Yesterday This Was Home: Resolution

Posted on by Thor

The camera slowly pulls back as the narrator talks about his relief and a feeling of vindication. The white couple can be seen behind out protagonist but all the flesh tones are subtle shades of grey through the tinted bus windows. There is no black and white.

This film is now on display at the Orange County Regional History Center (65 East Central Blvd Orlando FL) for the new exhibition, Yesterday This Was Home, about the 1920 Ocoee Voting Day Massacre.

The exhibition is open until February 14, 2021. The 1920 Ocoee Massacre in Orange County, Florida, remains the largest incident of voting-day violence in United States history.

Events unfolded on Election Day 1920, when Mose Norman, a black U.S. citizen, attempted to exercise his legal right to vote in Ocoee and was turned away from the polls. That evening, a mob of armed white men came to the home of his friend, July Perry, in an effort to locate Norman. Shooting ensued. Perry was captured and eventually lynched. An unknown number of African American citizens were murdered, and their homes and community were burned to the ground. Most of the black population of Ocoee fled, never to return.

This landmark exhibition will mark the 100-year remembrance of the Ocoee Massacre. The exhibition will explore not only this horrific time in our community’s history but also historical and recent incidents of racism, hatred, and terror, some right here at home.

The content will encourage reflection on a century of social transformation, the power of perspective, and the importance of exercising the right to vote, and will ask what lessons history can inspire moving forward.

To promote safe distancing, the museum has implemented new ticketing procedures for this special exhibition. For the run of the exhibition, the museum will have extended operating hours to create a safe viewing experience for a greater number of people. On Sundays the museum will open two hours earlier at 10 am. and stay open two hours earlier until 7 p.m. And on Thursdays, we will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

White People

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As Sam recalled his grandmother telling him to never be “Uppity”  to white people this negative image is created as a time lapse. It is a scene of Carolyn Bryant Donham with her husband and two children in the courtroom of the Emmett Till murder trial. She was never charged in the murder of Emmett Till. The court case took place in in the court case in Sumner Mississippi, which was billed as a good place to raise a boy. Her husband Roy Bryant his accomplice J.W. Milam were found not guilty by a jury of all white men. The verdict took just an hour and seven minutes. It wouldn’t have taken that long, but the jury took a soda pop break to make it look good.

Knowing they could not be re-tried for murder, Roy and J.M later admitted to  journalist William Bradford Huie in a 1956 Look Magazine story,  that they had indeed tortured and murdered Emmett Till. They were paid $4000 for the story. The US Justice Department re-opened the case saying the case was a “gross miscarriage of justice.” The new evidence points to the possible involvement of more that a dozen people. Roy and J.M have already died.  J.M. Milam died of cancer in 1980 and Roy Bryant died of cancer in 1994.

Putt the Lame Duck

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Joe Biden was elected president of the United States, but the lame duck Donald Trump is trying to tie up the transition of power with a glut of frivolous lawsuits. The lame ducks can do damage before slinking off on inauguration day, January 20, 2021. Things can get particularly dangerous in this time of COVID-19 crisis. Yesterday November 9, 2020 there were 135,574 new cases of COVID-19 with 1,345 deaths. There have been over 100,000 new cases every day since the election. With the lame duck in charge over 100,000 more people may die before the presidential inauguration.

Trump could encourage the rise of violent domestic terrorists that refuse to accept the outcome of the election while continuing to spread misinformation that the election is being “stolen” from him. Don Jr. has advised him to start having more rallies to incite his “base” and promote the stolen election fraud.

Trump just fired Mark Esper, the countries defense secretary. There is no possible reason for the firing except revenge. Mark Esper apologized to the American people for being seen in the president’s photo opportunity outside the White House when peaceful protestors were gassed to allow Trump to pose with a bible in front of a church. Esper has fought back against using armed military against United States citizens. Esper also backed the idea of renaming military bases named after confederate generals, who like Trump lost the war. Foreign nations are aware of America’s vulnerability during a time of presidential transition and it makes no sense for our defense department to be in turmoil as Biden takes office in January. Trump loyalists are being installed in positions of power in the pentagon. The pentagon might be a hot spot for some radical changes in the next 71 days. It has the smell of Trump trying to create a police state after his loss. Mike Pompeo said in a press briefing today that there will be a second Trump term. Trump’s GOP sycophants seem to be enabling the former president’s fiction that he won the election. They support his fantasy with their silence, fearing death threats from Trump loyalists should they cross him.

Whatever happens in the next two month’s, you can expect Trump to continue his tirade of lies. According to the Washington Post’s analysis, President Trump has made false or misleading claims more than 20,000 times between January 20, 2016 and July 9, 2020. He is likely to issue blanket pardons for himself and his family and destroy any White House documents that could be incriminating.

Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud are causing a continued slip of Americans trust in government. That trust is hard to regain. White supremacists are fueled by Trumps ongoing rhetoric. The Department of Homeland Security finds these domestic terrorists to be the most “persistent and lethal threat” in the US.

I frankly am hopeful that I will no longer have to pay attention to the lame duck grifter.

 

Winter Is Coming

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The next two months are going to be the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 100,000 cases have been reported every day since the election. The numbers are going to continue to climb in the next two months until we look back at 100,000 cases a day as the base of the mountain.

There’s a delay between case spikes and death spikes, which means there will be more deaths in the coming weeks and months. Though Joe Biden won the election, this is still Trump’s pandemic for the next two months until Joe is sworn in on January 20, 20201.

About 1,000 plus people are dying a day now and with 73 days until the January 20, 2021 inauguration that means at least  73,000 more deaths before Biden in sworn in. Since the numbers will rise with no control measures from the Trump administration, it is possible for over 100,000 deaths before the inauguration.

The nation is fatigued from seven months of the virus and many are letting their guard down. As we face Thanksgiving and Christmas families want to gather to celebrate and break bread together. Unfortunately, it is exactly these small family gatherings which help spread the virus. Experts are pleading, “Please don’t gather with more than a few carefully chosen people.” Gathering around the table with family for a holiday meal is one of the riskiest things to do this holiday. It is particularly risky since it involves several generations of people who could transmit the virus.

Trump has refused to concedes his loss. We face the following months with a president who is vindictive and abusive. Emily W. Murphy, a Trump appointee, has yet to sign off on a key document needed to formally begin the transition process. Trump is likely to execute a scorched earth policy making it difficult for the next administration to attach the health crisis from day one. Joe Biden has a COVID-19 task force picked out but they are on hold until Trump allows them work work along side his gutted COVID-19 task force.

On person on Biden’s task force is Rick Bright who tried to warn the Trump administration about the dangers of the virus. Back in May he warned that “2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history.” He damn well got that right.  Rick was demoted when he blew the whistle on the Trump administration when they tied to flood the streets with  an unproven drug touted by Trump, Hydroxychloroquine. The malaria drug was proven to have no benefit for COID-19 patients and in some cases was lethal. Had the administration listened to Rick Bright at the beginning of the pandemic, thousands of lives could have been saved.

Election Night Super Spreader

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White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows upstaged the petulant Donald Trump on Election Night. That night, I went to bed knowing full well that the results would take time to count. As I slept it turns out, Trump decided to hold a party in the White House where he threatened democracy by claiming he had won long before the votes had been counted. His fascist authoritarian announcement was pulled off the air by the networks since he was lying. News anchors reacted in horror at this small man’s predictable behavior. Twitter had to block his tweets which were also voter fraud.

Trump’s fascist party in the east room of the White House, was overshadowed by his chief of staff, Mark Meadows who tested positive for COVID-19 the day the after election night bash. The mask less Mark mixed and mingled at the indoor event which consisted of about 400 of Trumps ardent supporters, donors and staff. Despite health officials’ warnings about the risks of large gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump has continued to bring big groups of people together for outdoor campaign rallies and events at the White House.

The White House has become America’s most famous super spreader hot spot. The White House has been close lipped about exactly how many have contracted the virus in the White House but at least 5 staff have made their illness public. Mark Meadows is infamous for being dismissive of wearing masks. It was Mark who tried to keep news of the White House outbreak from becoming public. When he approached reporters in the White House halls, he took off his mask to speak and reporters reacted in horror. He stomped off refusing to speak to reporters with the mask in place. Meadows was in close contact with President Donald Trump after the president was diagnosed with Covid-19 in early October. Until now he had avoided contracting the virus. Meadows famously announced that the administration was going to do nothing to control the spread of the virus. Essentially the Trump administration had thrown up the white flag of surrender. As he said, “The US would not be able to get the coronavirus under control “because it is a contagious virus.” It is quite simple to to get the pandemic under control, by wearing masks and not holding super spreader events.

Mark Meadows was front and center as hundreds gathered in the White House on election night. He usurped Trump as the super spreader in chief. Guests were reportedly tested before the event began, but, a negative test result doesn’t mean it is safe to mingle with others. Those who were in attendance Election Night are now at risk of having been infected. New cases of COVID-19 have surpassed 100,000 a day every day since the election. America is entering the darkest phase of the pandemic since it began.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the presidential election but they do not take over until January 20, 2021. That leaves us 72 days with a president who ignores the pandemic. We need Biden’s new COVID-19 task force to step up immediately to do something, anything. The two co-chairs of the incoming administration’s task force are Vivek Murthy, the former U.S. surgeon general, and David Kessler, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Others infected at Election Night Super Spreader Party:

Brian Jack, White House political director

Healy Baumgardner, a former White House Aide

Ben Carson, Housung and Urban Development Secratary

David Bossie, directed election legal challenge

Before these recent cases, at least 28 Trump campaign officials had tested positive for COVID-19.

Yesterday This Was Home: No

Posted on by Thor

This is a short sweet dialogue scene when the 12 year old Sam says, “No.” It is a defining moment when he refused to be moved to the back of the bus. The dialogue is on 4s, meaning each drawing holds for 4 frames of film. I thought that might look clunky, loosing the persistence of vision that makes animation convincing,  but it looks crisp and fast. I like the way it turned out.

This film is now on display at the Orange County Regional History Center (65 East Central Blvd Orlando FL) for the new exhibition, Yesterday This Was Home, about the 1920 Ocoee Voting Day Massacre.

The exhibition is open until February 14, 2021. The 1920 Ocoee Massacre in Orange County, Florida, remains the largest incident of voting-day violence in United States history.

Events unfolded on Election Day 1920, when Mose Norman, a black U.S. citizen, attempted to exercise his legal right to vote in Ocoee and was turned away from the polls. That evening, a mob of armed white men came to the home of his friend, July Perry, in an effort to locate Norman. Shooting ensued. Perry was captured and eventually lynched. An unknown number of African American citizens were murdered, and their homes and community were burned to the ground. Most of the black population of Ocoee fled, never to return.

This landmark exhibition will mark the 100-year remembrance of the Ocoee Massacre. The exhibition will explore not only this horrific time in our community’s history but also historical and recent incidents of racism, hatred, and terror, some right here at home.

The content will encourage reflection on a century of social transformation, the power of perspective, and the importance of exercising the right to vote, and will ask what lessons history can inspire moving forward.

To promote safe distancing, the museum has implemented new ticketing procedures for this special exhibition. For the run of the exhibition, the museum will have extended operating hours to create a safe viewing experience for a greater number of people. On Sundays the museum will open two hours earlier at 10 am. and stay open two hours earlier until 7 p.m. And on Thursdays, we will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Election Day Surge

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To date the United States has seen 235,000 deaths from COVID-19. That is 235,000 people who did not vote in the November 3 Election. That is why it is particularly galling to hear Rudy Giuliani claiming that the dead have been voting in the presidential election.  The Borat 2 star said he’d been sent to find out how many dead people had voted in Pennsylvania. It seems that calling the election process into doubt is the only hope for these demented souls.

North Dakota has seen a huge spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths.   David Andahl, a candidate for the “Be Legendary” State Legislature died in October, 2020 from COVID-19 but his name was still on the printed ballot. Andahl, 55, had been hospitalized and died after being sick for about four days. He won the election despite his death. There is now a dispute over what to do with his empty seat.

In Missouri an election judge supervisor was diagnosed positive for COVID-19 on October 30, 2020. No details about the worker, including age or gender, were released. He/she was told to quarantine for 14 days but did not follow that advice and worked at at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling site in St. Charles on Election day, November3, 2020. There were nine other election workers at the polling place and they are being advised to get tested. Since He/she was a supervisor, it is believed that she did not work closely the 1,800 voters who entered the poling place on Election Day. Election workers were required to wear face coverings, such as shields or masks, and dividers separated voters in an effort to curb the virus’ spread. After the election this election judge died. Anyone who was in the precinct on election day is a risk and should monitor themselves closely for symptoms. This case is stark reminder that a positive COVID-19 test result requires that person to be responsible to others in the community.

On November 5, 2020   the US set a staggering new Covid-19 daily case record with more than 120,000 infections. The situation continues to get worse as the nation focuses on Election results.

Treading Water

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As of this writing the election for the President of the United States is still up in the air. Even if Joe Biden is elected into office, he will not take office until January 20, 2021. That means the United States will go through two more months with no leadership when it comes to handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

We as a nation have to tread water during a huge spike in COVID-19 cases. The worst is ahead of us. Waiting for the election results feels like dropping below the waters surface.

By late November to early December each state has its own deadline to certify the election. However, if ballot disputes, litigation or other factors delay the count, blowing this deadline doesn’t invoke a penalty in the presidential race.

December 8, 2020 is the safe harbor deadline. Congress can no longer challenge any state electors.

December 14, 2020 is the date when electors are required to meet in their states and cast their ballots for President.

December 23, 2020 the states electors are supposed to transmit their votes to Congress by this date.

January 3, 2020 the new Congress is sworn in.

January 20, 2021 the Constitution says a new presidential term begins.

So, until January 20, 2021 Trump is in charge and likely ignoring the pandemic as he always has. Over 100,000 American are now being infected each day, which is a new record, and death rates continue to rise as hospitals are strained to their breaking points. In recent weeks, Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci have become increasingly outspoken about the dangers of the president’s approach with the virus. Trump has pushed Birx and Fauci aside in favor of Dr. Atlas who is not an expert on infectious diseases and claimed masks do not work.  Masks do work, wear a mask.

If he’s elected, Biden’s COVID-19 advisory panel would work in parallel to President Trump’s diminished coronavirus task force. The task force would include former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, New York University’s Dr. Celine Gounder, Yale’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, former Obama White House aide Dr. Zeke Emanuel and former Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita, who is now an executive vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The team is expected to advise transition officials on managing the latest spike of Covid-19 cases, ensuring vaccines are safe, and protecting at risk populations. It is unclear how much this new task force can accomplish before the inauguration. The Biden transition team has also discussed contingency plans for the possibility that the Trump administration would refuse to cooperate and share information during a transition.

As of Election Day, the virus has killed more than 230,000 people in the U.S. and infected more than 9 million. In the 86 days until he inauguration, 100,000 more Americans will likely die from the virus if the president doesn’t shift course, said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, echoing estimates from other public health experts. Stay safe and keep treading water.

Robo Calls

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As I write this the presidential election is still up in the air with a very close race. On election day more than 3 million robo calls  were made to swing state voters. The message said, “stay safe and stay home.” This is possible voter  suppression and the FBI is investigating. This was on of many attempts too confuse voters on election day. The message, only  few seconds long was delivered in a monotone, robotic voice. Apparently robo calls are a scourge during every election.

Those in Texas were targeted in the lion’s share of the calls — more than 798,000 on Election Day according to, TelTech data. Robocalls targeted more than 534,000 numbers tied to area codes in Florida, a pivotal battleground state. More than 93,000 Pennsylvania numbers were selected, as were 89,000 in Michigan and 60,000 in North Carolina. Residents in Flint, Michigan got robo calls encouraging them to vote on Wednesday November 4, 2020 to avoid the long lines on Election Day.

If the calls originated in the United States they should be able to track down the source, but if they originated from overseas, it becomes impossible to track the calls. I got several robo calls on election day, but I answer with my name and a quick salutation, if there is no reply, I immediately hang up. I don’t have patience for that shit. It is interesting that on this site, I often run the hashtags, #StayHome, #SaveLives, #StoptheSpread but I decided that on election day I would not run them. I will be running them again on this post.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, tweeted Tuesday afternoon: “Attempts to hinder voters from casting ballots by spreading misinformation is illegal and will not be tolerated. That’s why I am actively investigating robocalls allegedly spreading disinformation.”

Donald Trump has said that Republicans would ‘never’ be elected again if it was easier to vote. A robo call already existed threatening people who expressed negative views of Trump on social media.

# Orlando Morons

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City officials seemed to think that promoting a huge Halloween gathering in downtown Orlando would be a good idea. The idea was to cordon off downtown streets and to promote open carry of drinks so that people did not gather inside crowded bars. It would be best to get drunk in the gutter. The area was bound by Garland Avenue on the west side, Church Street on the south, Magnolia Avenue on the east and Washington Street to the north. Orange Avenue became a congested and shoulder to shoulder mass of people, many whom did not wear masks.

An outdoor stage was even set up in a parking lot by a promoter called Vanguard and they seemed to think they could could hold this concert safely. Each ticket holder was given a mask and face-shield for the price of the ticket. The crowd waiting to enter the The Boo! Orlando 2020 stage could be at the epicenter of this super spreader event. Also, what zombies gathered at the edge of the fenced off parking lot, crowding close to listen? Boo indeed.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings sent out compliance teams to the bars downtown hoping to promote social distancing and safety. Free PPE was handed out to bar owners before the festivities but it was a drop in the bucket when thousands showed up with no masks that night.

Mayor Buddy Dyer said, “The pilot program to help alleviate the expected big crowds in downtown Orlando on Halloween night didn’t work. Instead, thousands of costumed crowds packed the downtown area in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. A lot of people were out there without masks, without social distancing so I am concerned whether there was some spread of COVID-19 Saturday night downtown.”

The CDC advised against drinking alcohol or taking drugs Halloween night since they can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors. They also advised against attending crowded costume parties. Bar owners and promoters must have done very well Halloween night, but they have blood on their hands as do any city officials who thought this was a good idea.

The downtown Halloween event was an undeniable disaster and most certainly was a super spreader event. Thousands of plastic cups littered the streets the day after and the puke had to be sprayed off the pavement. Downtown was a dump, and now the virus can spread throughout the community. Orange County reported 4,651 new cases of COVID-19 on November 2, 2020 for a total of 46,985 cases and 560 deaths. Expect those numbers to spike in the next 14 days. The horror… the horror.