Events to Know

COVID in the White House. News broke at about 1:30AM Thursday night that Melania and Donald Trump had tested positive for COVID-19–apparently for the second time that day, though we didn’t learn this until much later. At first he was expected to remain at home, but he was eventually taken to Walter Reed hospital on Friday afternoon with fever and congestion, and we later learned he was given supplemental oxygen as well as an experimental antibody cocktail before the transfer. By the next day, he was being given Remdisivir and dexamethasone, both of which can potentially signal serious health complications. Now, you might be reading this and thinking, “That’s an awfully fast onset of severe symptoms,” which is certainly what I thought at the time, but it turns out the news has a response for that! First Chris Wallace admitted that Trump had dodged the on-site test at Tuesday’s debate, and then on Saturday Trump’s own doctor said that he was doing well “just 72 hours into his diagnosis” on Saturday–which, for those of you doing the home game, was definitely not 72 hours after early Friday morning. Though his doctor later insisted he misspoke, it appears increasingly likely that Trump had probably been COVID-positive by the time of the debate, whether he knew it or not, and it would also appear that he is seriously sick as I type this. Nonetheless, he took a trip around the hospital on Sunday, and was discharged from the hospital back to the White House on Monday night, even though many experts agree on the increased risk of the second week of infection. The administration is adamant that Pence will not be taking the reins anytime soon, despite the many difficulties of Trump governing while all of the above is happening, and White House staff remain at high risk of infection.

Key links:

1. Wall Street Journal – Trump Didn’t Disclose First Positive Covid-19 Test While Awaiting A Second Test On Thursday
2. NPR – Staying At Walter Reed Hospital, Trump Has Started Remdesivir Therapy
3. Newsweek – Chris Wallace Says Donald Trump Wasn’t Tested For Covid Pre-Debate Because He Arrived Late
4. HuffPost – Trump’s Doctors Raise Major New Questions About His Covid-19 Timeline
5. Face The Nation – O’brien Says Trump Transfer Of Power “Not Something That’s On The Table”
6. Washington Post – Concern Rises For White House Residence Staffers As Their Workplace Emerges As A Virus Hot Spot

GOP Superspreading. Trump was far from the only high-profile member of the GOP to test positive for COVID this week, and it’s looking increasingly likely that the Rose Garden event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Comey Barrett on Saturday was a superspreading event, although the White House refuses to use contact tracing for it. (Coney Barrett herself apparently had COVID this summer, and has not tested positive at this time.) At the time that I type this, twelve high-profile people who were present on Saturday have tested positive, and twenty people affiliated with the White House have contracted the virus overall. Among those on the list: 1) Top White House aide Stephen Miller; 2) former counselor Kellyanne Conway; 3) campaign manager Bill Stepien; 4) White House advisor Hope Hicks; 5) former NJ governor Chris Christie; 6) WI senator Ron Johnson; 7) Utah senator Mike Lee; 8) NC Senator Thom Tillis; and 9) White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnaney. Additionally, IA Senator Chuck Grassley was also present and refused to get tested, so he might be positive as well, and there were also several outbreaks at the Secret Service training center. Joe Biden is still testing negative at the time that I type this, though he could still be in an incubation period.

Key links:

1. Politico – Where Trump Went (And Who He Was With) Leading Up To His Coronavirus Diagnosis
2. New York Times – White House Is Not Tracing Contacts For ‘Super-Spreader’ Rose Garden Event
3. New York Times – Trump’s Secret Service Has Struggled With Outbreak At Training Center
4. Politico – Biden Still At Risk After Debating Trump At ‘Peak Of Contagion’

Election Oddities.  With everything going on, it’s easy to forget that the first Presidential debate on Tuesday was less than a week ago–and the entire country watched Trump fail to condemn white supremacy, instead telling the Proud Boys to “stand down and stand by.”  (The hate group, for their part, immediately made it clear that they’ll be taking these statements as a set of marching orders.)  There was also news about a massive Trump campaign strategy to deter Black Americans from voting in 2016, as well as news about a massive gubernatorial strategy now to make dropping off ballots in Texas increasingly difficult for marginalized voters.  On the debate front, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris did duke it out in person in Salt Lake City, and the general consensus is that both Kamala Harris and that fly that landed on Pence’s head for two minutes straight were the frontrunners of the day.  Trump announced that he won’t participate in virtual debates, despite literally being currently contagious with a deadly disease.  And, of course, people are starting to wonder what it will mean for the election if Trump isn’t able to run, given that voting has already begun in many states.

Key links:

1. Politico – Trump’s Refusal To Condemn White Supremacists Launches An Online Furor
2. Guardian – Trump 2016 Campaign ‘Targeted 3.5M Black Americans To Deter Them From Voting’
3. NBC – ‘Racist Voter Suppression’: Texas Laws Keep Latinos From The Ballot Box, Groups Say
4. Politico – The VP debate offers the nation a glimpse of a post-Trump future
5. CNN – Trump’s rejection of virtual format puts future of debates in question
6. Washington Post – We’re In The Final Stages Of The Presidential Election. What Happens If A Candidate Withdraws Or Dies?

Recent Resilience

Recent Court Resilience.  There were a few bright spots from a court perspective this week, though much of the news was a hot mess.  The judge who blocked the administration’s attempts to curtail census counting has issued a clarifying judgement making it extra super-duper clear that yes, the census counting must continue until October 31 despite everything going on.  And in Florida, a movement in response to a recent court decision has donors supporting re-enfranchisement efforts for those convicted of crimes, including paying court fees so that people are eligible to vote.  It’s a coalition effort that is making a real difference for the collective re-enfranchisement of a very marginalized group–one that had been denied the right to vote for life for a long time before the right was granted by majority referendum.  Especially in 2020, it means a lot to see groups pushing back against court efforts to overrule that collective will.

Key links:

1. Washington Post – In A New Ruling, Judge Says Census Count Must Continue Through October
2. New York Times – ‘Real Change’: A Race Is On To Register Ex-Felons In Florida

Things to Watch

COVID and Congress.  All of the COVID news above has implications for the legislative branch as well.  In relief news, the House passed a second COVID relief bill, with Nancy Pelosi meeting with Steven Mnuchin Trump was, uh, indisposed.  The FDA also unilaterally published its proposed rules for vaccine standards, leaving the White House more-or-less forced to sign on. When he got back to the White House, Trump retaliated by announcing that he would refuse to sign any COVID relief until after the election, which of course made the Dow plummet again, but he walked that back within a day or two and now says Americans should get stimulus payments again. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has postponed the Senate’s return by two weeks, calling everyone back on October 19–but he still wants to have confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett on October 12 as originally planned.  The astute of readers may note that two of the infected GOP senators are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, while four more were present at the Comey Barrett event on Saturday–and the whole committee is only nineteen members. If Democrats refuse to participate and any GOP members are still quarantining on Monday, the committee may not have quorum to proceed, and Mitch McConnell may learn it’s nice to want things.
Key links:

1. The Hill – House Approves $2.2T Covid-19 Relief Bill As White House Talks Stall
2. Wall Street Journal – White House Agrees To FDA’s Guidelines For Vetting Covid-19 Vaccines
3. CNN – Dow Swings 600 Points After Trump Rejects Stimulus Plan
4. Associated Press – GOP Seeks To Call Off Senate Work, But Not Barrett Hearings
5. Chicago Tribune – With 2 Senators On Judiciary Committee Positive For Covid-19 And Others Exposed, Quick Supreme Court Confirmation Called Into Question
6. Washington Post – White House, Congress continue pressing on economic relief package but Pelosi bristles over Trump approach

Black Lives Still Matter.  Information about the Breonna Taylor grand jury proceedings was released this week at a grand juror’s request, and unsurprisingly, the records show that homicide charges were not even presented as an option.  Meanwhile, protests continue in Portland, where a local police officer drove his motorcycle into a protester and the total arrest toll has crested 1,000 people.  Also, the Proud Boys did indeed show up in droves to join the fray, as discussed in last Tuesday’s debate–and speaking of Proud Boys, gay twitter co-opted their hashtag this week in glorious retaliation for the hate group’s recent everything.  In other positive news, California passed a law this week establishing a path towards reparations for Black Americans impacted by our history of slavery.
Key links:

1. Time  – Released Grand Jury Records Reveal Conflicting Accounts Of The Moments Before Breonna Taylor Died
2. Oregon – Portland Police Officer Drives Motorcycle Into Protester Blocking His Path At Friday Night Demonstration
3. CNN – Gay Men Have Taken Over The Proud Boys Twitter Hashtag
4. NBC – Historic California Law Establishes Path To Reparations For Black People, Descendants Of Slaves

Appalling Immigration Updates.  Despite Trump’s hospitalization, we still had an influx of impressively bad and occasionally weird immigration news.  The administration announced that only 15,000 people maximum would be admitted as refugees for Fiscal Year 2021, which for context is only slightly over one-tenth of the number admitted in Obama’s final year–definitely a historic low in every sense of the term.  We also started to hear about ICE raids planned in sanctuary jurisdictions yet again, though it’s unclear whether that will move forward with everything else going on.  The New York Times ran a story that somehow makes the zero tolerance practice sound even more heartless, including gems about U.S. attorneys getting in trouble for refusing to prosecute infants.  And just before she tested positive, tapes leaked of Melania Trump dropping f-bombs about both concern about migrant children during that period and, improbably, Christmas.
Key links:

1. CBS – Trump Administration Sets Refugee Cap At 15,000, A New Record Low
2. Washington Post – ICE Preparing Targeted Arrests In ‘Sanctuary Cities,’ Amplifying President’s Campaign Theme
3. New York Times – ‘We Need To Take Away Children,’ No Matter How Young, Justice Dept. Officials Said
4. Washington Post – Tapes Reveal Melania Trump Appearing To Downplay Child Separation Policy, Bemoaning Christmas Decorations

Actions for Everyone

Oh what a year this week has been! To top off the newscycle, last Wednesday we saw the first (and only) Vice-Presidential Debate. In it Mike Pence and Kamala Harris kept a semi-civil discourse, acting as cheerleaders for their respective running mates. I’d like to use said debate to talk about a couple of outstanding topics.

Why is Fracking important? – The topic of fracking came up and both candidates mentioned their respective administrations don’t have plans to ban it; which is a disheartening stance.

Fracking (other than my favorite curse word used in the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica) is the practice of hydraulic fracturing. This is when energy companies drill into the earth and pump a pressurized mix of water and chemicals in order to fracture rock and release trapped natural gas. Fracking is tremendously bad for our environment, even though it is usually green-washed into being an environmentally friendly practice. It can deplete water resources, poison drinking water, pollute the air and cause earthquakes. All of these problems have been experienced by communities that surround fracking areas, where they are now living in areas that are suddenly earthquake prone and their drinking water can literally be set on fire because of the chemicals that have leached into it.

For more info on fracking you can visit the National Resource Defense Council and you can also donate to their organization.

If you want to organize your community against fracking in your area, our neighbor’s to the north in Canada have created this handy toolkit to help.

Environment America also has lots of good information to read up on.

The vice-presidential candidates also discussed the new Supreme Court nomination and at least we can hope that this nomination will be met by Kamala Harris with top-notch prosecution.

SCOTUS nominee – and it’s possible outcomes. Because most of our government apparatus had to go into isolation due to the Covid-19 outbreak started by President Trump and friends, Congress will not be in session till after October 18th. But the Supreme Court confirmation hearings will still begin on October 12th. Judge Amy Coney Barret is very conservative, she is thought to be the final piece for the removal of the Affordable Care Act (leaving 20 million Americans without healthcare during a pandemic) and taking away a pregnant person’s right to choose by overturning Roe V. Wade.

Call your senators! Leave them voicemails. Annoy the hell out of them! Tell your friends and family to call them too! Especially if they are republicans. Remember, some republicans have come out against the nomination. You can follow this script for guidance.

After your call your senators, call your local state governments too! If Roe V. Wade is overturned, the right to an abortion will depend on each state. Ask them what stance they are taking to secure the right to choose.

VOTE! – Trump just announced he will not be attending the next Presidential debate because it is a virtual one. He literally has Coronavirus and is ok with exposing all of his staff plus all of Biden’s staff, Biden himself and the moderator to it just to have an audience. This and SO MANY INFURIATING REASONS more, is why we need to vote and encourage others to do the same. We have less than a month! November 3rd is just around the corner.

Use this sites to guide you:

Ballot Ready 

Better Know A Ballot 

Progressive Voters Guide

And here for some Things That Made Me Smile:

The fly that landed on Mike Pence.

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Events to Know

Tax Return Tango. As I type this, everybody’s talking about the New York Times article summarizing Donald Trump’s taxes, which lo and behold are pretty terrible. The info dump involved was huge, and there’s a lot to unpack here, so the New York Times has also quite helpfully put out a summary. That said, there are some points that I think deserve particular discussion, so I’m going to spend a few minutes unpacking them here with the careful caveat that I am not, in fact, a tax attorney: 1) Trump’s massive debt as a sitting President is a really, really big deal because it’s a risk to national security, as Nancy Pelosi has already noted–that kind of debt creates leverage that can be used to influence behavior, which is why it traditionally is a reason to deny security clearance; 2) Ivanka’s “consultant” fees appear to be a pretty big deal too, because they illustrate yet more instances of Trump family double-dipping; and 3) Everybody’s yelling about the $750 paid in taxes during 2016 and 2017, and his tax avoidance is insulting, but the bigger story there is what gave him the legal means to do that–his history of constantly running a deficit.

Key links:

1. New York Times – Long-concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses And Years Of Tax Avoidance
2. Associated Press – 5 takeaways from NY Times report on Trump’s tax returns
3. CNBC – Trump’s reported massive debt load raises ‘a national security question,’ Pelosi says
4. CNN Politics – Don’t miss the Ivanka Trump bombshell buried in the Times tax story
5. Washington Post – Trump avoided paying taxes for years, largely because his business empire reported losing more money than it made, report says

Your Regularly-Scheduled Illegality. There sure was a lot of news about illegal government action other than Trump’s taxes this week, not that you’d know it given the last 24 hours. Among the laundry list: 1) Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is under investigation now for Hatch Act violations, which is practically a rite of passage in this administration; 2) An executive order was issued “combating sex and race stereotyping” that forbids diversity and inclusion training of any vendors that contract with the federal government; 3) Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf is accused of awarding $6M in contracts to his wife’s security firm, which would definitely be self-dealing (and he hasn’t even had his confirmation hearing yet); 4) The Department of Justice is refusing to let senior officials testify before Congress because they “scold[ed] and insult[ed]” William Barr back in July; and 5) A National Security Counsel member is claiming the White House made things up to block publication of John Bolton’s book because the facts reported in said book made them look bad.

Key links:

1. Politico – DeVos under investigation for potentially violating Hatch Act because of Fox News interview
2. NPR -Trump Expands Ban On Racial Sensitivity Training To Federal Contractors
3. NBC News – DHS awarded $6 million in contracts to firm where Acting Secretary Wolf’s wife is executive
4. New York Times – White House Accused of Improperly Politicizing Review of John Bolton’s Book

Black Lives Still Matter.  News continues to mount regarding the grand jury that handed down a single indictment that related to endangering neighbors by shooting the walls, rather than any charges related to Breonna Taylor’s murder.  After several days of major protests in Louisville, as well as the arrest of the city’s sole black female legislator, things do not appear closer to any resolution.  New body cam footage and increasingly contradictory case information have prompted a massive call for grand jury information to be released, which the Kentucky AG appears to be considering.

Key links:

1. Washington Post – Kentucky’s only Black female legislator arrested on felony rioting charge at Breonna Taylor protest
2. Vice – New Body-Cam Footage Raises Questions About Breonna Taylor Death Investigation
3. The Hill – Kentucky AG says he will release grand jury recording in Breonna Taylor case

Recent Resilience

Recent Court Resilience.  A federal court found this week that U.S. Census counting must continue through its original date, which would force the administration to continue until October 31–though the administration is already appealing the decision.  Meanwhile, 3,500 U.S. companies are suing Trump over his tariffs on Chinese goods, which probably were in fact arbitrary and capricious.  And finally, a New York state judge has ordered Eric Trump to testify in an ongoing fraud case no later than October 7th, which should prove interesting at the very least.

Key links:

1. Associated Press – Judge says 2020 census must continue for another month
2. Reuters – Some 3,500 U.S. companies sue over Trump-imposed Chinese tariffs
3. New York  Times – Judge Orders Eric Trump to Testify in N.Y. Fraud Inquiry

Things to Watch

State of the COVID-19.  COVID news remains dispiritingly terrible for another week, and much of it is outright bizarre.  The U.S. passed the threshold of 200,000 deaths this week, and experts warn that that number might double as we move into winter; additionally, total instances of infection have surpassed 7 million.  Internationally, the virus has claimed over a million lives in the past ten months.  News also broke that the Pentagon diverted about a billion dollars of COVID relief fund, instead spending the money on jet parts and uniforms.  Meanwhile, several vaccines are beginning Stage 3 trials–which would be good news, except that Trump is already threatening to override the FDA if they are appropriately cautious about vaccine safety.  And speaking of vaccines, some media outlets are starting to pay attention to the low rate of child vaccination for other infections during the pandemic, which may in turn impact orders to reopen schools.

Key links:

1. Washington Post – Experts warn U.S. covid-19 deaths could more than double by year’s end
2. CNBC – Coronavirus updates: U.S. cases top 7 million; Florida lifts restaurant restrictions
3. CNN Health – Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine is fourth to begin Phase 3 trials in the United States
4. The Hill – Trump questions need for tougher FDA standards on coronavirus vaccine
5. New York Times – Behind the White House Effort to Pressure the C.D.C. on School Openings

Supreme Court Nominee News. Trump announced his nomination on Saturday, and it was indeed Amy Coney Barrett, which remains extremely concerning. Additionally, it would appear that Mitch McConnell now has enough votes to put the matter on the Senate floor, and a hearing is now scheduled for October 12. Incredibly, some Republican voices (apparently including Mike Pence) want to skip the hearing entirely and just vote her in, which is utterly unprecedented. And as mentioned previously, Trump straight-up stated that he wants a nominee on the bench by the time the election happens because he expects the Supreme Court to decide the election. Needless to say, it remains extremely important that we call our Senators repeatedly to make our opinion of this Senate vote known, especially because it may inform the approach taken by Democrats in response.
Key links:

1. New York Times – The Judiciary Committee will hold hearings starting Oct. 12. Here is what’s next.
2. The Hill – Rush Limbaugh encourages Senate to skip hearings for Trump’s SCOTUS nominee
3. Washington Post – Democrats debate whether to engage — or withdraw — in Supreme Court fight

Election Oddities (Again).  This was another nightmare week for election news. The Pentagon is beginning to plan for the possibility that he’ll try to deploy the military at some point during this election process.  Meanwhile, the head of the FBI indicated that they aren’t seeing instances of voter fraud by mail-in ballot (probably because spoiler, the data says they’re not), and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows started publicly attacking him for it and undermining the FBI’s credibility.  Folks, I know we’re all pretty inured to everything by this point, but I think it’s worth stepping back and thinking about that last point; the current White House chief of staff publicly stated that we can’t trust the current FBI’s investigation process because the head of the FBI said we can have safe free elections during a pandemic.  That’s just absolutely bananas, and it hurts the entire country. And of course, during the first Presidential debate on Tuesday, the entire country watched Trump fail to condemn white supremacy, instead telling the Proud Boys to “stand down and stand by.”  The hate group, for their part, immediately made it clear that they’ll be taking these statements as a set of marching orders.
Key links:

1. Axios – Christopher Wray: FBI has not seen evidence of national voter fraud effort by mail
2. CBS News – White House chief of staff Mark Meadows contradicts FBI Director Christopher Wray on voter fraud
3. Politico – Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacists launches an online furor
4. New York Times – Proud Boys celebrate Trump’s ‘stand by’ remark about them at the debate.

Actions for Everyone

Sending you a big wave of Love and Compassion today. Did you get it? I always come back to those human traits as the only way out of what feels like the unraveling of democracy and one huge trauma cycle on loop. Share the Love today to your friends, family, and neighbors. After last night’s debate, they need it today and I promise it feels good to give.

Countdown to GOTV: If you haven’t registered to vote, get serious about it. Please, pretty please make sure you’re registered to vote. In many states, you can register at your polling place, but because of COVID19, we want to encourage you to request an absentee ballot or even early vote to avoid being around large groups of people. As a country, voting isn’t as straightforward as many narratives we hear. We’re up against voter suppression, including being disenfranchised by a two party system, electoral college, etc.       

Imagine being 18-22 years old and having this being the first presidential election you’re eligible to vote in. Rise Free is an organization Rise builds student-led advocacy campaigns and programs that put higher education within reach for all. They’ve also made a Guide to Organizing, specifically for student’s, but everyone could use these resources. Share it far and wide!

Report “stand back, and stand by” rhetoric: Trump says a lot of dangerous things that have real life consequences, but the call to action for the Proud Boys seemed less like a dog whistle and more like a tornado siren. Although hate groups like the Proud Boys have been banned from Facebook and have been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, we also know they’re still active.

In the weeks ahead, I want to empower you to continue to report hate groups and hate speech on social media, and to report hate crimes to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Related, but unrelated, I also want to empower you to report businesses that aren’t enforcing mask mandates. So many systems so often fail us. As the protest chant goes, who protects us? We protect us. Protect individuals who are targeted by hate crimes.

BLM Resources: We shared this list of BLM resources last week, but if you looked at it last week, you’ll know that there are so, so, so many resources here and you should look at them again this week. I’d like to highlight a few specific links this week:

Louisville, KY:  Louisville Community Bail Fund and Fight for Breonna.

Rochester, NY: Bail and Supply Support by CashApp: $BLMRoc and by Venmo: @BLMRoc

Portland, OR: PDX Protest Bail Fund, Contact the Portland General Defense Committee (Tweet), Jail support through the GDC at pdxgdc@riseup.net or by 503-442-0866

Check out the whole list here → https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/13O7yipKHeIF2-QJ_K9IKIdLQAlN8NgEOF62qQjUjEVM/mobilebasic

Things That Made Me Smile: This Wierd Al music video makes the debate a little more digestable.

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Events to Know

Your Regularly Scheduled Illegality.  Trump is now facing yet another sexual assault allegation from the 1990s, this time by model Amy Dorris, who joins over a dozen women to have made similar allegations.  Meanwhile, Attorney General William Barr has signaled he wants to charge protesters who damage property with sedition, which is… a disturbing expansion of governmental power, to say the least. And in sketchy election news, the administration has signaled it may host a campaign event at the White House on Election Day, which would be a very blatant violation of the Hatch Act as well. Of course, this is hardly surprising given the giant indoor campaign rally Trump held this week, addressing thousands of people in clear violation of Nevada law.  These constant, conspicuous violations of law are exhausting, but we need to pay attention to them anyway, because if we stop responding to them they will continue to get worse.

Key links:

1. The Guardian – Donald Trump accused of sexual assault by former model Amy Dorris
2. CNN – Attorney General William Barr suggests charging violent protesters with sedition
3. NBC – Trump Campaign Weighing White House Event Around Election Day
4. Associated Press – In Defiance Of Nevada Governor, Trump Holds Indoor Rally

Fire Crisis on the West Coast.  We’re experiencing an unprecedented rate and range of wildfire all along the American West coast, from Los Angeles to Seattle, and it’s only the beginning of fire season.  At the time that I type this, over five million acres have burned, and more than two dozen people have died.  In many places, the entire sky is orange, and air quality is dangerously poor along points on the entire coast. These unprecedented fires are not a coincidence; data shows that climate change is causing increasingly dangerous conditions–though of course, Trump is claiming the opposite.

Key links:

1. CBS – Wildfire Burning In Northern California Is The State’s Largest On Record
2. New York Times – As Wildfires Burn Out Of Control, The West Coast Faces The Unimaginable
3. NBC – California, Oregon And Washington Wildfires Create Dangerous Air Quality Throughout West
4. CNBC – ‘I Don’t Think Science K

The Passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Long-time Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Friday evening, apparently from complications due to pancreatic cancer.  Needless to say, the nation is devastated, and this has a lot of implications for the Supreme Court and our government.  NPR reports that a few days before her death, she informed her granddaughter, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”  Nonetheless, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to act immediately, despite his refusal to confirm Obama nominee Merrick Garland under less extreme circumstances.  Trump has also signaled he will nominate a new justice “without delay,” apparently meaning before the next Presidential debate (let alone the election).  It’s still an open question whether the Senate has the votes needed to confirm an unknown nominee, and it’s also possible the identity of the nominee will prove relevant.  It is extremely important that we call our Senators repeatedly to urge them to postpone a Senate vote until after the election, and ideally until the next Presidential term.

Key links:

1. NPR – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion Of Gender Equality, Dies At 87
2. Washington Post – Nine implications of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death – for 2020 and beyond
3. New York Times – Trump Presses for New Justice ‘Without Delay’ as Election-Season Battle Looms

Recent Resilience

Recent Court Resilience.  We had a few promising court cases this week.  A federal court refused to let the Trump administration drop undocumented people from the census (again), ruling that it would violate the Fourteenth Amendment and federal law.  In Seattle, a federal judge blocked the current Postmaster General’s attempted operational changes to the mail system, calling them “a politically motivated attack.” And a different federal judge blocked the U.S. Postal Service from sending voting disinformation to denizens of Colorado, finding that the state would suffer irreparable harm if the mailer went out.

Key links:

1. Politico – Federal Judges Block Trump Census Order On Undocumented Immigrants
2. Associated Press – US judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mail
3. CNN – Colorado Secretary Of State Sues USPS Over Election Mailers She Says Misleads State’s Voters

Things to Watch

State of the COVID-19.  Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s laughably inadequate new COVID response bill was introduced in the Senate this week, where it promptly failed in a matter of days.  The situation at schools also remains messy, with many remote learners experiencing tech glitches and colleges struggling to quarantine infected students or sending them back to their hometowns.  Meanwhile, the administration’s obvious interference with the vaccine process has prompted many pharmacy CEOs to take a voluntary pledge that they will engage in safe practices.  And many countries are experiencing a surge in cases, making experts worry about another wave of outbreaks.
Key links:

1. Politico – Senate Democrats Block Republican Covid Relief Proposal
2. New York Times – College Quarantine Breakdowns Leave Some At Risk
3. Washington Post – Vaccine CEOs Issue Safety Pledge Amid Trump’s Quest For Pre-Election Approval
4. CNN – ‘Play It Down’: Trump Admits To Concealing The True Threat Of Coronavirus In New Woodward Book
5. New York Times – Covid World Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak

Immigration Updates.  There’s a lot of immigration news to watch right now, and almost all of it is pretty dire.  The Ninth Circuit undid protections for people sheltering in the United States due to catastrophe in their home country, which throws the fate of nearly 400,000 people into limbo.  Meanwhile, the Second Circuit undid protections for people seeking lawful permanent status in its jurisdiction, permitting blanket denial of disabled and indigent applicants to be enforced across the country.  In Georgia, an ICE whistleblower alleges that an ICE medical vendor performed so many medically unnecessary hysterectomies on detainees they started calling him “the uterus collector.”  News also broke that the U.S. has expelled nearly 9,000 unaccompanied minor children since the pandemic began, which is an incredibly high number and strongly suggests that legal process has not been followed.  And finally, the Washington Post reported that high coronavirus numbers in ICE custody can be partially linked to failure to follow protocols about transporting patients, which were themselves brought about so that ICE agents could be deployed at protest sites.
Key links:

1. Washington Post – ICE Flew Detainees To Virginia So The Planes Could Transport Agents To D.C. Protests. A Huge Coronavirus Outbreak Followed.
2. Politico – Appeals Court OKs Trump Plan To End Protected Immigration Status For 4 Countries
3. Law And Crime – ‘Like An Experimental Concentration Camp’: Whistleblower Complaint Alleges Mass Hysterectomies At ICE Detention Center
4. Reuters – U.S. Has Expelled 8,800 Migrant Children Under Coronavirus Rules
5. NPR – Biden Pledges To Dismantle Trump’s Sweeping Immigration Changes — But Can He Do That?
6. New York Times – 400,000 Immigrants Can Be Forced To Leave The U.S., Court Rules

Election Oddities (Again).  There was a significant amount of odd election news even discounting the sketchy Trump shenanigans listed above.  In Florida, a federal appeals court blocked the re-enfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of denizens with criminal records who cannot afford to pay court fines.  In slightly more positive Florida news, Mike Bloomberg also promised to spend at least $100M in the state to help Joe Biden’s campaign–and though he said he would support the campaign of whoever wins, this kind of donation from a former candidate has got to be an election first.  The Fourth Circuit is considering a North Carolina law that would require voters to show ID, which has been enjoined by state courts already and hopefully will remain enjoined through the November election. And of course, the news about Ruth Bader Ginsburg above creates a whole new spectre as we enter the final fifty days of the election process.
Key links:

1. New York Times – Court Ruling Deals Blow To Ex-felons’ Voting Rights In Florida
2. Washington Post – Mike Bloomberg To Spend At Least $100 Million In Florida To Benefit Joe Biden
3. Washington Post – Court Examines North Carolina’s New Law That Requires Photo Ids For Voting

Actions for Everyone

Keep your face masks and respirators close. Who could have guessed they’d be preventing the spread of COVID19, helping breathing during facist teargas raids and also through wildfire smoke?

End ICE: As if DHS wasn’t the worst already (besides FEMA and the NWS, it’s the worst) news broke this week thanks to a whistleblower within an ICE facility alleging a lack of medical care and unsafe work practices that facilitated the spread of COVID-19. She also says that immigrant women received questionable hysterectomies, an allegation that lawmakers seized on in statements issued Tuesday.

Forced, or non-consensual sterilization has been a tactic the US has imposed on womxn of color before – even in the US. This 40-min documentary titled “La Operacion” explores the mass sterilization of Puerto Rican women during the 1950s and 1960s.

We need to be calling for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement! For starters, tell your public officials to call for ICE to keep people healthy and safe by releasing them quickly and preventing COVID19 outbreaks. American Friends Service Committee have an Action Center if you want to take further actions, check them out. 

Help Prevent Forest Fires: Fires across the West coast are still flaring, displacing thousands of West coasters as well as destroying millions of acres of habitat as they continue to blaze. The climate change denying administration isn’t helping, and with extreme drought creating wildfire conditions in California and beyond, we have to call for big changes and environmental justice.

For information on that, I went to the Environmental Defense Fund for 4 ways the right policies can help us confront wildfires. Beyond making sure that you are constantly checking and shrinking your environmental footprint, I think this action item is to read up on the right policies and then call your Senators about them. You can also get more involved with the Environmental Defense Fund through their Get Involved portal.

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Events to Know

Your Regularly Scheduled Illegality.  By this point, the Trump administration blatantly breaks laws so often that the question isn’t whether they did anything illegal this week, it’s simply a matter of what. The first story of the week, unsurprisingly, involves Postmaster General Louis DeJoy yet again. This time, he’s in the news for pressuring workers at his former company to donate to GOP campaigns, which would then be ‘rewarded’ with reimbursement bonuses. (For those of you playing the home game, this is pretty obviously illegal even in a private context, as it appears to be a way around campaign contribution limits). Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is already calling for an investigation, which Trump doesn’t appear to be blocking. To be fair on that last point, though, Trump may be distracted by this week’s failed attempt to end the Census early, which is the second illegal activity of the week. I say “failed” because a federal judge ended up weighing in on this one, issuing a restraining order that keeps the administration from changing anything before a hearing can happen mid-September.  Finally, in a stunning show of “l’etat, c’est moi,” the Justice Department has intervened on 45’s personal defamation case against a woman who alleges he raped her.

Key links:

1. CNN – Washington Post: DeJoy Reimbursed Former Employees For GOP Donations
2. The Hill – Schumer Calls For Investigation Into Reports Of Campaign Finance Improprieties By Dejoy’s Former Company
3. New York Times – Federal Judge Blocks, For Now, Further Winding Down Of The 2020 Census
4. Washington Post – Justice Dept. Intervenes On Behalf Of Trump In Defamation Case Brought By Woman Who Accused Him Of Rape

Trump vs the Military. Trump managed to sink his relations with the American military even further this week, which is rather impressive all things considered. First the Atlantic ran a story that Trump referred to fallen soldiers as “losers” and “suckers” when refusing to visit an American military cemetery in Paris in 2018. An AP reporter confirmed the story, and so did the National Security correspondent at Fox News. Trump then responded by calling for the Fox News staffer to be fired. Folks, I know it’s 2020 and we get inured to a lot of nonsense, but I want to take a step back and really look at that last detail for a moment–a sitting U.S. President called for a journalist to be fired because she publicly confirmed sources on a story about him that she didn’t even write. (Needless to say, Fox supported its correspondent on this one.) The whole thing also made more people notice the administration’s attempt to cut funding to a military newspaper, the Stars and Stripes, which Trump announced would be walked back.

Key links:

1. Atlantic – Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
2. Newsweek – Fox Reporter Hits Back After Trump Calls for Her Firing Over Atlantic Story
3. The Hill – Trump Says He Won’t Cut Funding for Stars and Stripes

“Anti-American” Diversity Training. Because the first two paragraphs weren’t enough for one week, the Trump administration also announced by memorandum that federal employers may not conduct diversity trainings, which the memorandum refers to as “anti-American propaganda.” The memo also instructs federal agencies to come up with a list of all training contracts that include the terms “critical race theory” or “white privilege.” Needless to say, this is not a view shared by all Americans, especially given the tense race relations we’ve experienced over the past several months.

Key links:

1. BBC – Trump Bans ‘Anti-American’ Diversity Training
2. Washington Post – White House Directs Federal Agencies To Cancel Race-Related Training Sessions It Calls ‘Un-American Propaganda’

     Recent Resilience

No More ICE Academy (for now).  This week, ICE announced that it will be postponing its plans for a vigilante group in Chicago it was calling a “Citizens Academy.”  Though ICE is claiming the postponement was due to COVID, it seems equally likely that the sustained advocacy campaign against the project had something of an effect.  Either way, we now don’t have to worry about this particular form of threat until the spring, and I’ll take it.

Key links:

1. Chicago Sun-times – ICE Postpones Controversial ‘Citizens Academy’ In Chicago

Things to Watch

State of the COVID-19.  COVID news is a bit more mixed than usual today, which might be attributed to the approaching election as well.  The CDC issued a nation-wide eviction moratorium, which will prevent nonpayment evictions until the end of the year.  And new studies confirm that steroids can help people who become severely ill due to COVID infection.  But Trump has refused to work with the WHO to develop and distribute a vaccine, and yet his CDC is telling states to prepare for its distribution as early as October–which, incidentally, is a good six months before the WHO thinks vaccines will be ready.  Meanwhile, FEMA is saying it will no longer fund cloth masks for schools, despite the increasing chaos at college campuses, and a newly-released tell-all book says Trump has known how deadly COVID would be since March despite leading the public to believe otherwise.  Finally, at least one federal official has started advocating for a herd immunity strategy, which is both ignorant and callous from a public health perspective–definitely not prevailing medical approach in the country or the world.  We’ll need to keep a close eye on this.
Key links:

1. NPR – CDC Issues Sweeping Temporary Halt On Evictions Nationwide Amid Pandemic
2. Associated Press – Steroids Confirmed To Help Severely Ill Coronavirus Patients
3. Washington Post – U.S. Says It Won’t Join WHO-Linked Effort To Develop, Distribute Coronavirus Vaccine
4. CNN – CDC Documents Say States Should Prepare To Distribute Covid-19 Vaccines As Soon As Late October
5. New York Times – A New Front In America’s Pandemic: College Towns
6. CNN – A Herd Immunity Strategy To Fight The Pandemic Can Be ‘Dangerous,’ Experts Say. Here’s Why

Black Lives Still Matter.  This was another rough week for brutality against Black Americans.  In Rochester, New York, a video was released from March that showed police fatally suffocating 41-year-old Daniel Prude with a “spit hood.”  Prude was apparently one of several Americans who have been injured or killed by this type of restraint, and he’s also one of many Americans killed by police while in mental health crisis.  Meanwhile, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend is suing the Louisville police for misconduct.  And in Portland, police fatally shot a man suspected of shooting a conservative counterprotester, rather than apprehending him alive.  Needless to say, there’s a lot to watch here.
Key links:

1. New York Times – 7 Police Officers Suspended as a Black Man’s Suffocation Roils Rochester
2. Washington Post – Daniel Prude’s Death Highlights Dangers of ‘Spit Hoods’ and Calls for Regulation
3. Mental Health America – Position Statement 59: Responding To Behavioral Health Crises
4. CBS – Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend Files Lawsuit Over His Arrest The Night She Was Killed By Police
5. NBC – Suspect In Fatal Portland Shooting Is Killed By Law Enforcement During Arrest Attempt

Election Oddities (Again).  Other than a bright spot when Ed Markey won the Democratic primary here in Massachusetts, this week was a surreal nightmare on the election front.  Trump decided to fight mail-in voting by suggesting to his supporters that they should try to vote multiple times, presumably because there will definitely be evidence of voter fraud if his followers create it.  This left officials in multiple states scrambling to remind constituents that this is, in fact, illegal.  It is also closely related to the current Russian tactic for interfering with our election, shocking no one.  And speaking of Russia, a senior Department of Homeland Security alleged in a whistleblowing complaint this week that he was instructed to stop reporting on Russian interference, because it “made the President look bad.”
Key links:

1. CNN – Sen. Ed Markey Defeats A Kennedy In Massachusetts
2. The Hill – White House Seeks To Clarify Trump Remarks On Voting Twice
3. CNBC – North Carolina Warns Voting Twice Is Illegal After Trump Urges People To Do So
4. ABC – Russia Is ‘Amplifying’ Claims Of Mail-in Voter Fraud, Intel Bulletin Warns
5. Washington Post – Senior DHS official alleges in whistleblower complaint that he was told to stop providing intelligence analysis on threat of Russian interference

Actions for Everyone

Last Monday we celebrated Labor Day, a day chosen to celebrate the working class.  We have a lot to thank the labor movement and worker’s unions. Because of union’s, some workers have benefits like healthcare, sick days, vacation days and protective gear in the workplace. Union’s helped establish a minimum wage, got the workday down to 8 hours and fought for our right to have a weekend. Yes, the weekend IS A RIGHT! You literally have a right to party.

Labor Day is a great day to reflect on the power of the working class. We still have a long way to go. We must keep on going to have wage equality, to raise the minimum wage, to establish universal healthcare, to fight against discrimination, to stand up for the enslaved prison-workers and to make the world a more just place for all. It’s easy to fall into the abyss of the media, the darkness that permeates our nation right now, but to keep looking onto the future, keeps our heads up high. Happy Labor Day to all the workers’ of the world.

Here is some more info on Labor Day. 

Prison Reform: A lot has been said about defunding and reforming the police, and the same can be said about the prison system. USA is #1 in the amount of imprisoned people. The rate of imprisonment has risen 500% in the last 40 years. There are around 2.2 million prisoners in the USA right now. That’s more than the entire population of New Mexico. Prison labor is basically modern slavery. Take for example California prisoners who are working as firefighters; these men who have risked their lives to extinguish wildfires are not eligible to become firefighters because they have a criminal record. There are more jails than colleges in the USA. Because of all of this and more, this country needs prison reform asap. What can you do to help?

Always talk to your representatives.

Check out The Sentencing Project and The Anarchist Black Cross

Talk about it. This is a topic a lot of people either don’t know about or choose to ignore.

Keep pestering the Senate: The Senate is back in session as of September 8th and they are probably counting to keep ignoring a Covid relief package and on how to help the hurt USPS. Don’t stop calling! Demand they vote on the Heroes act (They’ve had it since MAY!) and to pass the Delivering for America act.

Milwaukee Freedom Fund: The Milwaukee Freedom Fund was started by Black and Brown Milwaukee organizers who wanted to see residents supported as they asserted their rights to protest for justice. Since May, Milwaukee Freedom Fund has been collecting and distributing funds for bail, court-related costs, rides, food, water, and other needs of those who are asserting their rights to protest for justice.

Although it’s based in Milwaukee, it has recently extended to Kenosha to support the most recent uprising there. Please learn more about the Milwaukee Freedom Fund and donate to support those dedicated to protesting for justice.

Here are some Things That Made Me Smile!

Instant karma memes at the Trump Boat Parade

Celebrating National Mushroom Month and learning there is such a thing as the Mushroom Council

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Events to Know

Who Needs a Post Office, Anyway. We saw a further push against the post office, this time from its own postmaster, who issued a memorandum this week dramatically changing a number of procedures. The biggest immediate change for consumers will be that some letters will now get left at distribution centers, but the memorandum seems to indicate a sea change in general. Needless to say, an internal memorandum comparing the post office to private institutions that can go bankrupt is not normal, but for this administration it’s just Tuesday.

Key links:

1. Washington Post – Postal Service Memos Detail ‘Difficult’ Changes, Including Slower Mail Delivery

Election Oddities (Again). This week’s weird election news is that Trump has canceled the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, which he insisted move to Jacksonville in the first place.  In true Trump fashion, he’s claiming “the timing wasn’t right,” but it’s presumably canceled because Jacksonville couldn’t make it safe to attend.  Unsurprisingly, the GOP is now fighting with itself, and it’s likely not a coincidence that Republican Senators also overwhelmingly voted for a bill provision Trump publicly hates.

Key links:

1. NPR – President Trump Cancels Jacksonville Component Of Republican National Convention
2. Politico – ‘We Can’t Pull It Off’: Florida Sheriff Says He Can’t Muster Security For GOP Convention
3. Reuters – U.S. Senate Passes $740 Billion Defense Bill, Bucking Trump On Confederate Names

Immigration Updates.  We had a significant amount of bad immigration news this week.  Trump announced that he’s going to instruct the U.S. Census to stop counting undocumented people, which is both illegal and probably a bluff, because it’s unclear how he would even implement this with the census halfway done and no citizenship question.  (That said, it can and probably will have a chilling effect on immigrant populations completing the survey.)  The administration was also in the news for holding migrant kids in hotels and then deporting them, which is a pretty clear violation of the Flores agreement that requires them to matriculate unaccompanied minors through shelters and into sponsors’ homes.  Against that backdrop, it’s unsurprising that Canada concluded this week that their asylum treaty with us should be invalidated, because the U.S. is not a safe country for asylum seekers anymore.

Key links:

1. NBC – Trump Signs Memo To Omit Undocumented Immigrants From Census Apportionment Count
2. AZ Family – Migrant Kids Held In Phoenix Hampton Inn Hotels, Then Expelled
3. NPR – U.S.-Canada Asylum Treaty Unconstitutional, Judge Finds, Citing ‘Cruel’ U.S. Behavior

Recent Resilience

Recent Racial Change Resilience.  On the more positive side, we have promising follow up on several stories from earlier newsletters.  The NFL team based in Washington has settled on–wait for it–the ‘Washington Football Team’ as their name for the next season.  (They say it’s temporary, but I hope they keep it forever, because this is hilarious.)  In Chicago, an official decision to temporarily remove statues of Christopher Columbus from two park locations was enacted without incident.  The House voted to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. capitol.  And in Philadelphia, the District Attorney publicly outlined his plan for arresting and charging any federal agents who engage in the abduction methods reported in Portland.  It’s not comprehensive, by any stretch, but progress is progress.

Key links:

1. ESPN – Washington NFL Team To Use ‘Washington Football Team’ For 2020 Season
2. ABC – Mayor Cites ‘Public Safety Concerns’ In Decision To Remove Columbus Statues In Grant Park, Little Italy
3. New York Times – House Votes To Remove Confederate Statues From U.S. Capitol
4. Bloomberg – Philadelphia’s Top Prosecutor Is Prepared To Arrest Federal Agents

Things to Watch

State of the COVID-19. COVID news remains a mess on an impressive number of levels.  We continue to break records about daily infection rates, and death rates are rising again as well. At the time that I type this, over 4 million Americans have been infected and over 145,000 people have died–or at least, that’s our best understanding of the numbers, as data may still be having issues.  Unemployment rates are still rising, possibly because PPP money is running out.  And speaking of running out, a lot of workers are poised to run out of $600 unemployment supports on Friday, and the federal eviction moratorium is ending too. The Senate has not yet passed a final version of the Heroes Act, and Mitch McConnell says getting an agreement could take “weeks”–though his final version of the bill looks pretty sparse, so he might just be estimating how long they’ll be fighting over the difference between versions.  An ICE facility was in the news for having staggeringly high infection rates–more on the below–and major league baseball experienced disruption due to an outbreak among members of the Miami Marlins.  Studies were also published about the quick rate of antibody decay, prompting question about whether people can be infected twice or more–which in turn prompts further questions about what this means for vaccines.  (Antibody tests also suggest that rates of infection are much higher than reported, which is pretty disturbing given how high the report rates are.)  Oh, and 4,000 federal employees have contracted the virus at work, apparently including Trump’s own national security advisor.
Key links:

1. New York Times – Coronavirus In The U.S.: Latest Map And Case Count
2. CNN – This Is The Last Week Of $600 Unemployment Benefits
3. Washington Post – Here Is What’s In The Senate GOP’s $1 Trillion ‘Heals Act’ Package
4. Washington Post – Can You Get Coronavirus Twice? Doctors Are Unsure, Even As Anecdotal Reports Mount
5. Bloomberg – Trump National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien Has Coronavirus

Portland Pressure Cooker. The situation in Portland continued to escalate for another week, and it doesn’t show signs of abating as I type this. Trump’s federal CBP agents teargassed the mayor, who was standing with protesters in an attempt to heal the city’s rift, prompting said mayor to call Trump’s response “flat-out urban warfare.” Now both CBP and Portland’s police are under independent investigation. Meanwhile, Trump is sending agents into more cities, such as Chicago and Kansas City, under a banner he’s calling “Operation Legend”. Unsurprisingly, this is increasing civil unrest in several more cities as well, such as Seattle and Oakland, even though the administration claims the push is crime-related. Several cities declared riots to authorize further force against protesters, and one man was fatally shot in Austin. The weekend closed out with the U.N. calling us out and Trump sending even more troops to Portland.
Key links:

1. BBC – Trump To Send ‘Surge’ Of Hundreds Of Federal Agents To Cities
2. Washington Post – Department Watchdogs To Investigate Federal Law Enforcement Conduct At Protests
3. Al Jazeera – Trump To Send Federal Officers To Us Cities To Tamp Down Unrest
4. The Hill – Protests Erupt Nationwide In Solidarity With Portland Demonstrations
5. Insider – Police Reveal Identity Of Man Killed At Black Lives Matter Protest In Austin, Texas
6. Washington Post – U.N. Human Rights Office Calls On U.S. Police To Limit Use Of Force

Actions for Everyone

How are we doing? Hopefully healthy, staying safe, using masks and washing our hands! We got this! We are strong, even when we don’t feel like it. Please, remember to take time to process the times we are living in right now, take time for yourself, even if it’s a 5 minute sit-down, remember feeling scared and vulnerable and anxious is normal. I wish you all a great week! I’ve personally been using the app Relax Melodies, to help me fall asleep quicker.

Resistbot!: I wanted to share with you this amazing tool. It’s called Resistbot! Created after the outcome of the 2016 elections, ResistBot It’s a tool used to contact your representatives, local and federal, so you can voice your concerns and show your support for different pieces of legislation. It also helps with voter registration and education on different pressing and current topics .It will help you find your representatives and also deliver the message you want, all in one service. It is free but it runs on donations. Research shows representatives take written letters and emails into account more than phone calls.  Support this useful tool that helps our democracy.

You could use ResistBot this week to contact your representatives in the Senate to show support for the HEROES Act. At the moment, the Senate has introduced a lesser proposal, instead of passing the Heroes Act which already passed in the House in May. They have waited two months and are now trying to pass a bill that would leave out help for states, the USPS, no extra funds for SNAP Benefits when the unemployment rate is at its highest it has been since the Great Depression, lessen Unemployment assistance and more. Basically, trying to spend way less money during an international pandemic and the disastrous handling of it nationally.

Use ResistBot and let them know we deserve better.

The USPS is struggling. How else can you help?

• Give your carriers PPE and hand sanitizers
• Ask your carriers what you can do for them and be grateful
• Buy extra stamps!

#JusticeforBreonnaTaylor: The organization UltraViolet has a campaign going to bring Justice for Breonna Taylor after she was murdered by police in March while she slept in her house. Protesting helps, calling your city if you live in Louisville, KY helps, signing petitions helps, keeping her name alive helps.

Less than 100 days to VOTE! – You still have time to register to vote. Do it ! Helps others do it too!

Things That Made Me Smile:

This video made me laugh for almost 10 minutes straight. Please enjoy!

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