truthout--2020-08-13--Trump’s Executive Orders Are Designed to Make Him Look Like a Populist

When President Trump announced last week that he would unilaterally allocate billions of dollars of federal and state funds for an expanded unemployment benefits system ; that he would push a federal evictions moratorium and delayed repayments on student loans ; and — the kicker — that he would give employees a payroll tax deferral until year ’ s end , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded by calling the moves “ absurdly unconstitutional.
” After all , the Constitution is clear that Congress controls the nation ’ s purse strings .
There are limits to how far the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for federal programs .
And there is simply no precedent for a president to decree , without legislative input , that the complex funding mechanisms for programs as vital to the national well-being as Social Security and Medicare should be put on hold .
Trump ’ s actions , according to some legal observers , may be legal so long as they have no real teeth , so long as they are considered more as advice to agencies and departments rather than orders .
But if these executive orders and memoranda were to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would actually deliver genuine and speedy financial supports to struggling Americans , at that point they would start to cross the bounds into illegality .
In other words , Trump is talking a big talk here , but , as is often the case with him , he ’ s walking a much more fragile walk .
Getting into the constitutional law weeds in parsing Trump ’ s actions , however , largely misses the point .
In calling Trump out in the way that she did , Pelosi may have fallen into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t really care whether the policies he proposes are “ unconstitutional.
” In fact , part of his political persona involves a calculated pragmatism when it comes to the Constitution : He fetishizes the Second Amendment because it suits his political needs to pander to gun owners .
But , in his violent language against the press , for example , he has corroded respect for the First Amendment .
And when it comes to big-picture policy and regulatory changes around immigration , taxation , and so on , he operates largely in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to his audience that he doesn ’ t care a whit for the nuances and complexities of constitutional limits .
Politics is always , at least in part , about optics ; and with Trump what is , and has always been , more important than genuine policy successes is the illusion of action .
These days , with the country hobbled by a pandemic and by economic contraction , and with Trump ’ s popularity waning , that illusion has swallowed all other parts of the process .
Trump doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political negotiations ; rather , with the election fast approaching , he is desperate to portray himself as a man of action , as a lone ranger taking on the entrenched bureaucracies .
To achieve this illusion , Trump increasingly wants to rule by fiat — or at least to pretend to rule by fiat .
He is claiming executive powers that are in no way legitimate within the American constitutional context .
And he is doing so not for any putative greater good , but for short-term political and personal gain .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve his political advantage in the months leading up to the election to proclaim a tax holiday to voters — his trade adviser Peter Navarro made the extraordinary claim last week that Trump had a divine right to bypass Congress and reshape these financial systems — he ’ s perfectly willing to go down that road , even if the long-term consequences of this irresponsible act include pushing Social Security toward insolvency by decade ’ s end .
As he did with his February 2019 declaration of an “ emergency ” on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a border wall that Congress had explicitly refused to authorize , so this time around he is gambling that he can scrap , override and ignore separations of power that have been core parts of the country ’ s democratic system for hundreds of years .
And he is banking on the fact that , if Democrats in Congress sue to block his actions , he can flip the narrative and make it look like it is his opponents who are holding up the distribution of aid to needy families .
I heard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driving back from a family trip to Wyoming .
It was a long ride , and we spent much of the time listening to musicals on my iPod .
The one that most struck a chord was Andrew Lloyd Webber ’ s Evita , about the tumultuous relationship between Argentina ’ s post-World War II strongman leader Juan Perón and his second wife , the legendary Evita ; and , more generally , about the politics that catapulted this couple to the pinnacle of power .
Perón was a military man , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who ruled Argentina via juntas in the decades following Perón ’ s ouster , he wasn ’ t only reliant on military hardware , on the torture chamber and the connivance of a business elite to secure his power .
To the contrary , Perón ’ s power was quasi-populist : He proposed expansions to the safety net , he marketed himself a hero of the working class , he used the benefits system — including subsidizing workers ’ holidays — to secure support ; he manipulated tariffs to benefit core labor constituencies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no-nonsense leader who could cut through the red tape and the inconveniences of a pluralist political process to deliver fast , effective and tangible political and economic results to his constituents .
Trump , too , has , these past four years , fashioned himself as something of a Perónista , although , unlike Perón , he has no affinity to the trade union movement as a whole , despite his embrace by police unions and by unions representing workers in Border Patrol , Immigration and Customs Enforcement , and other homeland security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was Perón ’ s , disproportionately comprised of two distinct groups : the white working class and the monied class .
And to both of these groups , he offers a grab bag of goodies : to the wealthy he offers extreme tax cuts , as well as the rapid destruction of regulations intended to protect the environment and the workplace from the worst impacts of predatory capitalism ; to the white working class , he offers a racial narrative that demonizes nonwhites and blames the woes of increasingly economically insecure white workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now , in the COVID era , Trump seeks to present himself as a strongman , above the fray of a dysfunctional and divided Congress , who can distribute billions , even trillions of dollars of benefits without assistance from either the Senate or the House .
He shutters national borders with the stroke of a pen , severs transit connections to entire continents , promotes outlandish conspiracy theories about the virus via tweet and brings out armed protesters to “ liberate ” states like Michigan from public health regulations put in place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ranging in value from a few hundred dollars up to $ 1,200 were sent out to taxpayers as a part of the first COVID stimulus package , Trump insisted each check have his signature printed on it .
He wanted to make sure that , in this moment of national calamity , he would be seen as a savior figure doling out money almost personally to those in need .
And thus , we come back to the illusion that is at the heart of Trumpian , strongman politics .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reality and the nitty-gritty .
Whatever Trump says , a president can ’ t solve economic woes on the scale of those the U.S. now faces with a few signatures on a few executive orders .
This method of governance may or may not be “ absurdly unconstitutional , ” as Pelosi put it , but what ’ s not up for debate is that it ’ s lazy .
Trump doesn ’ t want to roll up his sleeves and really apply himself to the hard work of repairing a busted economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perón in his own musical , strutting the stage , bellowing forth faux solutions and pretending that nothing — not even the Constitution — will stand in his way .

When President Trump announced last week that he would unilaterally allocate billions of dollars of federal and state funds for an expanded unemployment benefits system; that he would push a federal evictions moratorium and delayed repayments on student loans; and — the kicker — that he would give employees a payroll tax deferral until year’s end, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded by calling the moves “absurdly unconstitutional.”
After all, the Constitution is clear that Congress controls the nation’s purse strings. There are limits to how far the federal government can go in compelling states to pay for federal programs. And there is simply no precedent for a president to decree, without legislative input, that the complex funding mechanisms for programs as vital to the national well-being as Social Security and Medicare should be put on hold.
Trump’s actions, according to some legal observers, may be legal so long as they have no real teeth, so long as they are considered more as advice to agencies and departments rather than orders. But if these executive orders and memoranda were to be interpreted in an expansive way that would actually deliver genuine and speedy financial supports to struggling Americans, at that point they would start to cross the bounds into illegality. In other words, Trump is talking a big talk here, but, as is often the case with him, he’s walking a much more fragile walk.
Getting into the constitutional law weeds in parsing Trump’s actions, however, largely misses the point. In calling Trump out in the way that she did, Pelosi may have fallen into a Trumpian trap.
Trump doesn’t really care whether the policies he proposes are “unconstitutional.” In fact, part of his political persona involves a calculated pragmatism when it comes to the Constitution: He fetishizes the Second Amendment because it suits his political needs to pander to gun owners. But, in his violent language against the press, for example, he has corroded respect for the First Amendment. And when it comes to big-picture policy and regulatory changes around immigration, taxation, and so on, he operates largely in an extra-constitutional mental universe, and conveys to his audience that he doesn’t care a whit for the nuances and complexities of constitutional limits.
Politics is always, at least in part, about optics; and with Trump what is, and has always been, more important than genuine policy successes is the illusion of action. These days, with the country hobbled by a pandemic and by economic contraction, and with Trump’s popularity waning, that illusion has swallowed all other parts of the process. Trump doesn’t want to do the tedious work of political negotiations; rather, with the election fast approaching, he is desperate to portray himself as a man of action, as a lone ranger taking on the entrenched bureaucracies.
Trump doesn’t want to do the tedious work of political negotiations; with the election fast approaching, he is desperate to portray himself as a man of action, as a lone ranger taking on entrenched bureaucracies.
To achieve this illusion, Trump increasingly wants to rule by fiat — or at least to pretend to rule by fiat. He is claiming executive powers that are in no way legitimate within the American constitutional context. And he is doing so not for any putative greater good, but for short-term political and personal gain.
Hence, if he thinks it will serve his political advantage in the months leading up to the election to proclaim a tax holiday to voters — his trade adviser Peter Navarro made the extraordinary claim last week that Trump had a divine right to bypass Congress and reshape these financial systems — he’s perfectly willing to go down that road, even if the long-term consequences of this irresponsible act include pushing Social Security toward insolvency by decade’s end.
As he did with his February 2019 declaration of an “emergency” on the southern border as a way to fund a border wall that Congress had explicitly refused to authorize, so this time around he is gambling that he can scrap, override and ignore separations of power that have been core parts of the country’s democratic system for hundreds of years. And he is banking on the fact that, if Democrats in Congress sue to block his actions, he can flip the narrative and make it look like it is his opponents who are holding up the distribution of aid to needy families.
I heard about Trump’s executive orders while driving back from a family trip to Wyoming. It was a long ride, and we spent much of the time listening to musicals on my iPod. The one that most struck a chord was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, about the tumultuous relationship between Argentina’s post-World War II strongman leader Juan Perón and his second wife, the legendary Evita; and, more generally, about the politics that catapulted this couple to the pinnacle of power.
Perón was a military man, a colonel. But, unlike the generals who ruled Argentina via juntas in the decades following Perón’s ouster, he wasn’t only reliant on military hardware, on the torture chamber and the connivance of a business elite to secure his power. To the contrary, Perón’s power was quasi-populist: He proposed expansions to the safety net, he marketed himself a hero of the working class, he used the benefits system — including subsidizing workers’ holidays — to secure support; he manipulated tariffs to benefit core labor constituencies, and he pitched himself as a no-nonsense leader who could cut through the red tape and the inconveniences of a pluralist political process to deliver fast, effective and tangible political and economic results to his constituents.
Whatever Trump says, a president can’t solve economic woes on the scale of those the U.S. now faces with a few signatures on a few executive orders.
Trump, too, has, these past four years, fashioned himself as something of a Perónista, although, unlike Perón, he has no affinity to the trade union movement as a whole, despite his embrace by police unions and by unions representing workers in Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other homeland security agencies.
His constituency is, as was Perón’s, disproportionately comprised of two distinct groups: the white working class and the monied class. And to both of these groups, he offers a grab bag of goodies: to the wealthy he offers extreme tax cuts, as well as the rapid destruction of regulations intended to protect the environment and the workplace from the worst impacts of predatory capitalism; to the white working class, he offers a racial narrative that demonizes nonwhites and blames the woes of increasingly economically insecure white workers on immigrants and racial justice organizers.
Now, in the COVID era, Trump seeks to present himself as a strongman, above the fray of a dysfunctional and divided Congress, who can distribute billions, even trillions of dollars of benefits without assistance from either the Senate or the House. He shutters national borders with the stroke of a pen, severs transit connections to entire continents, promotes outlandish conspiracy theories about the virus via tweet and brings out armed protesters to “liberate” states like Michigan from public health regulations put in place by their governors.
When checks, ranging in value from a few hundred dollars up to $1,200 were sent out to taxpayers as a part of the first COVID stimulus package, Trump insisted each check have his signature printed on it. He wanted to make sure that, in this moment of national calamity, he would be seen as a savior figure doling out money almost personally to those in need.
And thus, we come back to the illusion that is at the heart of Trumpian, strongman politics. It’s always been more about perceptions than about reality and the nitty-gritty. Whatever Trump says, a president can’t solve economic woes on the scale of those the U.S. now faces with a few signatures on a few executive orders.
This method of governance may or may not be “absurdly unconstitutional,” as Pelosi put it, but what’s not up for debate is that it’s lazy. Trump doesn’t want to roll up his sleeves and really apply himself to the hard work of repairing a busted economy. Instead he wants to play Juan Perón in his own musical, strutting the stage, bellowing forth faux solutions and pretending that nothing — not even the Constitution — will stand in his way.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-14--Trump Gets Mail-In Ballot After Opposing Vote by Mail and Post Office Funding

Despite alleging for months that voting by mail is insecure and unreliable , President Donald Trump has requested an absentee ballot for Florida ’ s primary elections next week .
This will be the second time that Trump , who had lived in New York for his entire life until he officially changed his residency to Florida last year , will take part in absentee voting in the Sunshine State .
First Lady Melania Trump also requested an absentee ballot .
The request for the ballot was made on Wednesday .
Voting advocates have promoted mail-in voting as a means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic .
However , ever since the idea started gaining momentum , Trump has bashed it , falsely describing mail-in voting as “ corrupt ” while speaking to reporters at the White House in April .
When confronted with the fact that he himself had utilized mail-in voting , Trump attempted to draw a false distinction between mail-in voting and casting a vote using an absentee ballot .
“ Well , there ’ s a big difference between somebody that ’ s out of state and does a ballot and everything ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Trump said at the time .
“ I think mail-in voting is a terrible thing , ” he added .
“ I think if you vote , you should go.
” Trump changed his position on voting by mail earlier this month , at least when it came to Florida ’ s elections , tweeting that the “ election system is Safe and Secure , Tried and True.
” His reelection campaign has also promoted voting by mail to Trump ’ s supporters in toss-up states like Wisconsin .
Every state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and five states across the country conduct their elections solely through mail-in ballots .
There ’ s little to no evidence to suggest the practice is rife with fraud of any kind .
As far as a difference between mail-in voting and absentee ballots , that Trump and some of his advisers have tried to peddle , there is no distinction , a point the president ’ s own legal team made in legal arguments earlier this summer .
Trump ’ s shifting positions on voting by mail , however , seem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help him — either by allowing him to vote by mail personally , or allowing his supporters to do so .
When it comes to helping the United States Postal Service ( USPS ) prepare for an unprecedented influx of mail-in ballots , the president has said he would not provide funds to do so .
“ They don ’ t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting .
So therefore , they can ’ t do it , ” Trump said in comments to Fox News this week .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they don ’ t have the money to do it ?
” Media commentators have said that these comments show Trump is attempting to sabotage mail-in voting efforts in order to win reelection later this fall .
“ Trump just comes out and says it : He is blocking money to keep the Postal Service afloat in an attempt to cast the election as fraudulent , ” Washington Post reporter Jacob Bogage tweeted after hearing the president ’ s statement .

Trump has pushed mail-in voting in “swing states” that may help him win reelection but called it “corrupt” elsewhere.
Despite alleging for months that voting by mail is insecure and unreliable, President Donald Trump has requested an absentee ballot for Florida’s primary elections next week.
This will be the second time that Trump, who had lived in New York for his entire life until he officially changed his residency to Florida last year, will take part in absentee voting in the Sunshine State. First Lady Melania Trump also requested an absentee ballot.
The request for the ballot was made on Wednesday.
Voting advocates have promoted mail-in voting as a means for voters to cast their ballots during the pandemic. However, ever since the idea started gaining momentum, Trump has bashed it, falsely describing mail-in voting as “corrupt” while speaking to reporters at the White House in April.
When confronted with the fact that he himself had utilized mail-in voting, Trump attempted to draw a false distinction between mail-in voting and casting a vote using an absentee ballot.
“Well, there’s a big difference between somebody that’s out of state and does a ballot and everything’s sealed, certified and everything else,” Trump said at the time.
“I think mail-in voting is a terrible thing,” he added. “I think if you vote, you should go.”
Trump changed his position on voting by mail earlier this month, at least when it came to Florida’s elections, tweeting that the “election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True.” His reelection campaign has also promoted voting by mail to Trump’s supporters in toss-up states like Wisconsin.
Every state has some version of voting by mail, and five states across the country conduct their elections solely through mail-in ballots. There’s little to no evidence to suggest the practice is rife with fraud of any kind.
As far as a difference between mail-in voting and absentee ballots, that Trump and some of his advisers have tried to peddle, there is no distinction, a point the president’s own legal team made in legal arguments earlier this summer.
Trump’s shifting positions on voting by mail, however, seem to be based on whether it can help him — either by allowing him to vote by mail personally, or allowing his supporters to do so. When it comes to helping the United States Postal Service (USPS) prepare for an unprecedented influx of mail-in ballots, the president has said he would not provide funds to do so.
“They don’t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So therefore, they can’t do it,” Trump said in comments to Fox News this week. “How are they going to do it if they don’t have the money to do it?”
Media commentators have said that these comments show Trump is attempting to sabotage mail-in voting efforts in order to win reelection later this fall.
“Trump just comes out and says it: He is blocking money to keep the Postal Service afloat in an attempt to cast the election as fraudulent,” Washington Post reporter Jacob Bogage tweeted after hearing the president’s statement.
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--2020-08-14--Trump’s New Racist Campaign Strategy Is Tweeting Mugshots of Black People

Donald Trump ’ s campaign has been tweeting mugshots of Black people out on bail in an effort to instill fear in voters about a future Joe Biden presidency .
The tweets featured the mugshots and full names of four Black defendants in Minnesota who had been released on bail money raised by the Minnesota Freedom Fund in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody .
“ Donovan Boone is a violent fugitive who was in jail for attempting to strangle his ex-girlfriend , ” reads one tweet .
“ Now he ’ s free thanks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donated to pay bail fees .
Does Joe Biden regret his campaign putting women in danger ?
” The tweet then links to an official Trump campaign page , which says that the bail donations are “ evidence your family won ’ t be safe in Joe Biden ’ s America.
” “ He is actively putting Americans ’ lives at risk by making our streets more dangerous , cops ’ jobs more difficult , and families less safe , ” the page says .
According to an investigative report by local Minneapolis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged Boone with breaking into the home of an ex-girlfriend and choking her .
The victim told police that she thought he was going to kill her .
MFF bailed Boone out for $ 3,000 cash .
However , the group forfeited the bail money when the suspect later failed to show up for his court date and a warrant was issued for his arrest .
Bail fund donations have become popular amid the national reckoning on racial justice .
Critics of the cash bail system , who range from local advocates such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sen. Bernie Sanders , Sen. Kamala Harris and Biden — whose website calls it a “ modern-day debtors ’ prison ” — have long argued that it perpetuates racial and economic disparities .
MFF has taken in more than $ 35 million in donations from more than 900,000 people worldwide as Black Lives Matter protests swept the country , according to the nonprofit ’ s website and the Fox 9 report .
Those 900,000 include at least 13 Biden staffers , Reuters reported May 30 .
Two days later the New York Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million in four days .
Previously , MFF had only received about $ 100,000 in donations each year , according to Fox 9 .
The Fox 9 report reveals that some of the people helped by the Minnesota Freedom Fund ( MFF ) — in addition to protesters — include Darnika Floyd , a woman charged with second-degree murder after she allegedly stabbed a friend to death , and Christopher Boswell , who had been charged with kidnapping and sexual assault .
MFF put up $ 100,000 to free Floyd and $ 350,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sen. Amy Klobuchar , D-Minn. , at the time the Hennepin County attorney and now a prominent Biden surrogate , prosecuted Boswell for rape .
Greg Lewin , MFF ’ s interim executive director , told Fox 9 that his group ’ s mission isn ’ t about the crimes or even the police , per se , but the inequities of the cash bail system .
“ I often don ’ t even look at a charge when I bail someone out , ” Lewin said .
“ I will see it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not the point .
The point is the system we are fighting.
” The Fox 9 report was published Monday .
The next day , the Trump campaign launched its ads and multiple conservative-leaning news sites carried the message .
Right-wing site Gateway Pundit included screenshots pulled from the Trump campaign ’ s tweets , including the call-to-action text message number .
Sen. Kamala Harris , D-Calif. , made history that evening as the first woman of color to join a major-party presidential ticket .
The Trump posts echo an infamous 1988 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dukakis and featuring convicted murderer Willie Horton , a Black man .
Horton was allowed temporary leave from prison under a controversial “ weekend furlough ” program in Massachusetts ’ prison system , but one day escaped and committed more crimes , including raping a white woman , before being caught .
At the time , Dukakis ’ Republican opponent George H.W .
Bush referenced Horton ’ s case as evidence that Democrats were “ soft on crime.
” Horton ’ s name and face later appeared in a pro-Bush TV ad , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ directly with the Bush campaign .
The ad has long been held up as an example of racist dog-whistlie politics , an issue that returned to the national conversation with another race-baiting Trump ad in 2018 .
The Trump campaign and MFF did not respond to Salon ’ s request for comment .

The effort to instill fear in voters about a future Biden presidency began the same day Kamala Harris joined his ticket.
Donald Trump’s campaign has been tweeting mugshots of Black people out on bail in an effort to instill fear in voters about a future Joe Biden presidency.
The tweets featured the mugshots and full names of four Black defendants in Minnesota who had been released on bail money raised by the Minnesota Freedom Fund in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody.
“Donovan Boone is a violent fugitive who was in jail for attempting to strangle his ex-girlfriend,” reads one tweet. “Now he’s free thanks in part to Biden campaign officials who donated to pay bail fees. Does Joe Biden regret his campaign putting women in danger?”
The tweet then links to an official Trump campaign page, which says that the bail donations are “evidence your family won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America.”
“He is actively putting Americans’ lives at risk by making our streets more dangerous, cops’ jobs more difficult, and families less safe,” the page says.
According to an investigative report by local Minneapolis Fox affiliate Fox 9, police had charged Boone with breaking into the home of an ex-girlfriend and choking her. The victim told police that she thought he was going to kill her.
MFF bailed Boone out for $3,000 cash. However, the group forfeited the bail money when the suspect later failed to show up for his court date and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Bail fund donations have become popular amid the national reckoning on racial justice. Critics of the cash bail system, who range from local advocates such as MFF to Democratic leaders such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris and Biden — whose website calls it a “modern-day debtors’ prison” — have long argued that it perpetuates racial and economic disparities.
MFF has taken in more than $35 million in donations from more than 900,000 people worldwide as Black Lives Matter protests swept the country, according to the nonprofit’s website and the Fox 9 report. Those 900,000 include at least 13 Biden staffers, Reuters reported May 30. Two days later the New York Times reported that MFF had raised $20 million in four days.
Previously, MFF had only received about $100,000 in donations each year, according to Fox 9.
The Fox 9 report reveals that some of the people helped by the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) — in addition to protesters — include Darnika Floyd, a woman charged with second-degree murder after she allegedly stabbed a friend to death, and Christopher Boswell, who had been charged with kidnapping and sexual assault. MFF put up $100,000 to free Floyd and $350,000 to spring Boswell.
In 2001, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., at the time the Hennepin County attorney and now a prominent Biden surrogate, prosecuted Boswell for rape.
Greg Lewin, MFF’s interim executive director, told Fox 9 that his group’s mission isn’t about the crimes or even the police, per se, but the inequities of the cash bail system.
“I often don’t even look at a charge when I bail someone out,” Lewin said. “I will see it after I pay the bill because it is not the point. The point is the system we are fighting.”
The Fox 9 report was published Monday. The next day, the Trump campaign launched its ads and multiple conservative-leaning news sites carried the message. Right-wing site Gateway Pundit included screenshots pulled from the Trump campaign’s tweets, including the call-to-action text message number.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., made history that evening as the first woman of color to join a major-party presidential ticket.
The Trump posts echo an infamous 1988 campaign attack ad targeting Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis and featuring convicted murderer Willie Horton, a Black man. Horton was allowed temporary leave from prison under a controversial “weekend furlough” program in Massachusetts’ prison system, but one day escaped and committed more crimes, including raping a white woman, before being caught.
At the time, Dukakis’ Republican opponent George H.W. Bush referenced Horton’s case as evidence that Democrats were “soft on crime.” Horton’s name and face later appeared in a pro-Bush TV ad, though the spot wasn’t affiliated directly with the Bush campaign. The ad has long been held up as an example of racist dog-whistlie politics, an issue that returned to the national conversation with another race-baiting Trump ad in 2018.
The Trump campaign and MFF did not respond to Salon’s request for comment.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-14--McConnell Adjourns Senate for Month-Long Recess Without Deal on COVID Relief

Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the U.S. Senate for the rest of August on Thursday after failing to come anywhere close to approving another Covid-19 relief package , leaving tens of millions of out-of-work , hungry , and eviction-prone Americans without additional financial aid as the pandemic and economic crisis continue with no end in sight .
“ During the worst economic crisis since the 1930s , Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans think they can take a long vacation while millions of Americans face hunger and eviction .
That is morally obscene , ” Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s decision .
“ It ’ s time for the do-nothing Republican Senate to finally do its damn job.
” The departure of the Republican-controlled Senate comes after an attempt to revive Covid-19 relief talks earlier this week quickly failed as Democratic leaders and Trump administration officials remained far apart on key issues , from emergency funding for the U.S .
Postal Service to aid to faltering state and local governments .
In her weekly press conference Thursday , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) said White House negotiators refused to budge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate is not expected to return until September 8 , when economic conditions are likely to be even more dire for the 40 million people at risk of eviction , 30 million facing drastic income cuts due to the lapse in enhanced unemployment benefits , and 14 million households with children that don ’ t have enough to eat .
“ This is pathetic and devastating , ” consumer advocacy group Public Citizen tweeted after McConnell adjourned the upper chamber until after Labor Day .
Just before skipping town , the Kentucky Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s right-wing judicial nominees .
Earlier Thursday , the Labor Department reported ( pdf ) that 963,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week — a figure that corporate news outlets presented as the first time since March that initial weekly jobless claims dipped below a million .
But Julia Wolfe , state economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute , wrote in a blog post Thursday that the Labor Department ’ s report downplays the number of workers who filed for unemployment benefits last week .
The actual figure , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Astonishingly high numbers of workers continue to claim UI , and we are still 12.9 million jobs short of February employment levels , ” Wolfe wrote .
“ And yet , Senate Republicans allowed the across-the-board $ 600 increase in weekly UI benefits — the most effective economic policy crisis response so far — to expire.
” “ In an unserious move of political theater , the Trump administration has proposed starting up an entirely new system of restoring wages to laid-off workers through executive order ( EO ) , ” Wolfe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EO wishlist , the Trump administration would slash the federal contribution to enhanced unemployment benefits in half , to $ 300 .
This inaction and ongoing uncertainty is causing significant economic pain for workers who have lost their job during the pandemic and their families.
” With tens of millions of low-income and middle-class Americans facing financial ruin as the White House and congressional Republicans stonewall an additional relief package , the Washington Post ’ s Heather Long reported Thursday that the coronavirus-induced recession “ is over for the rich.
” “ U.S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high , a stunning comeback since March that underscores the new phase the economy has entered : The wealthy have mostly recovered .
The bottom half remain far from it , ” Long wrote .
“ This dichotomy is evident in many facets of the economy , especially in employment .
Jobs are fully back for the highest wage earners , but fewer than half the jobs lost this spring have returned for those making less than $ 20 an hour.
” In a statement Thursday , Kyle Herrig , president of advocacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for opting to “ pack up and leave Washington for a month without making a new deal to assist American workers and small business owners.
” “ The luxuries of paid time off and premium health insurance afforded to senators is of little help to the millions of Americans who lost their jobs during this crisis , ” said Herrig .
“ Where is the urgency to get workers and their families the help they need ?
” Sen. Ron Wyden ( D-Ore. ) , one of the architects of the now-expired $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Donald Trump is suppressing votes to steal an election .
Almost 30 million are on unemployment and 160,000 Americans are dead .
McConnell just adjourned the Senate for a month.
” “ Every time I think Republicans can ’ t run this country any further into the ground , ” Wyden wrote , “ they prove me wrong .
”

Sen. Bernie Sanders called the long vacation while millions in the U.S. face hunger and eviction “morally obscene.”
Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the U.S. Senate for the rest of August on Thursday after failing to come anywhere close to approving another Covid-19 relief package, leaving tens of millions of out-of-work, hungry, and eviction-prone Americans without additional financial aid as the pandemic and economic crisis continue with no end in sight.
“During the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans think they can take a long vacation while millions of Americans face hunger and eviction. That is morally obscene,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in response to McConnell’s decision. “It’s time for the do-nothing Republican Senate to finally do its damn job.”
The departure of the Republican-controlled Senate comes after an attempt to revive Covid-19 relief talks earlier this week quickly failed as Democratic leaders and Trump administration officials remained far apart on key issues, from emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service to aid to faltering state and local governments. In her weekly press conference Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said White House negotiators refused to budge from their insufficient relief offers.
The Senate is not expected to return until September 8, when economic conditions are likely to be even more dire for the 40 million people at risk of eviction, 30 million facing drastic income cuts due to the lapse in enhanced unemployment benefits, and 14 million households with children that don’t have enough to eat.
“This is pathetic and devastating,” consumer advocacy group Public Citizen tweeted after McConnell adjourned the upper chamber until after Labor Day. Just before skipping town, the Kentucky Republican advanced five more of President Donald Trump’s right-wing judicial nominees.
Senate adjourned until 9/8, but not before @senatemajldr moved forward on 5 more of Trump’s judicial nominees. It’s shameful that McConnell is focused on stacking the courts instead of saving USPS, funding elections, and extending census deadlines. Our democracy deserves better. https://t.co/cR6tr664i5 — Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) August 13, 2020
Earlier Thursday, the Labor Department reported (pdf) that 963,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week — a figure that corporate news outlets presented as the first time since March that initial weekly jobless claims dipped below a million.
But Julia Wolfe, state economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a blog post Thursday that the Labor Department’s report downplays the number of workers who filed for unemployment benefits last week. The actual figure, according to Wolfe, is 1.3 million.
“Astonishingly high numbers of workers continue to claim UI, and we are still 12.9 million jobs short of February employment levels,” Wolfe wrote. “And yet, Senate Republicans allowed the across-the-board $600 increase in weekly UI benefits — the most effective economic policy crisis response so far — to expire.”
“In an unserious move of political theater, the Trump administration has proposed starting up an entirely new system of restoring wages to laid-off workers through executive order (EO),” Wolfe continued. “But even in their EO wishlist, the Trump administration would slash the federal contribution to enhanced unemployment benefits in half, to $300. This inaction and ongoing uncertainty is causing significant economic pain for workers who have lost their job during the pandemic and their families.”
With tens of millions of low-income and middle-class Americans facing financial ruin as the White House and congressional Republicans stonewall an additional relief package, the Washington Post’s Heather Long reported Thursday that the coronavirus-induced recession “is over for the rich.”
“U.S. stocks are hovering near a record high, a stunning comeback since March that underscores the new phase the economy has entered: The wealthy have mostly recovered. The bottom half remain far from it,” Long wrote. “This dichotomy is evident in many facets of the economy, especially in employment. Jobs are fully back for the highest wage earners, but fewer than half the jobs lost this spring have returned for those making less than $20 an hour.”
NEW: The recession is largely over for the rich. The working class remain in deep pain. -Stocks r near record highs
-Home values at all-time highs
-Jobs r back for affluent Meanwhile…
-Jobs less than 1/2 recovered for low-wage workers
-$600 UI expired https://t.co/csGZqYefLN pic.twitter.com/c88yBcCeVo — Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) August 13, 2020
In a statement Thursday, Kyle Herrig, president of advocacy group Accountable.US, slammed the Republican-controlled Senate for opting to “pack up and leave Washington for a month without making a new deal to assist American workers and small business owners.”
“The luxuries of paid time off and premium health insurance afforded to senators is of little help to the millions of Americans who lost their jobs during this crisis,” said Herrig. “Where is the urgency to get workers and their families the help they need?”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the architects of the now-expired $600-per-week unemployment insurance boost, tweeted: “Donald Trump is suppressing votes to steal an election. Almost 30 million are on unemployment and 160,000 Americans are dead. McConnell just adjourned the Senate for a month.”
“Every time I think Republicans can’t run this country any further into the ground,” Wyden wrote, “they prove me wrong.”
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--2020-08-14--Expert: Israel and UAE Deal Is Being Falsely Characterized as a Peace Deal

In a deal brokered by the United States , Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to fully normalize relations after years of secretly working together on countering Iran and other issues .
Under the deal , Israel has also agreed to temporarily halt plans to annex occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank , which had already been on hold due to international condemnation .
We speak with Rashid Khalidi , the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University , who says the agreement is being falsely characterized as a peace deal .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything to do with peace , ” he says .
“ On the contrary , it makes the chance of a just , equitable and sustainable peace much , much , much harder.
” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement to fully normalize relations after years of secretly working together on countering Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Israel has agreed to temporarily suspend plans to annex the West Bank — a move that appeared to have already been on hold due to international condemnation .
The UAE is the first Gulf Arab country to normalize relations with Israel and just the third country in the Arab world to do so , after Egypt and Jordan .
President Trump announced the UAE-Israel deal on Thursday in an Oval Office event , flanked by U.S .
Ambassador to Israel David Friedman , his former bankruptcy lawyer ; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kushner .
AMY GOODMAN : The Palestinian Authority rejected and denounced the trilateral deal and recalled its ambassador to the UAE .
Meanwhile , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel may still annex the West Bank .
AMY GOODMAN : Critics of the Israeli occupation decried the deal .
Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib , the first female Palestinian congresswoman , tweeted , quote , “ We won ’ t be fooled by another Trump/Netanyahu deal .
We won ’ t celebrate Netanyahu for not stealing land he already controls in exchange for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the issue has never been planned , formal annexation , but ongoing , devastating apartheid , ” she said .
Meanwhile , CodePink ’ s Medea Benjamin warned the deal is aimed at bolstering the , quote , “ Israel-US-Gulf alliance against Iran.
” We ’ re joined now by Rashid Khalidi , the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University , author of several books , including his latest , The Hundred Years ’ War on Palestine .
Professor Khalidi , thanks for joining us .
Can you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RASHID KHALIDI : Well , in a sense , it ’ s another campaign in the hundred years ’ war on Palestine .
This is a great victory for Arab reaction .
It ’ s a great victory for the annexationist government in Israel .
It ’ s also a boost for President Trump .
The Trump regime , which is one of the most authoritarian in American history , has now gotten a diplomatic victory .
So , I don ’ t see that it has anything to do with peace , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was never at war with Israel .
On the contrary , it makes the chance of a just , equitable and sustainable peace much , much , much harder .
AMY GOODMAN : So , were you surprised by this announcement ?
And can you explain how it came about ?
And then respond to the Palestinian leadership ’ s denunciation and rejection of the deal .
RASHID KHALIDI : Well , it came about partly because of the blowback against the Trump-Netanyahu plan to overtly annex territories , which , as Rashida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control , and , as Netanyahu said , he still plans to annex .
But the blowback was so severe that both Trump and Netanyahu were forced to recalibrate .
And this is something that has always been ongoing , the plan to bring the most reactionary , most absolute monarchies in the world into an open public alliance with Israel , as part of the Netanyahu-Trump obsession with Iran , which is something that these regimes are also obsessed with , given that they have — they do not depend on consent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have any kind of domestic legitimacy , they ’ re anti-democratic .
They are the forces that fight against democracy throughout the Arab world .
The United Arab Emirates is not a force for peace .
It ’ s at war with the people of Yemen .
It ’ s at war in Libya .
It has never been involved in a war with Israel .
So , this is making overt a relationship that was already covert .
This is making even more salient an alliance against Iran , which is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to dangle Iran in front of people ’ s eyes to distract them from the kinds of reactionary dictatorships or absolute monarchies .
Those monarchies are so reactionary that they make Henry VIII and Louis XIV look like Tom Paine and Robespierre .
They are the most — they are the most absolute monarchies in the world today .
The fact that the United States is supporting them is an absolute disgrace .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , on Thursday , President Trump was questioned about whether Israel may still annex the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
AMY GOODMAN : So , that ’ s the U.S. ambassador to Israel on the sidelines of the press conference , David Friedman , the former bankruptcy lawyer for — AMY GOODMAN : — President Trump .
Rashid Khalidi , President Trump had said , “ I wanted it to be called the Donald J. Trump Accord.
” The national security adviser , Robert O ’ Brien said President Trump should be the front-runner for the Nobel Peace Prize .
RASHID KHALIDI : Well , as I ’ ve said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engaged in war with Israel .
On the contrary , the United Arab Emirates ’ air defenses , its missile defenses , are manufactured in Israel and are probably controlled from Israel .
So , this is an ally of Israel in practice .
It always has been .
Now this has been made public .
Whatever the president and his ambassador to Israel say , I would take Netanyahu at his word .
There is no change in his plans .
He said it .
You ran a clip from him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ongoing colonization of the West Bank .
They will continue to control it absolutely .
Israel will continue to be the only sovereign between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River .
And it will continue its discriminatory policies whereby Israelis have one set of laws and Palestinians , under occupation , basically have the law of the jungle , i.e .
military occupation , military courts , in which everybody is always guilty and in which about 20 % of the Palestinian population has been sent to prison .
So , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is going to be sustained and continued by this deal .
That ’ s not peace .
That ’ s continuation of colonization and occupation , whatever the president says .
AMY GOODMAN : Brian Hook , the State Department ’ s outgoing special envoy for Iran , also spoke at the White House Thursday .
AMY GOODMAN : Meanwhile , CodePink ’ s Medea Benjamin warned the deal is aimed at bolstering the “ Israel-US-Gulf alliance against Iran , ” Professor Khalidi .
RASHID KHALIDI : Right , right .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Brian Hook , because one of the greatest falsehoods that these people peddle is this idea that there is a conflict between the Arabs and Iran .
There is a conflict between nonrepresentative , anti-democratic regimes and Iran .
Arab public opinion considers Israel a great danger .
There are polls every couple of years , run by the Arab Center , which show that across a dozen Arab countries , the Arabs , the people , most of them unrepresented by these dictatorships and absolute monarchies , consider Iran a minor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s not the number one problem .
For these regimes , which have no domestic legitimacy , which do not depend on consent of the governed , of course Iran is a problem .
Moreover , they need the United States and Israel , because they can ’ t defend themselves , given the fact that — against their people , let alone against external threats , because they have no domestic legitimacy .
So , I think this is not something between the Arabs and Iran .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regimes , notably the absolute monarchies of the Gulf , and Iran .
AMY GOODMAN : Of course , President Trump is feeling somewhat embattled .
Former vice president , the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee , Joe Biden responded to his Middle East deal saying in a statement , quote , “ The UAE ’ s offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome , brave , and badly-needed act of statesmanship .
… Annexation would be a body blow to the cause of peace , which is why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it as president.
” Can you respond to the Democratic position ?
RASHID KHALIDI : Well , I think that the leadership of the Democratic Party , from Biden to Senator Harris to the people who run it , the Schumers and the Pelosis and the Clintons and the Obamas , all of them are behind the times .
The Democratic Party , its base , the people who are going to vote for the Democrats and will hopefully defeat Trump in November and take back the Senate and increase the progressive trends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel that way .
They strongly believe that Israel should be sanctioned for its violations of Palestinian human rights .
They don ’ t have the position that the Democratic Party leadership has .
So , a lot of work is going to be necessary to force the leadership to do what the people want — that is to say , its own — the people who will vote them into office , should they win in November .
They don ’ t represent the people that they claim to represent , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s going to require a lot of pressure on these people , who are basically mired in the past positions of the Democratic Party , which were always blind to Israel ’ s faults and blind to the Palestinians .
This is not new , and it ’ s unfortunately been further entrenched by Biden and Harris becoming the nominees for the party .
There were several other candidates — obviously , Senator Sanders and Senator Warren , but others — who had more nuanced positions , much more in tune with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this issue , on the issue of Palestine .
So , a lot of work is going to be necessary to force a leadership , that is , as I ’ ve said , completely blind to Israel ’ s faults and doesn ’ t see the Palestinians , to do the right thing .
AMY GOODMAN : In the Gaza Strip , just as this was being announced , Israeli tanks and warplanes attacked Palestinian neighborhoods overnight for the fourth time this week .
Israel said the raids were retaliation for incendiary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missile striking a United Nations elementary school in the crowded al-Shati refugee camp but failed to explode , prompting an evacuation .
This is a 12-year-old student , Lianne Al-Musawabi .
AMY GOODMAN : Professor Khalidi , do you see a connection between the announcement and what ’ s happening in Gaza now and the significance of that ?
RASHID KHALIDI : Well , Israel has been engaged in what one Israeli once called “ mowing the grass , ” you know , periodically bombarding Gaza , periodically using overwhelming force against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Palestinians divided , which is an Israeli objective , and to keep Hamas off balance .
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a secret negotiation for the better part of a year , actually more , with the objective of getting a real ceasefire in place , in return for which Israel would lift some of its incredible restrictions on movement and on the transfer of goods into and out of the Gaza Strip .
And this is part of that tit-for-tat between the overwhelming force used by Israel and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some crops .
So , Israel will bombard with bombs and missiles , and what comes from Gaza is basically minor in comparison .
The importance of it , really , I don ’ t think , relates to — I don ’ t think relates to this larger deal involving the Emirates .
It is part of a policy of divide and rule that Israel has adopted over a very long period of time , and that Palestinian division helps .
So , the Palestinian leaderships in Gaza and the West Bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Palestinian people ahead of their own narrow self-interest , are playing Israel ’ s game — both of them , regrettably — and deserve to be sanctioned by the Palestinian people for their blindness .
AMY GOODMAN : And you also have both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu under fierce attack for how they have dealt with the pandemic .
Thousands of Israelis have been in the streets protesting Netanyahu .
It has one of the worst outbreaks in the world .
Do you see a relationship with what ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announcement ?
And also , how would it play out ?
Do you see this happening before the U.S. election ?
And how do you feel people in the U.S. would respond to this ?
RASHID KHALIDI : Do I see annexation happening ?
Is that your question , Amy ?
AMY GOODMAN : No .
Do you see this deal being signed off on ?
RASHID KHALIDI : Oh , the Emirates deal .
Oh , yes , absolutely .
This is a feather in — Trump sees this as a feather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Both of them are facing enormous public opposition because of their terrible handling of the pandemic , because of their appalling handling of the economic issues , not to speak of issues of racial discrimination and police brutality in the United States , not to speak of the Palestine question and the oppression of millions and millions of Palestinians by Israel , in the case of Israel .
So they both have enormous pressure on them from the street .
We have demonstrations in the street ; they have demonstrations in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the kinds of autocratic tendencies — I think they wish they could be Mohammed bin Zayed or Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia , where they could simply rule by fiat .
And the president is moving towards that , trying to move towards that in this country , and Netanyahu has been moving towards that himself .
So , they are under enormous pressure from below .
And this is a — this is meant by both of them , in terms of domestic public opinion , as a distraction .
AMY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York Times , Rashid .
Dennis Ross , the former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations , said another lure for the Emiratis was the possibility of obtaining advanced weaponry they ’ ve long sought , which the United States sells only to countries at peace with Israel to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region .
Your thoughts ?
RASHID KHALIDI : Well , the United Arab Emirates , as I mentioned , already has a anti-missile defense system , which is manufactured by Raytheon , largely from and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s an American company , so they maintain the illusion that they ’ re buying American equipment .
I am sure they would like more of this , but they can already get whatever Israel produces .
Now what they hope to get , I assume , is equipment that the United States produces .
So , it is a cozy — it ’ s a business relationship , as Rashida Tlaib , Congresswoman Tlaib , rightly said .
At base , bin Zayed is paying for protection from the local bullies on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israel , from his own people , from the Arab peoples , and from external enemies .
And he needs the weaponry , with which he can defend himself against these external enemies .
So , yes , I think that is actually part of the deal .
Ross , unusually , is right on this .
AMY GOODMAN : And finally , what do you think a just deal would look like in the Middle East and between the Israelis and the Palestinians ?
RASHID KHALIDI : A just deal means equal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means that national rights have to be accepted for both people .
The nation-state law — Israel is a Jewish nation-state — in 2018 , said there ’ s only one people entitled to self-determination in the land of Israel .
And that can not stand .
There are two peoples there .
Any solution that doesn ’ t accept that and give them equal rights — what is paraded as a , quote-unquote , “ two-state solution ” is a one-state solution .
One state has sovereignty and control ; the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement of everybody in and out ; the other so-called state , the Palestinian state , under a so-called two-state solution , would have no control over immigration , import/export , groundwater , airspace — it would not be sovereign .
Moreover , Palestinians would be restricted to a tiny fraction of the Occupied Territories , let alone of the entirety of Palestine .
This is not just .
And the current situation is not sustainable .
So , there has to be equality of rights between both people , on every level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political rights and national rights .
AMY GOODMAN : Rashid Khalidi , we want to thank you so much for being with us , Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University , author of a number of books , his latest , The Hundred Years ’ War on Palestine .
When we come back , as calls grow to release people from prison in the United States , especially amidst the pandemic , a new series by filmmaker Messiah Rhodes looks at why breaking the cycle of incarceration is so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his own mother .
Stay with us .

In a deal brokered by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to fully normalize relations after years of secretly working together on countering Iran and other issues. Under the deal, Israel has also agreed to temporarily halt plans to annex occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, which had already been on hold due to international condemnation. We speak with Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, who says the agreement is being falsely characterized as a peace deal. “I don’t see that it has anything to do with peace,” he says. “On the contrary, it makes the chance of a just, equitable and sustainable peace much, much, much harder.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement to fully normalize relations after years of secretly working together on countering Iran and other issues. Under the deal, Israel has agreed to temporarily suspend plans to annex the West Bank — a move that appeared to have already been on hold due to international condemnation. The UAE is the first Gulf Arab country to normalize relations with Israel and just the third country in the Arab world to do so, after Egypt and Jordan.
President Trump announced the UAE-Israel deal on Thursday in an Oval Office event, flanked by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, his former bankruptcy lawyer; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: By uniting two of America’s closest and most capable partners in the region, something which said could not be done, this deal is a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East. Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates’ lead.
AMY GOODMAN: The Palestinian Authority rejected and denounced the trilateral deal and recalled its ambassador to the UAE. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel may still annex the West Bank.
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: [translated] There is no change in my plan to apply our sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, in full coordination with the United States. I am committed. It has not changed. I remind you that I am the one who put the issue of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria on the table. This issue continues to remain on the table.
AMY GOODMAN: Critics of the Israeli occupation decried the deal. Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the first female Palestinian congresswoman, tweeted, quote, “We won’t be fooled by another Trump/Netanyahu deal. We won’t celebrate Netanyahu for not stealing land he already controls in exchange for a sweetheart business deal. The heart of the issue has never been planned, formal annexation, but ongoing, devastating apartheid,” she said.
Meanwhile, CodePink’s Medea Benjamin warned the deal is aimed at bolstering the, quote, “Israel-US-Gulf alliance against Iran.”
We’re joined now by Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, author of several books, including his latest, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.
Professor Khalidi, thanks for joining us. Can you respond to this surprise announcement yesterday?
RASHID KHALIDI: Well, in a sense, it’s another campaign in the hundred years’ war on Palestine. This is a great victory for Arab reaction. It’s a great victory for the annexationist government in Israel. It’s also a boost for President Trump. The Trump regime, which is one of the most authoritarian in American history, has now gotten a diplomatic victory.
So, I don’t see that it has anything to do with peace, of course. The United Arab Emirates was never at war with Israel. On the contrary, it makes the chance of a just, equitable and sustainable peace much, much, much harder.
AMY GOODMAN: So, were you surprised by this announcement? And can you explain how it came about? And then respond to the Palestinian leadership’s denunciation and rejection of the deal.
RASHID KHALIDI: Well, it came about partly because of the blowback against the Trump-Netanyahu plan to overtly annex territories, which, as Rashida Tlaib said, are already under Israeli control, and, as Netanyahu said, he still plans to annex. But the blowback was so severe that both Trump and Netanyahu were forced to recalibrate.
And this is something that has always been ongoing, the plan to bring the most reactionary, most absolute monarchies in the world into an open public alliance with Israel, as part of the Netanyahu-Trump obsession with Iran, which is something that these regimes are also obsessed with, given that they have — they do not depend on consent of the governed, they do not have any kind of domestic legitimacy, they’re anti-democratic. They are the forces that fight against democracy throughout the Arab world. The United Arab Emirates is not a force for peace. It’s at war with the people of Yemen. It’s at war in Libya. It has never been involved in a war with Israel.
So, this is making overt a relationship that was already covert. This is making even more salient an alliance against Iran, which is the wet dream of both Netanyahu and Trump, to dangle Iran in front of people’s eyes to distract them from the kinds of reactionary dictatorships or absolute monarchies. Those monarchies are so reactionary that they make Henry VIII and Louis XIV look like Tom Paine and Robespierre. They are the most — they are the most absolute monarchies in the world today. The fact that the United States is supporting them is an absolute disgrace.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, on Thursday, President Trump was questioned about whether Israel may still annex the West Bank. This is what he said.
REPORTER: The prime minister was pretty clear today at his own press conference that he considers this to be a temporary suspension and that the deal would still be open to him at some point in the future. I’m asking what you think he should do. Should he actually [inaudible]? PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, right now all I can say: It’s off the table. So I can’t talk about some time into the future; that’s a big statement. But right now it’s off the table. Is that a correct statement, Mr. Ambassador? DAVID FRIEDMAN: Yes. The word “suspend” was chosen carefully by all the parties. “Suspend,” by definition — look it up — means “temporary halt.” It’s off the table now, but it’s not off the table permanently.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s the U.S. ambassador to Israel on the sidelines of the press conference, David Friedman, the former bankruptcy lawyer for —
RASHID KHALIDI: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: — President Trump. Rashid Khalidi, President Trump had said, “I wanted it to be called the Donald J. Trump Accord.” The national security adviser, Robert O’Brien said President Trump should be the front-runner for the Nobel Peace Prize.
RASHID KHALIDI: Well, as I’ve said, the United Arab Emirates has never been engaged in war with Israel. On the contrary, the United Arab Emirates’ air defenses, its missile defenses, are manufactured in Israel and are probably controlled from Israel. So, this is an ally of Israel in practice. It always has been. Now this has been made public.
Whatever the president and his ambassador to Israel say, I would take Netanyahu at his word. There is no change in his plans. He said it. You ran a clip from him, speaking in Hebrew. They will continue the ongoing colonization of the West Bank. They will continue to control it absolutely. Israel will continue to be the only sovereign between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. And it will continue its discriminatory policies whereby Israelis have one set of laws and Palestinians, under occupation, basically have the law of the jungle, i.e. military occupation, military courts, in which everybody is always guilty and in which about 20% of the Palestinian population has been sent to prison. So, we’re talking about a jackboot regime which is going to be sustained and continued by this deal. That’s not peace. That’s continuation of colonization and occupation, whatever the president says.
AMY GOODMAN: Brian Hook, the State Department’s outgoing special envoy for Iran, also spoke at the White House Thursday.
BRIAN HOOK: Peace between the Arabs and the Israelis is Iran’s worst nightmare. And no one has done more to intensify the conflict between Arabs and Israelis than Iran. And what we see today is a new Middle East. The trend lines are very different today. And we see the future is very much in the Gulf and with Israel. In the past, it was with the Iranian regime.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, CodePink’s Medea Benjamin warned the deal is aimed at bolstering the “Israel-US-Gulf alliance against Iran,” Professor Khalidi.
RASHID KHALIDI: Right, right. I’m glad you ran that clip by Brian Hook, because one of the greatest falsehoods that these people peddle is this idea that there is a conflict between the Arabs and Iran. There is a conflict between nonrepresentative, anti-democratic regimes and Iran.
Arab public opinion considers Israel a great danger. There are polls every couple of years, run by the Arab Center, which show that across a dozen Arab countries, the Arabs, the people, most of them unrepresented by these dictatorships and absolute monarchies, consider Iran a minor threat. It’s a problem, but it’s not the number one problem.
For these regimes, which have no domestic legitimacy, which do not depend on consent of the governed, of course Iran is a problem. Moreover, they need the United States and Israel, because they can’t defend themselves, given the fact that — against their people, let alone against external threats, because they have no domestic legitimacy.
So, I think this is not something between the Arabs and Iran. This is something between unrepresentative and undemocratic Arab regimes, notably the absolute monarchies of the Gulf, and Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: Of course, President Trump is feeling somewhat embattled. Former vice president, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden responded to his Middle East deal saying in a statement, quote, “The UAE’s offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship. … Annexation would be a body blow to the cause of peace, which is why I oppose it now and would oppose it as president.” Can you respond to the Democratic position?
RASHID KHALIDI: Well, I think that the leadership of the Democratic Party, from Biden to Senator Harris to the people who run it, the Schumers and the Pelosis and the Clintons and the Obamas, all of them are behind the times. The Democratic Party, its base, the people who are going to vote for the Democrats and will hopefully defeat Trump in November and take back the Senate and increase the progressive trends in the House, don’t feel that way. They strongly believe that Israel should be sanctioned for its violations of Palestinian human rights. They don’t have the position that the Democratic Party leadership has.
So, a lot of work is going to be necessary to force the leadership to do what the people want — that is to say, its own — the people who will vote them into office, should they win in November. They don’t represent the people that they claim to represent, on this issue at least. And it’s going to require a lot of pressure on these people, who are basically mired in the past positions of the Democratic Party, which were always blind to Israel’s faults and blind to the Palestinians.
This is not new, and it’s unfortunately been further entrenched by Biden and Harris becoming the nominees for the party. There were several other candidates — obviously, Senator Sanders and Senator Warren, but others — who had more nuanced positions, much more in tune with the base of the Democratic Party on this issue, on the issue of Palestine. So, a lot of work is going to be necessary to force a leadership, that is, as I’ve said, completely blind to Israel’s faults and doesn’t see the Palestinians, to do the right thing.
AMY GOODMAN: In the Gaza Strip, just as this was being announced, Israeli tanks and warplanes attacked Palestinian neighborhoods overnight for the fourth time this week. Israel said the raids were retaliation for incendiary balloons launched by Hamas, one Israeli missile striking a United Nations elementary school in the crowded al-Shati refugee camp but failed to explode, prompting an evacuation. This is a 12-year-old student, Lianne Al-Musawabi.
LIANNE AL-MUSAWABI: [translated] I was shocked. I went home and told my mother what happened, and I was crying, “Why are they hitting the school?”
AMY GOODMAN: Professor Khalidi, do you see a connection between the announcement and what’s happening in Gaza now and the significance of that?
RASHID KHALIDI: Well, Israel has been engaged in what one Israeli once called “mowing the grass,” you know, periodically bombarding Gaza, periodically using overwhelming force against the Palestinians, partly in order to keep the Palestinians divided, which is an Israeli objective, and to keep Hamas off balance.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a secret negotiation for the better part of a year, actually more, with the objective of getting a real ceasefire in place, in return for which Israel would lift some of its incredible restrictions on movement and on the transfer of goods into and out of the Gaza Strip. And this is part of that tit-for-tat between the overwhelming force used by Israel and the relatively minor irritation of balloons that burn some crops. So, Israel will bombard with bombs and missiles, and what comes from Gaza is basically minor in comparison.
The importance of it, really, I don’t think, relates to — I don’t think relates to this larger deal involving the Emirates. It is part of a policy of divide and rule that Israel has adopted over a very long period of time, and that Palestinian division helps. So, the Palestinian leaderships in Gaza and the West Bank, that refuse to put the interests of the Palestinian people ahead of their own narrow self-interest, are playing Israel’s game — both of them, regrettably — and deserve to be sanctioned by the Palestinian people for their blindness.
AMY GOODMAN: And you also have both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu under fierce attack for how they have dealt with the pandemic. Thousands of Israelis have been in the streets protesting Netanyahu. It has one of the worst outbreaks in the world. Do you see a relationship with what’s going on now, with this announcement? And also, how would it play out? Do you see this happening before the U.S. election? And how do you feel people in the U.S. would respond to this?
RASHID KHALIDI: Do I see annexation happening? Is that your question, Amy?
AMY GOODMAN: No. Do you see this deal being signed off on?
RASHID KHALIDI: Oh, the Emirates deal. Oh, yes, absolutely. This is a feather in — Trump sees this as a feather in his cap, as does Netanyahu. Both of them are facing enormous public opposition because of their terrible handling of the pandemic, because of their appalling handling of the economic issues, not to speak of issues of racial discrimination and police brutality in the United States, not to speak of the Palestine question and the oppression of millions and millions of Palestinians by Israel, in the case of Israel. So they both have enormous pressure on them from the street. We have demonstrations in the street; they have demonstrations in the street in Israel.
Both rulers have the kinds of autocratic tendencies — I think they wish they could be Mohammed bin Zayed or Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, where they could simply rule by fiat. And the president is moving towards that, trying to move towards that in this country, and Netanyahu has been moving towards that himself. So, they are under enormous pressure from below. And this is a — this is meant by both of them, in terms of domestic public opinion, as a distraction.
AMY GOODMAN: This is from The New York Times, Rashid. Dennis Ross, the former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations, said another lure for the Emiratis was the possibility of obtaining advanced weaponry they’ve long sought, which the United States sells only to countries at peace with Israel to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region. Your thoughts?
RASHID KHALIDI: Well, the United Arab Emirates, as I mentioned, already has a anti-missile defense system, which is manufactured by Raytheon, largely from and in Israel. Obviously, it’s an American company, so they maintain the illusion that they’re buying American equipment. I am sure they would like more of this, but they can already get whatever Israel produces. Now what they hope to get, I assume, is equipment that the United States produces.
So, it is a cozy — it’s a business relationship, as Rashida Tlaib, Congresswoman Tlaib, rightly said. At base, bin Zayed is paying for protection from the local bullies on the block, the United States and Israel, from his own people, from the Arab peoples, and from external enemies. And he needs the weaponry, with which he can defend himself against these external enemies. So, yes, I think that is actually part of the deal. Ross, unusually, is right on this.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, what do you think a just deal would look like in the Middle East and between the Israelis and the Palestinians?
RASHID KHALIDI: A just deal means equal rights for everybody. A just deal means that national rights have to be accepted for both people. The nation-state law — Israel is a Jewish nation-state — in 2018, said there’s only one people entitled to self-determination in the land of Israel. And that cannot stand. There are two peoples there. Any solution that doesn’t accept that and give them equal rights — what is paraded as a, quote-unquote, “two-state solution” is a one-state solution. One state has sovereignty and control; the other state does not. One state controls movement of everybody in and out; the other so-called state, the Palestinian state, under a so-called two-state solution, would have no control over immigration, import/export, groundwater, airspace — it would not be sovereign. Moreover, Palestinians would be restricted to a tiny fraction of the Occupied Territories, let alone of the entirety of Palestine. This is not just. And the current situation is not sustainable. So, there has to be equality of rights between both people, on every level — religious rights, personal rights, political rights and national rights.
AMY GOODMAN: Rashid Khalidi, we want to thank you so much for being with us, Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, author of a number of books, his latest, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.
When we come back, as calls grow to release people from prison in the United States, especially amidst the pandemic, a new series by filmmaker Messiah Rhodes looks at why breaking the cycle of incarceration is so hard, especially for women, including his own mother. Stay with us.


truthout--2020-08-14--Public Health Officials Are Quitting or Getting Fired in Throes of Pandemic

Vilified , threatened with violence or in some cases suffering from burnout , dozens of state and local public health officials around the U.S. have resigned or have been fired amid the coronavirus outbreak , a testament to how politically combustible masks , lockdowns and infection data have become .
One of the latest departures came Sunday , when California ’ s public health director , Dr. Sonia Angell , was ousted following a technical glitch that caused a delay in reporting virus test results — information used to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools .
Last week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was replaced after months of friction with the police department and City Hall .
A review by KHN and The Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned , retired or been fired since April across 23 states .
The list has grown by more than 20 people since the AP and KHN started keeping track in June .
Dr. Tom Frieden , former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , called the numbers stunning .
He said they reflect burnout , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institutions from the highest levels of government , including from President Donald Trump , who has sidelined the CDC during the pandemic .
“ The overall tone toward public health in the U.S. is so hostile that it has kind of emboldened people to make these attacks , ” Frieden said .
The past few months have been “ frustrating and tiring and disheartening ” for public health officials , said former West Virginia public health commissioner Dr. Cathy Slemp , who was forced to resign by Republican Gov .
Jim Justice in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and you ’ re committed to the work you do and societal role that you ’ re given .
You feel a duty to serve , and yet it ’ s really hard in the current environment , ” Slemp said in an interview Monday .
The departures come at a time when public health expertise is needed more than ever , said Lori Tremmel Freeman , CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials .
“ We ’ re moving at breakneck speed here to stop a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hit the pause button and say , ‘ We ’ re going to change the leadership around here and we ’ ll get back to you after we hire somebody , ’ ” Freeman said .
As of Monday , confirmed infections in the United States stood at over 5 million , with deaths topping 163,000 , the highest in the world , according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University researchers .
The confirmed number of coronavirus cases worldwide topped 20 million .
Many of the firings and resignations have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or shutdowns to enforce social distancing , Freeman said .
Despite the scientific evidence that such measures help prevent transmission of the coronavirus , many politicians and others have argued they are not needed , no matter what health experts tell them .
Some health officials said they were stepping down for family reasons , and some left for jobs at other agencies , such as the CDC .
Some , like Angell , were ousted because of what higher-ups said was poor leadership or a failure to do their job .
Others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underpaid , unappreciated or thrust into a pressure-cooker environment .
“ To me , a lot of the divisiveness and the stress and the resignations that are happening right and left are the consequence of the lack of a real national response plan , ” said Dr. Matt Willis , health officer for Marin County in Northern California .
“ And we ’ re all left scrambling at the local and state level to extract resources and improvise solutions.
” Public health leaders from Dr. Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to officials in small communities have reported death threats and intimidation .
Some have seen their home addresses published or been the subject of sexist attacks on social media .
Fauci has said his wife and daughters have received threats .
In Ohio , the state ’ s health director , Dr. Amy Acton , resigned in June after months of pressure during which Republican lawmakers tried to strip her of her authority and armed protesters showed up at her house .
It was on Acton ’ s advice that GOP Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ shut down schools statewide .
Acton also called off the state ’ s presidential primary in March just hours before polls were to open , angering those who saw it as an overreaction .
The executive director of Las Animas-Huerfano Counties District Health Department in Colorado , Kim Gonzales , found her car vandalized twice , and a group called Colorado Counties for Freedom ran a radio ad demanding that her authority be reduced .
Gonzales has remained on the job .
In West Virginia , the governor forced Slemp ’ s resignation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the data .
Slemp said the department ’ s work had been hurt by outdated technology like fax machines and slow computer networks .
Tom Inglesby , director of the UPMC Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins , said the issue amounted to a clerical error easily fixed .
Inglesby said it was deeply concerning that public health officials who told “ uncomfortable truths ” to political leaders had been removed .
“ That ’ s terrible for the national response because what we need for getting through this , first of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need data , and we need people to interpret the data and help political leaders make good judgments , ” Inglesby said .
Since 2010 , spending on state public health departments has dropped 16 % per capita , and the amount devoted to local health departments has fallen 18 % , according to a KHN and AP analysis .
At least 38,000 state and local public health jobs have disappeared since the 2008 recession , leaving a skeleton workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world ’ s top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came Monday along the Texas border .
Dr. Jose Vazquez , the Starr County health authority , resigned after a proposal to increase his pay from $ 500 to $ 10,000 a month was rejected by county commissioners .
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera , a county commissioner who supported the raise , said Vazquez had been working 60 hours per week in the county , one of the poorest in the U.S. and recently one of those hit hardest by the virus .
“ He felt it was an insult , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state health commissioner and state epidemiologist have been replaced since the outbreak began in March .
In rural Colorado , Emily Brown was fired in late May as director of the Rio Grande County Public Health Department after clashing with county commissioners over reopening recommendations .
The person who replaced her resigned July 9 .
The months of nonstop and often unappreciated work are prompting many public health workers to leave , said Theresa Anselmo of the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials .
“ It will certainly slow down the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
“ Who ’ s going to want to take on this career if you ’ re confronted with the kinds of political issues that are coming up ?
” Weber reported from St. Louis .
Associated Press writers Paul Weber , Sean Murphy and Janie Har and California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester contributed reporting .
This story is a collaboration between KHN and The Associated Press .
Kaiser Health News , a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide , is an editorially independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @

At least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states.
Vilified, threatened with violence or in some cases suffering from burnout, dozens of state and local public health officials around the U.S. have resigned or have been fired amid the coronavirus outbreak, a testament to how politically combustible masks, lockdowns and infection data have become.
One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director, Dr. Sonia Angell, was ousted following a technical glitch that caused a delay in reporting virus test results — information used to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools.
Last week, New York City’s health commissioner was replaced after months of friction with the police department and City Hall.
A review by KHN and The Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. The list has grown by more than 20 people since the AP and KHN started keeping track in June.
Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the numbers stunning. He said they reflect burnout, as well as attacks on public health experts and institutions from the highest levels of government, including from President Donald Trump, who has sidelined the CDC during the pandemic.
“The overall tone toward public health in the U.S. is so hostile that it has kind of emboldened people to make these attacks,” Frieden said.
The past few months have been “frustrating and tiring and disheartening” for public health officials, said former West Virginia public health commissioner Dr. Cathy Slemp, who was forced to resign by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in June.
“You care about community, and you’re committed to the work you do and societal role that you’re given. You feel a duty to serve, and yet it’s really hard in the current environment,” Slemp said in an interview Monday.
The departures come at a time when public health expertise is needed more than ever, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
“We’re moving at breakneck speed here to stop a pandemic, and you can’t afford to hit the pause button and say, ‘We’re going to change the leadership around here and we’ll get back to you after we hire somebody,’” Freeman said.
As of Monday, confirmed infections in the United States stood at over 5 million, with deaths topping 163,000, the highest in the world, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University researchers. The confirmed number of coronavirus cases worldwide topped 20 million.
Many of the firings and resignations have to do with conflicts over mask orders or shutdowns to enforce social distancing, Freeman said. Despite the scientific evidence that such measures help prevent transmission of the coronavirus, many politicians and others have argued they are not needed, no matter what health experts tell them.
“It’s not a health divide; it’s a political divide,” Freeman said.
Some health officials said they were stepping down for family reasons, and some left for jobs at other agencies, such as the CDC. Some, like Angell, were ousted because of what higher-ups said was poor leadership or a failure to do their job.
Others have complained that they were overworked, underpaid, unappreciated or thrust into a pressure-cooker environment.
“To me, a lot of the divisiveness and the stress and the resignations that are happening right and left are the consequence of the lack of a real national response plan,” said Dr. Matt Willis, health officer for Marin County in Northern California. “And we’re all left scrambling at the local and state level to extract resources and improvise solutions.”
Public health leaders from Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, down to officials in small communities have reported death threats and intimidation. Some have seen their home addresses published or been the subject of sexist attacks on social media. Fauci has said his wife and daughters have received threats.
In Ohio, the state’s health director, Dr. Amy Acton, resigned in June after months of pressure during which Republican lawmakers tried to strip her of her authority and armed protesters showed up at her house.
It was on Acton’s advice that GOP Gov. Mike DeWine became the first governor to shut down schools statewide. Acton also called off the state’s presidential primary in March just hours before polls were to open, angering those who saw it as an overreaction.
The executive director of Las Animas-Huerfano Counties District Health Department in Colorado, Kim Gonzales, found her car vandalized twice, and a group called Colorado Counties for Freedom ran a radio ad demanding that her authority be reduced. Gonzales has remained on the job.
In West Virginia, the governor forced Slemp’s resignation over what he said were discrepancies in the data. Slemp said the department’s work had been hurt by outdated technology like fax machines and slow computer networks. Tom Inglesby, director of the UPMC Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins, said the issue amounted to a clerical error easily fixed.
Inglesby said it was deeply concerning that public health officials who told “uncomfortable truths” to political leaders had been removed.
“That’s terrible for the national response because what we need for getting through this, first of all, is the truth. We need data, and we need people to interpret the data and help political leaders make good judgments,” Inglesby said.
Since 2010, spending on state public health departments has dropped 16% per capita, and the amount devoted to local health departments has fallen 18%, according to a KHN and AP analysis. At least 38,000 state and local public health jobs have disappeared since the 2008 recession, leaving a skeleton workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world’s top public health systems.
Another sudden departure came Monday along the Texas border. Dr. Jose Vazquez, the Starr County health authority, resigned after a proposal to increase his pay from $500 to $10,000 a month was rejected by county commissioners.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, a county commissioner who supported the raise, said Vazquez had been working 60 hours per week in the county, one of the poorest in the U.S. and recently one of those hit hardest by the virus.
“He felt it was an insult,” Vera said.
In Oklahoma, both the state health commissioner and state epidemiologist have been replaced since the outbreak began in March.
In rural Colorado, Emily Brown was fired in late May as director of the Rio Grande County Public Health Department after clashing with county commissioners over reopening recommendations. The person who replaced her resigned July 9.
The months of nonstop and often unappreciated work are prompting many public health workers to leave, said Theresa Anselmo of the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials.
“It will certainly slow down the pandemic response and become less coordinated,” she said. “Who’s going to want to take on this career if you’re confronted with the kinds of political issues that are coming up?”
Weber reported from St. Louis. Associated Press writers Paul Weber, Sean Murphy and Janie Har and California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester contributed reporting.
This story is a collaboration between KHN and The Associated Press.
Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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