motherjones--2020-04-17--Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan to Protect Essential Workers

Social distancing at work isn ’ t an option for Joyce Barnes , a home care provider in an independent-living senior facility in Henrico County , Virginia .
“ It ’ s hard to stand 6 feet apart when you ’ ve got to help this person bathe and put hands on them , ” Barnes says .
Barnes , 60 , goes to the grocery store every other day for the patients she ’ s paid to care for , as well as others in the facility who have asked for help .
She ’ s terrified of bringing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ If I get sick today or tomorrow , they get nobody , ” Barnes says .
But even though she ’ s tasked with shopping for the seniors in her care , the company she works for hasn ’ t provided her with gloves or a mask .
So now , Barnes , along with other members of her SEIU union chapter , has joined a push for a new Essential Workers Bill of Rights .
The bill was proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
and Rep. Ro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The legislators also propose making the Bill of Rights part of the next coronavirus relief package .
“ Congress needs to understand you can not solve the COVID-19 crisis without addressing essential worker issues , ” says David Madland , a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress .
“ Workers need and deserve protection so that they aren ’ t at risk , and when these essential workers are at risk , public health in the entire country is at risk.
” The Essential Workers Bill of Rights would provide protections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clerks , janitors , delivery drivers , farmworkers , and bus drivers .
The bill would require employers to provide personal protective equipment to essential workers , as well as notify employees and evacuate worksites in case of coronavirus exposure ; provide “ robust premium pay , ” health care , and child care support to these workers ; and guarantee paid sick and family leave .
It would protect workers ’ right to join a union , crack down on misclassification of independent contractors , and protect whistleblowers .
The proposal also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key task forces and prevent tax dollars from going to CEOs or shareholders .
“ Essential workers are the backbone of our nation ’ s response to coronavirus , ” Warren said in a press statement .
“ Nearly 60 million Americans are still working to keep our internet running , to deliver our groceries , to make sure we have electricity , and to care for the sick , ” Khanna said in the same statement .
“ This crisis needs to open our eyes to the value of workers who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give them the pay and benefits they deserve.
” The bill has garnered support from progressive organizations including MoveOn , SEIU , the American Federation of Teachers , the National Domestic Workers Alliance , Color of Change , and the Sunrise Movement .
A survey released on April 16 from Data for Progress shows that 75 percent of those polled support an Essential Workers Bill of Rights , including 81 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Republicans .
Maurice Mitchell , national director of the Working Families Party , which supports the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very , very least a country can do for the people who are ensuring that we survive this crisis.
” Mitchell , who co-parents a toddler with an emergency room doctor , knows firsthand the value of child care right now .
A growing number of states , including Minnesota , Michigan , and Vermont , are providing free child care to essential workers like first responders and grocery workers .
But Mitchell says a federal solution is needed .
“ There are school-age children who must stay home .
There are essential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these things must happen , ” Mitchell says .
“ How can we not guarantee child care in these instances ?
” The bill would also provide paid sick days for essential workers .
Though the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was supposed to provide emergency paid sick time for people to recover from the coronavirus , the law provided exemptions for businesses with fewer than 50 and more than 500 workers .
That means 85 percent of workers who work essential jobs in grocery stores , pharmacies , and general merchandise aren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to a new brief from the University of California , Berkeley ’ s Shift Project .
For Barnes , the bill would provide a much-needed pay boost as well as health care , paid sick days , and a right to personal protective equipment .
She makes $ 9.44 an hour caring for her patients , too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford health insurance .
Front-line workers are disproportionately women and people of color , data from the Center for Economic and Policy Research show .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front-line home health care workers are women , and more than half are people of color .
The New York Times reported last month that home health aides who work with elderly people are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus .
David Madland acknowledges that with polarization on Capitol Hill , the chances of passing the entire package are slim .
For instance , Sen. John Barrasso ( R-Wy . )
told Fox Business that the plan to include the bill in the next stimulus package represented Warren “ trying to hold hostage at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Madland says parts of the bill could make it through .
“ There ’ s a chance for sort of scrambled politics here , ” he says .
“ In traditional times , an Essential Workers Bill of Rights would have little chance of passage because sadly too many Republicans oppose basic rights for workers .
But these are different times , and this is a crisis , so it has some chance.
” Momentum is building to protect front-line workers both among workers themselves , who are increasingly going on strike to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hill .
Madland also noted that some employers , like Kroger and Albertsons , have come out in support of making grocery workers first responders .
“ The first responder concept , to me , is a step in the right direction , but it ’ s not enough , ” he says .
“ Essential workers need more than just masks and gloves—they need a broad set of protections to enable them to safely go to work.
” The Working Families Party and the other groups backing the Essential Workers Bill of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in coming weeks to pressure Congressional leadership to support the measures in the next coronavirus relief package .
Protecting essential workers should go beyond partisanship for members of Congress , Mitchell says .
“ This is a time for them to act with just an iota of the courage that the front-line workers and essential workers have been showing up with every single day.
” Barnes loves working one-on-one with her patients , and has been caring for some seniors who aren ’ t technically her patients at their families ’ request .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ them sick , and of catching the coronavirus herself—and with good reason .
In one Richmond long-term care facility , just a few miles away from the independent living senior home where Barnes and her patients live , 45 people have so far died from the coronavirus .
“ I don ’ t want to be on the front lines and not treated like it , ” Barnes says .
“ They forgot about us .
”


motherjones--2020-04-18--It Started Out As a Blog for Doctors. Now It’s a Time Capsule of the Coronavirus Era.

A few months ago , KevinMD.com was full of the kinds of by-doctors-for-doctors blog posts that had been the staple of the site since an internist named Dr. Kevin Pho started it in 2004 , when he set out to create a place for doctors , nurses , and medical students to share their perspectives on everything from health care policy to physician burnout .
Then the coronavirus pandemic broke out .
Now , as people anxiously turn to doctors for guidance on how to stay safe , everyone from the nation ’ s top doc to physicians in far-flung @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And KevinMD , the place where doctors gathered to figure this all out among themselves , suddenly had a much bigger platform .
“ When [ the virus ] first came out , we were getting 50 to 60 times normal traffic , ” said Pho , who still works full-time at a hospital in Nashua , New Hampshire .
He reviews submissions and updates the site in his spare time , which in the past meant working on three to four posts per day .
Now , it ’ s upwards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something had shifted in mid-March when a post titled “ A COVID-19 coronavirus update from concerned physicians ” got more than 2 million shares on social media .
That post is exemplary of the type of message that ’ s taken hold of the site now : PSAs that echo the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and essentially plead with the public to stay home and do what they can to stop the spread of COVID-19 .
It was published by a group of six doctors on March 14 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus was reaching its tipping point .
“ Many of you are very nervous , ” the article states in a calm , authoritative voice .
“ As physician leaders , we felt it was important to craft a resource you can rely on as being scientifically accurate.
” But another , more visceral , kind of story has also been gaining traction : first-hand dispatches from medical practitioners on the front lines .
These stories—describing hospitals with waning supplies of personal protection equipment and doctors ’ fears for their own lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeals to not forget them or take them for granted .
The site is now filled with headlines like , “ It ’ s scary as hell to be a doctor right now ” and “ We are not expendable .
We are not replaceable.
” Nasir Malim , an internal medicine resident in New York City , wrote a vivid minute-by-minute account of one night working in the medical ICU of a hospital at the epicenter of the crisis .
He recounts the experience of trying to work past his own anxiety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be confronted by patient after patient sedated and on a ventilator : There is a young patient who is on a breathing machine though his body is still struggling to get enough oxygen despite this .
We are nearing the end of medical options that can help him improve .
We decide to prone him , but before doing so , I try some osteopathic manipulative therapy a doctor friend showed me from a clinical trial .
There are no more medicines to try , so I decide to try whatever I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desire to preserve life as a doctor is somehow overcoming my fear .
I see the beads of sweat running down his face , almost as though each bead is timing the duration of my therapy .
Other doctors and nursing staff join me to help flip him over safely .
As we finish I notice the TV on in the corner with CNN playing , Anderson Cooper is talking about how today was the deadliest day from COVID in the country to date with over 500 deaths .
I return my gaze @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me ; he is my exact age .
“ The people that we had in that ICU were those with the best chance to make it , ” Malim told me .
“ They were young people without any other medical problems .
So getting those people the best type of care that we can offer in the hospital , to give them the best chance of survival , and then realizing as a doctor that you still have nothing in your toolbox that can affect them .
It was traumatic.
” Malim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people outside the medical world insight into the psychological battle that doctors and nurses are enduring right now .
He especially wanted to give voice to the experience of medical residents , who often put in longer hours for much less money than more senior physicians .
KevinMD.com has also tracked the evolving opinions about the coronavirus within the medical community .
A confessional written by Jenny Hartsock , a hospitalist in Oregon , titled “ I thought COVID-19 was overblown .
I was wrong ” was shared more than 30,000 times .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ community initially saw the virus as another H1N1 or SARS and adopted a “ been there , done that ” attitude .
But her mind was changed by the harrowing reports coming out of Italy .
“ The response to this virus in the U.S. has been varied and haphazard , ” Hartsock laments .
“ Why does this matter ?
It matters because we missed many early cases .
It matters because we are still missing them.
” Pho hopes that the increased attention to his site will make more people aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nurses are especially vulnerable during the pandemic .
A spate of recent posts , for example , tell of the financial impact that this can have on physicians .
Many doctors are also small businesses owners , Dr. Nisha Mehta reminds us in one post , and independent practices may not withstand temporary closures .
Another suggests that doctors are at greater risk of being sued , citing anecdotal evidence from one Illinois law firm “ encouraging ” such litigation .
The chorus of physicians on KevinMD is currently united in one message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through this pandemic , but we are scared , too .
“ I ’ m hearing a lot from physician parents—parents who are both physicians and on the front lines—and they have young kids themselves at home , ” Pho said .
“ They ’ re paying attention to their wills , because who ’ s going to be taking care of these children should these physicians on the front lines get sick ?
” Battling the pandemic will be a communal effort , Pho told me , requiring coordinated national policy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything we ’ ve ever seen in our lifetimes , ” he said .
“ Take it seriously .
”

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A few months ago, KevinMD.com was full of the kinds of by-doctors-for-doctors blog posts that had been the staple of the site since an internist named Dr. Kevin Pho started it in 2004, when he set out to create a place for doctors, nurses, and medical students to share their perspectives on everything from health care policy to physician burnout.
Then the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Now, as people anxiously turn to doctors for guidance on how to stay safe, everyone from the nation’s top doc to physicians in far-flung communities found themselves thrust into the spotlight. And KevinMD, the place where doctors gathered to figure this all out among themselves, suddenly had a much bigger platform.
“When [the virus] first came out, we were getting 50 to 60 times normal traffic,” said Pho, who still works full-time at a hospital in Nashua, New Hampshire. He reviews submissions and updates the site in his spare time, which in the past meant working on three to four posts per day. Now, it’s upwards of 10 per day.
Pho knew something had shifted in mid-March when a post titled “A COVID-19 coronavirus update from concerned physicians” got more than 2 million shares on social media.
Pho knew something had shifted in mid-March when a post titled “A COVID-19 coronavirus update from concerned physicians” got more than 2 million shares on social media. That post is exemplary of the type of message that’s taken hold of the site now: PSAs that echo the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and essentially plead with the public to stay home and do what they can to stop the spread of COVID-19. It was published by a group of six doctors on March 14, just when US public consciousness about the virus was reaching its tipping point. “Many of you are very nervous,” the article states in a calm, authoritative voice. “As physician leaders, we felt it was important to craft a resource you can rely on as being scientifically accurate.”
But another, more visceral, kind of story has also been gaining traction: first-hand dispatches from medical practitioners on the front lines. These stories—describing hospitals with waning supplies of personal protection equipment and doctors’ fears for their own lives and those of their coworkers—similarly end in appeals to not forget them or take them for granted. The site is now filled with headlines like, “It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now” and “We are not expendable. We are not replaceable.”
Nasir Malim, an internal medicine resident in New York City, wrote a vivid minute-by-minute account of one night working in the medical ICU of a hospital at the epicenter of the crisis. He recounts the experience of trying to work past his own anxiety to even begin his shift, only to be confronted by patient after patient sedated and on a ventilator:
There is a young patient who is on a breathing machine though his body is still struggling to get enough oxygen despite this. We are nearing the end of medical options that can help him improve. We decide to prone him, but before doing so, I try some osteopathic manipulative therapy a doctor friend showed me from a clinical trial. There are no more medicines to try, so I decide to try whatever I can offer with my hands. My desire to preserve life as a doctor is somehow overcoming my fear. I see the beads of sweat running down his face, almost as though each bead is timing the duration of my therapy. Other doctors and nursing staff join me to help flip him over safely. As we finish I notice the TV on in the corner with CNN playing, Anderson Cooper is talking about how today was the deadliest day from COVID in the country to date with over 500 deaths. I return my gaze back at the 29-year-old in front of me; he is my exact age.
The site is now filled with headlines like, “It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now” and “We are not expendable. We are not replaceable.”
“The people that we had in that ICU were those with the best chance to make it,” Malim told me. “They were young people without any other medical problems. So getting those people the best type of care that we can offer in the hospital, to give them the best chance of survival, and then realizing as a doctor that you still have nothing in your toolbox that can affect them. It was traumatic.”
Malim says he wrote the piece to give people outside the medical world insight into the psychological battle that doctors and nurses are enduring right now. He especially wanted to give voice to the experience of medical residents, who often put in longer hours for much less money than more senior physicians.
KevinMD.com has also tracked the evolving opinions about the coronavirus within the medical community. A confessional written by Jenny Hartsock, a hospitalist in Oregon, titled “I thought COVID-19 was overblown. I was wrong” was shared more than 30,000 times. Hartsock and her friends in the medical community initially saw the virus as another H1N1 or SARS and adopted a “been there, done that” attitude. But her mind was changed by the harrowing reports coming out of Italy. “The response to this virus in the U.S. has been varied and haphazard,” Hartsock laments. “Why does this matter? It matters because we missed many early cases. It matters because we are still missing them.”
“The response to this virus in the U.S. has been varied and haphazard. Why does this matter? It matters because we missed many early cases. It matters because we are still missing them.”
Pho hopes that the increased attention to his site will make more people aware of all the ways that doctors and nurses are especially vulnerable during the pandemic. A spate of recent posts, for example, tell of the financial impact that this can have on physicians. Many doctors are also small businesses owners, Dr. Nisha Mehta reminds us in one post, and independent practices may not withstand temporary closures. Another suggests that doctors are at greater risk of being sued, citing anecdotal evidence from one Illinois law firm “encouraging” such litigation. The chorus of physicians on KevinMD is currently united in one message: We are here to help you through this pandemic, but we are scared, too.
“I’m hearing a lot from physician parents—parents who are both physicians and on the front lines—and they have young kids themselves at home,” Pho said. “They’re paying attention to their wills, because who’s going to be taking care of these children should these physicians on the front lines get sick?”
Battling the pandemic will be a communal effort, Pho told me, requiring coordinated national policy and personal sacrifice. “This is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes,” he said. “Take it seriously.”


motherjones--2020-04-18--Sexual Assault Advocates Are Grappling With the Allegations Against Joe Biden

Earlier this week , the New York Times , Washington Post , Associated Press , and NBC News published investigations into claims by Tara Reade that former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her when she was a staff assistant to the then-senator more than 25 years ago .
The reports did not determine whether Reade ’ s allegations were true .
Journalists interviewed one unnamed friend who said Reade told them in 1993 about the alleged assault , as well another friend and her brother , who said she told them “ over the years about a traumatic sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York Times .
Other people Reade said she shared some details with , as well as her former supervisors and other Biden staffers , told reporters they had no memory of Reade ’ s complaints about him .
Biden ’ s presidential campaign denied her accusation .
“ This absolutely did not happen , ” deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said .
So far , Reade ’ s story , which first came out as Biden was cementing his status as the Democratic presidential frontrunner , has not shaken up the race or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the new allegations have been profoundly jarring for survivor activists , many of whom have long considered Biden a political ally on sexual violence policy and would like to see President Donald Trump defeated in November .
In interviews , prominent advocates and organizers expressed frustration with how Reade ’ s claims have been handled by the media and politicians and detailed how they have been grappling with their own responses .
“ For me , this is extremely painful , ” said an advocate who had worked with Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama administration .
She asked to remain anonymous because she worries that expressing support for further investigation into Reade ’ s claims could jeopardize her chance of working with the White House if Biden wins .
“ I really saw Biden as a champion for a really long time , ” she said .
“ I ’ m experiencing cognitive dissonance right now .
I haven ’ t had the ability or the time to process emotionally what it means for me to believe that he did this.
” “ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a survivor activist in California who works to improve police investigations of sexual violence .
Because Reade ’ s allegations were not investigated at the time , she said , “ It does become sort of a trial by media .
It ’ s just egos and money , and Tara Reade just flounders.
” ( According to Reade , she reported sexual harassment , but not assault , by Biden to her supervisors and to the Senate in 1993 .
The four outlets that investigated Reade ’ s allegations could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the leader of Know Your IX , a campus sexual assault advocacy group , said she is personally angry about the way the allegations against Biden have been treated differently than those leveled against Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was a Supreme Court nominee in 2018 .
“ This is just further evidence that survivors will always be political pawns , ” she said .
“ I ’ m extremely frustrated to see so many people who publicly came out and said that they supported survivors during Kavanaugh only then to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own party.
” “ We had these past two and a half years where folks have said , with the MeToo movement , ‘ We ’ re going to start listening to survivors ’ voices , we ’ re going to start taking allegations for what they are , treating them as if they ’ re credible and investigating rather than just brushing them off.
’ Now we have two men running for president who have been accused of sexual assault , ” said Alyssa Leader , a former victim advocate and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to become a lawyer for survivors .
( At least 23 women have accused Trump of sexual assault , unwanted touching or kissing , or other inappropriate sexual behavior . )
“ That , for me , as a survivor , and as somebody who speaks publicly about these issues , is extremely frustrating , ” Leader said .
Reade was one of eight women who last year publicly accused Biden of having kissed or touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable , telling a Nevada newspaper that he used to touch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she was asked to serve drinks at an event because Biden liked her legs .
( Biden acknowledged that some of his “ gestures of support ” made people uncomfortable and promised to be “ more mindful ” of shifting norms about personal space . )
Then , on March 25 , Reade told podcast host Katie Halper that in addition to the alleged sexual harassment , in the spring of 1993 , Biden pinned her against a wall and reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers .
She said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she was afraid .
Wagatwe Wanjuki , an anti-rape activist who worked with Biden ’ s staff to transform campus sexual assault policies during the Obama administration , said she couldn ’ t bring herself to listen to Reade ’ s podcast interview .
“ I just didn ’ t want to be triggered , ” she said .
She recalled meeting Biden at the 2016 Oscars after a Lady Gaga performance dedicated to survivors , where the then-vice president held onto her hand for longer than was comfortable , though she did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading the transcript of Reade ’ s account , she thinks it sounds “ typical ” of what she ’ s learned about sexual assault over more than a decade of advocacy .
“ It ’ s common for survivors to hide some details of their stories , ” Wanjuki said .
“ Just to share a part that feels safer to disclose.
” Some of the activists I spoke with were pained by the reactions to Reade ’ s story , from the daily Fox News coverage to speculation that she may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Sen. Bernie Sanders or her peculiar affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin .
“ I had to get off Twitter yesterday , ” the advocate who had worked with Biden ’ s office told me .
“ I started reading this coverage first thing in the morning , and my physical body and my trauma were having a response to it.
” Reade ’ s accusations have been met with skepticism from some prominent feminists .
Earlier this month , actor Alyssa Milano—whose 2017 tweet asking survivors of assault and harassment to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # MeToo hashtag—told radio host Andy Cohen in that she still supported Biden .
Women should be believed , Milano said , “ but that does not mean at the expense of not giving men their due process and investigating situations .
It ’ s got to be fair in both directions.
” Journalist Joan Walsh shared a related reaction in the Nation : “ It ’ s true , for a time , that one of the slogans that emerged from the nascent # MeToo movement was ‘ Believe women.
’ But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever said , or meant , ‘ Believe every woman , no matter how incredible or undocumented her claim . '
” Even though they believed Reade ’ s story could be true , some survivor activists said that they still intend to vote for Biden .
They cited several reasons , including the importance of federal judicial appointments ; the experience of Biden ’ s staff on sexual violence policy ; and their eagerness to replace Trump ’ s cabinet , including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos , whose overhaul of campus sexual-assault @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I ’ ve always said I will never vote for somebody who has been accused of sexual harassment or sexual violence , ” said Leader .
But she still plans to cast a ballot against Trump .
( In a post on Medium , Feministing cofounder Jessica Valenti expressed a similar sentiment : “ I ’ ll do what ’ s right for the country and vote for him .
But I ’ m still furious.
” ) But others are considering not voting at all .
“ I haven ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this fall , but the way we ’ re approaching it , I ’ m probably gon na wait until the last night and make my decision , ” Wanjuki said .
Marlowe , who was already critical of Biden ’ s record on criminal justice , said she will likely sit out the election .
Advocates also said they were disappointed about the response from lawmakers who have made fighting sexual violence and harassment part of their political brands .
When WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer asked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York Democrat stood by her support of Biden , whom she endorsed last month .
Gillibrand said she believed the allegation against him was “ different ” than that against Kavanaugh .
“ Vice President Biden has a strong record for fighting for women in his life , ” she said .
“ We are right now at the investigation stage of the allegation.
” When Mother Jones reporter Kara Voght asked Rep. Ro Khanna ( D-Calif. ) whether the allegation against Biden gave him pause , Khanna—who has sponsored bills to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of California ’ s Democratic Party chair due to allegations of sexual misconduct—said the vice president is “ a decent , moral person.
” Khanna added that he supports Biden as someone whom President Obama had “ thoroughly vetted.
” “ Some people are certainly responding the way that they are because of political calculus , ” said Robyn Swirling , who runs Works In Progress , a nonprofit that helps progressive organizations and campaigns with their internal response to sexual harassment .
“ Right now , there ’ s a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s been really disappointing to see voices who are otherwise very outspoken on these issues be silent or make excuses like , ‘ Well he has a record of fighting for women on the policy level . '
” On Tuesday , Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) said at an online event that “ it ’ s legitimate to talk about ” Reade ’ s allegation .
“ If we again want to have integrity , you can ’ t say , you know—both believe women , support all of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said .
Sanders , who endorsed Biden on Monday , followed Ocasio-Cortez ’ s lead two days later , saying it was “ relevant ” to talk about Reade ’ s allegations .
“ I think any woman who feels that she was assaulted has every right in the world to stand up and make her claims , ” he told CBS This Morning .
“ I think that she has the right to make her claims and get a public hearing , and the public will make their own conclusions about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Reade ’ s allegations extends beyond politicians .
Eight national organizations that advocate for sexual violence survivors did not respond to a request for a comment or interview .
In a statement , RAINN ( the Rape , Abuse & Incest National Network ) echoed the Biden campaign ’ s call for Reade ’ s claims to be thoroughly examined by journalists .
“ We appreciate that the media is investigating Tara Reade ’ s allegations and urge that they be scrutinized fairly and rigorously , ” RAINN press secretary Erinn Robinson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence , declined to specifically address the allegations against Biden .
But , speaking broadly , she said that her organization supports “ all survivors ” of sexual violence .
“ Where people have transgressed or caused harm , now or in the past , they must be held accountable , ” Poore said .
“ We don ’ t believe anyone ’ s behavior is above scrutiny and discussion .
No one gets a pass on this.
” The advocate who requested anonymity believes she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal pressure to stay silent not just because it could hurt Biden ’ s electoral chances , but also because it could kneecap advocacy for survivors .
If Biden wins , she said , she hopes to implement “ a huge policy agenda ” undoing Trump ’ s policies on sexual violence .
“ There ’ s a ton of people like me , who want to be changemakers on the inside and the outside , and don ’ t know what it will do to their ability to be a changemaker on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this moment , ‘ There needs to be an investigation , and this is unacceptable.
” She would like Biden to pause his campaign until there is a formal investigation .
Wanjuki said she ’ ll be paying close attention to how he responds to the allegations : “ That ’ s how I can tell whether I will trust him or not.
” Swirling would like Biden to take responsibility for more of his past behavior .
“ All of us are different people than we were in 1991 and 1993 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us have grown and changed in our understanding of appropriate conduct , how to respond compassionately to sexual assault allegations , our understanding of what comments are OK to make , or of consent .
It would just be nice to see that acknowledged.
” Poore said it should be up to survivors to determine what accountability looks like .
“ In all cases , ” she said , “ we really need to look at what the survivor needs and wants and is asking for.
” So what does Reade want ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks ago , she said that she just wanted people to hear her story .
“ I ’ m hoping by coming forward with this—and I know it ’ s hard to listen to , and it ’ s hard to live in it , right ?
But my justice now , the only justice I can have , ” she said , “ is to be moving freely in the world and to heal and not be silenced .
”

Earlier this week, the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, and NBC News published investigations into claims by Tara Reade that former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her when she was a staff assistant to the then-senator more than 25 years ago. The reports did not determine whether Reade’s allegations were true. Journalists interviewed one unnamed friend who said Reade told them in 1993 about the alleged assault, as well another friend and her brother, who said she told them “over the years about a traumatic sexual incident,” according to the New York Times. Other people Reade said she shared some details with, as well as her former supervisors and other Biden staffers, told reporters they had no memory of Reade’s complaints about him. Biden’s presidential campaign denied her accusation. “This absolutely did not happen,” deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said.
So far, Reade’s story, which first came out as Biden was cementing his status as the Democratic presidential frontrunner, has not shaken up the race or substantially shifted public opinion about him. But the new allegations have been profoundly jarring for survivor activists, many of whom have long considered Biden a political ally on sexual violence policy and would like to see President Donald Trump defeated in November. In interviews, prominent advocates and organizers expressed frustration with how Reade’s claims have been handled by the media and politicians and detailed how they have been grappling with their own responses.
“For me, this is extremely painful,” said an advocate who had worked with Biden’s office on sexual violence issues during the Obama administration. She asked to remain anonymous because she worries that expressing support for further investigation into Reade’s claims could jeopardize her chance of working with the White House if Biden wins. “I really saw Biden as a champion for a really long time,” she said. “I’m experiencing cognitive dissonance right now. I haven’t had the ability or the time to process emotionally what it means for me to believe that he did this.”
“It’s just murky,” said Heather Marlowe, a survivor activist in California who works to improve police investigations of sexual violence. Because Reade’s allegations were not investigated at the time, she said, “It does become sort of a trial by media. It’s just egos and money, and Tara Reade just flounders.” (According to Reade, she reported sexual harassment, but not assault, by Biden to her supervisors and to the Senate in 1993. The four outlets that investigated Reade’s allegations could not find the complaint.)
“It’s been really disappointing to see voices who are otherwise very outspoken on these issues be silent or make excuses.”
Sage Carson, a survivor advocate, said she is personally angry about the way the allegations against Biden have been treated differently than those leveled against Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was a Supreme Court nominee in 2018. “This is just further evidence that survivors will always be political pawns,” she said. “I’m extremely frustrated to see so many people who publicly came out and said that they supported survivors during Kavanaugh only then to do a 180 when it was someone within their own party.”
“We had these past two and a half years where folks have said, with the MeToo movement, ‘We’re going to start listening to survivors’ voices, we’re going to start taking allegations for what they are, treating them as if they’re credible and investigating rather than just brushing them off.’ Now we have two men running for president who have been accused of sexual assault,” said Alyssa Leader, a former victim advocate and rape crisis counselor who is now studying to become a lawyer for survivors. (At least 23 women have accused Trump of sexual assault, unwanted touching or kissing, or other inappropriate sexual behavior.) “That, for me, as a survivor, and as somebody who speaks publicly about these issues, is extremely frustrating,” Leader said.
Reade was one of eight women who last year publicly accused Biden of having kissed or touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable, telling a Nevada newspaper that he used to touch her shoulder and neck, and that she was asked to serve drinks at an event because Biden liked her legs. (Biden acknowledged that some of his “gestures of support” made people uncomfortable and promised to be “more mindful” of shifting norms about personal space.) Then, on March 25, Reade told podcast host Katie Halper that in addition to the alleged sexual harassment, in the spring of 1993, Biden pinned her against a wall and reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers. She said she had not previously come forward because she was afraid.
Wagatwe Wanjuki, an anti-rape activist who worked with Biden’s staff to transform campus sexual assault policies during the Obama administration, said she couldn’t bring herself to listen to Reade’s podcast interview. “I just didn’t want to be triggered,” she said. She recalled meeting Biden at the 2016 Oscars after a Lady Gaga performance dedicated to survivors, where the then-vice president held onto her hand for longer than was comfortable, though she did not consider it sexual harassment. From reading the transcript of Reade’s account, she thinks it sounds “typical” of what she’s learned about sexual assault over more than a decade of advocacy. “It’s common for survivors to hide some details of their stories,” Wanjuki said. “Just to share a part that feels safer to disclose.”
Some of the activists I spoke with were pained by the reactions to Reade’s story, from the daily Fox News coverage to speculation that she may be lying due to her political preference for Sen. Bernie Sanders or her peculiar affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I had to get off Twitter yesterday,” the advocate who had worked with Biden’s office told me. “I started reading this coverage first thing in the morning, and my physical body and my trauma were having a response to it.”
Reade’s accusations have been met with skepticism from some prominent feminists. Earlier this month, actor Alyssa Milano—whose 2017 tweet asking survivors of assault and harassment to reply “me too” launched the #MeToo hashtag—told radio host Andy Cohen in that she still supported Biden. Women should be believed, Milano said, “but that does not mean at the expense of not giving men their due process and investigating situations. It’s got to be fair in both directions.” Journalist Joan Walsh shared a related reaction in the Nation: “It’s true, for a time, that one of the slogans that emerged from the nascent #MeToo movement was ‘Believe women.’ But it was never that simple; nobody ever said, or meant, ‘Believe every woman, no matter how incredible or undocumented her claim.'”
Even though they believed Reade’s story could be true, some survivor activists said that they still intend to vote for Biden. They cited several reasons, including the importance of federal judicial appointments; the experience of Biden’s staff on sexual violence policy; and their eagerness to replace Trump’s cabinet, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose overhaul of campus sexual-assault policy has prompted outcry from survivors. “I’ve always said I will never vote for somebody who has been accused of sexual harassment or sexual violence,” said Leader. But she still plans to cast a ballot against Trump. (In a post on Medium, Feministing cofounder Jessica Valenti expressed a similar sentiment: “I’ll do what’s right for the country and vote for him. But I’m still furious.”)
Even though they believe Reade’s story could be true, some survivor activists still intend to vote for Biden.
But others are considering not voting at all. “I haven’t completely written off participating in the election this fall, but the way we’re approaching it, I’m probably gonna wait until the last night and make my decision,” Wanjuki said. Marlowe, who was already critical of Biden’s record on criminal justice, said she will likely sit out the election.
Advocates also said they were disappointed about the response from lawmakers who have made fighting sexual violence and harassment part of their political brands. When WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer asked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday if Reade should be believed, the New York Democrat stood by her support of Biden, whom she endorsed last month. Gillibrand said she believed the allegation against him was “different” than that against Kavanaugh. “Vice President Biden has a strong record for fighting for women in his life,” she said. “We are right now at the investigation stage of the allegation.”
When Mother Jones reporter Kara Voght asked Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) whether the allegation against Biden gave him pause, Khanna—who has sponsored bills to combat sexual harassment and supported the ouster of California’s Democratic Party chair due to allegations of sexual misconduct—said the vice president is “a decent, moral person.” Khanna added that he supports Biden as someone whom President Obama had “thoroughly vetted.”
“Some people are certainly responding the way that they are because of political calculus,” said Robyn Swirling, who runs Works In Progress, a nonprofit that helps progressive organizations and campaigns with their internal response to sexual harassment. “Right now, there’s a lot of ‘Blue no matter who.’ It’s been really disappointing to see voices who are otherwise very outspoken on these issues be silent or make excuses like, ‘Well he has a record of fighting for women on the policy level.'”
On Tuesday, Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said at an online event that “it’s legitimate to talk about” Reade’s allegation. “If we again want to have integrity, you can’t say, you know—both believe women, support all of this, until it inconveniences you,” she said. Sanders, who endorsed Biden on Monday, followed Ocasio-Cortez’s lead two days later, saying it was “relevant” to talk about Reade’s allegations. “I think any woman who feels that she was assaulted has every right in the world to stand up and make her claims,” he told CBS This Morning. “I think that she has the right to make her claims and get a public hearing, and the public will make their own conclusions about it.”
“This is just further evidence that survivors will always be political pawns.”
The reluctance to speak publicly about Reade’s allegations extends beyond politicians. Eight national organizations that advocate for sexual violence survivors did not respond to a request for a comment or interview. In a statement, RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) echoed the Biden campaign’s call for Reade’s claims to be thoroughly examined by journalists. “We appreciate that the media is investigating Tara Reade’s allegations and urge that they be scrutinized fairly and rigorously,” RAINN press secretary Erinn Robinson said. Terri Poore, policy director for the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, declined to specifically address the allegations against Biden. But, speaking broadly, she said that her organization supports “all survivors” of sexual violence. “Where people have transgressed or caused harm, now or in the past, they must be held accountable,” Poore said. “We don’t believe anyone’s behavior is above scrutiny and discussion. No one gets a pass on this.”
The advocate who requested anonymity believes she’s not the only one feeling internal pressure to stay silent not just because it could hurt Biden’s electoral chances, but also because it could kneecap advocacy for survivors. If Biden wins, she said, she hopes to implement “a huge policy agenda” undoing Trump’s policies on sexual violence. “There’s a ton of people like me, who want to be changemakers on the inside and the outside, and don’t know what it will do to their ability to be a changemaker on the inside if we rightfully say at this moment, ‘There needs to be an investigation, and this is unacceptable.”
She would like Biden to pause his campaign until there is a formal investigation. Wanjuki said she’ll be paying close attention to how he responds to the allegations: “That’s how I can tell whether I will trust him or not.” Swirling would like Biden to take responsibility for more of his past behavior. “All of us are different people than we were in 1991 and 1993,” she said. “All of us have grown and changed in our understanding of appropriate conduct, how to respond compassionately to sexual assault allegations, our understanding of what comments are OK to make, or of consent. It would just be nice to see that acknowledged.”
Poore said it should be up to survivors to determine what accountability looks like. “In all cases,” she said, “we really need to look at what the survivor needs and wants and is asking for.”
So what does Reade want? In her podcast interview with Halper three weeks ago, she said that she just wanted people to hear her story. “I’m hoping by coming forward with this—and I know it’s hard to listen to, and it’s hard to live in it, right? But my justice now, the only justice I can have,” she said, “is to be moving freely in the world and to heal and not be silenced.”


motherjones--2020-04-18--At Least 20 People Have COVID-19 at One ICE Jail. Those Inside Say Many More Are Sick.

On Friday evening , a Guatemalan man told me he spent three nights last week in solitary confinement at an ICE detention facility after developing a fever .
Manuel , a pseudonym to protect against potential retaliation , expected to receive medical attention while in isolation at the Richwood Correctional Center , a for-profit immigration jail in Louisiana .
Instead , he says he got no aide while fighting off exhaustion and aches .
“ They put you in there , ” he surmised about his nights alone , “ and you live or you die.
” About two hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17 new people had tested positive at Richwood .
It brings the total there to 20 , more than any other ICE detention center in the nation .
But those government numbers may show only a sliver of the crisis unfolding at Richwood .
Interviews with Manuel and six other Richwood detainees suggest more are infected .
They said many of the roughly 70 people who remain in their unit are sick with COVID-like symptoms .
Overall , the jail was holding about 200 people earlier this month .
( ICE and LaSalle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ runs Richwood , did not respond to requests for comment . )
Before being isolated , Manuel had been in close contact with Salomon Diego Alonzo , who , like Manuel , was one of nearly 700 people who ICE had detained in raids of Mississippi chicken plants in August .
They were in the same dorm and talked all the time until Alonzo was isolated shortly before Manuel .
Alonzo had learned earlier this week that he has COVID-19 and I asked Manuel if he thought he ’ d had the new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but didn ’ t know .
Unlike Alonzo , he said he hasn ’ t been tested .
Manuel said nearly half the people in the dorm have come down with something .
A Mexican man in the dorm told me has a headache , fever , and a cough .
“ It ’ s not just me , ” he stressed .
He added that he has a hernia , high blood pressure , and diabetes .
Like Manuel , he ’ d been arrested in the chicken plant raids .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ whom are US citizens .
ICE revealed Friday that only about 1 percent of the roughly 32,000 people in its custody have been tested .
Instead of testing detainees it knows have been exposed to COVID-19 , ICE generally leaves them in group quarantines until they develop symptoms .
Only then are they isolated .
Dr. Chris Beyrer , a public health professor at Johns Hopkins University , compared the reality of being stuck in a group quarantine to torture when I interviewed him earlier this month .
“ Cruel and usual punishment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of anxiety , that level of stress…It ’ s a form of torture , you might say .
A new form of torture .
You could call it COVID-19 torture.
” ICE has largely refused to exercise its broad authority to release people from custody to protect them from the pandemic .
The Richwood detainees who ’ ve tested positive are being held together in another dorm .
A Louisiana attorney , who requested anonymity , said one of her clients was moved to that dorm earlier this week after also being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ d been with the seven men I spoke to .
Her client says that , including him , there are 21 people in the dorm for people who are infected .
Jaclyn Cole , a paralegal at the Southern Poverty Law Center , is in touch with a second person in that dorm .
She says the man is a colon cancer survivor who uses a colostomy bag .
On Thursday , Alonzo was forced to appear for a court hearing despite being too weak to talk , attorney Veronica Semino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told me she tried to get the hearing postponed while Alonzo was in isolation awaiting the results of his COVID-19 test , but the judge refused the request .
During the hearing , Semino heard the judge say about Alonzo , “ He needs to talk.
” “ No , he can ’ t talk , ” Semino heard a guard interject .
“ He does not have the lung capacity.
” Alonzo started feeling sick on April 8 , but his condition has deteriorated since then .
Semino learned on Saturday that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the hearing .
She said he ’ s in an intensive care unit , but in stable condition and not on a ventilator .
Mostly , Semino is relieved that he ’ s alive .
She asks about Thursday , “ Why was he taken to the hearing ?
Why wasn ’ t he taken to the hospital sooner ?
Why didn ’ t somebody say , ‘ Hey this guy is t0o sick to go court ? '
” When Semino spoke to Alonzo on Wednesday , he ’ d been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested positive .
He told her he couldn ’ t keep food down , had diarrhea , felt weak , and had shortness of breath .
His cough had become so severe that it was difficult to communicate with him .
In calls with his wife , Semino says he mentioned the possibility that he ’ d die at Richwood .
Roberto , a pseudonym for another Central American detainee , told me he had a lot of contact with Alonzo as well .
He is now sick himself—body pain , headaches , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the jail ’ s staff .
He doesn ’ t want to get sent to solitary without medical attention like Manuel .
Instead , Roberto says he ’ s resorting to a folk remedy : Lots of strong coffee without sugar .
Over the past week , the men I spoke with told me people have been removed from the dorm after temperature checks revealed fevers above 100 degrees .
Roberto says some of the staff are wearing white jumpsuits that make them look like astronauts or crime scene technicians .
He described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ un caos tremendo , ” tremendous chaos .
When we spoke again on Saturday , he passed the phone to a Honduran man who has been trying to get deported since early March .
The Honduran man compared his experience in Louisiana to being kidnapped .
“ The only thing that that matters to them is that we ’ re worth $ 75 dollars a day , ” he said , referring to the amount ICE pays to detain people in Louisiana .
“ We ’ re a business.
” “ We thought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States , ” he added .
“ But there aren ’ t human rights here because what they ’ re doing to us is inhumane.
” Despite having a particularly strong asylum case detailed in dozens of documents provided by his wife , Roberto lost his case last month .
He ’ s been in detention for more than a year and is forgoing his right to appeal , since choosing to challenge the case could mean spending months longer locked up in Richwood .
He told me that without the COVID-19 outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appealed his case .
“ I don ’ t want to die in here , ” Roberto explained .
He also hopes to be deported as soon as possible .
From there , he plans to immediately flee north again .
He ’ s still scared of dying at home , too .

On Friday evening, a Guatemalan man told me he spent three nights last week in solitary confinement at an ICE detention facility after developing a fever. Manuel, a pseudonym to protect against potential retaliation, expected to receive medical attention while in isolation at the Richwood Correctional Center, a for-profit immigration jail in Louisiana. Instead, he says he got no aide while fighting off exhaustion and aches. “They put you in there,” he surmised about his nights alone, “and you live or you die.”
About two hours later, Immigration and Customs revealed that 17 new people had tested positive at Richwood. It brings the total there to 20, more than any other ICE detention center in the nation. But those government numbers may show only a sliver of the crisis unfolding at Richwood. Interviews with Manuel and six other Richwood detainees suggest more are infected. They said many of the roughly 70 people who remain in their unit are sick with COVID-like symptoms. Overall, the jail was holding about 200 people earlier this month. (ICE and LaSalle Corrections, the private prison company that runs Richwood, did not respond to requests for comment.)
Before being isolated, Manuel had been in close contact with Salomon Diego Alonzo, who, like Manuel, was one of nearly 700 people who ICE had detained in raids of Mississippi chicken plants in August. They were in the same dorm and talked all the time until Alonzo was isolated shortly before Manuel. Alonzo had learned earlier this week that he has COVID-19 and I asked Manuel if he thought he’d had the new coronavirus, too. He hoped not, but didn’t know. Unlike Alonzo, he said he hasn’t been tested.
Manuel said nearly half the people in the dorm have come down with something. A Mexican man in the dorm told me has a headache, fever, and a cough. “It’s not just me,” he stressed. He added that he has a hernia, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Like Manuel, he’d been arrested in the chicken plant raids. He has five children, three of whom are US citizens.
ICE revealed Friday that only about 1 percent of the roughly 32,000 people in its custody have been tested. Instead of testing detainees it knows have been exposed to COVID-19, ICE generally leaves them in group quarantines until they develop symptoms. Only then are they isolated. Dr. Chris Beyrer, a public health professor at Johns Hopkins University, compared the reality of being stuck in a group quarantine to torture when I interviewed him earlier this month. “Cruel and usual punishment,” he said. “That level of anxiety, that level of stress…It’s a form of torture, you might say. A new form of torture. You could call it COVID-19 torture.” ICE has largely refused to exercise its broad authority to release people from custody to protect them from the pandemic.
The Richwood detainees who’ve tested positive are being held together in another dorm. A Louisiana attorney, who requested anonymity, said one of her clients was moved to that dorm earlier this week after also being sent to solitary. Before that, he’d been with the seven men I spoke to. Her client says that, including him, there are 21 people in the dorm for people who are infected. Jaclyn Cole, a paralegal at the Southern Poverty Law Center, is in touch with a second person in that dorm. She says the man is a colon cancer survivor who uses a colostomy bag.
On Thursday, Alonzo was forced to appear for a court hearing despite being too weak to talk, attorney Veronica Semino, told the Associated Press. Semino told me she tried to get the hearing postponed while Alonzo was in isolation awaiting the results of his COVID-19 test, but the judge refused the request. During the hearing, Semino heard the judge say about Alonzo, “He needs to talk.”
“No, he can’t talk,” Semino heard a guard interject. “He does not have the lung capacity.”
Alonzo started feeling sick on April 8, but his condition has deteriorated since then. Semino learned on Saturday that he was admitted to the hospital soon after the hearing. She said he’s in an intensive care unit, but in stable condition and not on a ventilator. Mostly, Semino is relieved that he’s alive. She asks about Thursday, “Why was he taken to the hearing? Why wasn’t he taken to the hospital sooner? Why didn’t somebody say, ‘Hey this guy is t0o sick to go court?'”
When Semino spoke to Alonzo on Wednesday, he’d been moved to the unit for people who tested positive. He told her he couldn’t keep food down, had diarrhea, felt weak, and had shortness of breath. His cough had become so severe that it was difficult to communicate with him. In calls with his wife, Semino says he mentioned the possibility that he’d die at Richwood.
Roberto, a pseudonym for another Central American detainee, told me he had a lot of contact with Alonzo as well. He is now sick himself—body pain, headaches, dizziness—but trying to hide those symptoms from the jail’s staff. He doesn’t want to get sent to solitary without medical attention like Manuel. Instead, Roberto says he’s resorting to a folk remedy: Lots of strong coffee without sugar.
Over the past week, the men I spoke with told me people have been removed from the dorm after temperature checks revealed fevers above 100 degrees. Roberto says some of the staff are wearing white jumpsuits that make them look like astronauts or crime scene technicians. He described the scene inside the dorm as “un caos tremendo,” tremendous chaos. When we spoke again on Saturday, he passed the phone to a Honduran man who has been trying to get deported since early March. The Honduran man compared his experience in Louisiana to being kidnapped. “The only thing that that matters to them is that we’re worth $75 dollars a day,” he said, referring to the amount ICE pays to detain people in Louisiana. “We’re a business.”
“We thought there were human rights in the United States,” he added. “But there aren’t human rights here because what they’re doing to us is inhumane.”
Despite having a particularly strong asylum case detailed in dozens of documents provided by his wife, Roberto lost his case last month. He’s been in detention for more than a year and is forgoing his right to appeal, since choosing to challenge the case could mean spending months longer locked up in Richwood. He told me that without the COVID-19 outbreak at the facility, he would have appealed his case. “I don’t want to die in here,” Roberto explained.
He also hopes to be deported as soon as possible. From there, he plans to immediately flee north again. He’s still scared of dying at home, too.


motherjones--2020-04-18--Donald Trump Is Already Accusing Democrats of Stealing the Next Election

It ’ s only mid-April ( yes , I had to check ) and President Donald Trump is already accusing Democrats of “ trying to steal the election out from under [ him ] .
” Here ’ s an email Trump ’ s re-election campaign sent out to supporters Friday afternoon : As with many Trump statements , it ’ s a futile and counterproductive exercise to try to debunk it in full , but he ( okay , his campaign ’ s digital fundraising staffer ) is referring to a push , mainly by Democrats , to expand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In case you haven ’ t heard , there ’ s a global pandemic that ’ s shut down life as we know it in the United States , and turned the act of in-person-voting—or working at a voting precinct—into a life-threatening proposition .
Wouldn ’ t it be nice to vote without dying ?
And some states , such as California , Oregon , and Washington , already make it possible for anyone to cast their vote by mail—in fact they ’ ve been doing it a long time with no real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there was a big case of absentee-ballot fraud in 2018—which ended in a do-over election and the indictment of a Republican campaign worker . )
Trump ’ s full of bluster , but let ’ s not lose sight how insane this is .
The sitting president is accusing his opponents of “ trying to steal ” the election simply because they want to make sure people are able to vote safely in a pandemic—and he ’ s doing it just to raise money .
At least it ’ s going to a @ @ @

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It’s only mid-April (yes, I had to check) and President Donald Trump is already accusing Democrats of “trying to steal the election out from under [him].” Here’s an email Trump’s re-election campaign sent out to supporters Friday afternoon:
You knew this was coming. Five months from the voting, @realDonaldTrump is explicitly accusing the Democrats of trying to steal the election from him. He will ramp this up so that by Election Day his supporters will not believe any result other than his reelection is legitimate. pic.twitter.com/oxF2YalIgm — David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 17, 2020
As with many Trump statements, it’s a futile and counterproductive exercise to try to debunk it in full, but he (okay, his campaign’s digital fundraising staffer) is referring to a push, mainly by Democrats, to expand absentee voting access before the fall. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a global pandemic that’s shut down life as we know it in the United States, and turned the act of in-person-voting—or working at a voting precinct—into a life-threatening proposition. Wouldn’t it be nice to vote without dying? And some states, such as California, Oregon, and Washington, already make it possible for anyone to cast their vote by mail—in fact they’ve been doing it a long time with no real issues or fraud. (Incidentally, there was a big case of absentee-ballot fraud in 2018—which ended in a do-over election and the indictment of a Republican campaign worker.)
Trump’s full of bluster, but let’s not lose sight how insane this is. The sitting president is accusing his opponents of “trying to steal” the election simply because they want to make sure people are able to vote safely in a pandemic—and he’s doing it just to raise money. At least it’s going to a good place.


motherjones--2020-04-20--Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Schtick: Trump’s Most Outrageous Ambassadors

When Gordon Sondland took his turn in the impeachment spotlight back in November 2019 , the hotelier turned US ambassador to the European Union became the poster boy for President Donald Trump ’ s corps of deep-pocketed , politically connected diplomats .
But the now-former ambassador was hardly the only envoy with a fat wallet and a skimpy resume .
Jeffrey Ross Gunter ( Iceland ) : This California dermatologist and longtime GOP donor gave $ 100,000 to Trump ’ s inaugural committee .
At his confirmation hearing , he reassured senators , “ While I have never been to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amount of time in Western Europe , as my late wife was from the Netherlands.
” Callista Gingrich ( Holy See ) : “ As a lifelong Catholic , ” Gingrich ( who had an affair with future husband Newt Gingrich before he divorced his second wife ) told senators she would be “ profoundly humbled ” to represent her country in the Vatican .
David Friedman ( Israel ) : To be fair , Friedman , a staunchly pro-Israel corporate attorney whose firm gave $ 300,000 to Trump ’ s inauguration , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intransigent parties bickering over property claims : He helped handle the bankruptcies of several of Trump ’ s Atlantic City casinos .
Carla Sands ( Denmark ) : The widow of a real estate mogul , Sands donated $ 10,000 to Trump ’ s 2017 inauguration bash .
She ’ s also a former chiropractor and actor ( credits include Deathstalker and the Warriors From Hell ) .
David B. Cornstein ( Hungary ) : The jewelry magnate and Trump pal flew in Paul Anka to serenade right-wing Hungarian authoritarian Viktor Orbán at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July celebration .
“ I can tell you , ” Cornstein has said , “ knowing the president for a good 25 or 30 years , that he would love to have the situation that Viktor Orbán has.
” Duke Buchan III ( Spain and Andorra ) : The investment banker and his wife together gave nearly $ 900,000 to a pro-Trump fundraising group in 2016 .
Politico reported that Buchan has complained that EU regulations made it hard for his polo horses to join him in Spain .
Lynda Blanchard ( Slovenia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , gave more than $ 500,000 to Trump ’ s inauguration , this Alabama business executive was nominated as ambassador to Melania Trump ’ s birthplace .
Before Blanchard ’ s confirmation , Sen. Bob Menendez ( D-N.J. ) called her out for posting “ incendiary false articles ” and conspiracy theories on her Facebook page .
Robert Wood Johnson IV ( United Kingdom ) : The Johnson & Johnson heir , New York Jets owner , and Trump megadonor dropped $ 1 million on the president ’ s inauguration .
He now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estate in London and has turned his job into a British reality-TV miniseries titled Inside the American Embassy .
Pete Hoekstra ( Netherlands ) : When a Dutch reporter asked the former Michigan member of Congress about his claim that some parts of Holland had become Muslim-controlled “ no-go zones ” where politicians had been set on fire , Hoekstra replied , “ I didn ’ t say that…We would call it fake news.
” The reporter then played Hoekstra the clip in which he said exactly that .
Richard Grenell ( Germany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the administration is known for his Twitter trolling and undiplomatic behavior .
Prominent German politicians have called for Grenell to be recalled ; one described him as “ a complete diplomatic failure ” who “ damages trans-Atlantic relations with his repeated clumsy provocations.
” He was rewarded by being named the acting director of national intelligence earlier this year .
Robin Bernstein ( Dominican Republic ) : A founding member of Mar-a-Lago , Bernstein has promised to promote US business interests in a country where the Trump Organization has been eyeing development @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House said she spoke only “ basic Spanish ” ; her official bio now says she speaks “ intermediate Spanish.
” Only 32 % of Trump ’ s political nominees for ambassadorships in his first two years had any foreign policy experience .
In contrast , 64 % of Reagan ’ s political nominees did .
Traditionally , presidents appoint career foreign service officers to about 2/3 of ambassadorships .
Under Trump , the number of political appointees in these positions has shot up .
Four Mar-a-Lago members have been tapped to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve . )
14 donors to Trump ’ s inauguration committee were picked to be ambassadors , including million-dollar donors UN Ambassador Kelly Craft and Sondland .
Even as he hands out favors , Trump has been lackadaisical about staffing US embassies .
As of early January , more than 25 ambassadorships were vacant , including spots in Chile , Honduras , Qatar , Pakistan , and Ukraine .

When Gordon Sondland took his turn in the impeachment spotlight back in November 2019, the hotelier turned US ambassador to the European Union became the poster boy for President Donald Trump’s corps of deep-pocketed, politically connected diplomats. But the now-former ambassador was hardly the only envoy with a fat wallet and a skimpy resume.
Jeffrey Ross Gunter (Iceland): This California dermatologist and longtime GOP donor gave $100,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee. At his confirmation hearing, he reassured senators, “While I have never been to Iceland, I have spent a considerable amount of time in Western Europe, as my late wife was from the Netherlands.”
Callista Gingrich (Holy See): “As a lifelong Catholic,” Gingrich (who had an affair with future husband Newt Gingrich before he divorced his second wife) told senators she would be “profoundly humbled” to represent her country in the Vatican.
David Friedman (Israel): To be fair, Friedman, a staunchly pro-Israel corporate attorney whose firm gave $300,000 to Trump’s inauguration, does have experience with old disputes involving intransigent parties bickering over property claims: He helped handle the bankruptcies of several of Trump’s Atlantic City casinos.
Carla Sands (Denmark): The widow of a real estate mogul, Sands donated $10,000 to Trump’s 2017 inauguration bash. She’s also a former chiropractor and actor (credits include Deathstalker and the Warriors From Hell).
David B. Cornstein (Hungary): The jewelry magnate and Trump pal flew in Paul Anka to serenade right-wing Hungarian authoritarian Viktor Orbán at the US Embassy’s Fourth of July celebration. “I can tell you,” Cornstein has said, “knowing the president for a good 25 or 30 years, that he would love to have the situation that Viktor Orbán has.”
Duke Buchan III (Spain and Andorra): The investment banker and his wife together gave nearly $900,000 to a pro-Trump fundraising group in 2016. Politico reported that Buchan has complained that EU regulations made it hard for his polo horses to join him in Spain.
Lynda Blanchard (Slovenia): After her husband, John, gave more than $500,000 to Trump’s inauguration, this Alabama business executive was nominated as ambassador to Melania Trump’s birthplace. Before Blanchard’s confirmation, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) called her out for posting “incendiary false articles” and conspiracy theories on her Facebook page.
Robert Wood Johnson IV (United Kingdom): The Johnson & Johnson heir, New York Jets owner, and Trump megadonor dropped $1 million on the president’s inauguration. He now lives in a mansion on a 12-acre estate in London and has turned his job into a British reality-TV miniseries titled Inside the American Embassy.
Pete Hoekstra (Netherlands): When a Dutch reporter asked the former Michigan member of Congress about his claim that some parts of Holland had become Muslim-controlled “no-go zones” where politicians had been set on fire, Hoekstra replied, “I didn’t say that…We would call it fake news.” The reporter then played Hoekstra the clip in which he said exactly that.
Richard Grenell (Germany): The highest-ranking openly gay official in the administration is known for his Twitter trolling and undiplomatic behavior. Prominent German politicians have called for Grenell to be recalled; one described him as “a complete diplomatic failure” who “damages trans-Atlantic relations with his repeated clumsy provocations.” He was rewarded by being named the acting director of national intelligence earlier this year.
Robin Bernstein (Dominican Republic): A founding member of Mar-a-Lago, Bernstein has promised to promote US business interests in a country where the Trump Organization has been eyeing development deals. She was mocked after the White House said she spoke only “basic Spanish”; her official bio now says she speaks “intermediate Spanish.”
Only 32% of Trump’s political nominees for ambassadorships in his first two years had any foreign policy experience. In contrast, 64% of Reagan’s political nominees did.
Traditionally, presidents appoint career foreign service officers to about 2/3 of ambassadorships. Under Trump, the number of political appointees in these positions has shot up.
Four Mar-a-Lago members have been tapped to be ambassadors. (Two declined to serve.)
14 donors to Trump’s inauguration committee were picked to be ambassadors, including million-dollar donors UN Ambassador Kelly Craft and Sondland.
Even as he hands out favors, Trump has been lackadaisical about staffing US embassies. As of early January, more than 25 ambassadorships were vacant, including spots in Chile, Honduras, Qatar, Pakistan, and Ukraine.


motherjones--2020-04-20--It’s Gotten So Bad That We’re Nostalgic for How Obama Handled the BP Oil Spill

On April 20 , 2010 , a natural gas explosion aboard an oil rig owned by BP and located 41 miles off the Louisiana coast killed 11 workers and exposed a leak that would release an estimated 200 million gallons of oil over 1,300 miles of Gulf coastline over subsequent months .
Tens of thousands of recovery workers and National Guard soldiers were mobilized to aid in cleanup efforts .
Ultimately , BP would pay $ 65 billion in compensation for the accident , the scars of which remain on the Gulf of Mexico ’ s ecosystem .
Even today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nucleus of the economy—are contaminated with oil pollution .
And cleanup workers suffer from lingering health complications .
That spring , President Barack Obama , not even two years into his first term , addressed the nation from the Oval Office .
He described the spill as “ an epidemic , one that we will be fighting for months , and even years.
” In the weeks after the spill , he also emphasized that as president of the United States , “ I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and one president later , as the nation faces the pandemic of the coronavirus , which has infected nearly 800,000 people in the United States and killed more than 40,000 .
With businesses shuttered and at least 22 million unemployed in a single month , its economic toll is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars .
In comparison , the BP oil spill was devastating and costly , but contained , and the president acted quickly and decisively .
This crisis affects everybody around the world , and President Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
President Obama appealed for collective action on the spill , saying , “ We will fight this spill with everything we ’ ve got.
” President Trump has offered a different approach to the pandemic , beginning with denial , and then transitioning into blame , evasion , confused messages , and fights with journalists , elected officials , the World Health Organization , and China .
The federal government may officially urge people to stay home during the pandemic to “ flatten the curve ” and contain the infection , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encourage his supporters to protest against states abiding by those very guidelines .
“ LIBERATE MINNESOTA , ” he wrote ; ditto for Michigan and Virginia .
The tweets , which inflamed frustration against governors from both parties—and shifted attention to state responses—led to protests over the weekend that potentially exposed demonstrators to COVID-19 .
Then there ’ s how each president communicated his sense of responsibility for what had happened .
Though neither administration caused the respective catastrophes—one was an accidental oil leak , the other a foreign-born virus—guess which one asserted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis , ” Obama said in May of 2010 during a press conference in Grande Isle , Louisiana .
“ I ’ m the president and the buck stops with me.
” This was emphatically not Trump ’ s approach .
On March 13 , 2020 , when the administration was under pressure to deliver on a delayed promise of widespread COVID-19 testing , Trump was asked if he was responsible for the shortfall .
“ No , I don ’ t take responsibility at all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were given rules , regulations and specifications from a different time , ” he added , attempting to cast blame on the Obama administration .
What he neglected to mention was that in 2018 , the Trump administration removed the pandemic team from the National Security Council and cut 80 percent of the CDC ’ s funding to fight pandemics .
Crises of this magnitude require complex solutions .
Recently , Trump has touted an anti-viral drug called hydroxychloroquine as the potential silver bullet that would ease the symptoms of those suffering from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tremendous promise ” in the drug , he said in a March 19 press briefing .
“ I think it ’ s going to be great.
” On April 4 , he said , “ I may take it.
” Meanwhile , health experts have expressed skepticism .
No comprehensive studies on the drug ’ s effectiveness against COVID-19 have been released .
In fact , when used in combination with another drug , azithromycin—a treatment the president has encouraged—hydroxychloroquine can lead to heart arrhythmia .
Additionally , hydroxychloroquine belongs to a drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ten years ago , when Obama laid out the steps necessary to emerge from the BP oil spill , he didn ’ t skimp on the gravity of the situation .
“ America has never experienced an event like this before , ” he said in Grand Isle .
“ There are not going to be silver bullets or a lot of perfect answers for some of the challenges that we face .
”

On April 20, 2010, a natural gas explosion aboard an oil rig owned by BP and located 41 miles off the Louisiana coast killed 11 workers and exposed a leak that would release an estimated 200 million gallons of oil over 1,300 miles of Gulf coastline over subsequent months. Tens of thousands of recovery workers and National Guard soldiers were mobilized to aid in cleanup efforts. Ultimately, BP would pay $65 billion in compensation for the accident, the scars of which remain on the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem. Even today, wildlife in the region—where fishing forms the nucleus of the economy—are contaminated with oil pollution. And cleanup workers suffer from lingering health complications.
That spring, President Barack Obama, not even two years into his first term, addressed the nation from the Oval Office. He described the spill as “an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months, and even years.” In the weeks after the spill, he also emphasized that as president of the United States, “I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis.”
Consider the contrast in leadership one decade and one president later, as the nation faces the pandemic of the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 800,000 people in the United States and killed more than 40,000. With businesses shuttered and at least 22 million unemployed in a single month, its economic toll is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. In comparison, the BP oil spill was devastating and costly, but contained, and the president acted quickly and decisively. This crisis affects everybody around the world, and President Trump’s response has only made things worse.
President Obama appealed for collective action on the spill, saying, “We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got.” President Trump has offered a different approach to the pandemic, beginning with denial, and then transitioning into blame, evasion, confused messages, and fights with journalists, elected officials, the World Health Organization, and China. The federal government may officially urge people to stay home during the pandemic to “flatten the curve” and contain the infection, but Friday the president took to Twitter to encourage his supporters to protest against states abiding by those very guidelines. “LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” he wrote; ditto for Michigan and Virginia. The tweets, which inflamed frustration against governors from both parties—and shifted attention to state responses—led to protests over the weekend that potentially exposed demonstrators to COVID-19.
Then there’s how each president communicated his sense of responsibility for what had happened. Though neither administration caused the respective catastrophes—one was an accidental oil leak, the other a foreign-born virus—guess which one asserted his accountability for what transpired? “I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis,” Obama said in May of 2010 during a press conference in Grande Isle, Louisiana. “I’m the president and the buck stops with me.”
This was emphatically not Trump’s approach. On March 13, 2020, when the administration was under pressure to deliver on a delayed promise of widespread COVID-19 testing, Trump was asked if he was responsible for the shortfall. “No, I don’t take responsibility at all,” he said. “We were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time,” he added, attempting to cast blame on the Obama administration. What he neglected to mention was that in 2018, the Trump administration removed the pandemic team from the National Security Council and cut 80 percent of the CDC’s funding to fight pandemics.
Trump: "No I don't take responsibility at all." pic.twitter.com/iT3Fj2JT6T — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 13, 2020
Crises of this magnitude require complex solutions. Recently, Trump has touted an anti-viral drug called hydroxychloroquine as the potential silver bullet that would ease the symptoms of those suffering from the disease. “There’s tremendous promise” in the drug, he said in a March 19 press briefing. “I think it’s going to be great.” On April 4, he said, “I may take it.” Meanwhile, health experts have expressed skepticism. No comprehensive studies on the drug’s effectiveness against COVID-19 have been released. In fact, when used in combination with another drug, azithromycin—a treatment the president has encouraged—hydroxychloroquine can lead to heart arrhythmia. Additionally, hydroxychloroquine belongs to a drug class known to cause neurological side effects.
Ten years ago, when Obama laid out the steps necessary to emerge from the BP oil spill, he didn’t skimp on the gravity of the situation. “America has never experienced an event like this before,” he said in Grand Isle. “There are not going to be silver bullets or a lot of perfect answers for some of the challenges that we face.”


motherjones--2020-04-20--How an “Old Hippie” Got Accused of Astroturfing the Right-Wing Campaign to Reopen the Economy

I caught up with Michael Murphy late on Sunday from his home in Jacksonville , Florida , but it wasn ’ t easy : he hadn ’ t been able to answer his phone for 24 hours .
“ I had to turn it off , ” he said .
“ I ’ m also getting spearphishing emails every 30 seconds.
” The angry callers had gotten Murphy ’ s name from one of the dozens of domain registries that he had set up since Friday night .
That day , a friend who lived in North Carolina noticed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country were setting up rallies attacking business closures put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
Murphy , who said he ’ s staunchly opposed to and frustrated by the protests because of the risks they pose in accelerating the spread of the coronavirus , and his friend realized that the organizers , which turned out to include a small group of pro-gun advocates helping coordinate the campaign , were using a simple state-based abbreviation pattern to register websites promoting the protests .
They came up with a plan .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ available iteration of reopenAL.com , reopenAK.com , reopenAR.com , and so forth , that hadn ’ t already been purchased , along with every domain he could for variations like liberateWV.com , liberateWY.com , and liberateWI.com .
The idea was to preempt any further such purchases by people genuinely seeking to organize protests .
“ I realized all these fringe guys are gon na get a hold of these websites , So I went out and bought ‘ em up that night , ” he told me .
The financial burden of thwarting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about four grand , ” Murphy said .
“ I don ’ t have the money quite frankly .
I was just trying to do something good .
I ’ m in massive credit debt to do this.
” Murphy said that he recognized that his plan isn ’ t foolproof .
While similar domains have already been obtained and still remain up for purchase , he thinks keeping fringe-right wingers from the one ’ s he purchased has made a difference .
He said he believes such short concise domain names are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are really powerful .
That ’ s why people pay millions for certain domains , ” he said .
After buying the URLs , things were initially quiet .
But on Saturday night a Reddit post detailing information about the domain registrations went viral .
While the message didn ’ t directly identify Murphy , it gave instructions on how to find his name alongside speculation that he must be running an anti-lockdown astroturf campaign—even though Murphy ’ s intentions were the exact opposite .
On Twitter , people doxxed him , posting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I bought these names to try to stop the insanity , basically .
And it just turned to insanity , ” he said .
He felt forced to unplug his phone , and his inbox exploded with messages attacking him—and potentially trying to hack him .
Almost all of the hate was coming from liberals , many of them egged on by presuming posts from amateur Twitter sleuths who mistakenly pegged Murphy as a conservative organizing protests in defiance of nationwide stay at home orders .
None of the hate was from conservatives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using the domains themselves .
By Saturday morning , he had decided to shell out more to modify the domain listing information , futilely attempting to hide his links to the URLs .
But it was too late .
“ I woke up this morning and my Facebook page was in Sanskrit or something , ” he said , attributing the change to a malicious troll .
Over the last week , the crossfire over the protests that Murphy stepped into has become a massive issue .
Right-wing protesters in Texas , Michigan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rallies to demand reopenings in defiance of local stay at home orders .
While the number of protestors at the events have been relatively small , especially compared with widespread polling showing Americans are worried about the threat of rolling back restrictions credited with saving lives , the rallies have still caught the attention of national media .
The demonstrations echo Trump ’ s public advocacy pushing for reopenings as soon as possible , which epidemiologists warn will have grave impacts .
“ Liberals think I ’ m trying to support all these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stop them , ” Murphy said , describing himself as an “ old hippie , ” who runs an “ ecological , environmentally friendly businesses ” —an architectural salvage and antiques retailer .
While it qualifies as an essential business under local law and is open , profits have come to a standstill , since “ no one is coming in.
” He ’ s been working on applications for federal small business loans authorized in response to the pandemic .
“ I ’ m not really political , but I guess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else , ” he said .
“ I don ’ t really know what to do honestly , all these liberals are saying we ’ re going to boycott your store .
They have it all wrong.
” While some of the URLs and Facebook events that have been set up by genuine proponents of the rallies exhibit signs of having been coordinated by long-standing gun rights advocates , most domains with the “ reopen ” and “ liberate ” URLs are owned by Murphy , who says he doesn ’ t even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying to have some rational organization take them over so that they can do something with them , ” he explained , saying that he hopes to recoup his costs .
“ That was my whole point in doing this originally .
I ’ d just really like to use these sites for dispensing factual scientific information and I ’ d like to pass them to someone who wants to do that , because I think they ’ d be useful .
”

I caught up with Michael Murphy late on Sunday from his home in Jacksonville, Florida, but it wasn’t easy: he hadn’t been able to answer his phone for 24 hours. “I had to turn it off,” he said. “I’m also getting spearphishing emails every 30 seconds.”
The angry callers had gotten Murphy’s name from one of the dozens of domain registries that he had set up since Friday night. That day, a friend who lived in North Carolina noticed that right-wingers in that state and across the country were setting up rallies attacking business closures put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“I bought these names to try to stop the insanity, basically. And it just turned to insanity.”
Murphy, who said he’s staunchly opposed to and frustrated by the protests because of the risks they pose in accelerating the spread of the coronavirus, and his friend realized that the organizers, which turned out to include a small group of pro-gun advocates helping coordinate the campaign, were using a simple state-based abbreviation pattern to register websites promoting the protests.
They came up with a plan. Murphy snapped up domains for every still available iteration of reopenAL.com, reopenAK.com, reopenAR.com, and so forth, that hadn’t already been purchased, along with every domain he could for variations like liberateWV.com, liberateWY.com, and liberateWI.com. The idea was to preempt any further such purchases by people genuinely seeking to organize protests.
“I realized all these fringe guys are gonna get a hold of these websites, So I went out and bought ‘em up that night,” he told me. The financial burden of thwarting fringe-right groups? “It cost me about four grand,” Murphy said. “I don’t have the money quite frankly. I was just trying to do something good. I’m in massive credit debt to do this.”
Murphy said that he recognized that his plan isn’t foolproof. While similar domains have already been obtained and still remain up for purchase, he thinks keeping fringe-right wingers from the one’s he purchased has made a difference. He said he believes such short concise domain names are important in search rankings. “Names are really powerful. That’s why people pay millions for certain domains,” he said.
After buying the URLs, things were initially quiet. But on Saturday night a Reddit post detailing information about the domain registrations went viral. While the message didn’t directly identify Murphy, it gave instructions on how to find his name alongside speculation that he must be running an anti-lockdown astroturf campaign—even though Murphy’s intentions were the exact opposite. On Twitter, people doxxed him, posting his address and home number.
“I bought these names to try to stop the insanity, basically. And it just turned to insanity,” he said. He felt forced to unplug his phone, and his inbox exploded with messages attacking him—and potentially trying to hack him.
Almost all of the hate was coming from liberals, many of them egged on by presuming posts from amateur Twitter sleuths who mistakenly pegged Murphy as a conservative organizing protests in defiance of nationwide stay at home orders. None of the hate was from conservatives angry at him for keeping them from using the domains themselves.
By Saturday morning, he had decided to shell out more to modify the domain listing information, futilely attempting to hide his links to the URLs. But it was too late. “I woke up this morning and my Facebook page was in Sanskrit or something,” he said, attributing the change to a malicious troll.
Over the last week, the crossfire over the protests that Murphy stepped into has become a massive issue. Right-wing protesters in Texas, Michigan, Ohio, and elsewhere have organized rallies to demand reopenings in defiance of local stay at home orders. While the number of protestors at the events have been relatively small, especially compared with widespread polling showing Americans are worried about the threat of rolling back restrictions credited with saving lives, the rallies have still caught the attention of national media. The demonstrations echo Trump’s public advocacy pushing for reopenings as soon as possible, which epidemiologists warn will have grave impacts.
“Liberals think I’m trying to support all these nut cases. I’m trying to stop them,” Murphy said, describing himself as an “old hippie,” who runs an “ecological, environmentally friendly businesses”—an architectural salvage and antiques retailer. While it qualifies as an essential business under local law and is open, profits have come to a standstill, since “no one is coming in.” He’s been working on applications for federal small business loans authorized in response to the pandemic.
“I’m not really political, but I guess I’m more progressive than anything else,” he said. “I don’t really know what to do honestly, all these liberals are saying we’re going to boycott your store. They have it all wrong.”
While some of the URLs and Facebook events that have been set up by genuine proponents of the rallies exhibit signs of having been coordinated by long-standing gun rights advocates, most domains with the “reopen” and “liberate” URLs are owned by Murphy, who says he doesn’t even want them.
“I’m trying to have some rational organization take them over so that they can do something with them,” he explained, saying that he hopes to recoup his costs. “That was my whole point in doing this originally. I’d just really like to use these sites for dispensing factual scientific information and I’d like to pass them to someone who wants to do that, because I think they’d be useful.”