Election Night Super Spreader

Posted on by Thor

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

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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.

Yesterday, This Was Home: the Ocoee Massacre of 1920

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Today marks exactly 100 years since the Ocoee Voting Day Massacre.  The Orange County Regional History Center (65 East Central Blvd Orlando FL) has spent three years researching and designing an exhibit about this horrific event.

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.

The following information is taken from the Orange County Regional History Center’s most recent exhibition, Yesterday, This Was Home: the Ocoee Massacre of 1920. For 100 years, the story of the Ocoee Massacre has gone largely untold. It has been subject to intentional obfuscation, lies, misunderstandings, and sensationalism. Memories and perspectives vary, and there are very few reliable source documents to confirm what is factual. If all hearsay, conjecture, conflicting, or contested information is removed, and you only include what most accounts mutually agree upon or what is included in primary source documents, the story is only a few paragraphs long. Though it is missing much nuance and details, this is what can be factually said.

On November 2, 1920, Moses Norman, a Black labor broker, attempted to exercise his legal right to vote in Ocoee, Florida. He was turned away and not allowed to cast his ballot. Later, a group of armed white men came to the home of Norman’s friend, July Perry, another Black labor broker in Ocoee, and violence ensued. Shots rang out and fires were started. Black residents were forced to flee from their homes.

Badly injured by bullet wounds, July Perry was captured by some of the armed men and taken into custody. After receiving medical attention, he was left in a cell at the Orange County Jail in downtown Orlando. According to a State of Florida Coroner’s Inquest that took place on November 3 and 4, 1920, an unidentified white mob overpowered the jailer, taking Perry from his cell.

The lynch mob brutalized Perry, and by November 3, had hanged his body in public view. His body was later moved to Greenwood Cemetery and buried. Moses Norman fled; he was eventually recorded living in New York City. Two men from the white mob were shot and killed, Leo Borgard and Elmer McDaniels, for which Carey Hand Undertaker’s Memorandum exist. Able-bodied ex-servicemen were called from across the region to come to Ocoee and create a perimeter to make sure the event did not continue, also blocking Black residents from returning to their homes. An unknown number of Black people were killed that night and others injured. Three unidentified Black individuals were recorded as being buried in one grave in a Carey Hand Undertaker’s Memorandum.

That night, many Black residents fled Ocoee, never to return. Some stayed but were eventually driven out by the terror of that night as well as subsequent violence over the following years, including dynamite being thrown into their homes and individuals being beaten and threatened. After 1926, there would not be another recorded Black person to reside or own land for any length of time in Ocoee until at least the mid- to late-1970s.

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.

On the day I went in to sketch, only one couple was in the exhibit space at the same time as me. There as some hand sanitizer at the beginning of the exhibit and I went back to use it each time I used any of the interactive displays.

At the end of the exhibit you can see the animated oral histories I worked on. The screen needs to be touched to play each animated short so be sure to sanitize your hands after you watch. I am glad I went this in an exhibit which is so timely. Today people marching to vote in North Carolina were pepper sprayed and arrested. This isn’t quite as bad as the Ocoee massacre but voter suppression is not a thing of the past.

Stranded

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Hundreds of Trump supporters were left stranded in the cold after a Trump rally at Eppley Airfield in Omaha Nebraska. After Air Force One took off, the nightmare had just begun for many. Parking for the rally was four miles away and people had to wait for hours hoping buses would get them back to the lots. Many started walking to their cars further clogging the roads. The Trump campaign said “local road closures and resulting congestion caused delays.” No campaign staff were on site to help with the chaotic scene that unfolded.

An Omaha police officer shook his head and said, “We need at least 30 more buses.” Police assisted in giving the elderly and infirm rides to their cars. According to preliminary reports from that night, 30 people were contacted by emergency personnel for medical reasons and seven were transported to hospitals “with a variety of medical conditions.” News reports indicated that temperature, with wind chill, dropped into the 20s. Seven people were hospitalized for hypothermia.

A post on Instagram summed up the situation neatly, “I see people wearing coats and hats. I did my own research and found out that only 1500 people die of hypothermia in the US each year. That’s only 0.0005% of the population. The rally goers fear something that 99.9995% of people won’t die from. Many who died from hypothermia were wearing coats and hats, and they still died! Coats don’t work.” It seems strange that so many at the Omaha Rally did not have masks to help keep their face warm.

In another extreme, a dozen people from a Trump Rally in Tampa Florida were taken to a hospital possibly due to heat exhaustion, On person fainted and another had a seizure. The other 10 who were taken to the hospital were listed as “sick” with no other details.

More important is the fact that Trump Rally’s leave infectious spikes in their wake. Donny is acting like Johnnie Appleseed spreading the virus all over the country. A CNN investigation found that 82% of Trump Rally sites had an increased rate of new Covid-19 cases one month after the rally. In 10 counties, the new rates of infection were growing faster than the overall rate for the state. After the September 18 Trump rally in Bemidji, Minnesota the infection rate jumped by more than 385%.

Over 91.000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday October 29, 2020 which is the highest number of new cases in a single day since the pandemic began. To say Trump is acting irresponsibly is a massive understatement. New studies have found that if this pandemic remains unchecked then more than 400,000 could be dead by February 1, 2021. Unlike the two previous waves, the virus is now affecting every corner of the country.

A Stanford study has found that Trump rally’s have been linked to 30,000 cases and over 700 deaths. Trump has become very effective a killing off his base.

The Great Pumpkin

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Linus of Charles Schultz, Peanuts fame, described The Great Pumpkin is a supernatural figure who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween evening, and flies around bringing toys to sincere and believing children. In the age of the pandemic however the Great Pumpkin has become a menacing figure of chaos intent on world domination.

In India, one police officer found a creative way to get the message across. Rajesh Babu, a police officer in the southern city of Chennai, wears a specially constructed coronavirus helmet while stopping vehicles and pedestrians at checkpoints. He also created a shield and COVID mace making him look a bit like a medieval knight capable of vanquishing a dragon.

The CDC offered guidance on how to celebrate Halloween safely in  pandemic…

“Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween. If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.”

These LOW RISK ACTIVITIES can be safe alternatives:

  • Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
  • Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
  • Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
  • Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
  • Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
  • Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
  • Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house

Avoid these HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:

  • Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
  • Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
  • Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
  • Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
  • Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
  • Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
  • Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

 

Emmett Till

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After refusing to move to the back of the Greyhound bus, Sam’s fears were heightened as he recalled that this bus trip was shortly after after Emmett Louis Till had been violently lynched. Emmitt was a 14-year-old African American who was kidnapped, tortured, and murder in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending Carolyn Bryant Donham, a white woman, in her family’s grocery store. The Clarion Ledger reported that, Donham, who is 86-year-old has since admitted that she lied. She had testified in court that Till had grabbed her around the waist and uttered obscenities.

In 2008, Timothy Tyson interviewed Carolyn and before he had his recorder set up she muttered,  “That pt wasn’t true. … 50 yrs ago. I just don’t remember. … Nothing that boy ever did could justify what happened to him.” He quickly jotted down her quote in a note book.

Photos of Emmett show an upstanding young boy, but the photos of him after the lynching show an inexcusable violence. Emmett’s mom, Mamie Till Mobley made a bold decision to hold an open casket funeral and thousands attended. I did a negative painting of his mom collapsing and being held up during the funeral.

Mamie became an outspoken activist, seeking justice for her son. She gave speeches across the country. And soon, letters poured into the White House. African Americans throughout the country were angered by the injustice of what happened to Emmett Till and her suffering. her activism helped spark the civil rights movement.

The Department of Justice announced in July of 2018 that they were reopening the investigation into the murder of Emmett Till due to new information received. Since then, the Justice Department has remained silent.