democracynow--2020-08-10--Is Trump Sabotaging U.S. Postal Service Ahead of Election as Part of His Attack on Mail-in Voting?

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Democratic lawmakers in Washington are accusing the Trump administration of sabotaging the United States Postal Service ahead of November ’ s election , when a record number of votes are expected to be cast by mail .
On Friday , the nation ’ s new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy shook up the leadership of the agency in a move that critics say will give DeJoy more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reassigned or fired in the restructuring .
Prior to becoming postmaster general , DeJoy was a top Republican donor .
He had donated more than $ 1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund and had been in charge of fundraising for the 2020 Republican National Convention .
Since taking office , DeJoy has instituted a number of cost-cutting measures that have slowed down the delivery of the mail .
There ’ s now a days-long backlog of mail across the United States .
This comes as President Trump continues to attack mail-in voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t handle an increase in ballots .
Democratic Congressmember Gerry Connolly of Virginia accused DeJoy of engaging in , quote , “ deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election.
” Democratic Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon criticized restructuring of the agency .
AMY GOODMAN : Meanwhile , Senator Elizabeth Warren has co-written a letter urging the Postal Service inspector general to investigate the changes implemented by DeJoy .
Warren also inquired about the financial holdings of DeJoy and his wife , Aldona Wos , President Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The couple holds as much as $ 75 million in assets in competitors or contractors of the Postal Service , according to a financial disclosure filed by Wos .
This all comes as the U.S .
Postal Service is facing a financial crisis in part due to losses during the pandemic , as well as a controversial 2006 law which requires the post office to prefund its workers ’ post-retirement healthcare costs 75 years into the future — something no other government agency is required to do .
We ’ re now joined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president of the American Postal Workers Union .
And David Dayen is executive editor of American Prospect , author of the new book , Monopolized : Life in the Age of Corporate Power .
David , let ’ s begin with you .
Some Democrats are calling this the “ Friday night massacre.
” Explain what took place .
DAVID DAYEN : Well , it was really a reshuffling of these top executives , some of whom were in positions for decades , into new parts of the business .
A couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a reshuffling .
I mean , think about it : if the person that runs your soundboard now has to do the camera , and the person that runs the camera is now hosting the show .
I mean , obviously , these are different skill sets .
And it seems like there was sort of a randomness to the design of this , that would only make sense if you ’ re trying to delay and hinder the mail from being delivered .
AMY GOODMAN : And talk about how that mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Louis DeJoy is .
DAVID DAYEN : Yeah .
Well , you said it yourself .
I mean , Louis DeJoy is a Trump loyalist .
He is a longtime donor .
His wife is the nominee for ambassador to Canada .
And he was set to be the lead fundraiser on the Charlotte Republican National Convention .
So , obviously , this is someone with close ties to the president .
And in just a matter of weeks , he has instituted these measures that have led to this backlog , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing new sorting systems that seemingly don ’ t really need to be tested right now when the mail is under stress , blocking overtime , and various other measures that have created this delay that pretty much everyone sees .
I mean , you know , talk to anybody who has had trouble getting their mail , and you ’ ll know that this is very widespread .
AMY GOODMAN : And the fact that DeJoy and his wife , who is now being considered to be the ambassador to Canada — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that position — have something like $ 75 million to $ 100 million invested in the U.S. mail service ’ s competition or its contractors ?
DAVID DAYEN : Yeah , it ’ s pretty surprising .
I mean , you know , we talk about the impact of this on the elections , but I think the larger goal — and it ’ s a stated goal of much of the Republican Party and certainly this apparatus — is to privatize the service and to give up the monopoly on the mailbox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to enter into direct competition , and degrade the service , overall .
I mean , it seems clear that that ’ s the ultimate intent .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , let ’ s bring in the president of the American Postal Workers Union , Mark Dimondstein .
If you can respond to everything that has taken place now and the attack on the Postal Service and what some are calling the “ Friday night massacre , ” what this means for the workers and for the country ?
I mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ older than this country .
MARK DIMONDSTEIN : That ’ s right .
That ’ s right .
Well , thanks so much for having me on .
First , let me just say this : Anything , any policy that slows down the mail runs counter to everything a postal worker stands for , and we ’ re completely opposed to these policies that are delaying mail .
And we ’ ve let this new postmaster general know that , and we ’ ve done it with vehemence .
Postal workers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s our own .
That ’ s how we ’ re trained .
It ’ s our DNA .
And our job is to get it to the customer .
And we work under a law that says “ prompt , reliable and efficient service.
” “ Prompt ” means quickly .
So , obviously , it ’ s a demoralizing thing to postal workers , who are out here on the frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers , connecting the country in these difficult and challenging times , to then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Friday night or the Friday massacre , I ’ m more focused on the policies than who ’ s running what and who ’ s assigned to what .
And I think that ’ s where we have to look .
The most significant thing , Amy , on Friday , in my opinion , was the new postmaster general was absolutely silent on the most pressing issue facing the public U.S .
Postal Service , and that is Congress coming through with stimulus financial relief due to the impact of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So , the House of Representatives has passed $ 25 billion of COVID-related relief to get us through this emergency .
Normally there ’ s no taxpayer dollars .
This is one exception .
It ’ s now in the hands of the Senate and this administration .
It ’ s an ask of the Postal Board of Governors , a unanimous ask .
In March , Congress and this administration took care of the private side to the tune of over $ 500 billion .
It ’ s about time that Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including the United States Postal Service .
And there was absolute silence on that key question facing the people this country right now in terms of what ’ s going to happen to their public postal services .
AMY GOODMAN : The Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi called DeJoy to the Hill on Wednesday .
Can you talk about what happened at that meeting ?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN : Well , I wasn ’ t at the meeting ; I can just read the news .
And apparently they certainly weighed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of slowing down the mail , focused on just arbitrarily saying there ’ s not going to be anymore overtime .
Here we are in a COVID world .
Forty thousand postal workers have been quarantined since March , over 2,500 sick .
And so , obviously , leave is up , and that has to be covered [ inaudible ] — AMY GOODMAN : How many postal workers have died ?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN : We ’ ve had over 75 postal workers who have passed away from COVID .
And that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identified , so it ’ s certainly more than that .
But the — I ’ m sorry , I got lost in the — AMY GOODMAN : I was asking what they talked about at that meeting , Schumer and Pelosi , with DeJoy .
MARK DIMONDSTEIN : So , they obviously — from the news , they voiced their concerns about the policies , as I was starting to say , about overtime , transportation changes , hours in the retail units , pulling out of sorting machines .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading the news .
And I ’ m quite sure that both raised the need for the COVID financial relief to the tune of $ 25 billion .
And that $ 25 billion is not going to CEOs and shareholders ; it ’ s going to the people of the country to make sure we can continue to carry out what we call our universal service mandate , that small-D democratic right that no matter who we are and where we live , we have an equal access to public postal services at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOODMAN : Last week , the Trump campaign sued the state of Nevada over its plan to send absentee ballots to all registered voters , but the president has supported mail-in voting in Florida .
Last week , Trump said part of the reason is that Florida has a Republican governor .
AMY GOODMAN : So , President Trump has been seriously attacking mail-in voting — David Dayen , I wanted to bring you back in on this issue — and particularly talking about how he won ’ t trust the election if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3rd at night .
Talk about the significance of all this and what he said .
Now he ’ s — because there ’ s been such pushback by Republican governors in the country that use mail-in voting , he is saying , no , in Republican states you can have it , you can trust it .
DAVID DAYEN : Yeah , and that ’ s also campaigns , who are saying that by demonizing vote-by-mail , Republicans are losing what is actually a traditional advantage for Republicans , who traditionally vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this was sabotaging the efforts to get out the vote and bank those votes early in the election .
So , yeah , absolutely , there ’ s an effort underway to delegitimize this election .
It ’ s obviously going to take longer to count absentee and mail-in ballots than it would to count ballots that are cast at the polling places .
And so , November 3rd , we ’ re not going to see the end of this election .
And , you know , Trump is setting the stage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3rd , whatever the count is , he can use that to potentially declare victory .
So , it ’ s a very dangerous situation .
The public , I don ’ t think , is necessarily fully informed that this is going to be a long process , like we see here in my state of California , where it takes weeks to eventually count all of the ballots , and sometimes races change .
That ’ s going to lead to cries of fraud and delegitimization .
And it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : David , you write , “ The Postal Service has informed states that they ’ ll need to pay first-class 55-cent postage to mail ballots to voters , rather than the normal 20-cent bulk rate ” ?
DAVID DAYEN : Yeah .
My understanding is that there was a meeting where the Postal Service officials said that they would like to see that happen .
That will take quite a bit of doing , changes in the regulatory system at the Postal Regulatory Commission and some other factors .
There would obviously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the threat of this , that they ’ re going to almost triple the price that it would take for states and counties to pay to get those ballots out , could lead some states to say that we ’ re not going to take up the expense , just fearing that the rates will increase .
Even though there ’ s a very short window to do this and it may be unlikely , it may be used as a very convenient excuse to hinder ballots from getting out .
AMY GOODMAN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you think President Trump is trying to sabotage the U.S .
Postal Service in the lead-up to the election ?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN : Well , I think we can let President Donald Trump speak for himself on this question .
On June 28th , Amy , the Office of Management Budget of the White House put out , in writing , a proposal to privatize — i.e .
break up — the Postal Service and sell it to private corporations , where they can then make private profit .
And , of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all will then depend on who they are , where they live , and how much it would cost , if they can even get services at all , because somebody would have to then be able to make or want to make a quick buck .
So , it ’ s in writing .
It is their plan .
So we ’ re very concerned that any policies that undermine and degrade service to the people of this country have a goal of undermining the public support for the Postal Service .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service that people trust , people love .
Ninety-one percent of the people of the country , in a recent Pew Research poll , rated the post office favorably , at 91 % .
It ’ s the most popular brand , the number one brand , during this COVID pandemic .
That ’ s an indication of how much people appreciate the role of postal workers , how much people trust it .
So , the only way you can get to privatization is if you undermine people ’ s confidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything that slows down the mail does that .
And if I could say , if we have time , Amy , just on vote-by-mail , we ’ ve been doing vote-by-mail for generations as postal workers .
We ’ re not beholden to any candidate , any political party .
It ’ s part of our proud civic responsibility and duty to the people of the country .
And what ’ s more important than that , than providing access to the ballot box ?
It ’ s ever more popular from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 31 million people voted by mail , including the president himself .
There ’ s no difference between vote-by-mail and absentee balloting .
And it ’ s been proven .
The facts say that it works .
And the state of Oregon has been doing it 19 years , by law , 100 million — over 100 million ballots cast , 15 cases of voter fraud .
So , this idea that it ’ s corrupt , it ’ s fraudulent , that the results of the election shouldn ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that somehow the election maybe should be postponed because of the fraudulent problems with vote-by-mail , that in itself is a fraud on the people of this country .
People can trust vote-by-mail .
People are going to have to vote quickly when they get their ballots .
But in this pandemic , literally , it ’ s going to make the difference between whether tens of millions of people have access to the ballot box .
Postal workers can handle this .
The idea that there ’ s not capacity is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well .
And it ’ s a great way for people to exercise the hard-fought and cherished democratic right .
AMY GOODMAN : Mark Dimondstein , I want to thank you for being with us , president of the American Postal Workers Union .
And , David Dayen , I ’ d like to ask you to stay with us .
After break , we want to look at Trump ’ s new coronavirus relief executive orders .
What do they mean ?
Even Republican lawmakers have slammed them as unconstitutional .
Stay @ @ @

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
Democratic lawmakers in Washington are accusing the Trump administration of sabotaging the United States Postal Service ahead of November’s election, when a record number of votes are expected to be cast by mail. On Friday, the nation’s new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy shook up the leadership of the agency in a move that critics say will give DeJoy more power. Twenty-three Postal Service executives were reassigned or fired in the restructuring.
Prior to becoming postmaster general, DeJoy was a top Republican donor. He had donated more than $1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund and had been in charge of fundraising for the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Since taking office, DeJoy has instituted a number of cost-cutting measures that have slowed down the delivery of the mail. There’s now a days-long backlog of mail across the United States. This comes as President Trump continues to attack mail-in voting, claiming the post office can’t handle an increase in ballots. Democratic Congressmember Gerry Connolly of Virginia accused DeJoy of engaging in, quote, “deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election.” Democratic Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon criticized restructuring of the agency.
REP. PETER DEFAZIO: Today we had the Friday night massacre. He fired all the senior service postal executives, the people who have run the day-to-day operations of the post office. This is nothing less than Donald Trump and his political cronies trying to steal the election by blocking or delaying vote-by-mail. Trump has sued states to try and block vote-by-mail. That won’t work. But he’s going to try and stop the mail from being delivered. This is outrageous.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren has co-written a letter urging the Postal Service inspector general to investigate the changes implemented by DeJoy. Warren also inquired about the financial holdings of DeJoy and his wife, Aldona Wos, President Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Canada. The couple holds as much as $75 million in assets in competitors or contractors of the Postal Service, according to a financial disclosure filed by Wos.
This all comes as the U.S. Postal Service is facing a financial crisis in part due to losses during the pandemic, as well as a controversial 2006 law which requires the post office to prefund its workers’ post-retirement healthcare costs 75 years into the future — something no other government agency is required to do.
We’re now joined by two guests. Mark Dimondstein is the president of the American Postal Workers Union. And David Dayen is executive editor of American Prospect, author of the new book, Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power.
David, let’s begin with you. Some Democrats are calling this the “Friday night massacre.” Explain what took place.
DAVID DAYEN: Well, it was really a reshuffling of these top executives, some of whom were in positions for decades, into new parts of the business. A couple were displaced, but mostly it was a reshuffling. I mean, think about it: if the person that runs your soundboard now has to do the camera, and the person that runs the camera is now hosting the show. I mean, obviously, these are different skill sets. And it seems like there was sort of a randomness to the design of this, that would only make sense if you’re trying to delay and hinder the mail from being delivered.
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about how that mail is being hindered, and also who Louis DeJoy is.
DAVID DAYEN: Yeah. Well, you said it yourself. I mean, Louis DeJoy is a Trump loyalist. He is a longtime donor. His wife is the nominee for ambassador to Canada. And he was set to be the lead fundraiser on the Charlotte Republican National Convention. So, obviously, this is someone with close ties to the president.
And in just a matter of weeks, he has instituted these measures that have led to this backlog, of days, within the Postal Service, testing new sorting systems that seemingly don’t really need to be tested right now when the mail is under stress, blocking overtime, and various other measures that have created this delay that pretty much everyone sees. I mean, you know, talk to anybody who has had trouble getting their mail, and you’ll know that this is very widespread.
AMY GOODMAN: And the fact that DeJoy and his wife, who is now being considered to be the ambassador to Canada — this came out in her filings for that position — have something like $75 million to $100 million invested in the U.S. mail service’s competition or its contractors?
DAVID DAYEN: Yeah, it’s pretty surprising. I mean, you know, we talk about the impact of this on the elections, but I think the larger goal — and it’s a stated goal of much of the Republican Party and certainly this apparatus — is to privatize the service and to give up the monopoly on the mailbox and allow UPS and FedEx, primarily, to enter into direct competition, and degrade the service, overall. I mean, it seems clear that that’s the ultimate intent.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let’s bring in the president of the American Postal Workers Union, Mark Dimondstein. If you can respond to everything that has taken place now and the attack on the Postal Service and what some are calling the “Friday night massacre,” what this means for the workers and for the country? I mean, the U.S. Postal Service is older than this country.
MARK DIMONDSTEIN: That’s right. That’s right. Well, thanks so much for having me on.
First, let me just say this: Anything, any policy that slows down the mail runs counter to everything a postal worker stands for, and we’re completely opposed to these policies that are delaying mail. And we’ve let this new postmaster general know that, and we’ve done it with vehemence. Postal workers, we treat the mail as if it’s our own. That’s how we’re trained. It’s our DNA. And our job is to get it to the customer. And we work under a law that says “prompt, reliable and efficient service.” “Prompt” means quickly. So, obviously, it’s a demoralizing thing to postal workers, who are out here on the frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers, connecting the country in these difficult and challenging times, to then be told to delay mail.
Now, the Friday night or the Friday massacre, I’m more focused on the policies than who’s running what and who’s assigned to what. And I think that’s where we have to look. The most significant thing, Amy, on Friday, in my opinion, was the new postmaster general was absolutely silent on the most pressing issue facing the public U.S. Postal Service, and that is Congress coming through with stimulus financial relief due to the impact of the pandemic on the Postal Service. So, the House of Representatives has passed $25 billion of COVID-related relief to get us through this emergency. Normally there’s no taxpayer dollars. This is one exception. It’s now in the hands of the Senate and this administration. It’s an ask of the Postal Board of Governors, a unanimous ask. In March, Congress and this administration took care of the private side to the tune of over $500 billion. It’s about time that Congress took care of the public side, including the United States Postal Service. And there was absolute silence on that key question facing the people this country right now in terms of what’s going to happen to their public postal services.
AMY GOODMAN: The Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi called DeJoy to the Hill on Wednesday. Can you talk about what happened at that meeting?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN: Well, I wasn’t at the meeting; I can just read the news. And apparently they certainly weighed in on their concerns about these policies of slowing down the mail, focused on just arbitrarily saying there’s not going to be anymore overtime. Here we are in a COVID world. Forty thousand postal workers have been quarantined since March, over 2,500 sick. And so, obviously, leave is up, and that has to be covered [inaudible] —
AMY GOODMAN: How many postal workers have died?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN: We’ve had over 75 postal workers who have passed away from COVID. And that’s just what’s known and identified, so it’s certainly more than that. But the — I’m sorry, I got lost in the —
AMY GOODMAN: I was asking what they talked about at that meeting, Schumer and Pelosi, with DeJoy.
MARK DIMONDSTEIN: So, they obviously — from the news, they voiced their concerns about the policies, as I was starting to say, about overtime, transportation changes, hours in the retail units, pulling out of sorting machines. And I know that that was raised, from reading the news. And I’m quite sure that both raised the need for the COVID financial relief to the tune of $25 billion. And that $25 billion is not going to CEOs and shareholders; it’s going to the people of the country to make sure we can continue to carry out what we call our universal service mandate, that small-D democratic right that no matter who we are and where we live, we have an equal access to public postal services at a uniform and reasonable rate.
AMY GOODMAN: Last week, the Trump campaign sued the state of Nevada over its plan to send absentee ballots to all registered voters, but the president has supported mail-in voting in Florida. Last week, Trump said part of the reason is that Florida has a Republican governor.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Florida has got a great Republican governor, and it had a great Republican governor. It’s got Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott, two great governors. And over a long period of time, they’ve been able to get the absentee ballots done extremely professionally. Florida is different from other states. I mean, in Nevada, where you have a governor — he said, “Let’s just send out millions of ballots,” and the post office cannot be prepared. I haven’t spoken to the post office about it, but I don’t know how they could possibly be prepared.
AMY GOODMAN: So, President Trump has been seriously attacking mail-in voting — David Dayen, I wanted to bring you back in on this issue — and particularly talking about how he won’t trust the election if the results aren’t in November 3rd at night. Talk about the significance of all this and what he said. Now he’s — because there’s been such pushback by Republican governors in the country that use mail-in voting, he is saying, no, in Republican states you can have it, you can trust it.
DAVID DAYEN: Yeah, and that’s also campaigns, who are saying that by demonizing vote-by-mail, Republicans are losing what is actually a traditional advantage for Republicans, who traditionally vote by mail in higher numbers. And this was sabotaging the efforts to get out the vote and bank those votes early in the election.
So, yeah, absolutely, there’s an effort underway to delegitimize this election. It’s obviously going to take longer to count absentee and mail-in ballots than it would to count ballots that are cast at the polling places. And so, November 3rd, we’re not going to see the end of this election. And, you know, Trump is setting the stage for, on the night of November 3rd, whatever the count is, he can use that to potentially declare victory.
So, it’s a very dangerous situation. The public, I don’t think, is necessarily fully informed that this is going to be a long process, like we see here in my state of California, where it takes weeks to eventually count all of the ballots, and sometimes races change. That’s going to lead to cries of fraud and delegitimization. And it’s a very difficult situation.
AMY GOODMAN: David, you write, “The Postal Service has informed states that they’ll need to pay first-class 55-cent postage to mail ballots to voters, rather than the normal 20-cent bulk rate”?
DAVID DAYEN: Yeah. My understanding is that there was a meeting where the Postal Service officials said that they would like to see that happen. That will take quite a bit of doing, changes in the regulatory system at the Postal Regulatory Commission and some other factors. There would obviously be litigation to that. But just the threat of this, that they’re going to almost triple the price that it would take for states and counties to pay to get those ballots out, could lead some states to say that we’re not going to take up the expense, just fearing that the rates will increase. Even though there’s a very short window to do this and it may be unlikely, it may be used as a very convenient excuse to hinder ballots from getting out.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Mark Dimondstein, do you think President Trump is trying to sabotage the U.S. Postal Service in the lead-up to the election?
MARK DIMONDSTEIN: Well, I think we can let President Donald Trump speak for himself on this question. On June 28th, Amy, the Office of Management Budget of the White House put out, in writing, a proposal to privatize — i.e. break up — the Postal Service and sell it to private corporations, where they can then make private profit. And, of course, whether people get postal services at all will then depend on who they are, where they live, and how much it would cost, if they can even get services at all, because somebody would have to then be able to make or want to make a quick buck. So, it’s in writing. It is their plan.
So we’re very concerned that any policies that undermine and degrade service to the people of this country have a goal of undermining the public support for the Postal Service. You can’t privatize a public Postal Service that people trust, people love. Ninety-one percent of the people of the country, in a recent Pew Research poll, rated the post office favorably, at 91%. It’s the most popular brand, the number one brand, during this COVID pandemic. That’s an indication of how much people appreciate the role of postal workers, how much people trust it. So, the only way you can get to privatization is if you undermine people’s confidence and support in the institution. And anything that slows down the mail does that.
And if I could say, if we have time, Amy, just on vote-by-mail, we’ve been doing vote-by-mail for generations as postal workers. We’re not beholden to any candidate, any political party. It’s part of our proud civic responsibility and duty to the people of the country. And what’s more important than that, than providing access to the ballot box? It’s ever more popular from election cycle to election cycle. 2018, 31 million people voted by mail, including the president himself. There’s no difference between vote-by-mail and absentee balloting. And it’s been proven. The facts say that it works. And the state of Oregon has been doing it 19 years, by law, 100 million — over 100 million ballots cast, 15 cases of voter fraud. So, this idea that it’s corrupt, it’s fraudulent, that the results of the election shouldn’t be accepted, or the tyrannical trial balloon, that somehow the election maybe should be postponed because of the fraudulent problems with vote-by-mail, that in itself is a fraud on the people of this country. People can trust vote-by-mail. People are going to have to vote quickly when they get their ballots. But in this pandemic, literally, it’s going to make the difference between whether tens of millions of people have access to the ballot box. Postal workers can handle this. The idea that there’s not capacity is just wrong. And it really works well. And it’s a great way for people to exercise the hard-fought and cherished democratic right.
AMY GOODMAN: Mark Dimondstein, I want to thank you for being with us, president of the American Postal Workers Union. And, David Dayen, I’d like to ask you to stay with us. After break, we want to look at Trump’s new coronavirus relief executive orders. What do they mean? Even Republican lawmakers have slammed them as unconstitutional. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-08-10--Lebanese Gov't Faces Collapse Amid Rage-Filled Protests over Blast, Economic Crisis & Corruption

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : Multiple sources are reporting the Lebanese government is on the brink of collapse amidst protests over last week ’ s massive explosion that devastated much of Beirut and killed at least 200 people , injuring thousands .
Dozens are still missing , many of them foreign workers .
The explosion was triggered by 2,700 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate left unattended in a warehouse at the port for over six years .
So far , at least three ministers and nine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the justice minister , the information minister and the environment minister .
The prime minister , Hassan Diab , said Saturday the only solution is to hold early elections .
As we broadcast , some outlets are reporting Diab will soon submit his resignation .
Protesters have also called for a rally to demand the ouster of President Michel Aoun .
Al Jazeera reports a Lebanese judge has begun questioning the heads of the country ’ s security agencies about the explosion .
This comes after thousands of protesters in Beirut stormed government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend and put up symbolic nooses at Beirut ’ s Martyrs ’ Square to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence , they say , is responsible for the blast , as well as Lebanon ’ s deep economic crisis .
AMY GOODMAN : International leaders have pledged at least $ 300 million in humanitarian assistance that will be , quote , “ directly delivered to the Lebanese population.
” In a minute , we ’ ll be joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Nissenbaum , who is in Beirut .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few hours before the protests broke out , and filmed journalists there as they questioned the prime minister .
For more , we are joined in Beirut , Lebanon , by Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Nissenbaum , who co-wrote their investigation headlined “ Behind the Beirut Explosion : Seven Years of Official Neglect.
” Dion ’ s 4-year-old daughter Iman was injured in the blast .
We spoke last week to his wife , Dr. Seema Jilani , the day after the blast .
Dion , welcome to Democracy Now !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Lebanon ’ s government is falling ?
DION NISSENBAUM : It ’ s true .
In between the time that you started your news broadcast and now , a fourth minister , the finance minister , has announced his resignation .
So , dominoes are falling .
It does seem like the prime minister is reluctant to step aside , but if enough Cabinet ministers resign , it will effectively become a caretaker government one way or another .
AMY GOODMAN : Explain what happened over the weekend , these mass protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I mean , already dealing with the pandemic — you see all these masked protesters in the streets — and then , last week on Tuesday , this massive explosion that rocked and leveled a part of the capital city , Beirut , killing — now the number is what ?
Two hundred .
Over 5,000 people are injured .
DION NISSENBAUM : Yeah .
You know , one thing to remember about this government is that this is meant to be a technocratic government .
It was installed after last fall ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that brought down the former prime minister , Saad Hariri .
So this was a government that was meant to step in and fix the problems , and not be too tied the politicians that have run this country for decades .
And there was wariness when they started , that they really weren ’ t going to be able to do that .
And as you just laid out all of the problems , there ’ s hyperinflation .
The currency has collapsed .
People can ’ t buy basic goods .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 22 hours a day .
This was all before the explosion .
And then this incredible tragedy happens on this beautiful city , and people at first think , you know , it must be Israel , it must be part of a war .
And when people find out that it appears to be the result of government negligence — we still , of course , have to find out what the trigger was for this , but the fact that they stored all of this ammonium nitrate in this warehouse for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ powder keg , it ’ s just basically been the straw that ’ s broken the camel ’ s back here , and people now have absolutely no faith in this government .
They ’ re out in the streets .
People are disillusioned , disenchanted , and , you know , they ’ re going to look for some sort of change again .
AMY GOODMAN : Dion , you tracked where this ship came from .
Just tell us , very quickly , before we talk about the mass protests and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what people are calling for , what happened in 2013 .
Talk about this ship that came through and why it ended up with this massive amount of ammonium nitrate .
I mean , just two tons of it took down the Oklahoma City building , killing almost 170 people , years ago .
This is 2,700 tons of it .
DION NISSENBAUM : Yeah .
You know , there ’ s a lot of questions we don ’ t have answered about this ship .
But we know that it was — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supposed to be going to Mozambique .
Those were the letters .
It stopped off in Beirut .
And — AMY GOODMAN : This is Georgia , the old Soviet bloc country .
DION NISSENBAUM : Yes , yes .
Not — DION NISSENBAUM : Yes , yes , of course .
And it stopped off in Lebanon .
There was a series of bureaucratic and financial issues that came up .
It was here to try and load on some more cargo to help pay its way to get down south .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to travel with the weight .
And then it basically was held at the port , and the crew was held on board , and they were saying , “ We ’ re sitting on top of a powder keg.
” And then it became mired in this bureaucratic travails for years .
It was eventually offloaded to warehouses .
The ship itself sank .
AMY GOODMAN : So , the workers were held on this ship for what ?
Like 11 months , before they were — AMY GOODMAN : And they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sitting on a powder keg ?
DION NISSENBAUM : That ’ s right .
They were putting up posters and sending back photographs , saying , “ We ’ ve got to get out of here .
You know , we ’ re sitting on a time bomb , ” essentially .
AMY GOODMAN : And the ship was headed to Mozambique ?
DION NISSENBAUM : You know , these are questions that I will have to tell you we are still searching for answers for .
That ’ s what it said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting from people in Mozambique saying that they had no indications it was supposed to be coming there .
There is an ongoing investigation .
We ’ re doing an investigation .
Journalists from around the world are doing investigations to determine what this — where this was going , why it was there , what purposes people were intending to use for it , why they never got rid of it .
But , you know , there are more questions than answers at this point about this ship .
AMY GOODMAN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substance being held at the Port of Beirut .
How many people knew about it ?
Early on , after Tuesday , they said they arrested some port guards , who were in charge of what ?
I mean , they can ’ t be in charge of protecting it .
DION NISSENBAUM : They ’ ve arrested 19 people , including the people that run the port .
You know , they are going to likely be scapegoats .
You know , the government official at the highest levels new about this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hidden secret .
The port officials tried repeatedly with the courts to try and auction it off or sell it in some way .
It was caught in this legal tussle for years .
They were apparently going to the wrong court to ask for this , and the court kept saying , “ We ’ re not the people that can approve this.
” But they kept asking the same court over and over again .
So , it ’ s not clear why those people were asking this court , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ask for it .
But everybody knew it was there .
And as I said , it ’ s a tragedy of errors that they never moved it , they never acted on it over more than six years , as you said .
AMY GOODMAN : And so , talk about the scene down at this protest — you were there before the protesters gathered — the questioning of the prime minister , and then what the protesters are demanding .
I mean , the day after the explosion , the French @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visited Beirut .
Ultimately , the tear gas — the protesters were tear-gassed with French tear gas , is that right ?
DION NISSENBAUM : I don ’ t know about the provenance of the tear gas itself , but certainly there was a lot of anger at the prime minister for not turning out before the president of France — the prime minister of France came .
There is a lot of real anger on the streets .
And the prime minister is seen now as an ineffective leader .
I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to have him lead an effective investigation with everything that is happening at this point .
When I was at the blast site , there was no sign of actual investigation going on .
All you had was divers searching for bodies .
All you had was dogs searching for bodies .
They ’ re picking up the grain and the corn , leaving the country devastated , on the verge of a humanitarian disaster .
You know , it ’ s tragedy upon tragedy here .
And the fact that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come here and go out on the streets and meet the people , before the prime minister of Lebanon , really sort of drove home the point for a lot of people that this is not a government of the people .
AMY GOODMAN : And so , their demands ?
And you were recording as the prime minister of Lebanon was being questioned by reporters .
But the demands of the protesters in the streets ?
And will these protests continue even after the current government , well , what looks like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So , what happens when this government falls is it becomes a caretaker until they can put in a new caretaker government , and then you have the negotiations start over who ’ s going to be in the new caretaker government .
And the last time they did this , they ended up with this government , that really didn ’ t have the confidence of the people .
So , there will be continued protests for an effective government .
And you already have intense pressure coming from Paris and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and distance itself from Hezbollah , the militant and political group here that has significant power and is allied with Iran .
So , you ’ re facing a number of pressures on Lebanon from various points .
You ’ ve got U.S. and France trying to put pressure for their agenda .
You ’ ve got people in the streets looking for some sort of systemic changes to the political sectarian system here and the corruptive system here that ’ s created this layer upon layer of problems for this country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ us here to see things getting better in the near term for Lebanon .
AMY GOODMAN : Dion , I wanted to end by asking how Iman is , your 4-year-old daughter .
We spoke with your wife , Dr. Seema Jilani , last week , right after the blast .
You had both just raced her to the hospital .
Talk about what happened to Iman and how she ’ s doing now .
DION NISSENBAUM : Thank you .
Thank you for asking .
Yes , she was the most seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the blast .
I tried to shield her with my body as the glass and the wood blasted through our apartment , threw myself on top of her .
We were able to get her down into an ambulance .
And you have the footage of my wife singing lullabies to her in the ambulance as we tried to get to the hospital .
The doctors were doing amazing work in a mass casualty situation .
Hats off to all of the medical professionals here , who handled that situation across the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the hospital after about a day , with lacerations .
She ’ s got wounds over her arm and legs and abdomen .
She ’ s walked out of the hospital .
She limped out on her own two feet .
She ’ s a very brave girl .
And , you know , she ’ s watching a lot of screen time these days as we try and just kind of turn the page .
She said to us over the weekend , she said , “ Maybe we could move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” AMY GOODMAN : We ’ re showing video right now of her just walking very slowly .
And the hospitals , Dion , I mean , that are so hard hit anyway from the COVID virus — you just got Iman into a hospital before they closed its doors — and now facing thousands and thousands of people injured in this blast ?
DION NISSENBAUM : Yeah , and the coronavirus , of course , is a major issue here .
Several hospitals here lost all of their windows as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some of them did have to shut .
The hospital we were at was hit , and they continue to operate .
The strains on the system here are just mounting .
The doctors and the nurses and the medical teams here do amazing work .
There are aid groups in the streets treating people in tents , suturing people up in the ruins .
So , they really are some of the heroes here .
And if there ’ s a silver lining , it ’ s really in the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that are out in the streets here helping the country rebuild .
AMY GOODMAN : Dion Nissenbaum , I want to thank you for being with us , Beirut-based Wall Street Journal reporter , co-wrote the investigation , “ Behind the Beirut Explosion : Seven Years of Official Neglect.
” His 4-year-old daughter Iman injured in the blast .
Next up , we look at how the new postmaster general , major Trump fundraiser , with massive investments in U.S. post office competitors , is shaking up the Postal Service and slowing down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his attacks on mail-in voting .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Multiple sources are reporting the Lebanese government is on the brink of collapse amidst protests over last week’s massive explosion that devastated much of Beirut and killed at least 200 people, injuring thousands. Dozens are still missing, many of them foreign workers. The explosion was triggered by 2,700 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate left unattended in a warehouse at the port for over six years.
So far, at least three ministers and nine members of Parliament have resigned, including the justice minister, the information minister and the environment minister. The prime minister, Hassan Diab, said Saturday the only solution is to hold early elections. As we broadcast, some outlets are reporting Diab will soon submit his resignation. Protesters have also called for a rally to demand the ouster of President Michel Aoun. Al Jazeera reports a Lebanese judge has begun questioning the heads of the country’s security agencies about the explosion.
This comes after thousands of protesters in Beirut stormed government institutions and clashed with security forces over the weekend and put up symbolic nooses at Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence, they say, is responsible for the blast, as well as Lebanon’s deep economic crisis.
PROTESTER 1: [translated] Our first reaction after the explosion was that we wanted to clean, to help the people that have been affected. We cleaned the first day, the second day, the third day. And then, that’s it. We wanted to make our voices heard. What happened is not something new; it has been like this for years. This is unacceptable. It has to end.
PROTESTER 2: And then, yesterday, as soon as we arrived, they started tear-gassing us. There was sound bombs. There was live bullets. Not what I expected at all from a country who has already lost so much.
AMY GOODMAN: International leaders have pledged at least $300 million in humanitarian assistance that will be, quote, “directly delivered to the Lebanese population.”
In a minute, we’ll be joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Nissenbaum, who is in Beirut. He went to the blast site on Saturday a few hours before the protests broke out, and filmed journalists there as they questioned the prime minister.
EMMA MURPHY: But are you going to go onto the streets today or this weekend and speak to people about the tragedy?
PRIME MINISTER HASSAN DIAB: I’m not sure when I’m going on the streets, but I’m part of the people.
EMMA MURPHY: Are you afraid of people’s fury?
PRIME MINISTER HASSAN DIAB: I’m not afraid of people’s fury, but, of course, I have —
EMMA MURPHY: But do they have a right to be furious?
PRIME MINISTER HASSAN DIAB: Absolutely, they have the right to be angry and furious, not just because of this. This is absolutely diabolical, what happened. But, however, they are also furious even before that for three decades of unbelievable corruption.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Lebanon’s Prime Minister Diab, speaking at the blast site.
For more, we are joined in Beirut, Lebanon, by Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Nissenbaum, who co-wrote their investigation headlined “Behind the Beirut Explosion: Seven Years of Official Neglect.” Dion’s 4-year-old daughter Iman was injured in the blast. We spoke last week to his wife, Dr. Seema Jilani, the day after the blast.
Dion, welcome to Democracy Now! As we speak, is it true that Lebanon’s government is falling?
DION NISSENBAUM: It’s true. In between the time that you started your news broadcast and now, a fourth minister, the finance minister, has announced his resignation. So, dominoes are falling. It does seem like the prime minister is reluctant to step aside, but if enough Cabinet ministers resign, it will effectively become a caretaker government one way or another.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain what happened over the weekend, these mass protests. Talking about a hard-hit population, I mean, already dealing with the pandemic — you see all these masked protesters in the streets — and then, last week on Tuesday, this massive explosion that rocked and leveled a part of the capital city, Beirut, killing — now the number is what? Two hundred. Over 5,000 people are injured.
DION NISSENBAUM: Yeah. You know, one thing to remember about this government is that this is meant to be a technocratic government. It was installed after last fall’s very joyful and peaceful anti-corruption protests that brought down the former prime minister, Saad Hariri. So this was a government that was meant to step in and fix the problems, and not be too tied the politicians that have run this country for decades. And there was wariness when they started, that they really weren’t going to be able to do that.
And as you just laid out all of the problems, there’s hyperinflation. The currency has collapsed. People can’t buy basic goods. The power outages here are up to 22 hours a day. This was all before the explosion. And then this incredible tragedy happens on this beautiful city, and people at first think, you know, it must be Israel, it must be part of a war. And when people find out that it appears to be the result of government negligence — we still, of course, have to find out what the trigger was for this, but the fact that they stored all of this ammonium nitrate in this warehouse for years, knowing that it was a powder keg, it’s just basically been the straw that’s broken the camel’s back here, and people now have absolutely no faith in this government. They’re out in the streets. People are disillusioned, disenchanted, and, you know, they’re going to look for some sort of change again.
AMY GOODMAN: Dion, you tracked where this ship came from. Just tell us, very quickly, before we talk about the mass protests and what you saw in the streets, what people are calling for, what happened in 2013. Talk about this ship that came through and why it ended up with this massive amount of ammonium nitrate. I mean, just two tons of it took down the Oklahoma City building, killing almost 170 people, years ago. This is 2,700 tons of it.
DION NISSENBAUM: Yeah. You know, there’s a lot of questions we don’t have answered about this ship. But we know that it was — it came from Georgia. It was supposed to be going to Mozambique. Those were the letters. It stopped off in Beirut. And —
AMY GOODMAN: This is Georgia, the old Soviet bloc country.
DION NISSENBAUM: Yes, yes. Not —
AMY GOODMAN: Yes.
DION NISSENBAUM: Yes, yes, of course. And it stopped off in Lebanon. There was a series of bureaucratic and financial issues that came up. It was here to try and load on some more cargo to help pay its way to get down south. And then it was deemed too dangerous to travel with the weight. And then it basically was held at the port, and the crew was held on board, and they were saying, “We’re sitting on top of a powder keg.” And then it became mired in this bureaucratic travails for years. It was eventually offloaded to warehouses. The ship itself sank.
AMY GOODMAN: So, the workers were held on this ship for what? Like 11 months, before they were —
DION NISSENBAUM: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And they, themselves, said they’re sitting on a powder keg?
DION NISSENBAUM: That’s right. They were putting up posters and sending back photographs, saying, “We’ve got to get out of here. You know, we’re sitting on a time bomb,” essentially.
AMY GOODMAN: And the ship was headed to Mozambique?
DION NISSENBAUM: You know, these are questions that I will have to tell you we are still searching for answers for. That’s what it said at the time. We have some reporting from people in Mozambique saying that they had no indications it was supposed to be coming there. There is an ongoing investigation. We’re doing an investigation. Journalists from around the world are doing investigations to determine what this — where this was going, why it was there, what purposes people were intending to use for it, why they never got rid of it. But, you know, there are more questions than answers at this point about this ship.
AMY GOODMAN: So, they have this volatile substance being held at the Port of Beirut. How many people knew about it? Early on, after Tuesday, they said they arrested some port guards, who were in charge of what? I mean, they can’t be in charge of protecting it.
DION NISSENBAUM: They’ve arrested 19 people, including the people that run the port. You know, they are going to likely be scapegoats. You know, the government official at the highest levels new about this for years. This was not a hidden secret. The port officials tried repeatedly with the courts to try and auction it off or sell it in some way. It was caught in this legal tussle for years. They were apparently going to the wrong court to ask for this, and the court kept saying, “We’re not the people that can approve this.” But they kept asking the same court over and over again. So, it’s not clear why those people were asking this court, that wasn’t the right forum to ask for it. But everybody knew it was there. And as I said, it’s a tragedy of errors that they never moved it, they never acted on it over more than six years, as you said.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, talk about the scene down at this protest — you were there before the protesters gathered — the questioning of the prime minister, and then what the protesters are demanding. I mean, the day after the explosion, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, came and visited Beirut. Ultimately, the tear gas — the protesters were tear-gassed with French tear gas, is that right?
DION NISSENBAUM: I don’t know about the provenance of the tear gas itself, but certainly there was a lot of anger at the prime minister for not turning out before the president of France — the prime minister of France came. There is a lot of real anger on the streets. And the prime minister is seen now as an ineffective leader. I don’t know how you’re going to have him lead an effective investigation with everything that is happening at this point.
When I was at the blast site, there was no sign of actual investigation going on. All you had was divers searching for bodies. All you had was dogs searching for bodies. They’re picking up the grain and the corn, leaving the country devastated, on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. You know, it’s tragedy upon tragedy here. And the fact that the president of France was the one to come here and go out on the streets and meet the people, before the prime minister of Lebanon, really sort of drove home the point for a lot of people that this is not a government of the people.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, their demands? And you were recording as the prime minister of Lebanon was being questioned by reporters. But the demands of the protesters in the streets? And will these protests continue even after the current government, well, what looks like, falls?
DION NISSENBAUM: Yeah. So, what happens when this government falls is it becomes a caretaker until they can put in a new caretaker government, and then you have the negotiations start over who’s going to be in the new caretaker government. And the last time they did this, they ended up with this government, that really didn’t have the confidence of the people.
So, there will be continued protests for an effective government. And you already have intense pressure coming from Paris and Washington for the new government to try and distance itself from Hezbollah, the militant and political group here that has significant power and is allied with Iran. So, you’re facing a number of pressures on Lebanon from various points. You’ve got U.S. and France trying to put pressure for their agenda. You’ve got people in the streets looking for some sort of systemic changes to the political sectarian system here and the corruptive system here that’s created this layer upon layer of problems for this country. It’s difficult for many of us here to see things getting better in the near term for Lebanon.
AMY GOODMAN: Dion, I wanted to end by asking how Iman is, your 4-year-old daughter. We spoke with your wife, Dr. Seema Jilani, last week, right after the blast. You had both just raced her to the hospital. Talk about what happened to Iman and how she’s doing now.
DION NISSENBAUM: Thank you. Thank you for asking. Yes, she was the most seriously injured of the three of us in the blast. I tried to shield her with my body as the glass and the wood blasted through our apartment, threw myself on top of her. We were able to get her down into an ambulance. And you have the footage of my wife singing lullabies to her in the ambulance as we tried to get to the hospital. The doctors were doing amazing work in a mass casualty situation. Hats off to all of the medical professionals here, who handled that situation across the city.
Iman was able to get out of the hospital after about a day, with lacerations. She’s got wounds over her arm and legs and abdomen. She’s walked out of the hospital. She limped out on her own two feet. She’s a very brave girl. And, you know, she’s watching a lot of screen time these days as we try and just kind of turn the page. She said to us over the weekend, she said, “Maybe we could move somewhere where there aren’t explosions?”
AMY GOODMAN: We’re showing video right now of her just walking very slowly. And the hospitals, Dion, I mean, that are so hard hit anyway from the COVID virus — you just got Iman into a hospital before they closed its doors — and now facing thousands and thousands of people injured in this blast?
DION NISSENBAUM: Yeah, and the coronavirus, of course, is a major issue here. Several hospitals here lost all of their windows as a result of the blast, as well. Some of them did have to shut. The hospital we were at was hit, and they continue to operate. The strains on the system here are just mounting. The doctors and the nurses and the medical teams here do amazing work. There are aid groups in the streets treating people in tents, suturing people up in the ruins. So, they really are some of the heroes here. And if there’s a silver lining, it’s really in the people, the medical teams and the volunteers that are out in the streets here helping the country rebuild.
AMY GOODMAN: Dion Nissenbaum, I want to thank you for being with us, Beirut-based Wall Street Journal reporter, co-wrote the investigation, “Behind the Beirut Explosion: Seven Years of Official Neglect.” His 4-year-old daughter Iman injured in the blast.
Next up, we look at how the new postmaster general, major Trump fundraiser, with massive investments in U.S. post office competitors, is shaking up the Postal Service and slowing down mail delivery just as President Trump escalates his attacks on mail-in voting. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-08-10--Headlines for August 10, 2020

Headlines for August 10, 2020

Confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States have topped 5 million — by far the highest caseload in the world , though the true number of cases is likely much higher .
As the new school year starts or approaches for kids around the country , a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that nearly 100,000 children contracted COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July .
In Georgia , a high school that recently suspended two students for posting images of classmates ignoring social distancing guidelines and not wearing masks announced it is implementing remote learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least nine students and staffers tested positive for COVID-19 .
Additionally , sophomore Hannah Watters , who posted the photos , had her suspension reversed .
In South Dakota , tens of thousands of motorcyclists rolled into the town of Sturgis Friday for the annual 10-day motorcycle rally , in spite of the concerns of local residents .
Health experts warn it could turn out to be a superspreader event , as images emerged of attendees without masks and not social distancing .
The Cheyenne River Sioux set up checkpoints to block @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prevent a possible outbreak .
In California , the director of the Department of Public Health abruptly resigned Sunday , following the discovery of a computer system failure that led to an undercounting of California ’ s COVID-19 cases .
Meanwhile , the coronavirus continues to ravage prisons across the country .
Over 800 prisoners and 60 prison staff have now died , according to The Marshall Project .
In Northern California , San Quentin has now reported 24 deaths .
The Orlando Sentinel found that many of the prisoners who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eligible for parole .
Over 60 prisoners have died in Florida , according to the report .

Confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States have topped 5 million — by far the highest caseload in the world, though the true number of cases is likely much higher. As the new school year starts or approaches for kids around the country, a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that nearly 100,000 children contracted COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July.
In Georgia, a high school that recently suspended two students for posting images of classmates ignoring social distancing guidelines and not wearing masks announced it is implementing remote learning for part of the week, after at least nine students and staffers tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, sophomore Hannah Watters, who posted the photos, had her suspension reversed.
In South Dakota, tens of thousands of motorcyclists rolled into the town of Sturgis Friday for the annual 10-day motorcycle rally, in spite of the concerns of local residents. Health experts warn it could turn out to be a superspreader event, as images emerged of attendees without masks and not social distancing. The Cheyenne River Sioux set up checkpoints to block the motorcyclists from entering their land, to prevent a possible outbreak.
In California, the director of the Department of Public Health abruptly resigned Sunday, following the discovery of a computer system failure that led to an undercounting of California’s COVID-19 cases.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus continues to ravage prisons across the country. Over 800 prisoners and 60 prison staff have now died, according to The Marshall Project. In Northern California, San Quentin has now reported 24 deaths. The Orlando Sentinel found that many of the prisoners who have died from COVID-19 in Florida prisons were eligible for parole. Over 60 prisoners have died in Florida, according to the report.


democracynow--2020-08-11--"Prisons Are Not Fit for Human Occupation": San Quentin Prisoners Speak Out as Virus Deaths Reach 25

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González , as we turn to California , where the state ’ s San Quentin prison faces the country ’ s largest coronavirus outbreak .
At least 2,200 prisoners have been infected with the virus .
Twenty-five have died .
More than 260 staff at San Quentin have also been infected .
Prison guard Gilbert Polanco is now the first to die , after he reportedly worked extra shifts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ill with the disease .
Executions have been on hold in California since last year , but the latest prisoner to die on Sunday was Pedro Arias , who had been on San Quentin ’ s death row since 1990 .
Democracy Now !
spoke by phone with incarcerated journalist Juan Haines , who ’ s among the thousands at San Quentin who have been infected with COVID-19 , about why the prison , which was built in the 1850s , is facing this coronavirus outbreak .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone from San Quentin .
He recently co-wrote a piece for The Appeal headlined “ At San Quentin , Overcrowding Laid the Groundwork for an Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak.
” Some prisoners report being punished with solitary confinement and squalid conditions for getting sick .
This is 52-year-old Michael Adams , who spoke to Democracy Now !
producer Libby Rainey by phone last week .
MICHAEL ADAMS : I call it the bowels of San Quentin , because it ’ s so dark , it ’ s so dank .
There was no electricity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then the cells are smaller than the ones that are in North Block .
And for the 43 days that I was back there , the person that had come in the cell with me had more property than I had , so we ’ re literally crawling over boxes in a cell that ’ s smaller than the average 5-by-9 , just to be able to use the bathroom and things like that .
Absolutely crazy .
Showering once a week , phone calls once a week , and no medical attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cells and asking for oxygen , meaning an oxygen reading .
And then there was a thing where the people that were coming and taking the oxygen readings and the temperature readings — we were trying to figure out : “ Why do you need this ?
” And they were like , “ Well , we need statistics .
We need data.
” AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s San Quentin prisoner Michael Adams describing what he called the “ bowels ” of San Quentin prison , where some of the prisoners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself , were put .
For more , we ’ re joined by James King , state campaigner for the Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Justice , member of the Stop San Quentin Outbreak Coalition , he himself incarcerated at San Quentin from 2013 until last December and has been monitoring the situation there closely .
Welcome to Democracy Now !
It ’ s great to have you with us , James .
If you can elaborate on what these prisoners have said ?
We spoke to Juan when he — before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying this place is going to suffer an outbreak like we ’ ve never seen before , if the state doesn ’ t do something about this now .
Can you explain what happened and what needs to be done now , James ?
JAMES KING : Sure .
On May 31st , California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations made the decision to transfer 121 people from California Institution for Men , which at the time was the largest outbreak in the state , to San Quentin State Prison , our oldest prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ horrible — AMY GOODMAN : That was in Chino ?
JAMES KING : That was Chino .
And at the time , San Quentin was already well over 120 % of capacity .
So , to bring in the additional people , many of them actually already showing symptoms on the bus ride to San Quentin , turned out to be a horrific , horrific debacle and mistake .
The conditions at San Quentin are horrific .
There , in West Block and in North Block , which are where most of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are each designed to hold a little bit over 400 people .
They both hold close to 800 people within them .
There ’ s no ventilation within the buildings .
The windows are in fact welded shut .
And the ventilator system hasn ’ t been turned on in several , several years .
There are also like no access to cleaning supplies , or very limited access to basic hygiene products , in addition to everything else .
So you have these tightly confined spaces , where people are living in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ability to physically distance .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And what steps are you calling for officials to take in terms of releasing people from San Quentin ?
And your reaction to Governor Newsom saying that he will not release any prisoners who have been convicted of violent offenses ?
JAMES KING : Well , two things .
Number one is , like , we ’ ve been horrified to note that at San Quentin , 10 weeks after the outbreak , the prison is still at over 100 % capacity .
Public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduction .
They said that at least a 50 % reduction needs to happen in the population there and at every prison throughout the state and country , frankly .
In order to get there , you have to stop looking at what a person may have done 20 , 30 , 40 years ago .
Quite frankly , the vast overwhelming majority of people incarcerated at San Quentin are not a threat to public safety .
And that idea that they would be still violent or still a threat is contradicted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s own data .
I think the vast majority can be released safely and urgently in order to bring down the — in order to flatten the curve on the virus .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And what ’ s your sense of how the media coverage of the situation in America ’ s prisons , in California prisons in particular — how the media is covering this issue ?
JAMES KING : I think that it ’ s been largely problematic in two senses .
One is this idea that these are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s built off of decades of otherizing and demonizing people who have committed harmful acts in our country .
But when we other and think of this as only prison outbreaks , and ignore the fact that hundreds of people are traveling inside and outside of these outbreaks daily and working in them and then returning to their families and to the community , it causes us to create bad policy as it relates to pausing this pandemic .
But then , secondly , there was a headline recently that said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ releasing murderers .
Well , that ’ s not true .
What they ’ re releasing are people who have dealt with their harmful acts , who have been safe and have not conducted any violence in decades .
So , the rhetoric around the labels of people who committed harmful acts like 20 , 30 , 40 years ago , that is presenting them as static and still a threat to public safety , ignores the larger threat to public safety , which is the pandemic and the virus itself .
AMY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Los Angeles Times : “ San Quentin ’ s death toll translates to a mortality rate of about 767 people dying out of every 100,000.
” It would be as if right now the United States had two-and-a-half million deaths from COVID-19 .
We heard the prisoner Juan Haines , who we ’ ve had on Democracy Now !
several times , who came down with COVID , is suing .
We just have 20 seconds .
What is this lawsuit ?
JAMES KING : This lawsuit , this habeas , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not equipped to deal with this pandemic .
There ’ s no way a prison can .
And as Juan said earlier , this is a situation where the prison can not keep people safe , so people need to be released , so that they can safely isolate and quarantine and flatten the curve of this virus .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , I want to thank you so much for being with us .
We ’ ll continue to be on this story .
James King , state campaigner for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice and a member of the Stop San Quentin Outbreak Coalition .
That does it for our show .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
Stay safe .
Save lives .
Wear a mask .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we turn to California, where the state’s San Quentin prison faces the country’s largest coronavirus outbreak. At least 2,200 prisoners have been infected with the virus. Twenty-five have died. More than 260 staff at San Quentin have also been infected. Prison guard Gilbert Polanco is now the first to die, after he reportedly worked extra shifts when dozens of his fellow guards fell ill with the disease. Executions have been on hold in California since last year, but the latest prisoner to die on Sunday was Pedro Arias, who had been on San Quentin’s death row since 1990.
Democracy Now! spoke by phone with incarcerated journalist Juan Haines, who’s among the thousands at San Quentin who have been infected with COVID-19, about why the prison, which was built in the 1850s, is facing this coronavirus outbreak.
JUAN HAINES: The architectural design of California prisons are not fit for human occupation. It’s just not. But we’re a resilient species, and we adapt to whatever the physical environment is. But the unfortunate thing is that the virus doesn’t care about that adaptation. That’s why so many people in San Quentin are dying, because we can’t physically distance ourselves from each other. And what’s so hurtful about this fact that we can’t physically distance from each other, so any type of contagion that gets inside of this prison is going to spread like wildfire.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s incarcerated journalist Juan Haines, speaking by phone from San Quentin. He recently co-wrote a piece for The Appeal headlined “At San Quentin, Overcrowding Laid the Groundwork for an Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak.”
Some prisoners report being punished with solitary confinement and squalid conditions for getting sick. This is 52-year-old Michael Adams, who spoke to Democracy Now! producer Libby Rainey by phone last week.
MICHAEL ADAMS: I call it the bowels of San Quentin, because it’s so dark, it’s so dank. There was no electricity. Hot water was sparse. And then the cells are smaller than the ones that are in North Block. And for the 43 days that I was back there, the person that had come in the cell with me had more property than I had, so we’re literally crawling over boxes in a cell that’s smaller than the average 5-by-9, just to be able to use the bathroom and things like that. Absolutely crazy. Showering once a week, phone calls once a week, and no medical attention, save for them coming to the cells and asking for oxygen, meaning an oxygen reading. And then there was a thing where the people that were coming and taking the oxygen readings and the temperature readings — we were trying to figure out: “Why do you need this?” And they were like, “Well, we need statistics. We need data.”
LIBBY RAINEY: Do you know any of the people that have actually died?
MICHAEL ADAMS: I’ve known about two of the people who have died.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s San Quentin prisoner Michael Adams describing what he called the “bowels” of San Quentin prison, where some of the prisoners who got sick with COVID-19, like himself, were put.
For more, we’re joined by James King, state campaigner for the Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Justice, member of the Stop San Quentin Outbreak Coalition, he himself incarcerated at San Quentin from 2013 until last December and has been monitoring the situation there closely.
Welcome to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us, James. If you can elaborate on what these prisoners have said? We spoke to Juan when he — before he got COVID-19, when he was saying this place is going to suffer an outbreak like we’ve never seen before, if the state doesn’t do something about this now. Can you explain what happened and what needs to be done now, James?
JAMES KING: Sure. On May 31st, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations made the decision to transfer 121 people from California Institution for Men, which at the time was the largest outbreak in the state, to San Quentin State Prison, our oldest prison in the state. It was a horrible —
AMY GOODMAN: That was in Chino?
JAMES KING: That was Chino. And at the time, San Quentin was already well over 120% of capacity. So, to bring in the additional people, many of them actually already showing symptoms on the bus ride to San Quentin, turned out to be a horrific, horrific debacle and mistake.
The conditions at San Quentin are horrific. There, in West Block and in North Block, which are where most of the population is housed, those two buildings are each designed to hold a little bit over 400 people. They both hold close to 800 people within them. There’s no ventilation within the buildings. The windows are in fact welded shut. And the ventilator system hasn’t been turned on in several, several years. There are also like no access to cleaning supplies, or very limited access to basic hygiene products, in addition to everything else. So you have these tightly confined spaces, where people are living in close proximity to each other with no ability to physically distance.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what steps are you calling for officials to take in terms of releasing people from San Quentin? And your reaction to Governor Newsom saying that he will not release any prisoners who have been convicted of violent offenses?
JAMES KING: Well, two things. Number one is, like, we’ve been horrified to note that at San Quentin, 10 weeks after the outbreak, the prison is still at over 100% capacity. Public health officials in mid-June called for a dramatic reduction. They said that at least a 50% reduction needs to happen in the population there and at every prison throughout the state and country, frankly.
In order to get there, you have to stop looking at what a person may have done 20, 30, 40 years ago. Quite frankly, the vast overwhelming majority of people incarcerated at San Quentin are not a threat to public safety. And that idea that they would be still violent or still a threat is contradicted by the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation’s own data. I think the vast majority can be released safely and urgently in order to bring down the — in order to flatten the curve on the virus.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what’s your sense of how the media coverage of the situation in America’s prisons, in California prisons in particular — how the media is covering this issue?
JAMES KING: I think that it’s been largely problematic in two senses. One is this idea that these are merely prison outbreaks. I understand it’s built off of decades of otherizing and demonizing people who have committed harmful acts in our country. But when we other and think of this as only prison outbreaks, and ignore the fact that hundreds of people are traveling inside and outside of these outbreaks daily and working in them and then returning to their families and to the community, it causes us to create bad policy as it relates to pausing this pandemic.
But then, secondly, there was a headline recently that said that California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was releasing murderers. Well, that’s not true. What they’re releasing are people who have dealt with their harmful acts, who have been safe and have not conducted any violence in decades. So, the rhetoric around the labels of people who committed harmful acts like 20, 30, 40 years ago, that is presenting them as static and still a threat to public safety, ignores the larger threat to public safety, which is the pandemic and the virus itself.
AMY GOODMAN: James, this is from the Los Angeles Times: “San Quentin’s death toll translates to a mortality rate of about 767 people dying out of every 100,000.” It would be as if right now the United States had two-and-a-half million deaths from COVID-19. We heard the prisoner Juan Haines, who we’ve had on Democracy Now! several times, who came down with COVID, is suing. We just have 20 seconds. What is this lawsuit?
JAMES KING: This lawsuit, this habeas, is just saying that hospitals are quickly — are not equipped to deal with this pandemic. There’s no way a prison can. And as Juan said earlier, this is a situation where the prison cannot keep people safe, so people need to be released, so that they can safely isolate and quarantine and flatten the curve of this virus.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you so much for being with us. We’ll continue to be on this story. James King, state campaigner for the Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Justice and a member of the Stop San Quentin Outbreak Coalition.
That does it for our show. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Stay safe. Save lives. Wear a mask.