests. Money to hire contact tracers. Yet even more money for a service that helps tracers communicate with residents in dozens of languages.
While Musicant diverted workers from violence prevention and other core programs to the COVID-19 response, state officials debated how to distribute $1.87 billion Minnesota received in federal aid.
As she waited for federal help, the Minnesota Zoo got $6 million in federal money to continue operations, and a debt collection company outside Minneapolis received at least $5 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to federal data.
It was not until Aug. 5 — months after Congress approved aid for the pandemic — that Musicant’s department finally received $1.7 million, the equivalent of $4 per Minneapolis resident.
“It’s more a hope and a prayer that we’ll have enough money,” Musicant said.
Since the pandemic began, Congress has set aside trillions of dollars to ease the crisis. A joint KHN and Associated Press investigation finds that many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money on local public health departments for work such as testing and contact tracing. Others, like Minnesota, were slow to do so.
For example, the states, territories and 154 large cities and counties that received allotments from the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund reported spending only 25% of it through June 30, according to reports that recipients submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Many localities have deployed more money since that June 30 reporting deadline, and both Republican and Democratic governors say they need more to avoid layoffs and cuts to vital state services. Still, as cases in the U.S. top 5.2 million and deaths soar past 167,000, Republicans in Congress are pointing to the slow spending to argue against sending more money to state and local governments to help with their pandemic response.
“States and localities have only spent about a fourth of the money we already sent them in the springtime,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. Congressional Democrats’ efforts to get more money for states, he said, “aren’t based on math. They aren’t based on the pandemic.”
Negotiations over a new pandemic relief bill broke down last week, in part because Democrats and Republicans could not agree on funding for state and local governments.
KHN and the AP requested detailed spending breakdowns from recipients of money from the Coronavirus Relief Fund — created in March as part of the $1.9 trillion CARES Act — and received responses from 23 states and 62 cities and counties. Those entities dedicated 23% of their spending from the fund through June to public health and 7% to public health and safety payroll.
An additional 22% was transferred to local governments, some of which will eventually pass it down to health departments. The rest went to other priorities, such as distance learning.
So little money has flowed to some local health departments for many reasons: Bureaucracy has bogged things down, politics have crept into the process, and understaffed departments have struggled to take time away from critical needs to navigate the red tape required to justify asking for extra dollars.
“It does not make sense to me how anyone thinks this is a way to do business,” said E. Oscar Alleyne, chief of programs and services at the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “We are never going to get ahead of the pandemic response if we are still handicapped.”
Last month, KHN and the AP detailed how state and local public health departments across the U.S. have been starved for decades. Over 38,000 public health worker jobs have been lost since 2008, and per capita spending on local health departments has been cut by 18% since 2010. That’s left them underfunded and without adequate resources to confront the coronavirus pandemic.
“Public health has been cut and cut and cut over the years, but we’re so valuable every time you turn on the television,” said Jan Morrow, the director and 41-year veteran of Ripley County health department in rural Missouri. “We are picking up all the pieces, but the money is not there. They’ve cut our budget until there’s nothing left.”
Politics and Red Tape
Why did the Minneapolis health department have to wait so long for CARES Act money?
Congress mandated that the Coronavirus Relief Fund be distributed to states and local governments based on population. Minneapolis, with 430,000 residents, missed the threshold of 500,000 people that would have allowed it to receive money directly.
The state of Minnesota, however, received $1.87 billion, a portion of which was meant to be sent to local communities. Lawmakers initially sent some state money to tide communities over until the federal money came through — the Minneapolis health department got about $430,000 in state money to help pay for things like testing.
But when it came time to decide how to use the CARES Act money, lawmakers in Minnesota’s Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House were at loggerheads.
Myron Frans, commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, said that disagreement, on top of the economic crisis and pandemic, left the legislature in turmoil.
After the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the city erupted in protests over racial injustice, making a difficult situation even more challenging.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz favored targeting some of the money to harder-hit communities, a move that might have helped Minneapolis, where cases have surged since mid-July. But lawmakers couldn’t agree. Negotiations dragged on, and a special session merely prolonged the standoff.
Finally, the governor divvied up the money using a population-based formula developed earlier by Republican and Democratic legislative leaders that did not take into account COVID-19 caseloads or racial disparities.
“We knew we needed to get it out the door,” Frans said.
The state then sent hundreds of millions of dollars to local communities. Still, even after the money got to Minneapolis a month ago, Musicant had to wait as city leaders made difficult choices about how to spend the money as the economy cratered and the list of needs grew.
“Even when it gets to the local government, you still have to figure out how to get it to local public health,” Musicant said.
Meanwhile, some in Minneapolis have noticed a lack of services. Dr. Jackie Kawiecki has been providing help to people at a volunteer medical station near the place where Floyd was killed ― an area that at times has drawn hundreds or thousands of people per day. She said the city did not do enough free, easy-to-access testing in its neighborhoods this summer.
“I still don’t think that the amount of testing offered is adequate, from a public health standpoint,” Kawiecki said.
A coalition of groups that includes the National Governors Association has blamed the spending delays on the federal government, saying the final guidance on how states could spend the money came late in June, shortly before the reporting period ended. The coalition said state and local governments had moved “expeditiously and responsibly” to use the money as they deal with skyrocketing costs for health care, emergency response and other vital programs.
New York’s Nassau County was among six counties, cities and states that had spent at least 75% of its funds by June 30.
While most of the money was not spent before then, the National Association of State Budget Officers says a July 23 survey of 45 states and territories found they had allocated, or set aside, an average of 74% of the money.
But if they have, that money has been slow to make it to many local health departments.
As of mid-July in Missouri, at least 50 local health departments had yet to receive any of the federal money they requested, according to a state survey. The money must first flow through local county commissioners, some of whom aren’t keen on sending money to public health agencies.
“You closed their businesses down in order to save their people’s lives and so that hurt the economy,” said Larry Jones, executive director of the Missouri Center for Public Health Excellence, an organization of public health leaders. “So they’re mad at you and don’t want to give you money.”
The winding path federal money takes as it makes its way to states and cities also could exacerbate the stark economic and health inequalities in the U.S. if equity isn’t considered in decision-making, said Wizdom Powell, director of the University of Connecticut Health Disparities Institute.
“Problems are so vast you could unintentionally further entrench inequities just by how you distribute funds,” Powell said.
“Everything Fell Behind”
The amounts eventually distributed can induce head-scratching.
Some cities received large federal grants, including Louisville, Kentucky, whose health department was given $42 million by April, more than doubling its annual budget. Because of the way the money was distributed, Louisville’s health department alone received more money from the CARES Act than the entire government of the city of Minneapolis, which received $32 million in total.
Philadelphia’s health department was awarded $100 million from a separate fund from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Honolulu County, where COVID cases have remained relatively low, received $124,454 for every positive case it had reported as of Aug. 9, while El Paso County in Texas got just $1,685 per case. Multnomah County, Oregon — with nearly a quarter of its state’s COVID-19 cases — landed only 2%, or $28 million, of the state’s $1.6 billion allotment.
Rural Saline County in Missouri received the same funding as counties of similar size, even though the virus hit the area particularly hard. In April, outbreaks began tearing through a Cargill meatpacking plant and a local factory there. By late May, the health department confirmed 12 positive cases at a local jail.
Tara Brewer, Saline’s health department administrator, said phone lines were ringing off the hook, jamming the system. Eventually, several department employees handed out their personal cellphone numbers to take calls from residents looking to be tested or seeking care for coronavirus symptoms.
“Everything fell behind,” Brewer said.
The school vaccination clinic in April was canceled, and a staffer who works as a Spanish translator for the Women, Infants and Children nutritional program was enlisted to contact-trace for additional COVID-19 exposures. All food inspections stopped.
It was late July when $250,000 in federal CARES Act money finally reached the 11-person health department, Brewer said — four months after Congress approved the spending and three months after the county’s first outbreak.
That was far too late for Brewer to hire the army of contact tracers that might have helped slow the spread of the virus back in April. She said the money already has been spent on antibody testing and reimbursements for groceries and medical equipment the department had bought for quarantined residents.
Another problem: Some local health officials say that the laborious process required to qualify for some of the federal aid discourages overworked public health officials from even trying to secure more money and that funds can be uneven in arriving.
Lisa Macon Harrison, public health director for Granville Vance Public Health in rural Oxford, North Carolina, said it’s tough to watch major hospital systems — some of which are sitting on billions in reserves — receive direct deposits, while her department received only about $122,000 through three grants by the end of July. Her team filled out a 25-page application just to get one of them.
She is now waiting to receive an estimated $400,000 more. By contrast, the Duke University Hospital System, which includes a facility that serves Granville, already has received over $67.3 million from the federal Provider Relief Fund.
“I just don’t understand the extra layers of onus for the bureaucracy, especially if hundreds of millions of dollars are going to the hospitals and we have to be responsible to apply for 50 grants,” she said.
The money comes from dozens of funds, including several programs within the CARES Act. Nebraska alone received money from 76 federal COVID relief funding sources.
Robert Miller, director of health for the Eastern Highlands Health District in Connecticut, which covers 10 towns, received $29,596 of the $2.5 million the state distributed to local departments from the CDC fund and nothing from CARES. It was only enough to pay for some contact tracing and employee mileage.
Miller said that he could theoretically apply for a little more from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but that the reporting requirements — which include collecting every receipt — are extremely cumbersome for an already overburdened department.
So he wonders: “Is the squeeze worth the juice?”
Back in Minneapolis, Musicant said the new money from CARES allowed the department to run a free COVID-19 testing site Saturday, at a church that serves the Hispanic community about a mile from the site of Floyd’s killing.
It will take more money to do everything the community needs, she says, but with Congress deadlocked, she’s not sure they’ll get it anytime soon.
AP writers Camille Fassett and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report.
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truthout--2020-08-18--Border Policing and the War on Terror Fuel Trump’s Authoritarian Agenda

“ The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
” So declared Donald Trump in late May .
Commentators quickly noted the U.S. has no such legal designation that would apply to all those groups and individuals which constitute antifa , an extremely broad swath of anti-fascist resistance .
Still , it would not be the first or last time Trump invoked the language of counterterrorism to justify repressing dissent .
Trump and others , including Democratic politicians , have curated choice phrases to describe Black Lives Matter protesters .
Within one recent 24-hour period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would “ clean out ” the “ anarchists and agitators ” protesting in Portland ; Joe Biden , while preferring that local law enforcement perform the task , agreed that “ anarchists should be prosecuted.
” “ Outside agitators , ” “ antifa , ” “ anarchists ” and especially “ terrorists ” — these terms recast domestic dissidents as foreign threats against whom the “ homeland ” must be defended .
In this way , they deploy the logic of the “ war on terror ” and of borders — a rhetorical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 2020 , but not new .
The policing of national borders has played a key role in emboldening and empowering Trump specifically , and promoting the deepening fascistization of the U.S. state generally .
Given the growing threat of far right authoritarianism , residents of the U.S. might reasonably wonder whether border policing itself does significantly less to keep us safe than it does to place us in grave political danger .
Understanding how we have arrived at this point requires broadening our scope beyond Trump ’ s own venality and obsession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structural factors that produce such a commander-in-chief .
Anti-Black racism , Islamophobia and anti-immigrant xenophobia targeted at individuals within U.S. borders has played a large role , as have the Republican Party ’ s moral bankruptcy and Trump ’ s own cult of personality .
But as for the precise mechanisms Trump uses to wield unaccountable power , these largely stem from authority assumed by the executive branch over the course of two decades via the bipartisan war on terror and its influence on the United States ’ s relationship to its borders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apart at the U.S. ’ s southern border do not by themselves make the case for opening our borders , Trump ’ s manipulation of border policy toward increasingly authoritarian ends should put this demand on the table .
Reports from Portland and elsewhere offer harrowing accounts of protesters snatched off the street by anonymous agents who don ’ t disclose their identity , aims or reasons for the abductions .
The U.S. public has been rightly horrified and yet , such abductions are not entirely new .
In the years following 9/11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — largely successfully — to justify raids , arrests , and civil rights abuses against Arab and Muslim people .
Legal scholar Shirin Sinnar found this treatment to be frequently grounded in an arcane legal distinction between “ international ” and “ domestic ” forms of terror .
Muslims are disproportionately branded “ international terrorists ” and thus subject to harsher treatment , while even in exactly similar circumstances , non-Muslim whites are designated “ domestic terrorists , ” considered less threatening , and treated more gently .
Given this backdrop , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anonymous agents ” in Portland turned out to be border police operating under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) .
In attempting , absurdly , to tie U.S.-based anarchists to “ foreign powers , ” DHS extends its legacy of exploiting this legal distinction in order to strip U.S. citizens of constitutional protections .
Headlines in more recent years have focused on the treatment of predominantly Latinx asylum-seekers at the United States ’ s southern border , itself an outcome of longstanding intensified targeting of Latinx people for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ necessary ” counterterror measure .
While George W. Bush ’ s administration set much of the legal apparatus of the war in terror into place , it was Obama ’ s presidency that rehabilitated and entrenched measures that had grown deeply unpopular by the end of Bush ’ s tenure .
Notoriously , Obama deported more people from the U.S. over the course of his eight years in office than had any president before him — or after him , as not even Trump has matched his deportation rate .
From @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eschewed legal reckoning with Bush ’ s legacy of civil and human rights abuses committed , ostensibly , in defense of the “ homeland.
” This decision not to hold the accused war criminals of Bush ’ s regime accountable left many in positions of power , giving them the opportunity to regroup and reconstitute themselves under Obama ’ s presidency and , later , Trump ’ s .
Incredibly , Obama ’ s reconciliation with Bush ’ s legacy is so profound that Obama very recently claimed , “ My predecessor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ host of issues , still had a basic regard for the rule of law… .
We cared about human rights.
” In that case , it would be hard to find much fault with Trump ’ s recent consultation with John Yoo , an author of the infamous “ torture memos ” justifying what seemed to many at the time to be Bush ’ s quite obvious disregard for human rights and the rule of law .
Trump seems in numerous respects hellbent on undoing Obama ’ s legacy .
Yet , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a precursor for his authoritarian and rather flexible interpretations of the bounds of executive power , Trump upholds and extends a legacy entrenched by eight years of Democratic rule .
Border police were not the first resort for suppressing the Black Lives Matter protests .
Municipal police departments made the initial forceful responses in Minneapolis , New York , Washington , D.C. , and elsewhere .
The sight of heavily militarized police officers brutalizing demonstrators tended to backfire , further driving home the urgency of Black Lives Matter organizers and their demands to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with local police departments ’ inability to put down the protests , and embattled by Democratic politicians who seized on the movement as an opportunity to build their own credibility as leaders of an anti-Trump resistance , Trump turned to other agencies .
In D.C. , he used police from agencies including the National Guard , Secret Service , U.S. Park Service and Federal Bureau of Prisons , along with local D.C. and Arlington police , to clear out a peaceful protest at Lafayette Park for a photo op in front of St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too , backfired when Defense Secretary Mark Esper broke ranks , insisting that when it comes to domestic law enforcement , the military “ should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.
” Trump has proved incapable of uniting the ruling class around him — a more skilled statesman with similarly authoritarian aims might not be so impeded .
The U.S. is packed with reactionary civilian and military police agencies but even so , Trump has found few sufficiently indifferent to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unquestioningly .
In DHS — especially its so-called “ robocops of U.S. border patrol , ” the Border Patrol Tactical Unit ( BORTAC ) — Trump has found compliant , reliable forces , agents unencumbered by qualms regarding the limits of their jurisdiction or the rights of the people they target .
Civil libertarians have warned for years about the border ’ s encroachment into the U.S. interior .
A 100-mile “ Border Enforcement Zone ” constitutes what some have called a “ Constitution-Free Zone , ” within which live two of every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Portland , where BORTAC laid siege to a domestic population which responded as though to an occupying foreign army .
In Arizona , BORTAC has attacked humanitarian No More Deaths medical camps , destroying life-saving medical supplies , water and shelters , and seizing migrants seeking humanitarian aid .
It is no accident that Trump uses border police against protests .
He has discovered what the left is still learning : Islamophobia , the oppression of Black people , the erosion of civil liberties , the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and will advance or be beaten back together .
The PATRIOT Act , the war on terror ’ s legislative centerpiece , is itself anticipated by California ’ s 1988 Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act , which as scholar-activist Ruth Wilson Gilmore noted in Golden Gulag , curtailed civil liberties and filled prisons under the pretext of the racist “ war on drugs.
” ( Stuart Schrader recently observed that illiberal counterterror is “ the American creed.
” ) In the 11 years since George W. Bush left office , the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on terror at home and abroad , even while its logics , apparatus and outrages against humanity all continue .
Trump can be ousted , but equally reactionary and more dastardly effective future regimes remain all but inevitable unless an independent , grassroots and militant mass movement uproots the underlying factors that produce this authoritarian trend in executive power .
We must painstakingly rebuild widespread opposition to the racist war on terror and finally end it .
Otherwise , we will remain firmly on this trajectory , with ever more monstrous forms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @

“The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” So declared Donald Trump in late May. Commentators quickly noted the U.S. has no such legal designation that would apply to all those groups and individuals which constitute antifa, an extremely broad swath of anti-fascist resistance. Still, it would not be the first or last time Trump invoked the language of counterterrorism to justify repressing dissent.
Trump and others, including Democratic politicians, have curated choice phrases to describe Black Lives Matter protesters. Within one recent 24-hour period, Trump announced his secret federal police would “clean out” the “anarchists and agitators” protesting in Portland; Joe Biden, while preferring that local law enforcement perform the task, agreed that “anarchists should be prosecuted.”
“Outside agitators,” “antifa,” “anarchists” and especially “terrorists” — these terms recast domestic dissidents as foreign threats against whom the “homeland” must be defended. In this way, they deploy the logic of the “war on terror” and of borders — a rhetorical trend sharply pronounced amid the domestic upheaval of 2020, but not new. The policing of national borders has played a key role in emboldening and empowering Trump specifically, and promoting the deepening fascistization of the U.S. state generally. Given the growing threat of far right authoritarianism, residents of the U.S. might reasonably wonder whether border policing itself does significantly less to keep us safe than it does to place us in grave political danger.
Understanding how we have arrived at this point requires broadening our scope beyond Trump’s own venality and obsession with domination, and looking to the structural factors that produce such a commander-in-chief. Anti-Black racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant xenophobia targeted at individuals within U.S. borders has played a large role, as have the Republican Party’s moral bankruptcy and Trump’s own cult of personality. But as for the precise mechanisms Trump uses to wield unaccountable power, these largely stem from authority assumed by the executive branch over the course of two decades via the bipartisan war on terror and its influence on the United States’s relationship to its borders. If concentration camps and families torn apart at the U.S.’s southern border do not by themselves make the case for opening our borders, Trump’s manipulation of border policy toward increasingly authoritarian ends should put this demand on the table.
Reports from Portland and elsewhere offer harrowing accounts of protesters snatched off the street by anonymous agents who don’t disclose their identity, aims or reasons for the abductions. The U.S. public has been rightly horrified and yet, such abductions are not entirely new. In the years following 9/11, the war on terror was invoked — largely successfully — to justify raids, arrests, and civil rights abuses against Arab and Muslim people. Legal scholar Shirin Sinnar found this treatment to be frequently grounded in an arcane legal distinction between “international” and “domestic” forms of terror. Muslims are disproportionately branded “international terrorists” and thus subject to harsher treatment, while even in exactly similar circumstances, non-Muslim whites are designated “domestic terrorists,” considered less threatening, and treated more gently. Given this backdrop, it is not so surprising that those “anonymous agents” in Portland turned out to be border police operating under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In attempting, absurdly, to tie U.S.-based anarchists to “foreign powers,” DHS extends its legacy of exploiting this legal distinction in order to strip U.S. citizens of constitutional protections.
Headlines in more recent years have focused on the treatment of predominantly Latinx asylum-seekers at the United States’s southern border, itself an outcome of longstanding intensified targeting of Latinx people for detention and deportation, and justified as a “necessary” counterterror measure. While George W. Bush’s administration set much of the legal apparatus of the war in terror into place, it was Obama’s presidency that rehabilitated and entrenched measures that had grown deeply unpopular by the end of Bush’s tenure. Notoriously, Obama deported more people from the U.S. over the course of his eight years in office than had any president before him — or after him, as not even Trump has matched his deportation rate.
Border policing itself does significantly less to keep us safe than it does to place us in grave political danger.
From early on, Obama’s administration eschewed legal reckoning with Bush’s legacy of civil and human rights abuses committed, ostensibly, in defense of the “homeland.” This decision not to hold the accused war criminals of Bush’s regime accountable left many in positions of power, giving them the opportunity to regroup and reconstitute themselves under Obama’s presidency and, later, Trump’s. Incredibly, Obama’s reconciliation with Bush’s legacy is so profound that Obama very recently claimed, “My predecessor, who I disagreed with on a whole host of issues, still had a basic regard for the rule of law…. We cared about human rights.”
In that case, it would be hard to find much fault with Trump’s recent consultation with John Yoo, an author of the infamous “torture memos” justifying what seemed to many at the time to be Bush’s quite obvious disregard for human rights and the rule of law. Trump seems in numerous respects hellbent on undoing Obama’s legacy. Yet, in looking back to the Bush administration as a precursor for his authoritarian and rather flexible interpretations of the bounds of executive power, Trump upholds and extends a legacy entrenched by eight years of Democratic rule.
Trump has proved incapable of uniting the ruling class around him — a more skilled statesman with similarly authoritarian aims might not be so impeded.
Border police were not the first resort for suppressing the Black Lives Matter protests. Municipal police departments made the initial forceful responses in Minneapolis, New York, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. The sight of heavily militarized police officers brutalizing demonstrators tended to backfire, further driving home the urgency of Black Lives Matter organizers and their demands to defund and abolish the police.
Frustrated with local police departments’ inability to put down the protests, and embattled by Democratic politicians who seized on the movement as an opportunity to build their own credibility as leaders of an anti-Trump resistance, Trump turned to other agencies. In D.C., he used police from agencies including the National Guard, Secret Service, U.S. Park Service and Federal Bureau of Prisons, along with local D.C. and Arlington police, to clear out a peaceful protest at Lafayette Park for a photo op in front of St. John’s Church. This, too, backfired when Defense Secretary Mark Esper broke ranks, insisting that when it comes to domestic law enforcement, the military “should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.” Trump has proved incapable of uniting the ruling class around him — a more skilled statesman with similarly authoritarian aims might not be so impeded.
The U.S. is packed with reactionary civilian and military police agencies but even so, Trump has found few sufficiently indifferent to the rule of law to serve him unquestioningly. In DHS — especially its so-called “robocops of U.S. border patrol,” the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) — Trump has found compliant, reliable forces, agents unencumbered by qualms regarding the limits of their jurisdiction or the rights of the people they target.
In the Border Patrol Tactical Unit Trump has found compliant agents unencumbered by qualms regarding the limits of their jurisdiction or the rights of the people they target.
Civil libertarians have warned for years about the border’s encroachment into the U.S. interior. A 100-mile “Border Enforcement Zone” constitutes what some have called a “Constitution-Free Zone,” within which live two of every three U.S. residents. That zone includes Portland, where BORTAC laid siege to a domestic population which responded as though to an occupying foreign army. In Arizona, BORTAC has attacked humanitarian No More Deaths medical camps, destroying life-saving medical supplies, water and shelters, and seizing migrants seeking humanitarian aid.
It is no accident that Trump uses border police against protests. He has discovered what the left is still learning: Islamophobia, the oppression of Black people, the erosion of civil liberties, the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants, and the war on terror are intrinsically interconnected and will advance or be beaten back together. The PATRIOT Act, the war on terror’s legislative centerpiece, is itself anticipated by California’s 1988 Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act, which as scholar-activist Ruth Wilson Gilmore noted in Golden Gulag, curtailed civil liberties and filled prisons under the pretext of the racist “war on drugs.” (Stuart Schrader recently observed that illiberal counterterror is “the American creed.”)
In the 11 years since George W. Bush left office, the U.S. has evaded reckoning with the still-raging war on terror at home and abroad, even while its logics, apparatus and outrages against humanity all continue. Trump can be ousted, but equally reactionary and more dastardly effective future regimes remain all but inevitable unless an independent, grassroots and militant mass movement uproots the underlying factors that produce this authoritarian trend in executive power. We must painstakingly rebuild widespread opposition to the racist war on terror and finally end it. Otherwise, we will remain firmly on this trajectory, with ever more monstrous forms of far right authoritarianism lying up ahead.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
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truthout--2020-08-19--Former DHS Official: Trump Wasn’t Joking About Trading Puerto Rico for Greenland

In the summer of 2019 , the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had “ joked in a meeting ” with staffers about the possibility of trading Puerto Rico , a U.S. territory , for Greenland , a territory of Denmark .
But on Wednesday , former Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) chief of staff Miles Taylor alleged that those comments weren ’ t a joke at all — and that Trump had made racist comments about U.S. citizens living on the island territory .
“ He actually said he wanted to see if we could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Puerto Rico for Greenland because , in his words , Puerto Rico was ‘ dirty ’ and ‘ the people were poor , ' ” Taylor alleged in an interview on MSNBC Wednesday .
Taylor said he was disgusted by the comments at the time , adding that , behind closed doors , Trump held a “ deep animus ” for the people of Puerto Rico .
“ We don ’ t talk about our fellow Americans that way , ” Taylor said .
When Trump made the comments in 2018 , news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ words as having been said in jest .
A number of Twitter users from Puerto Rico joked about the idea when it was first reported , with some tweeting out images of Danish translation books , and others using images of products and media from Denmark they would be happy to embrace .
Trump himself tweeted out a photoshopped image of a fake Trump Tower on Greenland , seemingly joining in the humorous takes on the story .
But after Denmark ’ s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Greenland was not for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discussion , ” Trump lashed out , canceling a planned trip to the country and describing her comment as “ nasty.
” “ I thought it was an inappropriate statement .
All she had to do is say , ‘ No , we wouldn ’ t be interested , ' ” Trump said .
Several users on social media have expressed anger toward Trump amid these latest allegations .
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz , with whom Trump has feuded in the past , responded on Twitter by pointing out how this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past record of racist statements and callousness toward Puerto Rico .
Some Twitter users used this latest chapter in Trump ’ s relationship with Puerto Rico to call for decolonization of the island , while others said it justified support for Biden in the upcoming election .
Still others argued that Trump supporters in Puerto Rico ought to feel ashamed for backing him .
Taylor ’ s allegations about the president ’ s comments toward Puerto Rico come as the former DHS official announced this week that he was endorsing Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic candidate Joe Biden .
Taylor said that , while he was a lifelong Republican who disagreed with Biden on several fronts , Trump was “ unfocused and undisciplined , ” and had used DHS as a means to further his own political ends .
Trump responded to the news about Taylor on Tuesday with a tweet , saying he never knew him .
“ A former DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE named Miles Taylor , who I do not know ( never heard of him ) , said he left & is on the open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a real ‘ stiff ’ .
They will take anyone against us !
” Taylor responded later in the day to Trump ’ s insinuations that his word shouldn ’ t be trusted , stating that he might have to “ tell some stories ” to prove he and the president knew each other .

“He actually said he wanted to see if we could sell Puerto Rico,” former DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor said.
In the summer of 2019, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had “joked in a meeting” with staffers about the possibility of trading Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, for Greenland, a territory of Denmark.
But on Wednesday, former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief of staff Miles Taylor alleged that those comments weren’t a joke at all — and that Trump had made racist comments about U.S. citizens living on the island territory.
“He actually said he wanted to see if we could sell Puerto Rico — could we swap Puerto Rico for Greenland because, in his words, Puerto Rico was ‘dirty’ and ‘the people were poor,'” Taylor alleged in an interview on MSNBC Wednesday.
Taylor said he was disgusted by the comments at the time, adding that, behind closed doors, Trump held a “deep animus” for the people of Puerto Rico. “We don’t talk about our fellow Americans that way,” Taylor said.
When Trump made the comments in 2018, news outlets at the time widely described his words as having been said in jest.
A number of Twitter users from Puerto Rico joked about the idea when it was first reported, with some tweeting out images of Danish translation books, and others using images of products and media from Denmark they would be happy to embrace.
Trump himself tweeted out a photoshopped image of a fake Trump Tower on Greenland, seemingly joining in the humorous takes on the story. But after Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Greenland was not for sale, calling it an “absurd discussion,” Trump lashed out, canceling a planned trip to the country and describing her comment as “nasty.”
“I thought it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to do is say, ‘No, we wouldn’t be interested,'” Trump said.
Several users on social media have expressed anger toward Trump amid these latest allegations. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, with whom Trump has feuded in the past, responded on Twitter by pointing out how this latest revelation fits with Trump’s past record of racist statements and callousness toward Puerto Rico.
Honestly we did not need anyone to tell us what we knew. There are 3,000 + dead that are enough prove that he never cared. He is vicious, discriminatory, has thought more of himself than the truth and did not listen to the experts or the people. Sound familair? @DavidBegnaud https://t.co/blw6HfaXby — Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) August 19, 2020
Some Twitter users used this latest chapter in Trump’s relationship with Puerto Rico to call for decolonization of the island, while others said it justified support for Biden in the upcoming election. Still others argued that Trump supporters in Puerto Rico ought to feel ashamed for backing him.
The reason why Trump has been able disparage Puerto Ricans with his disgusting words and his racist policies is the island’s colonial status. Democrats need to commit to the decolonization of Puerto Rico through a binding referendum process. Expressing outrage is not enough! https://t.co/icYuUwTvbp — Giovanni 🇵🇷 (@GiovanniEPagan) August 19, 2020
Yet another reason why we need @JoeBiden in the White House. We're in a battle for the soul of this nation. As @MichelleObama reminded us on Monday: "Being president doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are."#DemConvention #BidenHarris2020 https://t.co/6kXutHzKQx — Puerto Rico Democrats (@PR_Dems) August 19, 2020
Esto es para los que apoyan a trump Exjefe de Gabinete de Seguridad Interna: Trump ha tenido “profunda animosidad” hacia el pueblo de Puerto Rico https://t.co/42DrFQm5aN — Angel (@AngelMerced68) August 19, 2020
Taylor’s allegations about the president’s comments toward Puerto Rico come as the former DHS official announced this week that he was endorsing Trump’s rival in the 2020 presidential race, Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Taylor said that, while he was a lifelong Republican who disagreed with Biden on several fronts, Trump was “unfocused and undisciplined,” and had used DHS as a means to further his own political ends.
Trump responded to the news about Taylor on Tuesday with a tweet, saying he never knew him.
“A former DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE named Miles Taylor, who I do not know (never heard of him), said he left & is on the open arms Fake News circuit. Said to be a real ‘stiff’. They will take anyone against us!”
Taylor responded later in the day to Trump’s insinuations that his word shouldn’t be trusted, stating that he might have to “tell some stories” to prove he and the president knew each other.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
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truthout--2020-08-19--AOC Slams NBC News for “Malicious and Misleading” Tweet About Her DNC Appearance

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-New York ) criticized NBC News on Wednesday morning in response to the network ’ s misleading tweet regarding a nomination statement she had made at the Democratic National Convention ( DNC ) the night before .
Ocasio-Cortez had seconded the nomination of Sen. Bernie Sanders for president at the DNC on Tuesday night , doing so in the name of a “ movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice , colonization , misogyny and homophobia.
” “ In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass evictions , unemployment , and lack of health care , en el espíritu del pueblo , and out of a love for all people , I hereby second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America , ” Ocasio-Cortez added .
Some on social media were confused by her nomination statement , however , curious as to whether it meant she wouldn ’ t be supporting the party ’ s nominee Joe Biden .
The congresswoman explained to users on Twitter that her message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delegates voting for Sanders in the nomination process .
“ If you were confused , no worries !
Convention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold .
I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call , ” she tweeted out .
“ I extend my deepest congratulations to @ JoeBiden – let ’ s go win in November.
” Ocasio-Cortez took a more critical tone , however , toward NBC News , as it had wrongly suggested she was not supporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and had also termed her nomination statement a DNC speech .
“ In one of the shortest speeches of the DNC , Rep. Ocasio-Cortez did not endorse Joe Biden , ” the network said of her nomination statement for Sanders .
The company later deleted the tweet and issued out a correction very early on Wednesday morning , nearly three-and-a-half hours after it had published the mistake .
“ This tweet should have included more detail on the nominating process , ” NBC News wrote in the first of two tweets correcting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying the original tweet from NBC News was irresponsible , adding that the correction was problematic as it was made at a time when most American users of the platform were likely already asleep .
“ You waited several hours to correct your obvious and blatantly misleading tweet , ” Ocasio-Cortez wrote .
“ It sparked an enormous amount of hatred and vitriol , & now the [ misinformation ] you created is circulating on other networks .
She further alleged the first tweet was made simply to “ generate hate-clicks from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmaker added in a reply to her own tweet that the network ’ s actions were “ completely unacceptable , disappointing , and appalling ” since the Democratic Party had shared with news media what her remarks were meant to be — a procedural nomination for Sanders to count his delegates .
“ @ NBC knew what was going to happen & that it was routine .
How does a headline that malicious & misleading happen w/ that prior knowledge ?
” she added .
“ So @ NBCNews how are you going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and misinformation that you are now responsible for ?
Because a 1:15am tweet to slip under the radar after blowing up a totally false and divisive narrative across networks isn ’ t it , ” Ocasio-Cortez concluded in her remarks toward the network .
Ocasio-Cortez was an ardent supporter of Sanders during the Democratic Party ’ s caucus and primary contests earlier this year .
However , after Sanders formally withdrew from the race , the congresswoman stated at several junctures , including during a livestream discussion on her Instagram account in April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support behind Biden in the general election .
“ In November , I ’ m going to be voting for Joe Biden , ” Ocasio-Cortez said at the time .

The news network corrected the record at 1 am on Wednesday morning, which Ocasio-Cortez also criticized.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) criticized NBC News on Wednesday morning in response to the network’s misleading tweet regarding a nomination statement she had made at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) the night before.
Ocasio-Cortez had seconded the nomination of Sen. Bernie Sanders for president at the DNC on Tuesday night, doing so in the name of a “movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia.”
“In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care, en el espíritu del pueblo, and out of a love for all people, I hereby second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
Some on social media were confused by her nomination statement, however, curious as to whether it meant she wouldn’t be supporting the party’s nominee Joe Biden. The congresswoman explained to users on Twitter that her message was a procedural one necessary to count delegates voting for Sanders in the nomination process.
“If you were confused, no worries! Convention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call,” she tweeted out. “I extend my deepest congratulations to @JoeBiden – let’s go win in November.”
Ocasio-Cortez took a more critical tone, however, toward NBC News, as it had wrongly suggested she was not supporting Biden’s candidacy for president, and had also termed her nomination statement a DNC speech.
“In one of the shortest speeches of the DNC, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez did not endorse Joe Biden,” the network said of her nomination statement for Sanders.
The company later deleted the tweet and issued out a correction very early on Wednesday morning, nearly three-and-a-half hours after it had published the mistake. “This tweet should have included more detail on the nominating process,” NBC News wrote in the first of two tweets correcting the record.
Still, Ocasio-Cortez responded by saying the original tweet from NBC News was irresponsible, adding that the correction was problematic as it was made at a time when most American users of the platform were likely already asleep.
“You waited several hours to correct your obvious and blatantly misleading tweet,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “It sparked an enormous amount of hatred and vitriol, & now the [misinformation] you created is circulating on other networks.
She further alleged the first tweet was made simply to “generate hate-clicks from a pre-recorded, routine procedural motion.”
The lawmaker added in a reply to her own tweet that the network’s actions were “completely unacceptable, disappointing, and appalling” since the Democratic Party had shared with news media what her remarks were meant to be — a procedural nomination for Sanders to count his delegates. “@NBC knew what was going to happen & that it was routine. How does a headline that malicious & misleading happen w/ that prior knowledge?” she added.
This is completely unacceptable, disappointing, and appalling. The DNC shared the procedural purpose of my remarks to media WELL in advance. @NBC knew what was going to happen & that it was routine. How does a headline that malicious & misleading happen w/ that prior knowledge? — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 19, 2020
“So @NBCNews how are you going to fix the incredible amount of damage and misinformation that you are now responsible for? Because a 1:15am tweet to slip under the radar after blowing up a totally false and divisive narrative across networks isn’t it,” Ocasio-Cortez concluded in her remarks toward the network.
Ocasio-Cortez was an ardent supporter of Sanders during the Democratic Party’s caucus and primary contests earlier this year. However, after Sanders formally withdrew from the race, the congresswoman stated at several junctures, including during a livestream discussion on her Instagram account in April, that she would put her full support behind Biden in the general election.
“In November, I’m going to be voting for Joe Biden,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the time.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-19--AOC Was the Highlight of DNC’s Night Two Despite Speaking Just 97 Seconds

For the second night in a row , the Democratic National Zoom Meeting was a galloping montage of videos that used its time to good effect .
After another hiccup-free evening of content that entirely sidelined the network talking heads for two hours — an unanticipated boon — it is hard to imagine the party going back to the old way of doing conventions in four years .
For my money , the second-best part of the event was the nomination roll call , and not just because Bernie Sanders pulled down almost a third of the available delegates .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country looks like as represented by its vastly diverse and dedicated people .
Parkland father Fred Guttenberg submitted the delegates for Florida .
A college professor named Carmen Walters represented Mississippi .
The legendary Rep. Barbara Lee stood for California .
Khizr Khan , who lost his son to the wars and drew Trump ’ s ire after the ‘ 16 convention , delivered Virginia .
Rep. John McNamara brought some calamari from Rhode Island , and Cozzie Watkins brought some fire from North Carolina .
And a Nebraska meatpacker named Geraldine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country to telegraph a chilling plea : The diversity of the roll call was mirrored in the 17-person “ keynote address ” featuring a crowd of rising Democratic stars .
Again , they looked like the country .
There was some pre-show handwringing about splintering the focus of the keynote , which has traditionally been used to promote a single individual whose star is waxing — see Barack Obama in 2004 — but the showcase of men and women from every racial and cultural corner of the country was bracing in its optimism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is us .
Over the course of the broadcast , important Democratic touchstones like Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and the Kennedy family were visited .
Joe Biden popped up twice for brief interludes , one to accept the nomination and the other to put on a mask right in front of the camera .
Jill Biden was no Michelle Obama , but she was incredibly strong nonetheless , and the delivery of her remarks in an empty classroom spoke volumes by itself .
Sally Yates made mincemeat of Donald Trump over his larval-fascist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — rendered radioactive with the advent of # MeToo — took a verbal baseball bat to the Trump administration in a raspy whisper that was a shadow of its former folksy self .
The health care segment of the program was deeply moving as it centered around health care activist Ady Barkan .
After being diagnosed with ALS , Barkan has spent the years since advocating fiercely for Medicare for All .
Last night — using a wheelchair and communicating via an electronic device — Barkan offered words that were profoundly evocative as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s nomination .
“ We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right , ” he said .
“ Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay.
” Barkan ’ s remarks were not solely relegated to his appearance in the event .
Before it began , he told the press , “ I support Medicare for All and Joe Biden obviously doesn ’ t .
Many Democratic voters agree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelming support in the exit polls during the primaries .
And the pandemic and depression have proven how dangerous it is to tie insurance to employment.
” As this event has unfolded over the last two nights , it is manifestly clear that , should Biden prevail in November , many of the people endorsing him this week will be all over him pushing progressive policy initiatives once he takes office .
Count Ady Barkan as one of those , for as long as he is able .
Without warning , the program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the inevitable “ Yay War ” portion of the exercise .
I was at both conventions in 2004 , the first conventions after September 11 and the onset of the wars .
They were hypermilitarized events almost to the point of self-caricature .
Last night was not that , and probably there is some political capital to be found in pandering to voters who need to be told that Joe Biden will kill anything that breathes “ to keep them safe.
” But Colin Powell is a damn war criminal , and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsement of anything is a red-flag warning to run the other way .
His inclusion last night was egregiously unnecessary and possibly damaging .
And while we ’ re on the subject : Four of the 13 main speakers at the 1996 Republican National Convention have spoken at this year ’ s Democratic National Convention , and the thing is only half over .
When , oh when , are the Democrats going to be comfortable enough with themselves to just be themselves all by themselves , and stop pursuing the uncatchable rabbit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not a change-minds convention , or a change-minds election .
Opinions are fixed like the North Star .
This is going to be a put-butts-in-the-seats election for both sides , and whoever does that better will win , full stop .
This is why the U.S .
Postal Service is so vital to both parties , despite what President Thundercloud is on about .
Not one mind will be changed by seeing John McCain , Meghan McCain , Colin Powell , John Kasich , Christine Todd Whitman , Susan Molinari and Meg Whitman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call Trump a loser and a fool .
Most Trump voters revile McCain more than any Democrat , so no points there .
“ John McCain is not well-liked by most Trump voters mainly because he was a bitter corrupt old man at the end , ” a Trump-voting friend told me last night .
“ As for it swaying any Trump voters , I think it has the possibility to disgust and dispirit more progressives than anyone on Trump ’ s side.
” Hard not to take that barbed point to heart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Democratic Convention could have been given to , oh , I don ’ t know , Democrats ?
I said my second-favorite portion of the night was the delegate roll call .
The best part of the night , by any metric , was the eye-blink time slot afforded Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to second Bernie Sanders ’ s nomination .
Her remarks were a song , a poem of hope and defiance , and they speak better for themselves than I ever could : Good evening , bienvenidos , and thank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better , more just future for our country and our world .
In fidelity and gratitude to a mass people ’ s movement working to establish 21st-century social , economic and human rights , including guaranteed health care , higher education , living wages and labor rights for all people in the United States ; a movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice , colonization , misogyny and homophobia , and to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many , and who organized an historic , grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy .
In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions , unemployment and lack of health care , and espíritu del pueblo and out of a love for all people , I hereby second the nomination of Senator Bernard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States of America .
One minute and 37 seconds out of a program two hours in length , and Representative Ocasio-Cortez made the most of all of it .
Imagine if she had been given the same amount of time as Kasich , or Powell , or even the commercials CNN ran during the roll call ?
Well , maybe by 2024 , the Democratic establishment will have realized which way the tide is running , Biden or no Biden , and give the ever-rising progressive wing of the party its due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the Hillary Clinton show tonight .
Get ready for the talking heads to deploy the word “ bittersweet ” on repeat .
She lost to the single most ridiculous presidential candidate in human history four long years ago .
Bittersweet ?
Nah , just bitter .

Imagine if Ocasio-Cortez had been given the same amount of time as Republicans, or even the commercials CNN ran.
For the second night in a row, the Democratic National Zoom Meeting was a galloping montage of videos that used its time to good effect. After another hiccup-free evening of content that entirely sidelined the network talking heads for two hours — an unanticipated boon — it is hard to imagine the party going back to the old way of doing conventions in four years.
For my money, the second-best part of the event was the nomination roll call, and not just because Bernie Sanders pulled down almost a third of the available delegates. We all got to see exactly what the country looks like as represented by its vastly diverse and dedicated people.
Parkland father Fred Guttenberg submitted the delegates for Florida. A college professor named Carmen Walters represented Mississippi. The legendary Rep. Barbara Lee stood for California. Khizr Khan, who lost his son to the wars and drew Trump’s ire after the ‘16 convention, delivered Virginia. Rep. John McNamara brought some calamari from Rhode Island, and Cozzie Watkins brought some fire from North Carolina.
And a Nebraska meatpacker named Geraldine Waller used her brief moment with the country to telegraph a chilling plea:
I work at a meat packing plant, making sure grocery store shelves stay full. They call us essential workers, but we get treated like we’re expendable. Workers are dying from COVID, and a lot of us don’t have paid sick leave or even quality protective equipment. We are human beings, not robots, not disposable. We want to keep helping you feed your family, but we need a president who will have our backs. Related Story Op-Ed | Politics & Elections The Convention’s First Night Was Filled With Sorrow — as It Should Be Kristin Urquiza said of her father, who died of COVID, "His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump." Truthout
The diversity of the roll call was mirrored in the 17-person “keynote address” featuring a crowd of rising Democratic stars. Again, they looked like the country. There was some pre-show handwringing about splintering the focus of the keynote, which has traditionally been used to promote a single individual whose star is waxing — see Barack Obama in 2004 — but the showcase of men and women from every racial and cultural corner of the country was bracing in its optimism, in its simple truth. This is us.
Over the course of the broadcast, important Democratic touchstones like Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and the Kennedy family were visited. Joe Biden popped up twice for brief interludes, one to accept the nomination and the other to put on a mask right in front of the camera. Jill Biden was no Michelle Obama, but she was incredibly strong nonetheless, and the delivery of her remarks in an empty classroom spoke volumes by itself.
The health care segment of the program was deeply moving, both inspirational and aspirational, until it whiplashed without warning into the inevitable “Yay War” portion of the exercise.
Sally Yates made mincemeat of Donald Trump over his larval-fascist attacks on government oversight. Bill Clinton — rendered radioactive with the advent of #MeToo — took a verbal baseball bat to the Trump administration in a raspy whisper that was a shadow of its former folksy self.
The health care segment of the program was deeply moving as it centered around health care activist Ady Barkan. After being diagnosed with ALS, Barkan has spent the years since advocating fiercely for Medicare for All. Last night — using a wheelchair and communicating via an electronic device — Barkan offered words that were profoundly evocative as he spoke to his cause while endorsing Biden’s nomination. “We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right,” he said. “Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay.”
Barkan’s remarks were not solely relegated to his appearance in the event. Before it began, he told the press, “I support Medicare for All and Joe Biden obviously doesn’t. Many Democratic voters agree with me, as evidenced by the overwhelming support in the exit polls during the primaries. And the pandemic and depression have proven how dangerous it is to tie insurance to employment.” As this event has unfolded over the last two nights, it is manifestly clear that, should Biden prevail in November, many of the people endorsing him this week will be all over him pushing progressive policy initiatives once he takes office. Count Ady Barkan as one of those, for as long as he is able.
Without warning, the program suddenly whiplashed weirdly from health care to the inevitable “Yay War” portion of the exercise. I was at both conventions in 2004, the first conventions after September 11 and the onset of the wars. They were hypermilitarized events almost to the point of self-caricature.
Last night was not that, and probably there is some political capital to be found in pandering to voters who need to be told that Joe Biden will kill anything that breathes “to keep them safe.” But Colin Powell is a damn war criminal, and to a great many progressive voters, his endorsement of anything is a red-flag warning to run the other way. His inclusion last night was egregiously unnecessary and possibly damaging.
And while we’re on the subject: Four of the 13 main speakers at the 1996 Republican National Convention have spoken at this year’s Democratic National Convention, and the thing is only half over. When, oh when, are the Democrats going to be comfortable enough with themselves to just be themselves all by themselves, and stop pursuing the uncatchable rabbit of broad Republican approval?
This is not a change-minds convention, or a change-minds election. Opinions are fixed like the North Star. This is going to be a put-butts-in-the-seats election for both sides, and whoever does that better will win, full stop. This is why the U.S. Postal Service is so vital to both parties, despite what President Thundercloud is on about.
Not one mind will be changed by seeing John McCain, Meghan McCain, Colin Powell, John Kasich, Christine Todd Whitman, Susan Molinari and Meg Whitman stand on their bloodstained Republican credentials to call Trump a loser and a fool.
Most Trump voters revile McCain more than any Democrat, so no points there. “John McCain is not well-liked by most Trump voters mainly because he was a bitter corrupt old man at the end,” a Trump-voting friend told me last night. “As for it swaying any Trump voters, I think it has the possibility to disgust and dispirit more progressives than anyone on Trump’s side.”
Hard not to take that barbed point to heart. Maybe the time given to Republicans at the Democratic Convention could have been given to, oh, I don’t know, Democrats?
Like, say, AOC?
I said my second-favorite portion of the night was the delegate roll call. The best part of the night, by any metric, was the eye-blink time slot afforded Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to second Bernie Sanders’s nomination. Her remarks were a song, a poem of hope and defiance, and they speak better for themselves than I ever could:
Good evening, bienvenidos, and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring towards a better, more just future for our country and our world. In fidelity and gratitude to a mass people’s movement working to establish 21st-century social, economic and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in the United States; a movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia, and to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past; a movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many, and who organized an historic, grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions, unemployment and lack of health care, and espíritu del pueblo and out of a love for all people, I hereby second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America.
One minute and 37 seconds out of a program two hours in length, and Representative Ocasio-Cortez made the most of all of it. Imagine if she had been given the same amount of time as Kasich, or Powell, or even the commercials CNN ran during the roll call?
Well, maybe by 2024, the Democratic establishment will have realized which way the tide is running, Biden or no Biden, and give the ever-rising progressive wing of the party its due.
In the meantime, it’s the Hillary Clinton show tonight. Get ready for the talking heads to deploy the word “bittersweet” on repeat. She lost to the single most ridiculous presidential candidate in human history four long years ago. Bittersweet? Nah, just bitter.
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truthout--2020-08-19--Dying Medicare for All Activist Urges Biden to Adopt Universal Health Care

AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
We are breaking with convention , as we cover the Democratic National Convention underway virtually this week .
As the Democratic Party formally announced Joe Biden as its nominee for president Tuesday night , one of those who joined in the call to elect him was Medicare for All activist Ady Barkan , who ’ s paralyzed and unable to speak due to terminal ALS .
ADY BARKAN : Hey , Carl , it ’ s me , Dad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watching this , you will have grown up to be strong and courageous .
But I don ’ t know how much longer I ’ ll be around for you .
I was diagnosed with ALS today , which is a deadly , debilitating disease .
After I was diagnosed , the president passed a tax bill that put my healthcare at risk .
So I went to Washington , D.C. BROOKE BALDWIN : My next guest made headlines when he confronted a Republican senator on an airplane .
ADY BARKAN : You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wanted to help create a better country for you to live in .
ADY BARKAN : All that matters to me is to make you proud , because I ’ m already so proud of you .
Hello , America .
My name is Ady Barkan , and I am speaking to you through this computer voice because I have been paralyzed by a mysterious illness called ALS .
Like so many of you , I have experienced the ways our healthcare system is fundamentally broken — enormous costs , denied claims , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need .
Since my shocking diagnosis , I have traveled the country meeting countless patients like me , demanding more of our representatives and our democracy .
Today we are witnessing the tragic consequences of our failing healthcare system .
In the midst of a pandemic , nearly 100 million Americans do not have sufficient health insurance .
And even good insurance does not cover essential needs like long-term care .
Our loved ones are dying in unsafe nursing homes , our nurses are overwhelmed and unprotected , and our essential workers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the richest country in history , and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right .
Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need , regardless of their employment status or ability to pay .
Even during this terrible crisis , Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of people ’ s health insurance .
With the existential threat of another four years of this president , we all have a profound obligation to act — not only to vote , but to make sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote , as well .
We must elect Joe Biden .
Each of us must be a hero for our communities , for our country .
And then , with a compassionate and intelligent president , we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve .

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. We are breaking with convention, as we cover the Democratic National Convention underway virtually this week. As the Democratic Party formally announced Joe Biden as its nominee for president Tuesday night, one of those who joined in the call to elect him was Medicare for All activist Ady Barkan, who’s paralyzed and unable to speak due to terminal ALS.
ADY BARKAN: Hey, Carl, it’s me, Dad. By the time you’re watching this, you will have grown up to be strong and courageous. But I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around for you.
I was diagnosed with ALS today, which is a deadly, debilitating disease.
After I was diagnosed, the president passed a tax bill that put my healthcare at risk. So I went to Washington, D.C.
BROOKE BALDWIN: My next guest made headlines when he confronted a Republican senator on an airplane.
ADY BARKAN: You can be an American hero.
I wanted to help create a better country for you to live in.
Democracy is beautiful!
PROTESTERS: Democracy is beautiful!
ADY BARKAN: All that matters to me is to make you proud, because I’m already so proud of you.
Hello, America. My name is Ady Barkan, and I am speaking to you through this computer voice because I have been paralyzed by a mysterious illness called ALS. Like so many of you, I have experienced the ways our healthcare system is fundamentally broken — enormous costs, denied claims, dehumanizing treatment when we are most in need.
Since my shocking diagnosis, I have traveled the country meeting countless patients like me, demanding more of our representatives and our democracy. Today we are witnessing the tragic consequences of our failing healthcare system.
In the midst of a pandemic, nearly 100 million Americans do not have sufficient health insurance. And even good insurance does not cover essential needs like long-term care. Our loved ones are dying in unsafe nursing homes, our nurses are overwhelmed and unprotected, and our essential workers are treated as dispensable.
We live in the richest country in history, and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need, regardless of their employment status or ability to pay.
Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of people’s health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act — not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote, as well.
We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for our communities, for our country. And then, with a compassionate and intelligent president, we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve.