thenation--2020-09-02--The Authorities Are Still Gunning for Breonna Taylor

Authorities in Kentucky have still not arrested the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor on March 13 .
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron , who is now in charge of the case , had time to speak at the Republican National Convention last week , but he has not found the time to bring to justice the three cops who shot Taylor in her own apartment .
What have the authorities been doing for the past five and a half months ?
Earlier this week , we learned the answer : The authorities have been busy harassing the Black men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name Taylor , posthumously , as a criminal defendant .
Instead of building a case against the police officers who killed her , it would appear that Kentucky prosecutors have been doing everything they can to build a case against Taylor , in a desperate yet classic attempt to blame a Black person for “ forcing ” the cops to kill them .
The prosecutors in Kentucky have one goal : to secure an acquittal for the police officers who shot Taylor should public pressure somehow force them to bring charges against those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is trying to lose the case against the officers before it even starts .
Now the two men who have been hounded by the authorities while Taylor ’ s killers march around free are starting to speak out through their attorneys and legal action .
On Tuesday , attorneys filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of Taylor ’ s boyfriend , Kenneth Walker , against Louisville police , the city , and other officials .
The suit is comprehensive : It alleges serious police misconduct and intimidation , gives new details on Taylor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect Walker from future harassment through a novel use of Kentucky ’ s “ stand your ground ” law .
Walker was in Taylor ’ s apartment the night police barged in and shot her .
He fired one shot at the people he thought were home invaders .
Ever since , the cops have used that shot—fired from Walker ’ s registered , legally owned gun—as justification for opening fire and unloading 35 bullets into Taylor ’ s apartment , eight of which landed in her .
Walker was arrested at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a police officer .
Walker has always maintained his innocence , claiming that the cops did not identify themselves as police officers before breaking into the apartment and that he acted in self-defense .
While the cops have produced no witnesses or evidence that they properly identified themselves , Walker ’ s story is backed up by his call to 911 , made in the moments after the shooting , in which it ’ s clear he has no idea who just shot up the apartment .
“ I don ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot my girlfriend , ” Walker can be heard telling the dispatcher in audio released by Taylor ’ s lawyers .
While the attempted murder charges against Walker were dropped in May , the AG ’ s office dropped the charges “ without prejudice , ” meaning that prosecutors could charge Walker again should they choose .
Walker ’ s lawsuit seeks to get a declaratory judgement preventing his future prosecution—and this is where Kentucky ’ s “ stand your ground ” statute boomerangs into police officers .
Here ’ s how it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complaint : I ’ ve always thought that statutes which render a person “ immune to prosecution ” if they merely claim they were shooting their gun at a person in a legally defensible way were nonsensical .
I think KRS 503.085 is a poorly written law .
But that ’ s the law white people in Kentucky wanted ; now , let ’ s see if they are willing to enforce it when a Black man claims protection under it .
But Walker ’ s case doesn ’ t stop there .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of using this white supremacist law against the forces of white supremacy , Walker ’ s complaint also focuses on the behavior of the cops once the shooting stopped .
I am drawn to the allegations of police intimidation that Walker has suffered from the moment cops finished murdering his girlfriend .
In his lawsuit , Walker claims that cops on the scene expressed disappointment when they found that Walker had not been shot .
He claims the cops threatened to sic their dogs on him while they were marching him out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initially with murder of a police officer , a factual impossibility ( because Jon Mattingly , the one officer who was wounded , was very much alive the whole time ) that prosecutors must have been well aware of .
All of those tactics are part of a very big problem .
They represent attempts by the police to make innocent people accept responsibility for things they did not do or implicate other innocent people in crimes .
Killing a cop can get you a death sentence in Kentucky .
A person might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avoid such a charge , especially when the police have already established that they are sorry they didn ’ t kill you during the initial confrontation and have threatened to let their dogs maul you like they ’ re a bunch of Ramsay Boltons with badges .
Unfortunately , Walker isn ’ t the only acquaintance of Breonna Taylor who has been subjected to this kind of witness intimidation after her death .
Jamarcus Glover , Taylor ’ s ex-boyfriend , who is ostensibly the person the police were actually going after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missed a court appearance this week .
As that began to make news , his lawyers released documents showing the lengths to which prosecutors have gone to get Glover to implicate Taylor in crimes she did not commit .
Glover ’ s lawyers claim that he was offered a plea deal on drug charges if he signed an affidavit indicating that Taylor was one of his accomplices in his “ organized crime syndicate.
” Glover refused .
The documents also show that Taylor was a named codefendant in the case against Glover .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Started We Need to Talk About the GOP ’ s ‘ Black Friends ’ Breonna Taylor Was Murdered for Sleeping While Black The local prosecutor , Tom Wine , denies that such a plea deal was “ offered ” to Glover , but he admits that the concession was part of a “ draft ” plea sheet ahead of plea negotiations .
Wine also said that Taylor ’ s name was removed “ out of respect for Ms. Taylor.
” Notice the wording there : Wine isn ’ t saying that the allegations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s saying he didn ’ t include them in the official plea negotiation “ out of respect.
” Everything that is happening to the men who knew Taylor is happening because prosecutors do not want to hold Taylor ’ s murderers accountable .
This is what the system does when it does not want to secure a conviction .
Prosecutors themselves try to poison the jury pool against their own case , creating avenues of doubt before any trial process gets going .
They try to impugn the character of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prosecution .
They try to avoid doing forensic research so that they have no “ hard ” evidence to present to the jury , should it come to that .
And they try , desperately , to get anybody to speak out against the victim so the defense can use those statements against the prosecution at trial .
The cops shot Taylor under the cover of darkness , but prosecutors are trying to lose the case in broad daylight .

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Authorities in Kentucky have still not arrested the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor on March 13. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is now in charge of the case, had time to speak at the Republican National Convention last week, but he has not found the time to bring to justice the three cops who shot Taylor in her own apartment.
What have the authorities been doing for the past five and a half months?
Earlier this week, we learned the answer: The authorities have been busy harassing the Black men who knew Taylor, while trying to name Taylor, posthumously, as a criminal defendant. Instead of building a case against the police officers who killed her, it would appear that Kentucky prosecutors have been doing everything they can to build a case against Taylor, in a desperate yet classic attempt to blame a Black person for “forcing” the cops to kill them.
The prosecutors in Kentucky have one goal: to secure an acquittal for the police officers who shot Taylor should public pressure somehow force them to bring charges against those officers. State law enforcement in Kentucky is trying to lose the case against the officers before it even starts.
Now the two men who have been hounded by the authorities while Taylor’s killers march around free are starting to speak out through their attorneys and legal action. On Tuesday, attorneys filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, against Louisville police, the city, and other officials. The suit is comprehensive: It alleges serious police misconduct and intimidation, gives new details on Taylor’s murder, and seeks to protect Walker from future harassment through a novel use of Kentucky’s “stand your ground” law.
Walker was in Taylor’s apartment the night police barged in and shot her. He fired one shot at the people he thought were home invaders. Ever since, the cops have used that shot—fired from Walker’s registered, legally owned gun—as justification for opening fire and unloading 35 bullets into Taylor’s apartment, eight of which landed in her. Walker was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
Walker has always maintained his innocence, claiming that the cops did not identify themselves as police officers before breaking into the apartment and that he acted in self-defense. While the cops have produced no witnesses or evidence that they properly identified themselves, Walker’s story is backed up by his call to 911, made in the moments after the shooting, in which it’s clear he has no idea who just shot up the apartment. “I don’t know what happened…somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend,” Walker can be heard telling the dispatcher in audio released by Taylor’s lawyers. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
While the attempted murder charges against Walker were dropped in May, the AG’s office dropped the charges “without prejudice,” meaning that prosecutors could charge Walker again should they choose. Walker’s lawsuit seeks to get a declaratory judgement preventing his future prosecution—and this is where Kentucky’s “stand your ground” statute boomerangs into police officers. Here’s how it’s explained in Walker’s complaint:
Kentucky’s “stand your ground” law, KRS 503.085, protects all Kentuckians who seek to protect themselves or loved ones in self-defense. Kentuckians have no duty to retreat or submit to force. “It is the tradition that a Kentuckian never runs. He does not have to.” [The statute] recognizes Kentuckians are “immune” from state officials or police “arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting” any person who acted in self-defense. KRS 503.085(1)(emphasis added).
I’ve always thought that statutes which render a person “immune to prosecution” if they merely claim they were shooting their gun at a person in a legally defensible way were nonsensical. I think KRS 503.085 is a poorly written law. But that’s the law white people in Kentucky wanted; now, let’s see if they are willing to enforce it when a Black man claims protection under it.
But Walker’s case doesn’t stop there. In addition to the delicious legal jujitsu of using this white supremacist law against the forces of white supremacy, Walker’s complaint also focuses on the behavior of the cops once the shooting stopped. I am drawn to the allegations of police intimidation that Walker has suffered from the moment cops finished murdering his girlfriend. In his lawsuit, Walker claims that cops on the scene expressed disappointment when they found that Walker had not been shot. He claims the cops threatened to sic their dogs on him while they were marching him out of the apartment. And prosecutors charged Walker initially with murder of a police officer, a factual impossibility (because Jon Mattingly, the one officer who was wounded, was very much alive the whole time) that prosecutors must have been well aware of.
All of those tactics are part of a very big problem. They represent attempts by the police to make innocent people accept responsibility for things they did not do or implicate other innocent people in crimes. Killing a cop can get you a death sentence in Kentucky. A person might falsely plead to all sorts of things to avoid such a charge, especially when the police have already established that they are sorry they didn’t kill you during the initial confrontation and have threatened to let their dogs maul you like they’re a bunch of Ramsay Boltons with badges.
Unfortunately, Walker isn’t the only acquaintance of Breonna Taylor who has been subjected to this kind of witness intimidation after her death. Jamarcus Glover, Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, who is ostensibly the person the police were actually going after on the night they murdered Taylor, missed a court appearance this week. As that began to make news, his lawyers released documents showing the lengths to which prosecutors have gone to get Glover to implicate Taylor in crimes she did not commit.
Glover’s lawyers claim that he was offered a plea deal on drug charges if he signed an affidavit indicating that Taylor was one of his accomplices in his “organized crime syndicate.” Glover refused. The documents also show that Taylor was a named codefendant in the case against Glover. More from Mystal The Inevitable Whitelash Against Racial Justice Has Started Elie Mystal We Need to Talk About the GOP’s ‘Black Friends’ Elie Mystal Breonna Taylor Was Murdered for Sleeping While Black Elie Mystal
The local prosecutor, Tom Wine, denies that such a plea deal was “offered” to Glover, but he admits that the concession was part of a “draft” plea sheet ahead of plea negotiations. Wine also said that Taylor’s name was removed “out of respect for Ms. Taylor.” Notice the wording there: Wine isn’t saying that the allegations about Taylor aren’t true; he’s saying he didn’t include them in the official plea negotiation “out of respect.”
Everything that is happening to the men who knew Taylor is happening because prosecutors do not want to hold Taylor’s murderers accountable. This is what the system does when it does not want to secure a conviction. Prosecutors themselves try to poison the jury pool against their own case, creating avenues of doubt before any trial process gets going. They try to impugn the character of people who will have to be witnesses for the prosecution. They try to avoid doing forensic research so that they have no “hard” evidence to present to the jury, should it come to that. And they try, desperately, to get anybody to speak out against the victim so the defense can use those statements against the prosecution at trial.
The cops shot Taylor under the cover of darkness, but prosecutors are trying to lose the case in broad daylight.


thenation--2020-09-02--For Tara Raghuveer, ‘Every Eviction Is an Act of Violence’

“ If you think about it one way , we ’ re in the midst of the biggest rent strike in national history , ” Tara Raghuveer , director of the KC Tenants union , told me over Zoom : “ There ’ s massive noncompliance from inability to pay the rent , and hundreds of thousands of people are politicizing that inability , as they should.
” In Jackson County , where Kansas City is located , the eviction moratorium expired at the end of May .
The following months have mirrored the rest of the country : nonstop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crushed hopes of state intervention .
Raghuveer , who grew up in Kansas City , is also the director of the national Homes Guarantee campaign , a platform put forward by tenant and advocacy groups and endorsed by dozens of politicians , including many of the new wave of young leftist candidates for Congress and state legislatures .
“ The idea of the Homes Guarantee is very simple , ” Raghuveer said .
“ We live in the richest country in the history of the world ; we can and we must guarantee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Centers for Disease Control issued a federal eviction moratorium through the end of 2020 .
I talked to Raghuveer before the announcement ; our discussion covered the strategies and limitations of nationwide tenant organizing and the need for tenants to assemble over the next few months , regardless of what happens next year .
awal rjini : What ’ s happened in the last few months in Kansas City ?
ara aghuveer : The eviction moratorium we had won back in March expired on May 31 , and evictions started happening on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of actions at the Jackson County courthouse where we shut down all eviction proceedings .
Over 1,600 evictions have been filed over the last couple of months .
Normally it ’ s much higher—in a typical year , Jackson County has 8,000 or 9,000 eviction filings .
For a while , people were protected by the federal moratorium , which protected 40 percent of properties , and the expanded federal unemployment benefits .
So now people are about to get much worse .
Another first of the month is approaching , and people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rent that they have .
People are being forced into the streets , into their cars , forced to double up .
Every eviction is an act of violence , always , but especially during a pandemic .
Every time we ’ re allowing an eviction to occur , we ’ re putting a landlord ’ s profits above people ’ s lives .
NA : Has your base been growing since the start of the pandemic ?
TR : Yes .
This is a moment of incredible clarity for people who may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group before .
There ’ s a whole class of people who have never politicized their housing experience before who are seeing it as political now—and that is good .
But relationships are our currency in organizing , and while our numbers have been growing , the real challenge has been the depth of relationship and figuring out how to maintain those while we can ’ t be physically together .
NA : What does the Kansas City tenant base look like ?
TR : Kansas City is not San Francisco , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not Seattle .
It ’ s Milwaukee , it ’ s St. Louis ; it ’ s Boulder , Colorado .
Mid-sized cities , maybe with a history of segregation , recent gentrification ; the eviction rates are the same , the way that housing policy plays out at the local level has been pretty similar across all these cities .
The majority of people in Kansas City are owners .
There ’ s an increasing renter class , especially in the last decade , as more people are unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debt .
A lot of recent city policy has been focused on developments , like making downtown cool for yuppies , who are mostly renters , but also mostly privileged gentrifiers increasing rents for the rest of the city .
Kansas City was the site of massive real estate speculation , just like a lot of other mid-sized Midwestern cities across the country , so for the past decade there ’ s been a huge influx of corporate ownership and corporate landlording .
I can see in the data : As the real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the biggest eviction filers are corporate landlords , most of which are not based in Kansas City .
NA : Where are those landlords based ?
TR : It ’ s a massive challenge to follow the money and figure out where the money comes from .
That ’ s by design .
Some are investment companies in New York and California .
Some of those private-equity firms have investors all over the place , like in New Zealand or whatever .
We ’ ve identified property owners in China and various European @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obscuring real ownership and protecting investors and completely avoiding accountability from tenants , from neighbors , from local governments .
Ending Mass Incarceration Is Only the Beginning N.K .
Jemisin Wrote a Sci-Fi Ode to New York City—Then It Became Reality We had a big fight against a local slumlord called TEH Realty last year , based in Israel .
They were the biggest evictor in Kansas City , filing 300 evictions every year .
TEH got away with this because nobody knew who they were .
The tenants thought the management company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typical .
Landlords like this know that they are the owner of last resort .
It ’ s a business model for some of them to rent to the most vulnerable people on the market : people who have evictions on their records , people who are returning from prison , people who are undocumented .
They can smell desperation in the leasing offices and write the most exploitative leases .
Then they use eviction as a way to get people out , because they can get a new tenant tomorrow .
Eviction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started organizing at a bunch of their properties , we drove in a bunch of complaints to our local health department , we called our officials .
Once the building was handed over to a receiver [ at a judge ’ s orders ] , the tenants won everything they wanted .
TEH basically imploded across the state of Missouri .
NA : You mentioned that the gentrifiers moving in are also renters .
Is it possible to build connections between them and the existing tenant communities at all ?
TR : KC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people who are the most directly impacted , which is to say Black women in particular , who have been bearing the brunt of racial capitalism and bad housing policy in Kansas City and across the US .
Most of our core , most public leaders are Black women who have lived that experience .
We also have a ton of young art students in our base .
A ton of allies in the community who are of a different lived experience but are clear that their self-interest involves living in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ housing-insecure now and were before Covid .
But housing is an issue that cuts across race and class almost unlike any other , and there ’ s a lot of solidarity to be found among groups that otherwise would not have a lot of shared interests .
NA : What ’ s the process in getting people from point A ( “ I ’ m having difficulty as a tenant ” ) to point B ( the ideas underlying the Homes Guarantee , racial capitalism , etc. )
?
TR : Most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear that they ’ re being fucked over .
That said , housing is seen as individual responsibility .
There ’ s still a lot of shame associated with being unable to pay the rent or experiencing homelessness .
The project of transforming personal shame into power and public anger is one we take seriously .
We ’ re doing political education through direct action .
One of the first direct actions we did was line the entire highway between St. Louis and Kansas City , the whole width of the state , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the highway with signs to win our demands from the governor for rent cancellation .
Everyone was wearing yellow masks , there was a banner drop , and there were people to call from inside your car .
In the beginning , the Homes Guarantee was a grassroots project of imagination for each other and for the movement .
Because we embarked on this project of imagination , to define the world that we deserve , we are better positioned to respond to this crisis moment .
We see a Homes Guarantee as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ green jobs project , something that can be a central part of bringing our communities back to some degree of stability .
The vision for the Homes Guarantee has become a political tool .
We put out a pledge for down-ballot candidates to sign on with the principles of the Homes Guarantee , which includes pretty radical things like rejecting and returning developer and landlord and real estate money .
When you think about local elections , that ’ s so much of their money .
We worked with the Squad and some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was introduced in January , about progressive housing policy in the future .
We work backwards—what can we do today so we can do tomorrow what we could not have done today ?
The alternative to a racially capitalized relationship to housing and land is a homes guarantee—housing treated as a public good as opposed to a commodity .
So today we need to cancel rent , to intervene in the relationship between landlord and tenant .
If we don ’ t have that vision , the conclusion might be that we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system ’ s OK , people just need help to pay their rent .
NA : How easy has it been to translate that collective imagination to other people ?
TR : The ideas within the Homes Guarantee can sound radical , but for our folks who have been living with such entrenched housing insecurity for decades , if not centuries , these ideas are not radical .
They are what we are owed .
American racial capitalism has allowed housing to be treated as a commodity .
The theory of the Homes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head : decommodify housing , deliver housing as a public good , and guarantee housing as a human right .
Mainstreaming that concept is difficult , because the imagination of the general American public and most of our elected leaders is quite limited .
For decades , we ’ ve been force-fed the notion that housing must be delivered by the private market .
Of course , that ’ s not how it ’ s always been , and that is not how it is across the country and in many other countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property and ownership and a picket fence , and unpacking and unraveling that is a massive project .
But Covid has offered us some openings .
Housing was the prescription ; in this public health emergency , the prescription was to stay home .
Our understanding of the importance of home has been so intensified .
The organizing challenge for us is extending that into a more mature understanding of how housing should be guaranteed as a public good .
NA : Is the most straightforward path to mainstreaming it through the elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How difficult is that ?
TR : The people who make decisions , are , by and large , a property-owning class .
They do not share the experience of the millions of tenants who are suffering and have been for a long time .
And Democrats have taken as much money , if not more , from the real estate industry than Republicans .
We don ’ t have the power to buy politicians .
We have people power , but that means something different .
But housing is an issue that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal policy issue , simply because of the amount of money that we need from the government to solve our problems .
NA : Do you have high hopes for any legislation proposed or passed ?
TR : To be honest , no .
We ’ re seeking a reinstatement of the eviction moratorium in Jackson County , we ’ re seeking a statewide eviction moratorium .
At the federal level , we ’ ve been working on rent and mortgage cancellation for several months , we introduced that legislation with Representative [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats rallied around a different thing : rental assistance .
That was the main thing they were hoping to get into whatever the Senate put out , and of course the Senate hasn ’ t put anything out .
Everyone was telling us , “ Rally around this rental assistance thing because it ’ s more winnable , don ’ t go for this crazy , radical , ‘ cancel rent ’ demand.
” We haven ’ t won rental assistance .
Even if we had , it ’ s three months too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kansas City and throughout the country , we ’ ve begun to channel the energy of “ If we don ’ t get it , shut it down.
” We didn ’ t get it , and now we have to shut down the process .
Everyone that we ’ re talking to is willing to take actions way above and beyond what I would have assumed .
TR : Reopening is only an option for a handful of people in reality .
It ’ s given our elected officials a false understanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right now .
Landlords are evicting people and justifying it to themselves by saying , “ Well , things are opening up .
People can go find a job.
” NA : How do you get disparate tenant unions connected to each other ?
TR : All of our tenant unions are virtual these days , so it ’ s very easy to bring organizers from Arkansas and Nebraska onto our calls .
There are what we call “ free radicals ” in small towns across Missouri who are clear that they need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they don ’ t have an organization that does tenant work .
We have the rare ability to invite all of these comrades to our tenant meetings .
While it sucks that we can ’ t build deep relationships that we used to , Covid has broken down some of the barriers that were there before .
It means so much to feel a part of something bigger than yourself .
It ’ s critical to maintain people ’ s energy and commitment to a movement , to make them feel like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or a city .
The reality is we ’ re all going to have to show up in new and different ways to organize against this eviction crisis .
And the exciting thing is the base-building potential right now is basically limitless .
There are so many people who are affected by this issue .
There needs to be tenant unions everywhere , in rural , suburban , urban areas , in every building , in every neighborhood .

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“If you think about it one way, we’re in the midst of the biggest rent strike in national history,” Tara Raghuveer, director of the KC Tenants union, told me over Zoom: “There’s massive noncompliance from inability to pay the rent, and hundreds of thousands of people are politicizing that inability, as they should.” In Jackson County, where Kansas City is located, the eviction moratorium expired at the end of May. The following months have mirrored the rest of the country: nonstop organizing, mutual aid efforts, and crushed hopes of state intervention.
Raghuveer, who grew up in Kansas City, is also the director of the national Homes Guarantee campaign, a platform put forward by tenant and advocacy groups and endorsed by dozens of politicians, including many of the new wave of young leftist candidates for Congress and state legislatures. “The idea of the Homes Guarantee is very simple,” Raghuveer said. “We live in the richest country in the history of the world; we can and we must guarantee everyone a home.” On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control issued a federal eviction moratorium through the end of 2020. I talked to Raghuveer before the announcement; our discussion covered the strategies and limitations of nationwide tenant organizing and the need for tenants to assemble over the next few months, regardless of what happens next year.
—Nawal Arjini
N awal A rjini: What’s happened in the last few months in Kansas City?
T ara R aghuveer: The eviction moratorium we had won back in March expired on May 31, and evictions started happening on June 1. We did a series of actions at the Jackson County courthouse where we shut down all eviction proceedings. Over 1,600 evictions have been filed over the last couple of months. Normally it’s much higher—in a typical year, Jackson County has 8,000 or 9,000 eviction filings. For a while, people were protected by the federal moratorium, which protected 40 percent of properties, and the expanded federal unemployment benefits. So now people are about to get much worse. Another first of the month is approaching, and people have even less ability to pay the rent that they have. People are being forced into the streets, into their cars, forced to double up. Every eviction is an act of violence, always, but especially during a pandemic. Every time we’re allowing an eviction to occur, we’re putting a landlord’s profits above people’s lives.
NA: Has your base been growing since the start of the pandemic?
TR: Yes. This is a moment of incredible clarity for people who may not have identified their self-interest with our group before. There’s a whole class of people who have never politicized their housing experience before who are seeing it as political now—and that is good. But relationships are our currency in organizing, and while our numbers have been growing, the real challenge has been the depth of relationship and figuring out how to maintain those while we can’t be physically together. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
NA: What does the Kansas City tenant base look like?
TR: Kansas City is not San Francisco, it’s not New York, it’s not Seattle. It’s Milwaukee, it’s St. Louis; it’s Boulder, Colorado. Mid-sized cities, maybe with a history of segregation, recent gentrification; the eviction rates are the same, the way that housing policy plays out at the local level has been pretty similar across all these cities. The majority of people in Kansas City are owners. There’s an increasing renter class, especially in the last decade, as more people are unable to own property and are saddled with other debt. A lot of recent city policy has been focused on developments, like making downtown cool for yuppies, who are mostly renters, but also mostly privileged gentrifiers increasing rents for the rest of the city. Kansas City was the site of massive real estate speculation, just like a lot of other mid-sized Midwestern cities across the country, so for the past decade there’s been a huge influx of corporate ownership and corporate landlording. I can see in the data: As the real estate market changes, more and more the biggest eviction filers are corporate landlords, most of which are not based in Kansas City.
NA: Where are those landlords based?
TR: It’s a massive challenge to follow the money and figure out where the money comes from. That’s by design. Some are investment companies in New York and California. Some of those private-equity firms have investors all over the place, like in New Zealand or whatever. We’ve identified property owners in China and various European countries.The whole design of corporate landowning is obscuring real ownership and protecting investors and completely avoiding accountability from tenants, from neighbors, from local governments. The Q&A Ending Mass Incarceration Is Only the Beginning Daniel Fernandez N.K. Jemisin Wrote a Sci-Fi Ode to New York City—Then It Became Reality Jessica Suriano Masha Gessen on Trump’s ‘Autocratic Attempt’ on America Stephanie deGooyer
We had a big fight against a local slumlord called TEH Realty last year, based in Israel. They were the biggest evictor in Kansas City, filing 300 evictions every year. TEH got away with this because nobody knew who they were. The tenants thought the management company was the owner, which is pretty typical. Landlords like this know that they are the owner of last resort. It’s a business model for some of them to rent to the most vulnerable people on the market: people who have evictions on their records, people who are returning from prison, people who are undocumented. They can smell desperation in the leasing offices and write the most exploitative leases. Then they use eviction as a way to get people out, because they can get a new tenant tomorrow. Eviction becomes a moneymaker for them. We started organizing at a bunch of their properties, we drove in a bunch of complaints to our local health department, we called our officials. Once the building was handed over to a receiver [at a judge’s orders], the tenants won everything they wanted. TEH basically imploded across the state of Missouri.
NA: You mentioned that the gentrifiers moving in are also renters. Is it possible to build connections between them and the existing tenant communities at all?
TR: KC Tenants always aspires to center the experience of people who are the most directly impacted, which is to say Black women in particular, who have been bearing the brunt of racial capitalism and bad housing policy in Kansas City and across the US. Most of our core, most public leaders are Black women who have lived that experience. We also have a ton of young art students in our base. A ton of allies in the community who are of a different lived experience but are clear that their self-interest involves living in a city that includes the folks who are housing-insecure now and were before Covid. But housing is an issue that cuts across race and class almost unlike any other, and there’s a lot of solidarity to be found among groups that otherwise would not have a lot of shared interests.
NA: What’s the process in getting people from point A (“I’m having difficulty as a tenant”) to point B (the ideas underlying the Homes Guarantee, racial capitalism, etc.)?
TR: Most of the people affected by racial capitalism are clear that they’re being fucked over. That said, housing is seen as individual responsibility. There’s still a lot of shame associated with being unable to pay the rent or experiencing homelessness. The project of transforming personal shame into power and public anger is one we take seriously. Related Article The Art of Eviction Joshua Hunt
We’re doing political education through direct action. One of the first direct actions we did was line the entire highway between St. Louis and Kansas City, the whole width of the state, with cars parked every five miles along the highway with signs to win our demands from the governor for rent cancellation. Everyone was wearing yellow masks, there was a banner drop, and there were people to call from inside your car.
In the beginning, the Homes Guarantee was a grassroots project of imagination for each other and for the movement. Because we embarked on this project of imagination, to define the world that we deserve, we are better positioned to respond to this crisis moment. We see a Homes Guarantee as a massive stimulus project, like a green jobs project, something that can be a central part of bringing our communities back to some degree of stability. The vision for the Homes Guarantee has become a political tool. We put out a pledge for down-ballot candidates to sign on with the principles of the Homes Guarantee, which includes pretty radical things like rejecting and returning developer and landlord and real estate money. When you think about local elections, that’s so much of their money. We worked with the Squad and some friends on a package of bills that was introduced in January, about progressive housing policy in the future.
We work backwards—what can we do today so we can do tomorrow what we could not have done today? The alternative to a racially capitalized relationship to housing and land is a homes guarantee—housing treated as a public good as opposed to a commodity. So today we need to cancel rent, to intervene in the relationship between landlord and tenant. If we don’t have that vision, the conclusion might be that we need rental assistance, a Band-Aid; the system’s OK, people just need help to pay their rent.
NA: How easy has it been to translate that collective imagination to other people?
TR: The ideas within the Homes Guarantee can sound radical, but for our folks who have been living with such entrenched housing insecurity for decades, if not centuries, these ideas are not radical. They are what we are owed. American racial capitalism has allowed housing to be treated as a commodity. The theory of the Homes Guarantee is to turn that on its head: decommodify housing, deliver housing as a public good, and guarantee housing as a human right. Mainstreaming that concept is difficult, because the imagination of the general American public and most of our elected leaders is quite limited.
For decades, we’ve been force-fed the notion that housing must be delivered by the private market. Of course, that’s not how it’s always been, and that is not how it is across the country and in many other countries. The American dream is about private property and ownership and a picket fence, and unpacking and unraveling that is a massive project. But Covid has offered us some openings. Housing was the prescription; in this public health emergency, the prescription was to stay home. Our understanding of the importance of home has been so intensified. The organizing challenge for us is extending that into a more mature understanding of how housing should be guaranteed as a public good. Related Article Enforcing Eviction Abigail Higgins and Olúfémi O. Táíwò
NA: Is the most straightforward path to mainstreaming it through the elected officials you’re working with? How difficult is that?
TR: The people who make decisions, are, by and large, a property-owning class. They do not share the experience of the millions of tenants who are suffering and have been for a long time. And Democrats have taken as much money, if not more, from the real estate industry than Republicans. We don’t have the power to buy politicians. We have people power, but that means something different. But housing is an issue that needs to be taken seriously as a federal policy issue, simply because of the amount of money that we need from the government to solve our problems.
NA: Do you have high hopes for any legislation proposed or passed?
TR: To be honest, no. We’re seeking a reinstatement of the eviction moratorium in Jackson County, we’re seeking a statewide eviction moratorium. At the federal level, we’ve been working on rent and mortgage cancellation for several months, we introduced that legislation with Representative [Ilhan] Omar in April. The Democrats rallied around a different thing: rental assistance. That was the main thing they were hoping to get into whatever the Senate put out, and of course the Senate hasn’t put anything out. Everyone was telling us, “Rally around this rental assistance thing because it’s more winnable, don’t go for this crazy, radical, ‘cancel rent’ demand.” We haven’t won rental assistance. Even if we had, it’s three months too late for Kansas City residents.
In Kansas City and throughout the country, we’ve begun to channel the energy of “If we don’t get it, shut it down.” We didn’t get it, and now we have to shut down the process. Everyone that we’re talking to is willing to take actions way above and beyond what I would have assumed.
NA: How has reopening affected people’s circumstances?
TR: Reopening is only an option for a handful of people in reality. It’s given our elected officials a false understanding of where poor and working-class people are right now. Landlords are evicting people and justifying it to themselves by saying, “Well, things are opening up. People can go find a job.”
NA: How do you get disparate tenant unions connected to each other?
TR: All of our tenant unions are virtual these days, so it’s very easy to bring organizers from Arkansas and Nebraska onto our calls. There are what we call “free radicals” in small towns across Missouri who are clear that they need to be organizing their neighbors, even if they don’t have an organization that does tenant work. We have the rare ability to invite all of these comrades to our tenant meetings. While it sucks that we can’t build deep relationships that we used to, Covid has broken down some of the barriers that were there before. It means so much to feel a part of something bigger than yourself. It’s critical to maintain people’s energy and commitment to a movement, to make them feel like part of something bigger than a neighborhood or a city.
The reality is we’re all going to have to show up in new and different ways to organize against this eviction crisis. And the exciting thing is the base-building potential right now is basically limitless. There are so many people who are affected by this issue. There needs to be tenant unions everywhere, in rural, suburban, urban areas, in every building, in every neighborhood.


thenation--2020-09-02--Trump’s Paranoia Commands the Government

Donald Trump ’ s penchant for conspiracy theories has become a familiar part of his political persona .
Fulminations against the “ deep state ” that once were shocking are now routine .
But in becoming inured to Trump , we risk losing sight of how dangerous it is that the most powerful man in the world regularly voices lurid tales of intrigue that have no mooring in reality .
With only two months until Election Day , Trump ’ s fantasies have become all the more deranged .
Amid the stress of partisan competition , these conspiracy theories are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News that aired on Monday , Trump was asked what he meant when he said Joe Biden was being controlled .
Ingraham wanted to know who the people are who are controlling Biden .
“ People that you ’ ve never heard of .
People that are in the dark shadows , ” Trump responded .
Ingraham pressed on , asking , “ What does that mean ?
That sounds like conspiracy theory .
Dark shadows , what is that ?
” Trump replied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t heard of .
They ’ re people that are on the streets .
They ’ re people that are controlling the streets .
We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend , and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms , black uniforms with gear and this and that .
They ’ re on a plane… ” Death Was the Theme of Both the RNC and the DNC America ’ s Holy War Comes to the RNC Ingraham again interrupted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spiraling out of control .
But Trump returned to his bizarre tale , saying , “ They came from a certain city , and this person was coming to the Republican National Convention , and there were like seven people on the plane like this person , and then a lot of people were on the plane to do big damage.
” Trump reiterated this story to reporters on Tuesday .
NBC News reports that the story follows in close detail an urban legend posted on Facebook in June .
More broadly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the far right that billionaire George Soros is financing protests in an attempt to foment a coup against Trump .
The implicit argument is that the protests aren ’ t motivated by a legitimate popular opposition to police brutality or Trump ’ s policies but rather reflect the machinations of a hidden elite .
Because of the likely origins of this latest conspiracy theory on social media , Trump ’ s rant is being treated as a symptom of his personal credulousness , a quirk that says much about his personality but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony L. Fisher argued that Trump “ is your dangerously gullible uncle on Facebook.
” John Dean , former henchman to Richard Nixon , took a similar tack , writing , “ Donald Trump touts conspiracy theories because he does not have the mental brain power to recognize them for the nonsense they embrace .
Think about this : Trump could not pass an entry level civil service exam to become a federal employee !
” Focusing on Trump ’ s defective personality is a way of ignoring an important fact : Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government officials and other Republicans .
Speaking on Tuesday in Kenosha , Wis. , the site of riots sparked by a police shooting as well as vigilante reprisals against protesters , Attorney General William Barr offered a variation of Trump ’ s conspiracy theory .
“ We were picking up information that these violent instigators were coming to Kenosha , ” Barr said .
“ They were coming from California , Washington State , a lot from Chicago , and they were coming up to Kenosha .
So we expected matters to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , didn ’ t regard the teen who came in from neighboring Illinois and shot three protesters as an outside instigator . )
Senator Rand Paul , while being interviewed by Fox News on Monday , used similar language to describe protesters who yelled at him outside the White House after Trump ’ s RNC speech the previous Friday .
“ My feeling is there is interstate criminal traffic being paid for across states lines , ” Paul claimed without proof .
“ They flew here on a plane , they all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were paid to be here .
It is a crime to do that , and it needs to be traced.
” Neither Trump , nor Barr , nor Paul offered any evidence of their allegations .
In all cases , they were describing protesters using tropes that are common in right-wing mythology but have little or no bearing on reality .
The idea of hidden paymasters is a traditional trope , dating back to the French Revolution , often used as a way of delegitimizing popular uprisings .
When it is offered without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has framed Trump ’ s conspiracy-mongering in broader social terms that go beyond the eccentricities of personality .
“ There has always been a paranoid style in American politics that sees sinister conspiracies behind social and cultural change—a style going all the way back to fear of Catholic immigrants in the 19th century , ” Krugman notes .
The idea of a “ paranoid style , ” which was first formulated by the historian Richard Hofstadter in a classic 1964 essay , is itself inadequate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the preferred style only of minority movements ” ( emphasis added ) .
Many critics challenged this view that paranoia could be found only on the fringes of society and not in the commanding heights of power .
One early critic was Hofstadter ’ s brother-in-law Harvey Swados , himself a social analyst of distinction .
Swados wrote Hofsadter after the essay came out and suggested that then-President Lyndon Johnson could also be seen as paranoid .
Hofstadter rejected this suggestion , arguing that however mistaken Johnson ’ s foreign policy was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ view of the world that was far from paranoid .
Like many Cold War liberals , Hofstadter thought that wisdom resided in elites , while the masses were prone to delusion .
With the distance of time and revelations from archives , it ’ s now clear that Swados was right .
Not just Johnson but a host of other powerful American leaders , including Johnson ’ s successor Richard Nixon and FBI head J. Edgar Hoover , were as paranoid in their own way as any of the cranks Hofstadter studied .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pawn of Communist China ( in fact , the two nations distrusted each other—and later went to war ) .
Johnson also thought the anti-war movement was controlled by the Communists .
Such paranoia fueled spying on American citizens , a policy that the Cold War presidents all agreed upon , which enormously empowered Hoover , himself filled with delusions of secret plots .
The Cold War era illuminates the true dangers of Trump ’ s conspiracy theories .
Paranoia is most dangerous when it controls the apparatus of state power .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not a paranoid personality or even a paranoid style but a paranoid government .
Paranoia is now in command in Washington .
Trump , aided by Barr , is saturating government policy with his paranoid agenda .
In part two of his interview with Laura Ingraham , Trump referred to Barack Obama , Joe Biden , and other political foes as “ treasonists.
” He said Barr has the evidence to arrest them and should do so .
Barr might resist this last command as too dangerous .
Still , there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less dramatic but still an abuse of power .
Democrats have done a poor job of checking this danger .
Congressional Democrats more or less abandoned oversight after the impeachment process ended .
But it ’ s not too late to raise the alarm about Barr ’ s actions .
Perhaps the most useful move the Democrats could make would be to send a clear message to Barr and others in the Department of Justice that there will be a full reckoning if Trump loses the election .
That means a complete investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecutions and investigations instigated at Trump ’ s demand .
Unless there are clear red lines drawn as to what is beyond the pale and deserving punishment , Trump ’ s push for a paranoid state will continue to go unchecked .

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Donald Trump’s penchant for conspiracy theories has become a familiar part of his political persona. Fulminations against the “deep state” that once were shocking are now routine. But in becoming inured to Trump, we risk losing sight of how dangerous it is that the most powerful man in the world regularly voices lurid tales of intrigue that have no mooring in reality.
With only two months until Election Day, Trump’s fantasies have become all the more deranged. Amid the stress of partisan competition, these conspiracy theories are also more frequently being echoed in Washington.
In an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News that aired on Monday, Trump was asked what he meant when he said Joe Biden was being controlled. Ingraham wanted to know who the people are who are controlling Biden. “People that you’ve never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows,” Trump responded.
Ingraham pressed on, asking, “What does that mean? That sounds like conspiracy theory. Dark shadows, what is that?” Trump replied, “People that you haven’t heard of. They’re people that are on the streets. They’re people that are controlling the streets. We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend, and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear and this and that. They’re on a plane…” More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
Ingraham again interrupted in an attempt to save Trump from spiraling out of control. But Trump returned to his bizarre tale, saying, “They came from a certain city, and this person was coming to the Republican National Convention, and there were like seven people on the plane like this person, and then a lot of people were on the plane to do big damage.”
Trump reiterated this story to reporters on Tuesday. NBC News reports that the story follows in close detail an urban legend posted on Facebook in June. More broadly, it echoes the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory flourishing on the far right that billionaire George Soros is financing protests in an attempt to foment a coup against Trump. The implicit argument is that the protests aren’t motivated by a legitimate popular opposition to police brutality or Trump’s policies but rather reflect the machinations of a hidden elite.
Because of the likely origins of this latest conspiracy theory on social media, Trump’s rant is being treated as a symptom of his personal credulousness, a quirk that says much about his personality but little else. In Business Insider, Anthony L. Fisher argued that Trump “is your dangerously gullible uncle on Facebook.” John Dean, former henchman to Richard Nixon, took a similar tack, writing, “Donald Trump touts conspiracy theories because he does not have the mental brain power to recognize them for the nonsense they embrace. Think about this: Trump could not pass an entry level civil service exam to become a federal employee!” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
Focusing on Trump’s defective personality is a way of ignoring an important fact: Trump’s absurd scenarios are echoed by government officials and other Republicans.
Speaking on Tuesday in Kenosha, Wis., the site of riots sparked by a police shooting as well as vigilante reprisals against protesters, Attorney General William Barr offered a variation of Trump’s conspiracy theory. “We were picking up information that these violent instigators were coming to Kenosha,” Barr said. “They were coming from California, Washington State, a lot from Chicago, and they were coming up to Kenosha. So we expected matters to get worse.” (Barr, strange to say, didn’t regard the teen who came in from neighboring Illinois and shot three protesters as an outside instigator.)
Senator Rand Paul, while being interviewed by Fox News on Monday, used similar language to describe protesters who yelled at him outside the White House after Trump’s RNC speech the previous Friday. “My feeling is there is interstate criminal traffic being paid for across states lines,” Paul claimed without proof. “They flew here on a plane, they all got fresh new clothes, and they were paid to be here. It is a crime to do that, and it needs to be traced.”
Neither Trump, nor Barr, nor Paul offered any evidence of their allegations. In all cases, they were describing protesters using tropes that are common in right-wing mythology but have little or no bearing on reality. The idea of hidden paymasters is a traditional trope, dating back to the French Revolution, often used as a way of delegitimizing popular uprisings. When it is offered without proof, it should be automatically dismissed.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has framed Trump’s conspiracy-mongering in broader social terms that go beyond the eccentricities of personality. “There has always been a paranoid style in American politics that sees sinister conspiracies behind social and cultural change—a style going all the way back to fear of Catholic immigrants in the 19th century,” Krugman notes.
The idea of a “paranoid style,” which was first formulated by the historian Richard Hofstadter in a classic 1964 essay, is itself inadequate. Hofstadter claimed that the paranoid style was “the preferred style only of minority movements” (emphasis added).
Many critics challenged this view that paranoia could be found only on the fringes of society and not in the commanding heights of power. One early critic was Hofstadter’s brother-in-law Harvey Swados, himself a social analyst of distinction. Swados wrote Hofsadter after the essay came out and suggested that then-President Lyndon Johnson could also be seen as paranoid. Hofstadter rejected this suggestion, arguing that however mistaken Johnson’s foreign policy was, it came from a more mature view of the world that was far from paranoid. Like many Cold War liberals, Hofstadter thought that wisdom resided in elites, while the masses were prone to delusion.
With the distance of time and revelations from archives, it’s now clear that Swados was right. Not just Johnson but a host of other powerful American leaders, including Johnson’s successor Richard Nixon and FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, were as paranoid in their own way as any of the cranks Hofstadter studied.
Johnson was convinced that North Vietnam was a pawn of Communist China (in fact, the two nations distrusted each other—and later went to war). Johnson also thought the anti-war movement was controlled by the Communists. Such paranoia fueled spying on American citizens, a policy that the Cold War presidents all agreed upon, which enormously empowered Hoover, himself filled with delusions of secret plots.
The Cold War era illuminates the true dangers of Trump’s conspiracy theories. Paranoia is most dangerous when it controls the apparatus of state power. What we have to worry about is not a paranoid personality or even a paranoid style but a paranoid government. Trump Declarations Donald Trump Has Declared Himself Impotent Joan Walsh
Paranoia is now in command in Washington. Trump, aided by Barr, is saturating government policy with his paranoid agenda. In part two of his interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump referred to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and other political foes as “treasonists.” He said Barr has the evidence to arrest them and should do so.
Barr might resist this last command as too dangerous. Still, there’s much he could do that would be less dramatic but still an abuse of power. Democrats have done a poor job of checking this danger. Congressional Democrats more or less abandoned oversight after the impeachment process ended. But it’s not too late to raise the alarm about Barr’s actions.
Perhaps the most useful move the Democrats could make would be to send a clear message to Barr and others in the Department of Justice that there will be a full reckoning if Trump loses the election. That means a complete investigation of any abuses of power, including prosecutions and investigations instigated at Trump’s demand. Unless there are clear red lines drawn as to what is beyond the pale and deserving punishment, Trump’s push for a paranoid state will continue to go unchecked.


thenation--2020-09-02--Donald Trump Came to Kenosha to Make the Most Vile Campaign Commercial in American Political History

Donald Trump and his partisan wrecking crew jetted into Kenosha Tuesday on a political mission .
That was no secret .
The president spelled everything out in his acceptance speech at last week ’ s Republican National Convention , when he refused to mention the name of Jacob Blake—the 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha police officer—but instead made the Wisconsin city a touchstone for a “ law-and-order ” rant about “ mayhem in Democrat-run cities ” and his fall campaign theme that “ No one will be safe in Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put too fine a point on it , then veteran Trump aide Kellyanne Conway surely did when the departing White House staffer said on the night of Trump ’ s incendiary speech , “ The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns , the better it is for the very clear choice on who ’ s best on public safety and law and order.
” The strategy was laid out at the convention .
And on Tuesday he implemented it with a trip to Kenosha that was low on sympathy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s Democratic mayor , John Antaramian , “ very stupid ” and claimed that he had seen a mob of “ radical anarchists ” trying to break into the mayor ’ s house—a lie that Antaramian quickly corrected , stating , “ Nothing of the sort happened.
” The president refused to answer questions about systemic racism , except to decry “ reckless politicians [ who ] continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist.
” Trump declared that “ we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in the middle of a city that has become an epicenter of the concern about policing in America since Sunday , August 23 , when an officer with the police department Trump praised on Tuesday shot Blake in front of his three sons .
That shooting was caught on a video that went viral and inspired immediate demonstrations .
A call went out to militia groups to defend property in Kenosha and vigilantes showed up .
Then , on Tuesday , August 25 , a 17-year-old white gunman from Illinois shot and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police brutality .
Noting that in the 24 hours before the president ’ s arrival in Kenosha , Trump had been busy “ spewing conspiracy theories , disparaging # Black LivesMatter , comparing police violence to golfing and defending right-wing vigilantes , ” Congressional Progressive Caucus cochair Mark Pocan , a Democrat who grew up in the southeastern Wisconsin city , bluntly asserted on Tuesday morning that “ yes , I do think he ’ s coming to Kenosha to spread hate.
” Jacob Blake Was Shot in Kenosha , a City Adrift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Backlash Convention , and It ’ s Tearing This Country Apart Nothing about Trump ’ s visit had to do with healing Kenosha .
He did not come to condemn right-wing militias and vigilante violence .
He did not come to talk about the need to end police violence and systemic racism .
He did not make a sincere effort to meet with the Blake family .
His mission was so transparent that Jacob Blake Sr. refused to meet with the president , saying , “ I ’ m not going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics .
Asked if he was “ implying that this is a campaign stop , ” Robert Costa , the moderator of PBS ’ s Washington Week , said , “ I ’ m not implying it , I ’ m actually just stating it .
This is a stop by the president of the United States during the campaign season—in the final 60 or so days before the election.
” A campaign stop was the last thing Kenosha was calling for this week .
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers , Lieutenant Governor Mandela @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the state ’ s chief law enforcement officer , all asked the president to stay away .
Kenosha ’ s mayor said it was the wrong time for the president to come , as did other local officials .
Kenosha activists who really are concerned about healing the city organized a community event—distributing food , providing haircuts , and registering people to vote—as a counter to a presidential visit that was meant to divide them .
Jacob Blake Was Shot in Kenosha , a City Adrift in a Moral Desert Kenosha did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump needed Kenosha .
Wisconsin is a swing state that could well tip the balance in the Electoral College this fall , and Kenosha is in a swing county .
Trump won Wisconsin by barely 22,000 votes in 2016— “ Wisconsin ’ s been very good to me , ” he said during a Kenosha press event where he repeatedly referred to the 2020 election—and he desperately wants Kenosha and Wisconsin to be good to him in 2020 .
But this is about more than Kenosha and Wisconsin .
This is about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , about strategies and tactics for November .
“ They ’ re coming to shoot the commercial , ” said Representative Gwen Moore , a Milwaukee Democrat who was born just north of Kenosha in another Lake Michigan shoreline community .
Recalling the strategies used by previous Republican presidents to seek backlash votes , Moore described Trump ’ s Kenosha sojourn as “ a page torn straight out of [ Richard Nixon ’ s ] playbook.
” In every sense , the visit was a commercial .
Not a paid one , mind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first and foremost on the political commodity known as “ free media.
” But don ’ t doubt that a more traditional commercial will air in the fall , as the president and his Republican allies mount the ugliest and most crudely divisive campaign in American history .
They think it will work .
But the president ’ s political scheming is self-indicting .
Calling out Conway ’ s assessment that “ the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns , the better , ” Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul argued that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ A president should be coming to Kenosha—to help people , to listen , to condemn violence and vigilantism , and to lead .
But we know that isn ’ t Donald Trump , ” explained Kaul .
“ While Donald Trump has spoken about law and order , he has pardoned his allies , flouted the law , and spewed hate and division , day after day , from our highest office .
He is a catalyst for chaos and a threat to the rule of law .
”

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Donald Trump and his partisan wrecking crew jetted into Kenosha Tuesday on a political mission. That was no secret. The president spelled everything out in his acceptance speech at last week’s Republican National Convention, when he refused to mention the name of Jacob Blake—the 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha police officer—but instead made the Wisconsin city a touchstone for a “law-and-order” rant about “mayhem in Democrat-run cities” and his fall campaign theme that “No one will be safe in Biden’s America.”
If Trump did not put too fine a point on it, then veteran Trump aide Kellyanne Conway surely did when the departing White House staffer said on the night of Trump’s incendiary speech, “The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order.”
The strategy was laid out at the convention. And on Tuesday he implemented it with a trip to Kenosha that was low on sympathy and high on campaign rhetoric. He called the city’s Democratic mayor, John Antaramian, “very stupid” and claimed that he had seen a mob of “radical anarchists” trying to break into the mayor’s house—a lie that Antaramian quickly corrected, stating, “Nothing of the sort happened.” The president refused to answer questions about systemic racism, except to decry “reckless politicians [who] continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist.”
Trump declared that “we have to condemn the dangerous anti-police rhetoric” in the middle of a city that has become an epicenter of the concern about policing in America since Sunday, August 23, when an officer with the police department Trump praised on Tuesday shot Blake in front of his three sons. That shooting was caught on a video that went viral and inspired immediate demonstrations. A call went out to militia groups to defend property in Kenosha and vigilantes showed up. Then, on Tuesday, August 25, a 17-year-old white gunman from Illinois shot and killed two men who were protesting against police brutality. Noting that in the 24 hours before the president’s arrival in Kenosha, Trump had been busy “spewing conspiracy theories, disparaging #Black LivesMatter, comparing police violence to golfing and defending right-wing vigilantes,” Congressional Progressive Caucus cochair Mark Pocan, a Democrat who grew up in the southeastern Wisconsin city, bluntly asserted on Tuesday morning that “yes, I do think he’s coming to Kenosha to spread hate.” More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Nothing about Trump’s visit had to do with healing Kenosha. He did not come to condemn right-wing militias and vigilante violence. He did not come to talk about the need to end police violence and systemic racism. He did not make a sincere effort to meet with the Blake family. His mission was so transparent that Jacob Blake Sr. refused to meet with the president, saying, “I’m not going to play politics.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
But Trump was playing politics. Asked if he was “implying that this is a campaign stop,” Robert Costa, the moderator of PBS’s Washington Week, said, “I’m not implying it, I’m actually just stating it. This is a stop by the president of the United States during the campaign season—in the final 60 or so days before the election.”
A campaign stop was the last thing Kenosha was calling for this week. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, and Attorney General Josh Kaul, the state’s chief law enforcement officer, all asked the president to stay away. Kenosha’s mayor said it was the wrong time for the president to come, as did other local officials. Kenosha activists who really are concerned about healing the city organized a community event—distributing food, providing haircuts, and registering people to vote—as a counter to a presidential visit that was meant to divide them. Kenosha Jacob Blake Was Shot in Kenosha, a City Adrift in a Moral Desert John Nichols
Kenosha did not need Trump on Tuesday.
But Trump needed Kenosha. Wisconsin is a swing state that could well tip the balance in the Electoral College this fall, and Kenosha is in a swing county. Trump won Wisconsin by barely 22,000 votes in 2016—“Wisconsin’s been very good to me,” he said during a Kenosha press event where he repeatedly referred to the 2020 election—and he desperately wants Kenosha and Wisconsin to be good to him in 2020.
But this is about more than Kenosha and Wisconsin. This is about the whole of the 2020 campaign for Trump, about strategies and tactics for November.
“They’re coming to shoot the commercial,” said Representative Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat who was born just north of Kenosha in another Lake Michigan shoreline community. Recalling the strategies used by previous Republican presidents to seek backlash votes, Moore described Trump’s Kenosha sojourn as “a page torn straight out of [Richard Nixon’s] playbook.” Current Issue View our current issue
In every sense, the visit was a commercial. Not a paid one, mind you; as always, Trump relies first and foremost on the political commodity known as “free media.” But don’t doubt that a more traditional commercial will air in the fall, as the president and his Republican allies mount the ugliest and most crudely divisive campaign in American history.
They think it will work. But the president’s political scheming is self-indicting.
Calling out Conway’s assessment that “the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better,” Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul argued that the Trump campaign had revealed itself.
“A president should be coming to Kenosha—to help people, to listen, to condemn violence and vigilantism, and to lead. But we know that isn’t Donald Trump,” explained Kaul. “While Donald Trump has spoken about law and order, he has pardoned his allies, flouted the law, and spewed hate and division, day after day, from our highest office. He is a catalyst for chaos and a threat to the rule of law.”