Fanning the Flames of Hate

Posted on by Thor

Democratic Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris gave a speech before the final night of the Republican National Convention. She said, “My message is simple, reject these voices, this president who has been fanning the flames Of hate.” On August 24, 2020 at the  Republican National Convention, the suburban Bonnie and Clyde, who threatened protestors marching past their Saint Louis mansion, were given a platform to sew seeds of fear in fellow Americans. The very fact that they were raised up by the reality TV president means that others will follow their lead and take to the streets brandishing their weapons. Vigilantes are being encouraged.

The couple is facing weapons charges for the June 28, 2020 incident. They each face a single felony count of unlawful use of a weapon. Charging documents say that pointing an AR-15 rifle at protesters and wielding a semiautomatic handgun, placing protesters in fear of injury. Saint Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner said, “It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest. Protesters said they were not on the home owner’s property. A group of neighborhood residents later condemned Bonnie and Clyde’s actions.

On August 23, 2020 a policeman shoot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man 4 times in the back. Seven shots were fired. Jacob is paralyzed from the waist down. He was shot as he opened the driver’s door to his SUV. His 3 sons were in the back seat. The police shooting was followed by Kenosha protests which included marches, property damage, and arson.

The day after Bonnie and Clyde spoke at the Republican National Convention, Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17 year old self-described militia member from Illinois, borrowed friend’s a AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and killed two Kenosha protestors named Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26.  Gaige Grosskreutz, 26 was injured. In my mind, Rittenhouse felt justified taking a long gun to the streets because Bonnie and Clyde had been praised at the Republican National Convention.

The shootings are documented on multiple cell phone videos. The exact order of the evenings horror are still being pieced together. Trump continues to bring chaos to the streets of America while encouraging armed vigilantes. His followers are legitimately a threat to this country and each other. Tucker Carlson of Fox News seemed to justify Rittenhouse’s vigilante shootings, “Are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder?” Carlson said during his show on Wednesday night August 26, 2020. “How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?” “Fire Tucker Carlson Now” was trending on Twitter following his comments.

Voter Suppression

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“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Across the county a record number of Americans plan to vote-by-mail amid the COVID-19 pandemic. USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was called before a Senate committee on August 21, 2020 to answer questions about how the US postal service has been dismantled leading up to the November election. DeJoy who has donated millions to the Donald Trump election campaign and he was put in position by Trump. The president has been falsely claiming that mail in voting is an invitation for voting fraud. He seems to think dogs will be given ballots and that the results will be contested for years. He slammed mail in voting as he signed his own mail in ballot for Florida.

Louis DeJoy confirmed that he will not restore mail collecting and processing capacity that the U.S Postal Service has lost in recent weeks, when pressed by U.S. Senator Tom Carper in a Senate Homeland Security Committee. Over the past few weeks Senator Carper has received hundred of complaints form his constituents about delayed paychecks and prescription drugs.

CNN reported that any Americans have since grown concerned over the USPS’ ability to handle the expected influx of ballots as more voters choose to vote by mail because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Sorting machines and mailboxes that had been removed will not be put back in use. An e-mail instructed postal workers to not to reconnect any mail sorting machines that have previously been disconnected.

U.S. Senator Chris Coons was invited by anonymous USPS employees to see what they called “government destruction of property.” He found a dismantled mail sorting machine that he said was left out in the rain. The senator said employees told him the dismantling happened in a “late-night operation.”

Kevin Couch, a director of maintenance operations said, “We’ve got a president who doesn’t want to have vote-by-mail. We’ve got a president who would like to suppress the vote; we’ve got a president who would like to see the postal service not do well,” he said. “When I see what’s going on with the president who wants to degrade the postal service, wants to get rid of vote-by-mail, you shouldn’t be surprised that we’re alarmed that we’re seeing that kind of degraded service.

Trump told Sean Hannity, a Fox News host, that he also intends to have police officers and sheriff’s deputies patrol polling sites on Election Day. As Trump put it, “We’re gonna have everything. We’re gonna have sheriff’s and we’re gonna have law enforcement, and we’re going to have , hopefully, U.S. attorneys and we’re going to have everybody – and attorney generals.” This pronouncement implies that he plans to suppress voting in key states.

A 1982 Democratic National Committee lawsuit accused the Republican National Convention of trying to suppress votes in New Jersey by, among other things, posting armed, off-duty police officers at the polls in Black and Latino neighborhoods. The lawsuit decree expired in 2018, and this election marks the first presidential election since it expired.

Federal law prohibits intimidation at the polls and makes it illegal for any “civil” or “military” federal officer to order “troops or armed men” to polling places, unless needed to “repel armed enemies of the United States.”

Civilian Poll-watching is a common practice, and both parties use it. A top Trump aide, Justin Clark, said the campaign was working to recruit 50,000 poll-watchers.

 

Republican National Convention

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Donald Trump has one thing on his mind and that is getting re-elected. He hasn’t been holding his political rallies, which stoke his ego, for months. As the death toll from Covid-19 neared 100,000 he threatened the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, ahead of the 2020 Republican National Convention, that he might not hold the Republican National Convention in his state because the governor was “unable to guarantee” that the arena can be filled to capacity. The convention is expected to be held August 24 to 27, 2020.

Trump Tweeted, “Unfortunately, Democrat Governor, @RoyCooperNC is still in Shutdown mood and unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the Arena. In other words, we would be spending millions of dollars building the Arena to a very high standard without even knowing if the Democrat Governor would allow the Republican Party to fully occupy the space.” The President’s calls for a “guarantee” overlooks the uncertainty surrounding the summertime levels of Covid-19 and the challenges of hosting a political convention in the middle of an ongoing public health crisis.

It is hard to imagine a more convenient super spreading event for the virus that a crowded convention. This politicization of the rush to re-open reminded me that the virus doesn’t care about red or blue. It just wanted to find people to infect. Over Memorial Day weekend pictures showed crowds of people practicing no social distancing as they crowded to beaches pools and parties. A huge stadium of adoring fans is precisely the thing that Trump must miss the most since the start of the pandemic. A nice round of golf is fine but a stadium of cheering fans is Trump’s wet  dream.

Immediately Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he supports moving the Republican National Convention to Florida. He said, The political convention would be great for Florida’s coronavirus-damaged economy as President Donald Trump has suggested moving the planned Republican convention out of North Carolina. Since he is lock step with Trump in the rush to re-open it makes see that he would not mind a huge Convention in the midst of a pandemic. DeSantis said numerous areas in Florida, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville, could quickly organize a multi-day showcase. But he wouldn’t promote one area over another. I can not imagine a scenario in which a fully attended Republican National Convention could be done safely. There is no GOP safety plan in place. In response to Trumps threats, North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen requested a written COVID-19 safety plan from the CEO of the Republican National Convention Monday. Before the pandemic, the RNC was expected to draw 50,000 or about half the number of people who have died from the virus.