Mme. Defarge
Mme. Defarge's JournalKeep calm and
remember that our cause is just and that we have the smart people on our side.
The United States is heading for a post-election crisis. Here are three ways to avoid it.
Oct. 20, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. PDT
For the past decade, Ive studied how contentious elections create crises and, sometimes, violence. I never dreamed that my research in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe would be applicable to the United States. But now I see many of the same red flags that precede post-election crises elsewhere existing in the United States. President Trump has already made it clear that hes willing to damage institutions, stir up chaos and abuse his powers if it will help him stay in office.
The Trump campaign has called on an army of supporters to observe the polls emboldening far-right groups who feel called upon to take action. Trump has argued that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett must be urgently confirmed so that she can rule on legal challenges around the election (presumably in his favor). And he has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. All of this makes the risk of a constitutional crisis in the aftermath of the election perhaps involving political violence greater than at any moment in modern American history.
Thankfully, there is still time to avoid that dangerous scenario. But doing so starts with clear, direct messaging from Democrats, the press and any remaining principled Republicans who are willing to put country before party.
There are three urgent tasks.
First, responsible politicians and journalists should manage expectations of when decisive results will be known. This isnt just because of the unprecedented rise in mail-in and absentee ballots due to the pandemic. In 2018, many press outlets mischaracterized the midterm election as a split decision rather than a blue wave. A few days later, as results were finalized, it became clear that Democrats had won their biggest election victory since 1974. That initial misperception could have been avoided with a little patience.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/20/united-states-is-heading-post-election-crisis-here-are-three-ways-avoid-it/
Ballot mailed 10/18/20
here in the Anarchists Jurisdiction of Portland, ballot received 10/20/20!
Ranking: Portland is the 9th best place to live in U.S., 'antifa radicals' and all
Its a big win for a city that is supposedly under siege.
According to the ranking, Portlands population toes the between an innocent playfulness and a shameless wild side.
U.S. News and World Report made no mention of the chaos and rampant homelessness usually favored by national news outlets, and instead focused on donuts and the World Naked Bike Ride.
Locals tend to be friendly and laid-back while maintaining a healthy work ethic, the report said. This, combined with Portlands emphasis on self-expression, has created a breeding ground for many independent businesses and startups.
Thats right, a breeding ground for many independent businesses and startups, not a breeding ground for communists and anarchists. How weird!
https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2020/10/ranking-portland-is-the-9th-best-place-to-live-in-us-antifa-radicals-and-all.html
Just received a text message from Multnomah County
saying that my ballot has been mailed. Good to know!
Homeless man leaves donation at damaged Oregon Historical Society
https://www.koin.com/news/protests/homeless-man-leaves-donation-for-battered-oregon-historical-society/PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Executive Director of the Historical Societys Kerry Tymchuk shared a heart-warming story Monday following the destruction caused to the OHS building during Sunday nights riot.
Tymchuk said a napkin was dropped off at the front desk of OHS with a handwritten note and a one dollar bill:
Hello, Im homeless, so I dont have much to give you. Just some of my bottle collecting money. But, I saw your windows got broken and I wanted to help. You once gave me a free tour before the pandemic. So, this is a thank you.
OSCAR
Tymchuk spoke about the generous gift and said that though OHS was receiving several donations in the aftermath of the damage, Oscars gesture was priceless.
Weve been fortunate to receive many generous donations to OHS over the yearssome upwards o a million or more dollars, he said. No donation means more to me and to the society than this dollar donation from Oscar.
Advice to Portland protesters from a '60s radical: Commentary
By David Harris, Los Angeles Times
This years racial justice protests have captured the attention of the entire country and especially that of 60s veterans like me. Perhaps none more so than the ongoing battle in Portland, where nightly clashes have continued for more than 100 consecutive days.
I am a white 74-year-old, Stage 4 cancer patient sheltering in place and prevented from protesting by the demands of my age and illness and the risks posed by the coronavirus. But I have been watching Portland from afar, and for the purposes of this missive, I have been there before.
I registered Black voters in Jim Crow Mississippi in 1964. I was elected Stanford Universitys radical student body president in 1966 on a platform of equal rights for male and female students. I was a national leader in the student movement to stop the Vietnam War, and I helped found and organize a campaign of civil disobedience against that wars system of military conscription. For this, I was incarcerated in the federal prison system from 1969 to 1971. All told, I devoted the first 10 years of my adulthood to the ongoing quest for social justice, at great personal risk and no small sacrifice.
That was, I admit, a long time ago, and What have you done lately? would be an understandable retort. But please bear with an old man. Hazy as this ancestral perspective may be to many young activists, your predecessors have some observations that may be of use to you now.
The goal of demonstrating is to reach people who otherwise would not take up the cause of racial justice. The message is most effective when it is accessible, compelling fellow citizens to rethink hidebound attitudes and prejudices. Threatening people and shouting them down will only sabotage this dynamic as will burning buildings, wearing body armor, throwing projectiles, breaking windows and picking fights. If it is to have any chance of advancing, the quest for racial justice needs to jettison threatening tactics. Frightening people is always counterproductive, even if it is sometimes emotionally satisfying. The objective should be to convert everyone with whom you have contact, whoever they may be, police included.
Read more...
https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2020/10/advice-to-portland-protesters-from-a-60s-radical-commentary.html
Question: Why is the Trump campaign running TV spots
in the Anarchists Jurisdiction of Portland?
Some good news on the medical front today!
This morning I had a video appointment pertaining to a recently diagnosed condition. My new medication seems to be working its magic and I was feeling pretty upbeat about the state of my health until I looked at my doctors After Visit Summary. Imagine my shock when I read that my age was recoded as 732 years old! Fortunately, after bringing this to his attention, he changed his summary, subtracting a few years. So now I dont have to change my DOB to 1288 on all of my records and important documents when it should be more like 1743, nest ce pas?😼
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Member since: Tue Oct 18, 2005, 01:05 AMNumber of posts: 8,028