08-29

Saturday, August 29

Aug 27: Coronavirus cases spike in the Midwest. Paul Alexander disagrees with Dr. Fauci’s press officers about the importance of children and university students getting tests “in a widespread manner.” In emails obtained by Politico, Alexander critiques a pre-planned statement by Dr. Fauci. Alexander writes, “I continue to have an issue with kids getting tested and repeatedly and even university students in a widespread manner…and I disagree with Dr. Fauci on this. Vehemently.”

Aug 28: A 25-year-old man from Nevada became reinfected with COVID-19 in late May after recovering from a mild case in April, reports say. It marks the first reported case of reinfection in the United States; the second occurrence resulted in a much more severe case, requiring hospitalization and oxygen. A full study of the case is published in Lancet Infectious Disease Journal in October.

Aug 29: The Kenosha police release a report saying that Jacob Blake had a knife and resisted arrest before police officers shot him in front of his children. Protests and marches continue. At a New Hampshire rally, Trump says that protesters demonstrating against police brutality are “thugs” and “anarchists” who are just “looking for trouble” and “don’t even know who George Floyd is.”

The news reports that New Hampshire Republicans have been sending out applications for absentee ballots with invalid return addresses to older registered Democrats who were likely to vote absentee to avoid exposure to coronavirus.[1] Some of those elderly people were living in cities as far away as Pittsburgh, which is a battleground state for the election.[2] Did they attempt to manufacture fraud by “mistakenly” sending ballots to Democrats in other states, hoping they would remit them honestly, thereby both eliminating their vote from their own state and casting doubt on ballots in their own states?[3] One can only hope that the mistaken addresses were caused by unintended human error, and not such complex chicanery.

At the same time, there is astonishing evidence all around us that people are finding ways to stay engaged in the political process.

In June, LeBron James and a number of other Black athletes and artists launched “More Than a Vote.” James went to Obama, and they successfully got NBA arenas to agree to be voting sites.[4] They have been pushing the NBA’s mostly white management to begin to make decisions that benefit the communities from which most of their Black laborers come, and they have been able to wrest some commitment of funds out of the owners.[5] Clearly, this election will determine how we understand this year and its larger significance. With so much loss and sacrifice, it seems sure that we cannot go back to where we were in 2019.

Notes

[1] Nancy West, “New NH GOP Absentee Ballot Mailers, Town Clerk Ballot Cause More Voting Confusion,” InDepthNH.org, August 22, 2020, http://indepthnh.org/2020/08/22/new-nh-gop-absentee-ballot-mailers-town-clerk-ballot-more-confusion/.

[2] Sam Levine, “Trump Campaign Fails to Show Evidence of Vote-by-Mail Fraud, Filing Reveals,” The Guardian, August 21, 2020, sec. US news, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/21/trump-campaign-voter-fraud-pennsylvania.

[3] Frances Langum, “Why Is The New Hampshire GOP Sending Absentee Ballot Applications To Pittsburgh?,” Crooks and Liars, August 25, 2020, https://crooksandliars.com/2020/08/why-new-hampshire-gop-sending-absentee.

[4] Sopan Deb, “N.B.A. and Players’ Union Agree to Resume Play,” The New York Times, August 28, 2020, sec. Sports, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/sports/basketball/nba-playoffs-resume.html.Joseph Zucker, “LeBron James’ ‘More Than a Vote’ Pushing NBA Arenas as ‘Mega’ Polling Sites,” Bleacher Report, July 1, 2020, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2898497-lebron-james-more-than-a-vote-pushing-nba-arenas-as-mega-polling-sites.

[5] Eric Pincus, “Why NBA Owners’ $300M Pledge Isn’t Enough for Players’ Fight Against Racism,” Bleacher Report, August 29, 2020, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2906738-why-nba-owners-300m-pledge-isnt-enough-for-players-fight-against-racism.

Lana Zak and Peniel Joseph, “Thousands turn out for 57th anniversary of the March on Washington,” CBS News, August 28, 2020, https://youtu.be/NaSiTbP-53k

“Thousands Join March On Washington,” HuffPost streaming, August 28, 2020, https://youtu.be/-n1qYPVjnKU

Warning: This video of a Walmart customer refusing to comply with a mask mandate and yelling at employees and bystanders contains cursing and violent language. kellenbrent. Anti-Mask Boomer Has a Public Freakout on a Walmart Employee and Bystanders, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epfyeo1ycTU.

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Frum, David. “The Platform the GOP Is Too Scared to Publish.” The Atlantic, August 25, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/new-gop-platform-authoritarianism/615640/.

Glasser, Susan B. “The Malign Fantasy of Donald Trump’s Convention.” The New Yorker, August 28, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-malign-fantasy-of-donald-trumps-convention.

Pincus, Eric. “Why NBA Owners’ $300M Pledge Isn’t Enough for Players’ Fight Against Racism.” Bleacher Report, August 29, 2020. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2906738-why-nba-owners-300m-pledge-isnt-enough-for-players-fight-against-racism.

Johnson, Jenna. “The Latest Battlefield in a Heated Presidential Campaign: Front Yards Bearing Biden Signs.” Washington Post, August 29, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-latest-battlefield-in-a-heated-presidential-campaign-front-yards-bearing-biden-signs/2020/08/29/5264dc70-e962-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html.

Firestein, Stuart. “How Pseudoscientists Get Away With It.” Nautilus, August 28, 2020. http://nautil.us/blog/how-pseudoscientists-get-away-with-it.

Pokhrel, Pravin, Changpeng Hu, and Hanbin Mao. “Detecting the Coronavirus (COVID-19).” ACS Sensors 5, no. 8 (August 28, 2020): 2283–96. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.0c01153.

Hurricane Laura caused major road blockages, power outages, and property damage.
Local officials and faith leaders have done an incredible job beginning the recovery process. pic.twitter.com/wKwTnB5GIr — The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) August 29, 2020

Maybe the pen will pay for the health care their families will need after sitting around unmasked.
— Edward (@Ark_Tor) August 29, 2020

Moved to Lake Charles 2 months ago to play my last year of ball , Hurricane Laura destroyed my whole apartment clothes , shoes and furniture any help is needed https://t.co/JYO6Ywj4jj pic.twitter.com/upuxyDPbQ4
— Isaiah Chambers (@esta_guapo) August 28, 2020

The strongest hurricane recorded in 150 years. No one will have power for months, no one will have running water in the foreseeable future, and no one in our nation is aware. #helplakecharles #helplouisiana pic.twitter.com/p8q3GvYX0z
— Clark Miller (@clarkdmiller) August 29, 2020

Brandon Beck, his thoughts on today’s Trump rally in downtown Portland pic.twitter.com/4GOedtP9KP
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 29, 2020

REMEMBER: NO BARS, NO RESTAURANTS, NO CHURCHES, NO SCHOOLS, NO COLLEGE FOOTBALL, NO TRUMP RALLY!

BLM/BLACK IS KING/WAKANDA WARRIOR RALLY IS OK BECAUSE COVID-19 DOES NOT SPREAD RAPIDLY IN THESE ENVIRONMENTS!pic.twitter.com/3lMjHme7Bb
— critical mix theory 🦅 (@allidoismix) August 29, 2020

Masks Don’t Work
Obviously pic.twitter.com/27X8z1tCuQ — Steven Spohn (Spawn) (@stevenspohn) August 29, 2020

Dr. Thomas Tuttle prescribed face masks and social distancing to slow the 1918 influenza pandemic. Interesting how history repeats itself. pic.twitter.com/xQREMqg25G
— Nick Hinton (@NickHintonn) August 29, 2020

Masks work. Wear a mask.https://t.co/JHxK2XHWuM
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) August 29, 2020

For Trump’s big finale, the White House packed in nearly 1,500 supporters. Not required: masks or social distancing. pic.twitter.com/cAngKCmXAv
— The Recount (@therecount) August 29, 2020

While Louisiana is literally burning after being battered by a Category 4 hurricane, Donald Trump is holding a rally. pic.twitter.com/rm52g2CkQa
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) August 28, 2020

.@JoyAnnReid on Trump rally crowd outside White House: “In a cult, you’re asked to die for your savior.” https://t.co/EManOnJDcM
— The ReidOut (@thereidout) August 28, 2020

Trumps Manchester Rally!! This is the overflow crowd!! What a great time pic.twitter.com/5qWSMN0Eou
— Ann (@rebelwitacauz) August 29, 2020

Well America, I went to Sturgis for 6 days. We didn’t wear masks. They estimated nearly 500K were there. It’s been over 2 weeks since we’ve been back. Not sick, feeling great! Guess what . . . VOTING IN PERSON IS SAFE! GOING TO CHURCH IS SAFE. @realDonaldTrump OPEN IT UP SIR! pic.twitter.com/zDzues1Oua
— MS.💋MAC🇺🇸 (@MsMacAttack321) August 29, 2020

South Dakota reporting 425 daily cases, 3 weeks after the start of the Sturgis Rally – which has also brought cases back to 7 other states so far. On July 4, when Trump held his rally in SD, the state was averaging 50 daily cases. pic.twitter.com/bYIhMBvw4j
— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) August 29, 2020

2) North Dakota, where cases rose 30% last week, reported a record 333 new cases on Thursday. Neighboring South Dakota, where cases rose 50% last week, reported a record 623 new infections.https://t.co/Bb8mlAmlKf
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) August 28, 2020

So I guess Sturgis was a terrible fucking idea, huh? pic.twitter.com/Pco81cqwgA
— Marc Hedlund (@marcprecipice) August 29, 2020

I asked an unmasked Trump rally attendee if she was worried about COVID. “I’m really not. I’m 74, I’ve had all the tests. I’m fine,” she said. “I don’t know anybody that’s had it. So, we’ll see, but I don’t think there’s going to be any problems.” https://t.co/uRugKGk3Fq
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) August 29, 2020

Organizer of this event hosted one similar in Boise, Idaho on 8/9/2020 pic.twitter.com/QFsPKVHOXb
— Alissa Azar (@AlissaAzar) August 29, 2020

Bacon Jr, Perry. “Could A Backlash Against Black Lives Matter Hurt Biden? The Two Don’t Appear Linked So Far.” FiveThirtyEight (blog), August 27, 2020. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/could-a-backlash-against-black-lives-matter-hurt-biden-the-two-dont-appear-linked-so-far/.

Bublé, Courtney, and Eric Katz. “Feds Can Be Prosecuted for Hatch Act Violations, Though Pompeo and Wolf Are Likely in the Clear.” Government Executive, August 27, 2020. https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2020/08/feds-can-be-prosecuted-hatch-act-violations-though-pompeo-and-wolf-likely-clear/168041/.

Buchnowski, Patrick. “Man Charged with Firing Gun near Hotel Where Civil-Rights Activists Were Staying a Day after Route 30 Shooting.” The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pennsylvania), August 27, 2020. https://www.tribdem.com/news/man-charged-with-firing-gun-near-hotel-where-civil-rights-activists-were-staying-a-day/article_f12a607e-e7bd-11ea-bb06-4739de882d52.html.

Burnett, Ava-joye. “‘We Are Not Far Enough Yet’: Thousands March On Washington On 57th Anniversary Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech – CBS Baltimore.” WJZ 13 CBS Baltimore, August 28, 2020. https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/08/28/march-on-washington-i-have-a-dream-speech-anniversary-latest/.

Deb, Sopan. “N.B.A. and Players’ Union Agree to Resume Play.” The New York Times, August 28, 2020, sec. Sports. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/sports/basketball/nba-playoffs-resume.html.

Fenwick, Cody. “Dr. Fauci Raises Alarm about New Changes to CDC Coronavirus Guidelines.” Alternet.org, August 27, 2020. https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/dr-fauci-raises-alarm-about-new-cdc-guidelines-that-were-made-without-him/.

Rodak, Mike. “Tide Players Post about Racial Injustice, Plan March.” AL.com, August 28, 2020. https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2020/08/alabama-coaches-players-to-march-monday-about-social-injustice.html.

Wickenden, Dorothy. “Trump’s Convention and the Allure of the Politics of Fear.” The New Yorker, August 27, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/trumps-convention-and-the-allure-of-the-politics-of-fear.

Saturday, August 29

© 2021 Margaret Peacock and Erik L. Peterson