truthout--2020-10-22--Don’t Blame the Moderator. Presidential Debates Are Set Up to Be a Charade.

Assuming he doesn ’ t chicken out , Donald Trump will take part in his second 2020 presidential debate tonight .
His opponents will be Joe Biden , his own record , the notion of truth , and any sense of decency .
The good news is that the Commission on Presidential Debates ( CPD ) has introduced a new rule stating that each candidate ’ s microphone will be muted during his opponent ’ s initial two-minute statement for each of the six segments of the debate .
So , we ’ ll hopefully only be subjected to Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead of the full 90 .
It ’ s impossible to predict what will happen — except for , most likely , one thing .
Critics will take to social media within minutes to criticize the debate moderator .
The problem is not specifically with tonight ’ s moderator , NBC ’ s Kristen Welker , but with all of the Beltway journalists whose need to maintain access to the White House tends to render them accomplices to enabling the lies and rule-breaking that come from that building on a daily basis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wallace while repeatedly interrupting Biden in the first presidential debate , while in the vice-presidential debate , Mike Pence tried to do his creepy choirboy version of the same bullying act with his moderator Susan Page and vice-presidential opponent Kamala Harris .
Trump ’ s first debate performance was a minor disaster for his polling , but it was also a successful display of the authoritarianism that fires up his base — just as Pence ’ s treatment of Page and Harris scored a victory for misogyny and racism .
These spectacles were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but all of us who watched hoping to see an at least somewhat fair rhetorical fight , and instead had our time and intellect abused by these two-bit Republican bullies .
While we ’ re fully justified in tweeting our anger at the moderators during these debates , we should also be aware that they have about as much control over the proceedings as the microphones sitting atop the candidate podiums — thanks to a setup approved by both parties that has reduced these journalists to little more than tools to allow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As they remind us at the beginning of each debate , one of the jobs of a debate moderator is to enforce the rules agreed upon by both candidates under the direction of the Commission on Presidential Debates It all sounds fair enough , like two fighters getting final instructions from the referee just before they square off .
But while referees work for neutral and independent leagues and governing bodies , our presidential debates are run by an organization with conflicts of influence that would embarrass the shadiest boxing federation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ controlled by the Democratic and Republican Parties , which created the commission three decades ago to allow their candidates to avoid having to answer real questions from both journalists and third-party candidates .
It was a convenient setup for two stable parties with broadly similar ideas on how to maintain the dominance of American capitalism and empire .
But now one of those two parties is led by a plutocratic demagogue whose primary populist appeal is that he enrages elites by violating “ norms ” such as debate rules — and the Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every other Washington institution designed to function under bipartisan civility .
In the 1970s and 1980s , televised presidential debates were organized by the League of Women Voters , a nonpartisan group with roots in the women ’ s suffrage movement .
But starting in 1988 , presidential debates were taken over by the Commission on Presidential Debates , a new organization that was technically unaffiliated with any party but was in essence a bipartisan organization founded by the chairs of the Democratic and Republican Parties .
Because we have been conditioned to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ norm , many people treat the words bipartisan ( involving two parties ) and nonpartisan ( independent from any party ) as interchangeable synonyms for neutrality .
But that ’ s a serious mistake , because our two major parties are anything but unbiased .
During the 1980s , for example , both major parties in the U.S. — Republicans under Ronald Reagan and Democrats under Reagan-lite moderates like Bill Clinton and Joe Biden — were embracing right-wing policies of deregulation even as public opinion remained supportive of liberal social welfare programs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s growing inequality and racist backlash , and Jesse Jackson ’ s 1984 Democratic primary challenge made them wary of third parties forming to the left of their political duopoly .
Enter the Commission on Presidential Debates , which vowed to ” institutionalize ” the debates under tighter party control , and to establish new participation criteria — such as receiving over 15 percent support in at least five national polls — that would make it almost impossible for third-party candidates who aren ’ t billionaires to qualify .
The League of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , declaring the organization had no intention of becoming an accessory to the “ hoodwinking of the American public.
” In a blistering 1988 statement , League President Nancy Neuman denounced the “ campaigns ’ demands to control selection of questioners , the composition of the audience , hall access for the press and other issues.
” “ It has become clear to us , ” Neuman continued , “ that the candidates ’ organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance , spontaneity and honest answers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a pretty accurate description of virtually every presidential debate since 1984 .
This year ’ s presidential debates are a microcosm of our larger dilemma .
It ’ s enraging to have to endure Trump ’ s flagrant violations of the rules both campaigns have agreed to , but the entire structure that produced those rules has for the past 30 years been designed to produce little more than softball questions for candidates to deliver sound bites and corny one-liners .
It was telling that after all of our justified outrage over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dominant reaction to the more subdued vice-presidential debates was boredom — a reminder of how little there is to watch during a verging-on-normal debate run by the Commission on Presidential Debates .
I ’ m sure that the Commission on Presidential Debates is genuinely hoping to impose more order on the proceedings tonight , but its aim is to restore not genuine debate but its illusion .
The debate is yet one more of our supposedly democratic institutions that is being exposed as an empty husk under the pressure of Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ modicum of Kristen Welker ’ s reputation as a journalist rests on her ability to not allow Trump get away with lying and bullying .
But her employment prospects with the Comcast Corporation that owns NBC depend on her ability to maintain access to the White House , something she could jeopardize by doing the job we need her to do .
Call debate moderators hacks if you want , but the job they are expected to perform for their bosses is to absorb our anger as their companies rake in the ad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spectacle of our disintegrating political order .
While these debates have shown that elite institutions like Comcast and the Commission on Presidential Debates are no match for a contender who doesn ’ t care about preserving bipartisan stability , that doesn ’ t mean Trump is all-powerful .
He ’ s often incredibly weak when he feels threatened by real social power — it was just a few months ago that the man literally hid in a bunker in the face of widespread protests against racism .
There ’ s a lesson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wing would much prefer to counter Trump with appeals to continuity and bipartisanship than protest movements that won ’ t be satisfied with a return to the status quo .
The conditions of tonight ’ s debate , an unfair contest in which one side can violate the rules with impunity , are also the conditions facing our overall fight for justice and equality .
A moderator can ’ t fix that , and in all likelihood neither can Joe Biden .
But we can , through continuing to mobilize through the very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Donald Trump will vilify tonight as dangerous threats —because somewhere deep inside that reptile brain of his lies a recognition that these movements have the potential to build real power , the kind that makes his aggro debate schtick look even smaller than it already does .

Assuming he doesn’t chicken out, Donald Trump will take part in his second 2020 presidential debate tonight. His opponents will be Joe Biden, his own record, the notion of truth, and any sense of decency.
The good news is that the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has introduced a new rule stating that each candidate’s microphone will be muted during his opponent’s initial two-minute statement for each of the six segments of the debate. So, we’ll hopefully only be subjected to Trump’s abusive routine for 78 minutes instead of the full 90.
It’s impossible to predict what will happen — except for, most likely, one thing. Critics will take to social media within minutes to criticize the debate moderator.
The problem is not specifically with tonight’s moderator, NBC’s Kristen Welker, but with all of the Beltway journalists whose need to maintain access to the White House tends to render them accomplices to enabling the lies and rule-breaking that come from that building on a daily basis.
Trump brazenly walked all over moderator Chris Wallace while repeatedly interrupting Biden in the first presidential debate, while in the vice-presidential debate, Mike Pence tried to do his creepy choirboy version of the same bullying act with his moderator Susan Page and vice-presidential opponent Kamala Harris.
Trump’s first debate performance was a minor disaster for his polling, but it was also a successful display of the authoritarianism that fires up his base — just as Pence’s treatment of Page and Harris scored a victory for misogyny and racism. These spectacles were degrading not just for Wallace and Page, but all of us who watched hoping to see an at least somewhat fair rhetorical fight, and instead had our time and intellect abused by these two-bit Republican bullies.
While we’re fully justified in tweeting our anger at the moderators during these debates, we should also be aware that they have about as much control over the proceedings as the microphones sitting atop the candidate podiums — thanks to a setup approved by both parties that has reduced these journalists to little more than tools to allow each party to broadcast its preferred message.
Our presidential debates are run by an organization with conflicts of influence that would embarrass the shadiest boxing federation.
As they remind us at the beginning of each debate, one of the jobs of a debate moderator is to enforce the rules agreed upon by both candidates under the direction of the Commission on Presidential Debates . It all sounds fair enough, like two fighters getting final instructions from the referee just before they square off. But while referees work for neutral and independent leagues and governing bodies, our presidential debates are run by an organization with conflicts of influence that would embarrass the shadiest boxing federation.
The Commission on Presidential Debates is wholly controlled by the Democratic and Republican Parties, which created the commission three decades ago to allow their candidates to avoid having to answer real questions from both journalists and third-party candidates.
It was a convenient setup for two stable parties with broadly similar ideas on how to maintain the dominance of American capitalism and empire. But now one of those two parties is led by a plutocratic demagogue whose primary populist appeal is that he enrages elites by violating “norms” such as debate rules — and the Commission on Presidential Debates is as powerless as every other Washington institution designed to function under bipartisan civility.
In the 1970s and 1980s, televised presidential debates were organized by the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan group with roots in the women’s suffrage movement. But starting in 1988, presidential debates were taken over by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a new organization that was technically unaffiliated with any party but was in essence a bipartisan organization founded by the chairs of the Democratic and Republican Parties.
The League of Women Voters withdrew sponsorship of the debates, declaring the organization had no intention of becoming an accessory to the “hoodwinking of the American public.”
Because we have been conditioned to accept our two-party system as a universal norm, many people treat the words bipartisan (involving two parties) and nonpartisan (independent from any party) as interchangeable synonyms for neutrality.
But that’s a serious mistake, because our two major parties are anything but unbiased.
During the 1980s, for example, both major parties in the U.S. — Republicans under Ronald Reagan and Democrats under Reagan-lite moderates like Bill Clinton and Joe Biden — were embracing right-wing policies of deregulation even as public opinion remained supportive of liberal social welfare programs. Neither party wanted to discuss the country’s growing inequality and racist backlash, and Jesse Jackson’s 1984 Democratic primary challenge made them wary of third parties forming to the left of their political duopoly.
Enter the Commission on Presidential Debates, which vowed to ”institutionalize” the debates under tighter party control, and to establish new participation criteria — such as receiving over 15 percent support in at least five national polls — that would make it almost impossible for third-party candidates who aren’t billionaires to qualify.
The League of Women Voters withdrew sponsorship of the debates, declaring the organization had no intention of becoming an accessory to the “hoodwinking of the American public.” In a blistering 1988 statement, League President Nancy Neuman denounced the “campaigns’ demands to control selection of questioners, the composition of the audience, hall access for the press and other issues.”
I’m sure that the Commission on Presidential Debates is genuinely hoping to impose more order on the proceedings tonight, but its aim is to restore not genuine debate but its illusion.
“It has become clear to us,” Neuman continued, “that the candidates’ organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and honest answers to tough questions.”
All in all, a pretty accurate description of virtually every presidential debate since 1984.
This year’s presidential debates are a microcosm of our larger dilemma. It’s enraging to have to endure Trump’s flagrant violations of the rules both campaigns have agreed to, but the entire structure that produced those rules has for the past 30 years been designed to produce little more than softball questions for candidates to deliver sound bites and corny one-liners.
It was telling that after all of our justified outrage over Trump’s abusive debate spectacle, the dominant reaction to the more subdued vice-presidential debates was boredom — a reminder of how little there is to watch during a verging-on-normal debate run by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
I’m sure that the Commission on Presidential Debates is genuinely hoping to impose more order on the proceedings tonight, but its aim is to restore not genuine debate but its illusion. The debate is yet one more of our supposedly democratic institutions that is being exposed as an empty husk under the pressure of Trump’s nihilistic assault.
The conditions of tonight’s debate, an unfair contest in which one side can violate the rules with impunity, are also the conditions facing our overall fight for justice and equality.
Tonight, a modicum of Kristen Welker’s reputation as a journalist rests on her ability to not allow Trump get away with lying and bullying. But her employment prospects with the Comcast Corporation that owns NBC depend on her ability to maintain access to the White House, something she could jeopardize by doing the job we need her to do.
Call debate moderators hacks if you want, but the job they are expected to perform for their bosses is to absorb our anger as their companies rake in the ad revenue from the ratings bonanza that is the spectacle of our disintegrating political order.
While these debates have shown that elite institutions like Comcast and the Commission on Presidential Debates are no match for a contender who doesn’t care about preserving bipartisan stability, that doesn’t mean Trump is all-powerful. He’s often incredibly weak when he feels threatened by real social power — it was just a few months ago that the man literally hid in a bunker in the face of widespread protests against racism.
There’s a lesson here for Democrats, whose Biden-led centrist wing would much prefer to counter Trump with appeals to continuity and bipartisanship than protest movements that won’t be satisfied with a return to the status quo.
The conditions of tonight’s debate, an unfair contest in which one side can violate the rules with impunity, are also the conditions facing our overall fight for justice and equality. A moderator can’t fix that, and in all likelihood neither can Joe Biden.
But we can, through continuing to mobilize through the very protests, organizations and insurgent electoral campaigns that Donald Trump will vilify tonight as dangerous threats —because somewhere deep inside that reptile brain of his lies a recognition that these movements have the potential to build real power, the kind that makes his aggro debate schtick look even smaller than it already does.
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truthout--2020-10-22--Labor Prepares for Last-Minute General Strike If Trump Tries to Steal Election

The 100,000-member MLK Labor Council , an AFL-CIO regional body of labor groups representing more than 150 unions in the Seattle , Washington , area , passed a resolution Wednesday that calls for a general strike if President Donald Trump does not respect the outcome of the November 3 election .
“ MLK Labor will call on to City and County governments to pledge to protect the protesters defending democracy and commit to not using police action or curfews to curtail these activities and to use all available resources to stand up against any effort by the Trump administration to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
“ MLK Labor , in collaboration with other labor and progressive forces , will take whatever nonviolent actions are necessary up to and including a general strike to protect our democracy , the Constitution , the law and our nation ’ s democratic traditions.
” The resolution was adopted during a special executive board meeting and will be brought before the Washington State Labor Council , the Washington branch of the AFL-CIO .
There has already been discussion at the state level about creating a strike committee to start preparing for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says Karen Strickland , president of the American Federation of Teachers ( AFT ) Washington , who helped draft the resolution .
“ It ’ s not , we ’ re going to do a general strike ; it ’ s , if our democracy is threatened then we ’ ll move toward that , ” Strickland told Truthout .
“ And if our democracy is threatened , and we ’ re not willing to do it then , you have to ask what circumstances would make us do a general strike ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ member AFL-CIO Rochester Labor Council became the first regional AFL-CIO body in the U.S. to call for a general strike last week if Trump rejects the results of the election and attempts to hold on to power .
The MLK Labor resolution closely resembles Rochester ’ s .
“ The Rochester Labor Council , AFL-CIO , stands firmly in opposition to any effort to subvert , distort , misrepresent or disregard the final outcome of the 2020 Presidential elections , ” the Rochester resolution states .
Rochester AFL-CIO President Dan Maloney , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United Auto Workers strike at General Motors , told Truthout that the Rochester Labor Council hoped for just this kind of outcome : that its resolution would spread to other regional councils and across the labor movement .
In fact , he tells Truthout that he was contacted by an AFL-CIO regional director who asked him to join AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on a call this week to discuss the possibility of the national executive committee adopting a position similar to what the Rochester resolution calls for .
In late September , Trumka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do our part to ensure [ Trump ’ s ] defeat in this election is followed by his removal from office.
” A spokesperson for the AFL-CIO did not respond to Truthout ’ s request for comment on the national body ’ s consideration of a general strike or to confirm the planned call .
The AFL-CIO Constitution suggests the move is well within the executive committee ’ s purview and could even be argued as necessary to fulfill its Article II , Section 12 obligations , which instructs the federation : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seattle Educators Association , a member union of the MLK Labor Council , likewise passed a resolution calling for an emergency board meeting to be held within seven days of the election to determine whether there has been election interference .
Upon that finding , the board would then call a meeting of the union ’ s representative and general assemblies as soon as possible to vote on a work action .
In Detroit , Michigan , union activists with the American Postal Workers Union created a flyer with a pledge to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down if necessary to prevent a coup .
Members have printed more than 1,000 copies of a shortened version of the pledge on the union ’ s letterhead to distribute at post offices and the area ’ s main sorting plant .
On Monday , the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation also approved a resolution calling for a general strike and pledging to take nonviolent action to defend the democratic process “ if Donald Trump and his GOP enablers attempt to obstruct , subvert , sabotage , overturn or reject a fair and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Area Labor Federation President Jeff Jones , the resolution “ aims to get us thinking about how we as a labor movement intend to respond in the case of an attempted coup .
The labor movement must be ready to defend our democracy and use our collective power to ensure that every vote is counted.
” For Rochester ’ s Maloney , the time for labor to act is now .
“ It ’ s very dangerous what Trump ’ s been doing , ” he says .
“ He ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s shown he ’ ll stop at no lengths to keep power , and with that we just wanted to have a plan in place in the event something happens where we can act , rather than try to put something together and let it drag.
” The aim of a national general strike , according to Maloney , is to raise the stakes while pressuring Congress to act as a proper check “ to maintain our democracy and keep tabs on a wannabe tyrant.
” Still , he cautions that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resort .
“ A national general strike is a nuclear option for us , ” he said .
“ You can ’ t pull that card every time , but this is great enough where our American democracy itself is at risk .
We need to put [ plans ] in place and be ready to pull the plug and get everybody out in an effort to have our Congress grow a backbone , find their spine and take on this imperial president and aspiring despot.
” It ’ s imperative , Maloney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support and encourage workers who may be risking their job if they were to go out on strike .
“ The thing is , there are immoral laws that on occasion you have to break in order to make it right for our society , and this is one of those times .
Labor recognizes that .
It ’ s not an easy thing to do , but it ’ s a necessary thing , ” he told Truthout .
During a Tuesday night webinar hosted by the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee titled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump from Stealing the Election ?
” Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson imparted lessons from her union ’ s largely successful strike during the government shutdown last year .
Nelson ’ s repeated threats of a general strike proved instrumental in ending the shutdown .
She told more than 300 labor organizers and activists Tuesday that her union is working nonstop to pressure Congress to pass a new COVID-19 relief package , saying , “ What we need to be doing to lock in this relief bill is critical for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all taking part in that and coming out for relief-now actions and locking this in ; this is going to be a large part of building the broad base support for the fact that it ’ s … working people who demand that our government work for us.
” Responding to a question about economically strategic locations for strikes , Nelson said , “ If we can control when and where [ we strike ] , and we think about how we can strategically place pressure in places that are going to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t have to have a general strike across the entire country .
We can have a major impact if we know that we can shut down one specific place , and it doesn ’ t even have to be for a very long period of time .
If we take control of the schedule of the country , we can have a tremendous effect.
” Progressive groups are also organizing toward a national general strike .
Organizations including the Moratorium NOW !
Coalition in Detroit , the Wisconsin Bail Out the People @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alliance-Bay Area have put out calls to organize a broad-based People ’ s Committees to Defend Democratic Rights that would call upon union locals to conduct a vote on authorizing a general strike in the event of a coup attempt .
The growing calls to organize a general strike come as strike activity in the U.S. has reached levels not seen since the end of World War II , as frontline workers struggle for protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic and take action in solidarity with the movement for Black lives .
There have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 of this year , according to Payday Report ’ s Strike Tracker .
Still , AFT Washington President Strickland warns that preparing for a general strike is going to be a heavy lift for many unions , with so little time left before the election .
“ I don ’ t want to sound like a naysayer , but the fact is , we ’ re not prepared .
We should have been having this talk six months ago , but we will mount a big show of force if circumstances are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ street , if there is an attempted coup , ” she says .
“ I do think we can get there… .
We are getting great momentum from younger folks .
I think that we can effectively make things happen.
” Member unions of MLK Labor were already preparing for the possibility of mobilizing for a general strike even before the resolution was drafted and brought before the labor council .
In addition to unions ’ get-out-the-vote organizing , many members are also offering workshops designed to prepare area activists for safe participation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election , including designating safe spaces for protesters in the streets .
AFT Washington is discussing ways to support and guide educators and faculty members at college campuses that could serve as touch-off points for protests .
Educators are already worried about attendance issues amid the potential for student-led , pro-democracy protest movements in the period after the election .
Communication across the labor movement is another huge concern .
“ In order to be effective , we have to have a full-on , coordinated communications plan that should be happening right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ General strike or not , I think our coordinated communications plan has to be full speed ahead , because that ’ s what ’ s going to help us prevent the terrible actions that Trump might try , or if that ’ s not successful , then prepare people for taking action.
” One thing Strickland is certain of is that labor won ’ t be able to do this alone .
“ [ Progressive groups ] have to come together .
It can ’ t just be labor .
Labor needs to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re all in this together , ” she said .
“ Labor has to take a leadership role and use all the institutional power and leverage that we have while also taking leadership from younger people and Black Lives Matter .
”

This article has been updated to include reported details of a national call with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka that took place on October 22.
The 100,000-member MLK Labor Council, an AFL-CIO regional body of labor groups representing more than 150 unions in the Seattle, Washington, area, passed a resolution Wednesday that calls for a general strike if President Donald Trump does not respect the outcome of the November 3 election.
“MLK Labor will call on to City and County governments to pledge to protect the protesters defending democracy and commit to not using police action or curfews to curtail these activities and to use all available resources to stand up against any effort by the Trump administration to steal the election,” the resolution states.
“MLK Labor, in collaboration with other labor and progressive forces, will take whatever nonviolent actions are necessary up to and including a general strike to protect our democracy, the Constitution, the law and our nation’s democratic traditions.”
The resolution was adopted during a special executive board meeting and will be brought before the Washington State Labor Council, the Washington branch of the AFL-CIO. There has already been discussion at the state level about creating a strike committee to start preparing for the possibility of a general strike, says Karen Strickland, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Washington, who helped draft the resolution.
“It’s not, we’re going to do a general strike; it’s, if our democracy is threatened then we’ll move toward that,” Strickland told Truthout. “And if our democracy is threatened, and we’re not willing to do it then, you have to ask what circumstances would make us do a general strike?”
The resolution comes after the 70,000 member AFL-CIO Rochester Labor Council became the first regional AFL-CIO body in the U.S. to call for a general strike last week if Trump rejects the results of the election and attempts to hold on to power. The MLK Labor resolution closely resembles Rochester’s.
“The Rochester Labor Council, AFL-CIO, stands firmly in opposition to any effort to subvert, distort, misrepresent or disregard the final outcome of the 2020 Presidential elections,” the Rochester resolution states.
“If our democracy is threatened, and we’re not willing to do it then, you have to ask what circumstances would make us do a general strike?”
Rochester AFL-CIO President Dan Maloney, who just last year helped lead a six-week-long United Auto Workers strike at General Motors, told Truthout that the Rochester Labor Council hoped for just this kind of outcome: that its resolution would spread to other regional councils and across the labor movement.
In fact, he tells Truthout that he joined a national call with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on October 22 in which labor leaders discussed how the federation should respond if Trump refuses to accept election results. According to Maloney, Trumka emphasized the importance of getting out the vote (GOTV) to elect Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as the federation’s first and foremost priority. He characterized regional labor councils’ general strike resolutions unnecessary and hasty.
“[Trumka] kind of blew us off and said kind of, ‘Stay focused on GOTV,'” Maloney said about the call. “It was kind of disheartening to hear.” A spokesperson for the AFL-CIO did not respond to Truthout’s request to confirm the details of the call.
In late September, Trumka said that labor should “stand ready to do our part to ensure [Trump’s] defeat in this election is followed by his removal from office.” On October 19, the federation’s executive council released a statement saying that labor leaders and workers “are determined and prepared to defend our democracy.”
The AFL-CIO Constitution suggests that bold strike action is well within the executive council’s purview and could be argued as necessary to fulfill its Article II, Section 12 obligations, which instructs the federation:
“To protect the labor movement from any and all corrupt influences and from the undermining efforts of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, terrorism and all other forces that suppress individual liberties and freedom of association and oppose the basic principles of our democracy and of free and democratic unionism.”
After Rochester passed its resolution, the Seattle Educators Association, a member union of the MLK Labor Council, likewise passed a resolution calling for an emergency board meeting to be held within seven days of the election to determine whether there has been election interference. Upon that finding, the board would then call a meeting of the union’s representative and general assemblies as soon as possible to vote on a work action.
“We need to be ready to pull the plug and get everybody out in an effort to have our Congress grow a backbone, find their spine and take on this imperial president and aspiring despot.”
In Detroit, Michigan, union activists with the American Postal Workers Union created a flyer with a pledge to take to the streets and shut the country down if necessary to prevent a coup. Members have printed more than 1,000 copies of a shortened version of the pledge on the union’s letterhead to distribute at post offices and the area’s main sorting plant.
On Monday, the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation also approved a resolution calling for a general strike and pledging to take nonviolent action to defend the democratic process “if Donald Trump and his GOP enablers attempt to obstruct, subvert, sabotage, overturn or reject a fair and complete count of presidential ballots.”
According to Area Labor Federation President Jeff Jones, the resolution “aims to get us thinking about how we as a labor movement intend to respond in the case of an attempted coup. The labor movement must be ready to defend our democracy and use our collective power to ensure that every vote is counted.”
For Rochester’s Maloney, the time for labor to act is now. “It’s very dangerous what Trump’s been doing,” he says. “He’s been so over the top that he’s shown he’ll stop at no lengths to keep power, and with that we just wanted to have a plan in place in the event something happens where we can act, rather than try to put something together and let it drag.”
The aim of a national general strike, according to Maloney, is to raise the stakes while pressuring Congress to act as a proper check “to maintain our democracy and keep tabs on a wannabe tyrant.” Still, he cautions that a national strike is a tactic of last resort.
“A national general strike is a nuclear option for us,” he said. “You can’t pull that card every time, but this is great enough where our American democracy itself is at risk. We need to put [plans] in place and be ready to pull the plug and get everybody out in an effort to have our Congress grow a backbone, find their spine and take on this imperial president and aspiring despot.”
“There are immoral laws that on occasion you have to break in order to make it right for our society, and this is one of those times. Labor recognizes that.”
It’s imperative, Maloney says, that unions work now to support and encourage workers who may be risking their job if they were to go out on strike. “The thing is, there are immoral laws that on occasion you have to break in order to make it right for our society, and this is one of those times. Labor recognizes that. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s a necessary thing,” he told Truthout.
During a Tuesday night webinar hosted by the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee titled “What Can Workers Do to Stop Trump from Stealing the Election?” Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson imparted lessons from her union’s largely successful strike during the government shutdown last year. Nelson’s repeated threats of a general strike proved instrumental in ending the shutdown.
She told more than 300 labor organizers and activists Tuesday that her union is working nonstop to pressure Congress to pass a new COVID-19 relief package, saying, “What we need to be doing to lock in this relief bill is critical for the fights forward, and if we are all taking part in that and coming out for relief-now actions and locking this in; this is going to be a large part of building the broad base support for the fact that it’s … working people who demand that our government work for us.”
Responding to a question about economically strategic locations for strikes, Nelson said, “If we can control when and where [we strike], and we think about how we can strategically place pressure in places that are going to have a major impact, we actually don’t have to have a general strike across the entire country. We can have a major impact if we know that we can shut down one specific place, and it doesn’t even have to be for a very long period of time. If we take control of the schedule of the country, we can have a tremendous effect.”
“If we take control of the schedule of the country, we can have a tremendous effect.”
Progressive groups are also organizing toward a national general strike. Organizations including the Moratorium NOW! Coalition in Detroit, the Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement, and the People’s Alliance-Bay Area have put out calls to organize a broad-based People’s Committees to Defend Democratic Rights that would call upon union locals to conduct a vote on authorizing a general strike in the event of a coup attempt.
The growing calls to organize a general strike come as strike activity in the U.S. has reached levels not seen since the end of World War II, as frontline workers struggle for protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic and take action in solidarity with the movement for Black lives. There have been at least 1,160 strikes since March 1 of this year, according to Payday Report’s Strike Tracker.
Still, AFT Washington President Strickland warns that preparing for a general strike is going to be a heavy lift for many unions, with so little time left before the election.
“We should have been having this talk six months ago, but we will mount a big show of force if circumstances are such that the military is in the street.”
“I don’t want to sound like a naysayer, but the fact is, we’re not prepared. We should have been having this talk six months ago, but we will mount a big show of force if circumstances are such that the military is in the street, if there is an attempted coup,” she says. “I do think we can get there…. We are getting great momentum from younger folks. I think that we can effectively make things happen.”
Member unions of MLK Labor were already preparing for the possibility of mobilizing for a general strike even before the resolution was drafted and brought before the labor council. In addition to unions’ get-out-the-vote organizing, many members are also offering workshops designed to prepare area activists for safe participation in mass mobilizations in the days after the election, including designating safe spaces for protesters in the streets.
AFT Washington is discussing ways to support and guide educators and faculty members at college campuses that could serve as touch-off points for protests. Educators are already worried about attendance issues amid the potential for student-led, pro-democracy protest movements in the period after the election.
“Labor has to take a leadership role and use all the institutional power and leverage that we have while also taking leadership from younger people and Black Lives Matter.”
Communication across the labor movement is another huge concern. “In order to be effective, we have to have a full-on, coordinated communications plan that should be happening right now,” Strickland says. “General strike or not, I think our coordinated communications plan has to be full speed ahead, because that’s what’s going to help us prevent the terrible actions that Trump might try, or if that’s not successful, then prepare people for taking action.”
One thing Strickland is certain of is that labor won’t be able to do this alone.
“[Progressive groups] have to come together. It can’t just be labor. Labor needs to take a strong role, but we’re all in this together,” she said. “Labor has to take a leadership role and use all the institutional power and leverage that we have while also taking leadership from younger people and Black Lives Matter.”
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--2020-10-23--Trump Isn’t Spewing Random Nonsense — He’s Consistently Authoritarian

Trump didn ’ t act as openly tyrannical during last night ’ s debate as he did during the first one , but for those willing to see the authoritarian nature of Trump ’ s presidency , the cruelty and bombast were never far from the surface .
You could see it when he was asked about the 545 incarcerated migrant children who were torn from their parents and whose parents now can not be located .
Trump blamed the families : “ These children are brought here by coyotes and lots of bad people , cartels.
” In Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children went without food and toothbrushes , and if they cried themselves to sleep amid the traumatic stress of family separation and incarceration at night , their suffering was all their own fault .
Last night Trump preposterously boasted , “ No American president since Abraham Lincoln has done what I ’ ve done for the Black community.
” And yet when George Floyd died , sparking a reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement , Trump defended the police officers who killed Floyd and the practice of chokeholds , saying , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These statements are not simply nonsense .
They are characteristic of the far right , openly racist , authoritarian rhetoric — and action — that has proliferated globally .
Trump only makes sense when he is placed alongside the other foreign leaders who are closest to him : most obviously Brazil ’ s Jair Bolsonaro and India ’ s Narendra Modi , but also a group of European far rightist challengers for power : Farage , Le Pen , Salvini .
The voting base for these leaders are older , white voters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who own some property , but not much , and fear being sucked down into the lives of those who have less than them .
That ’ s why , in 2016 , Trump voters were both wealthier than the average , and more likely to say that life was getting worse for them .
What terrified them was the thought that other people — people whom they saw as less deserving — were doing better than they were .
Such voters are drawn in by slogans like “ Italians first , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ Make America Great Again , ” which push for the perpetuation of white supremacy-driven hierarchies .
What the Trial of the Chicago 7 Tells Us About Trump ’ s Authoritarianism One way to think about the debate and what is at stake in the election is to think back fifty years to the Trial of the Chicago 7 .
That trial has been gaining a new wave of mainstream attention , thanks to the release last week on Netflix of Aaron Sorkin ’ s lively but depoliticized film of the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defendants warned repeatedly of the rise of American authoritarianism , often using the word “ fascism.
” The harm they suffered was real : the killing of demonstrators , political trials , the election of a president who shared racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories while using clandestine and illegal activities to secure his reelection in 1972 .
( One of the things missing from Sorkin ’ s film was the Jewishness of many of the participants . )
In a decade during which the facts of the Holocaust were a matter of increasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two questions .
Everyone agreed that the U.S. was changing under the impact of the Vietnam War , but was the change so pronounced that the U.S. had become a fascist state ?
Sorkin ’ s film conveys the malice of American institutions in those years , much of which continues to be reflected in today ’ s United States .
It shows the Black Panther Bobby Seale beaten and bound and gagged , as in real life he was .
But it hides the two-party origins of this authoritarianism , playing down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacked on the orders of a Democratic mayor .
Sorkin wants us to believe that the prosecution was the fault of the Republican attorney general , when , in reality , a federal grand jury was convened long before Nixon ’ s election .
The film suggests that authoritarianism can be wholly defeated by voting .
The film builds to this as the moral choice ; its protagonist Tom Hayden doesn ’ t tell us who we need to vote for , only to vote .
But for the generation on trial in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nixon .
It was seen in the murders of the Black Panthers , in the ever greater numbers of people sent to fight in Vietnam and in the state power that was used against them .
They were willing to oppose authoritarianism wherever they found it ; that ’ s why they were marching against the Democratic convention .
Signs of Authoritarianism in the Present Moment If someone were to list all the processes that are bringing authoritarianism closer in our own times , they would have to include the use of deportation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from U.S. soil , the extension of the wall across the U.S. border with Mexico , the sixfold increase in the numbers of people held in U.S. jails and prisons since 1970 , the massive expansion of gun manufacturing and sales with all the risks that poses to protest , and the consensus in favor of increasing the size of the U.S. military machine .
These are policies that are common to both Democrats and Republicans .
They create the conditions in which Trump can feel like he is part of the ordinary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first four years , 900,000 people have been or will be deported .
This figure is extraordinary , and shocking , until you recall that in the first four years of the Obama presidency , the government deported 1.6 million people .
These issues were not hidden during last night ’ s debate , they were at its front and center .
Trump insisted that his immigration policies were in no way different from those of the Obama administration , in which Biden had served as vice president .
“ They built cages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Trump argued , “ That was him.
” While The New York Times fact checkers note that the Obama administration “ did hold children in the same chain-linked enclosures the Trump administration has used , ” Trump ’ s claims obfuscate an important difference between the two administrations : The Obama administration only very rarely broke up families at the border , whereas the Trump administration adopted a “ zero-tolerance ” policy that ripped thousands of children from their parents .
It ’ s easy to imagine how the Chicago 7 might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would likely analyze the authoritarianism that is part of Trump ’ s politics as part of U.S. life , part of the two-party system , and something that needs to be fought — whoever is in the White House .
A deportation isn ’ t humanized if the party doing it is dressed in blue .
We can go back to the words Abbie Hoffman actually used to explain his politics to the judge : “ We don ’ t want a job there , in that system .
We say to young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brilliant future for you in the revolution .
Become an enemy of the State .
A great future .
It will save your soul ’ .
” Trump is an authoritarian .
If successful , his plans for sabotaging the election would be a disaster for the U.S. and for the world .
But a consistent anti-authoritarianism requires fighting both Trump ’ s agenda and the system that stands behind him .

Trump didn’t act as openly tyrannical during last night’s debate as he did during the first one, but for those willing to see the authoritarian nature of Trump’s presidency, the cruelty and bombast were never far from the surface. You could see it when he was asked about the 545 incarcerated migrant children who were torn from their parents and whose parents now cannot be located. Trump blamed the families: “These children are brought here by coyotes and lots of bad people, cartels.” In Trump’s authoritarian imagination, if immigrant children went without food and toothbrushes, and if they cried themselves to sleep amid the traumatic stress of family separation and incarceration at night, their suffering was all their own fault.
Last night Trump preposterously boasted, “No American president since Abraham Lincoln has done what I’ve done for the Black community.” And yet when George Floyd died, sparking a reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement, Trump defended the police officers who killed Floyd and the practice of chokeholds, saying, “Toughness is sometimes the most compassionate.”
These statements are not simply nonsense. They are characteristic of the far right, openly racist, authoritarian rhetoric — and action — that has proliferated globally. Trump only makes sense when he is placed alongside the other foreign leaders who are closest to him: most obviously Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and India’s Narendra Modi, but also a group of European far rightist challengers for power: Farage, Le Pen, Salvini.
The voting base for these leaders are older, white voters. Some are rich, and some are people who own some property, but not much, and fear being sucked down into the lives of those who have less than them. That’s why, in 2016, Trump voters were both wealthier than the average, and more likely to say that life was getting worse for them. What terrified them was the thought that other people — people whom they saw as less deserving — were doing better than they were. Such voters are drawn in by slogans like “Italians first,” “This is our country” and “Make America Great Again,” which push for the perpetuation of white supremacy-driven hierarchies.
What the Trial of the Chicago 7 Tells Us About Trump’s Authoritarianism
One way to think about the debate and what is at stake in the election is to think back fifty years to the Trial of the Chicago 7. That trial has been gaining a new wave of mainstream attention, thanks to the release last week on Netflix of Aaron Sorkin’s lively but depoliticized film of the same name.
Back in 1968, the defendants warned repeatedly of the rise of American authoritarianism, often using the word “fascism.” The harm they suffered was real: the killing of demonstrators, political trials, the election of a president who shared racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories while using clandestine and illegal activities to secure his reelection in 1972. (One of the things missing from Sorkin’s film was the Jewishness of many of the participants.)
In a decade during which the facts of the Holocaust were a matter of increasing public discussion, the trial turned on two questions. Everyone agreed that the U.S. was changing under the impact of the Vietnam War, but was the change so pronounced that the U.S. had become a fascist state?
Sorkin’s film conveys the malice of American institutions in those years, much of which continues to be reflected in today’s United States. It shows the Black Panther Bobby Seale beaten and bound and gagged, as in real life he was. But it hides the two-party origins of this authoritarianism, playing down the way that in 1968 demonstrators were attacked on the orders of a Democratic mayor. Sorkin wants us to believe that the prosecution was the fault of the Republican attorney general, when, in reality, a federal grand jury was convened long before Nixon’s election. The film suggests that authoritarianism can be wholly defeated by voting. The film builds to this as the moral choice; its protagonist Tom Hayden doesn’t tell us who we need to vote for, only to vote.
But for the generation on trial in Chicago, authoritarianism was about more than Nixon. It was seen in the murders of the Black Panthers, in the ever greater numbers of people sent to fight in Vietnam and in the state power that was used against them. They were willing to oppose authoritarianism wherever they found it; that’s why they were marching against the Democratic convention.
Signs of Authoritarianism in the Present Moment
If someone were to list all the processes that are bringing authoritarianism closer in our own times, they would have to include the use of deportation to remove hundreds of thousands of people from U.S. soil, the extension of the wall across the U.S. border with Mexico, the sixfold increase in the numbers of people held in U.S. jails and prisons since 1970, the massive expansion of gun manufacturing and sales with all the risks that poses to protest, and the consensus in favor of increasing the size of the U.S. military machine.
A consistent anti-authoritarianism requires fighting both Trump’s agenda and the system that stands behind him.
These are policies that are common to both Democrats and Republicans. They create the conditions in which Trump can feel like he is part of the ordinary political game. Sounder Trump’s first four years, 900,000 people have been or will be deported. This figure is extraordinary, and shocking, until you recall that in the first four years of the Obama presidency, the government deported 1.6 million people.
These issues were not hidden during last night’s debate, they were at its front and center. Trump insisted that his immigration policies were in no way different from those of the Obama administration, in which Biden had served as vice president. “They built cages. They said I built cages,” Trump argued, “That was him.”
While The New York Times fact checkers note that the Obama administration “did hold children in the same chain-linked enclosures the Trump administration has used,” Trump’s claims obfuscate an important difference between the two administrations: The Obama administration only very rarely broke up families at the border, whereas the Trump administration adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy that ripped thousands of children from their parents.
It’s easy to imagine how the Chicago 7 might react to the current situation: They would likely analyze the authoritarianism that is part of Trump’s politics as part of U.S. life, part of the two-party system, and something that needs to be fought — whoever is in the White House. A deportation isn’t humanized if the party doing it is dressed in blue.
We can go back to the words Abbie Hoffman actually used to explain his politics to the judge: “We don’t want a job there, in that system. We say to young people, ‘There’s a brilliant future for you in the revolution. Become an enemy of the State. A great future. It will save your soul’.”
Trump is an authoritarian. If successful, his plans for sabotaging the election would be a disaster for the U.S. and for the world. But a consistent anti-authoritarianism requires fighting both Trump’s agenda and the system that stands behind him.
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--2020-10-23--USPS Ordered to Reassemble Sorting Machines for Election Mail After States Sue

A federal judge has ordered the United States Postal Service ( USPS ) to restore previously decommissioned high-speed mail sorting machines at offices that can ’ t process election mail fast enough ahead of the upcoming presidential election .
The order is the result of a lawsuit filed by New York state in late August .
In the order , U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote that , if a post office or distribution center is unable to process election mail , “ available processing equipment will be restored to service to ensure that USPS can comply with its prior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with First Class delivery standards.
” The order is a clarification of an injunction issued late last month that barred changes to service implemented by Postmaster Louis DeJoy .
The USPS did not follow that injunction , said New York Attorney General Letitia James , who filed the lawsuit .
“ For a month now , the Trump Administration has made excuse after excuse to avoid compliance with a court order , all in an effort to further undermine USPS operations and impede voters wishing to vote by mail in the November elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When James filed the lawsuit against President Donald Trump , USPS and DeJoy , she said in a statement that “ this USPS slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic.… We will do everything in our power to stop the president ’ s power grab and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot come November.
” Hawaii , New Jersey , New York City , and the city and county of San Francisco were also part of the suit .
For months , Trump has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to help his election bid .
However , the new order may do little help to quell fears about the machine disassembly .
After an initial slate of lawsuits against DeJoy and the Postal Service in August — at least three have been filed — DeJoy promised to pause the changes to service until after the election .
But , despite his promise , sorting machines were still being dismantled , and their parts were tossed in the trash .
The USPS began dismantling mail sorting machines under DeJoy ’ s orders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same time , the Postal Service warned 46 states that it could not guarantee that all mail-in ballots would be able to arrive in time to be counted for the election , despite DeJoy ’ s claims that the USPS has “ ample capacity ” to handle election mail .
According to a grievance filed by the American Postal Workers Union , the USPS was slated to decommission about 10 percent of its mail sorting machines — 671 of them .
DeJoy ’ s promise to stop changes came in mid-August , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them were scheduled to have already been dismantled by August 1 .
Though this order will force the Postal Service to recommission the machines in certain offices , many of the machines that were dismantled may not be able to be reassembled — which Sullivan has acknowledged .
Machines were not just turned off — they were completely disassembled and their parts either used to rehabilitate other machines or scrapped , DeJoy said .
There are reports of one machine being reassembled in Maine , but not much else is known about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eligible for recommissioning .
The court has ordered USPS to provide an update on the recommissioning by Friday at 5 pm .

The order’s a win for those concerned about election mail capacity, but many machines may not be able to be reassembled.
A federal judge has ordered the United States Postal Service (USPS) to restore previously decommissioned high-speed mail sorting machines at offices that can’t process election mail fast enough ahead of the upcoming presidential election. The order is the result of a lawsuit filed by New York state in late August.
In the order, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote that, if a post office or distribution center is unable to process election mail, “available processing equipment will be restored to service to ensure that USPS can comply with its prior policy of delivering Election Mail in accordance with First Class delivery standards.” The order is a clarification of an injunction issued late last month that barred changes to service implemented by Postmaster Louis DeJoy.
The USPS did not follow that injunction, said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed the lawsuit. “For a month now, the Trump Administration has made excuse after excuse to avoid compliance with a court order, all in an effort to further undermine USPS operations and impede voters wishing to vote by mail in the November elections,” James said in a statement.
When James filed the lawsuit against President Donald Trump, USPS and DeJoy, she said in a statement that “this USPS slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic.… We will do everything in our power to stop the president’s power grab and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot come November.” Hawaii, New Jersey, New York City, and the city and county of San Francisco were also part of the suit. For months, Trump has been attempting to cut and discredit USPS in order to help his election bid.
However, the new order may do little help to quell fears about the machine disassembly. After an initial slate of lawsuits against DeJoy and the Postal Service in August — at least three have been filed — DeJoy promised to pause the changes to service until after the election. But, despite his promise, sorting machines were still being dismantled, and their parts were tossed in the trash.
The USPS began dismantling mail sorting machines under DeJoy’s orders as early as July. At around the same time, the Postal Service warned 46 states that it could not guarantee that all mail-in ballots would be able to arrive in time to be counted for the election, despite DeJoy’s claims that the USPS has “ample capacity” to handle election mail. According to a grievance filed by the American Postal Workers Union, the USPS was slated to decommission about 10 percent of its mail sorting machines — 671 of them.
DeJoy’s promise to stop changes came in mid-August, but the grievance showed that 618 of them were scheduled to have already been dismantled by August 1.
Though this order will force the Postal Service to recommission the machines in certain offices, many of the machines that were dismantled may not be able to be reassembled — which Sullivan has acknowledged. Machines were not just turned off — they were completely disassembled and their parts either used to rehabilitate other machines or scrapped, DeJoy said. There are reports of one machine being reassembled in Maine, but not much else is known about the total number of machines that may be eligible for recommissioning.
The court has ordered USPS to provide an update on the recommissioning by Friday at 5 pm.
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--2020-10-23--Trump Lied and Lied and Lied and Lied. But at Least the Debates Are Over.

All hail the goddamn “ mute ” button — although , as far as I could tell , it wasn ’ t actually used last night .
NBC News debate moderator Kristen Welker , who stepped firmly to the plate last night and parked it deep over the center field fence , may not have needed it .
According to the debate rules , the button was only there so the candidates ( Donald Trump ) wouldn ’ t run roughshod over each other during their allotted two-minute answer segments .
Sure , Trump repeatedly stampeded the conversation during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stayed quiescent in his corner during the two-minute drills , because he knew the button was there .
Welker used pointed questions and strict boundary-setting to contain his ranting at the perimeters , and he never once crossed the line during the segments with the most substance .
The button was there , and he knew Welker would use it .
Every debate moderator from the last 20 years should watch her performance last night the way NFL coaches watch game film .
So , yeah .
Done .
The last waltz , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all .
No more “ debates ” until the midterms , two years hence .
I feel like I just lost 50 pounds .
In this dim and degraded age , the final 2020 presidential debate in Nashville managed to pass for a small sliver of what a debate is supposed to be .
The available Overton window was so narrow it made the biblical camel passing through the eye of the needle seem like driving the Lincoln Tunnel alone at night , but the conversation was vigorous within the confines… with “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was atrocious , but he was not shaking the building like a negligent child trying to break a toy , because he couldn ’ t .
Thanks , again , to Moderator Welker .
The evening was a cavalcade of terrible things , most of which were laundered into the occasion by the incumbent president , who realized his best hope for reelection was a shabby , fact-free assault upon his opponent ’ s son .
“ In its grotesqueness , this is a near-perfect closing argument , ” wrote Franklin Foer for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Somewhere along the way last night , the 71,000th COVID case of October 22 was diagnosed .
“ This is a worldwide problem , ” said Trump in Nashville , “ but I ’ ve been congratulated by the heads of many countries on what we ’ ve been able to do .
If you take a look at what we ’ ve done in terms of goggles and masks and gowns and everything else , and in particular ventilators we ’ re now making ventilators all over the world , thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the world .
It will go away .
And as I say , we ’ re rounding the turn .
We ’ re rounding the corner .
It ’ s going away.
” “ The record-breaking daily tally comes as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached nearly 8.5 million , with 224,280 deaths , ” reports NBC News .
“ There were 921 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday .
Public health officials warned this week that the number of cases is rising across most of the country.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ straightening your trajectory ?
When you round corner after corner after corner after corner ?
That ’ s called going in circles .
The Trump administration policy to tear some 4,000 migrant children from their families at the southern border has left at least 545 of those kids all but orphaned , with no knowledge of where their parents might be .
“ Their kids were ripped from their arms and separated , ” stormed Biden during the debate .
“ And now they can not find over 500 sets of those parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go .
Nowhere to go .
It ’ s criminal.
” Trump ’ s reply : “ They are so well taken care of .
They ’ re in facilities that were so clean.
” Biden did not rise anywhere near to the levels of preposterous fiction and hateful spite achieved by Trump last night , but he had enough moments to expose to broad daylight that this was a center-right/far right debate , the kind of conversation one might hear between Ronald Reagan and the John Birch Society .
Much of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but that made it no less jarring .
At one point , Biden seemed ready to construct his very own fracking rig right there on the stage , in order to demonstrate to Pennsylvania voters that he won ’ t take those jobs away .
Before the evening was over , however , Biden was grandstanding about ending the fossil fuels industry entirely , because it is the pollution vector that will kill us all , and because he needs to hold on to the progressive voters who all had him as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , as he has done throughout the campaign , shined bright relief on the difference between Biden ’ s occasionally contradictory arguments and his own ever-firing gibberish cannon .
“ I know more about wind than you do , ” Trump told Biden .
“ It ’ s extremely expensive .
Kills all the birds .
It ’ s very intermittent .
It ’ s got a lot of problems and they happen to make the windmills in both Germany and China and the fumes coming up , if you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fumes coming up to make these massive windmills is more than anything that we ’ re talking about with natural gas , which is very clear.
” Very clear indeed , you bag of mutton .
The “ ionization blackout , ” a phenomenon of space travel , takes place when a spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere from the outer reaches .
The heat generated by the craft ’ s passage through the thickening atmosphere creates an envelope of ionized particles around it , which plays merry hog with all communications between ground control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you fall homeward in silence .
The average length of an ionization blackout is four minutes .
It is , short of a visible explosion , the most harrowing part of any venture to and return from space .
If something happens , only silence and perhaps some debris will tell the tale .
Apollo 13 , already stricken with serial disasters , remained in blackout for six full minutes before popping chutes and plunging into the sea , all hands safe and sound .
NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you that somewhere in his mind , those six minutes never ended .
Last night , a bit after 11:00 pm Eastern time , the 2020 presidential election entered its own form of ionization blackout .
It won ’ t be quiet , to be sure ; there will be communication galore , most of it wildly unpleasant .
With the final debate behind us , however , gravity is now in the driver ’ s seat .
Mission Control can ’ t help the astronauts , and all the astronauts can do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on .
To no small degree , the 2020 election has already happened .
More people have voted early this year , more people by millions , than ever before .
No late-October surprise can change what is already on those ballots , unless the surprise itself is a bonfire of those ballots , at which point we ’ re on to a whole new calamity .
Eleven days and counting , the debates are done , and nothing is left but the fall back to Earth .
We hope .
This article @ @ @ @

Trump seems to believe that his best hope for reelection is a shabby, fact-free assault upon his opponent’s son.
All hail the goddamn “mute” button — although, as far as I could tell, it wasn’t actually used last night. NBC News debate moderator Kristen Welker, who stepped firmly to the plate last night and parked it deep over the center field fence, may not have needed it. According to the debate rules, the button was only there so the candidates (Donald Trump) wouldn’t run roughshod over each other during their allotted two-minute answer segments.
Sure, Trump repeatedly stampeded the conversation during the crosstalk with Joe Biden, but he stayed quiescent in his corner during the two-minute drills, because he knew the button was there. Welker used pointed questions and strict boundary-setting to contain his ranting at the perimeters, and he never once crossed the line during the segments with the most substance. The button was there, and he knew Welker would use it. Every debate moderator from the last 20 years should watch her performance last night the way NFL coaches watch game film.
So, yeah. Done. The last waltz, last call, last time pays for all. No more “debates” until the midterms, two years hence. I feel like I just lost 50 pounds.
In this dim and degraded age, the final 2020 presidential debate in Nashville managed to pass for a small sliver of what a debate is supposed to be. The available Overton window was so narrow it made the biblical camel passing through the eye of the needle seem like driving the Lincoln Tunnel alone at night, but the conversation was vigorous within the confines… with “conversation” being the key. Trump was atrocious, but he was not shaking the building like a negligent child trying to break a toy, because he couldn’t. Thanks, again, to Moderator Welker.
The evening was a cavalcade of terrible things, most of which were laundered into the occasion by the incumbent president, who realized his best hope for reelection was a shabby, fact-free assault upon his opponent’s son. “In its grotesqueness, this is a near-perfect closing argument,” wrote Franklin Foer for The Atlantic, “a presidency distilled.”
Somewhere along the way last night, the 71,000th COVID case of October 22 was diagnosed. “This is a worldwide problem,” said Trump in Nashville, “but I’ve been congratulated by the heads of many countries on what we’ve been able to do. If you take a look at what we’ve done in terms of goggles and masks and gowns and everything else, and in particular ventilators we’re now making ventilators all over the world, thousands and thousands a month distributing them all over the world. It will go away. And as I say, we’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”
“The record-breaking daily tally comes as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached nearly 8.5 million, with 224,280 deaths,” reports NBC News. “There were 921 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday. Public health officials warned this week that the number of cases is rising across most of the country.”
When you round a corner without straightening your trajectory? When you round corner after corner after corner after corner? That’s called going in circles.
The evening was a cavalcade of terrible things, most of which were laundered into the occasion by the incumbent president, who realized his best hope for re-election was a shabby, fact-free assault upon his opponent’s son.
The Trump administration policy to tear some 4,000 migrant children from their families at the southern border has left at least 545 of those kids all but orphaned, with no knowledge of where their parents might be. “Their kids were ripped from their arms and separated,” stormed Biden during the debate. “And now they cannot find over 500 sets of those parents and those kids are alone. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go. It’s criminal.” Trump’s reply: “They are so well taken care of. They’re in facilities that were so clean.”
“Arbeit macht frei,” reads the sign.
Biden did not rise anywhere near to the levels of preposterous fiction and hateful spite achieved by Trump last night, but he had enough moments to expose to broad daylight that this was a center-right/far right debate, the kind of conversation one might hear between Ronald Reagan and the John Birch Society.
Much of this was by dint of tactical necessity, but that made it no less jarring. At one point, Biden seemed ready to construct his very own fracking rig right there on the stage, in order to demonstrate to Pennsylvania voters that he won’t take those jobs away. Before the evening was over, however, Biden was grandstanding about ending the fossil fuels industry entirely, because it is the pollution vector that will kill us all, and because he needs to hold on to the progressive voters who all had him as their last choice eight months ago.
Trump, as he has done throughout the campaign, shined bright relief on the difference between Biden’s occasionally contradictory arguments and his own ever-firing gibberish cannon.
“I know more about wind than you do,” Trump told Biden. “It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds. It’s very intermittent. It’s got a lot of problems and they happen to make the windmills in both Germany and China and the fumes coming up, if you’re a believer in carbon emission, the fumes coming up to make these massive windmills is more than anything that we’re talking about with natural gas, which is very clear.”
Very clear indeed, you bag of mutton.
The “ionization blackout” is a phenomenon of space travel that takes place when a spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere from the outer reaches. The heat generated by the craft’s passage through the thickening atmosphere creates an envelope of ionized particles around it, which plays merry hob with all communications between ground control and the plummeting astronauts. Simply put, you fall homeward in silence.
The average length of an ionization blackout is four minutes. It is, short of a visible explosion, the most harrowing part of any venture to and return from space. If something happens, only silence and perhaps some debris will tell the tale. Apollo 13, already stricken with serial disasters, remained in blackout for six full minutes before popping chutes and plunging into the sea with all hands safe and sound. NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz, who shepherded Apollo 13 home, would tell you that somewhere in his mind, those six minutes never ended.
Last night, a bit after 11:00 pm Eastern time, the 2020 presidential election entered its own form of ionization blackout. It won’t be quiet, to be sure; there will be communication galore, most of it wildly unpleasant. With the final debate behind us, however, gravity is now in the driver’s seat. Mission Control can’t help the astronauts, and all the astronauts can do is aim for the bullseye and hold on.
To no small degree, the 2020 election has already happened. More people have voted early this year, more people by millions, than ever before. No late-October surprise can change what is already on those ballots, unless the surprise itself is a bonfire of those ballots, at which point we’re on to a whole new calamity.
Eleven days and counting, the debates are done, and nothing is left but the fall back to Earth. We hope.
This article has been updated.
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