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foreverlogical · 4 years

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The process of certifying Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, after being disrupted by rioters and delayed by Republicans who repeated false and misleading claims about the election results.

Six Republican senators and more than 100 GOP House members objected to the election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania in a failed final attempt to keep President Donald Trump in office.

Here we review some of the claims they made during the debate:

Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona falsely claimed that “a court found 3% error rate against President Trump” in Arizona’s results. Actually, a state trial court found an error rate of 0.55% in the state’s largest county, which the state Supreme Court said was not enough to question the results.

Gosar also baselessly claimed that “over 400,000 mail-in ballots” in Arizona were “switched” from Trump to Biden “or completely erased from President Trump’s totals.” But there is no evidence to support such a wild claim.

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York claimed Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court and secretary of commonwealth “rewrote election law, eliminating signature matching requirements.” Actually, the court unanimously ruled that state law doesn’t require local election officials to determine the authenticity of signatures on absentee or mail-in ballots.

Stefanik also said, “In Wisconsin, officials issued illegal rules to circumvent a state law … that required absentee voters to provide photo identification before obtaining a ballot.” She’s referring to rescinded guidance that some Wisconsin county clerks issued ahead of the state’s April primary election — not the November general election.

Rep. Lee Zeldin took issue with a “Democracy in the Park event” in Wisconsin that he said resulted in “over 17,000 ballots transferred that shouldn’t have been.” The Wisconsin Supreme Court said the event, which allowed voters to bring completed absentee ballots to parks to be collected by sworn city election inspectors, met the letter of state election laws.

Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania wrongly said the state Supreme Court had “absolutely no right” to allow the use of unmanned drop boxes where voters could drop off mail-in votes. A federal judge appointed by Trump and the state Supreme Court both ruled in favor of the use of drop boxes.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene falsely claimed that “all of the cases that have been thrown out have been thrown out on standing, not the evidence of voter fraud.” Most didn’t allege actual fraud, and several have been dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Sen. Josh Hawley claimed a law passed in 2019 by the Pennsylvania Legislature violated the state Constitution and said a case challenging it was “dismissed on grounds of … timeliness.” He neglected to mention that case sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election and was filed more than a year after the law passed.

False Claims About Arizona Ballot Reviews

During the floor debate on whether to accept Arizona’s Electoral College votes,Gosar misleadingly said “we have been told over and over” by the Arizona secretary of state that “the public today has no ability to simply double check the veracity of these results.”

In fact, Arizona law requires “a hand count of a sample of ballots to test the accuracy of the vote tabulation equipment, if there is participation from the county political parties,” according to the Arizona secretary of state’s office. Of the state’s 15 counties, 10 performed hand counts; six found no discrepancies and four found errors within the acceptable margin. That included hand recounts in the four largest counties (Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and Yavapai) that represent 85% of the state’s population.

Gosar later said “in the only audit done in Arizona” a court found a “3% error rate against President Trump. Vice President Biden’s margin of error was one tenth of that, at .03%.” He claimed that if that 3% error rate were applied statewide it would have been 90,000 ballots, but “the court stopped the audit and refused to go further.”

His claim of a 3% error rate is false, and his assumption of 90,000 additional Trump ballots is grossly exaggerated.

Besides the hand recounts, the only “audit” conducted in Arizona was prompted by a lawsuit filed by state Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward’s lawsuit, and in that case the court found an error rate of 0.55% — not 3% — in Maricopa County.

In her lawsuit, Ward challenged mail-in ballots that had been duplicated in the county because voters’ first ballots “were too damaged or illegible for the tabulation machines to read, or were otherwise rejected by the machines.”

Her lawsuit led to a review of 100 duplicated ballots, followed by a second inspection of 1,526 duplicated ballots.

“Of the 1,626 total, there were nine errors, (1617 correct duplicate ballots) that if correct would have given the Trump Electors an additional seven votes and the Biden Electors an additional two votes,” the state Supreme Court said in its Dec. 8 ruling denying Ward’s request for an expanded audit. “The trial court concluded the results were ‘99.45% accurate.’”

In filing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ward noted that there was a 2% error rate against Trump in the first review of 100 ballots. The suit said one vote was “erroneously ‘flipped’ from Trump to Biden, and the other [was] simply uncounted.” That may be what Gosar meant when he spoke of a 3% error rate, but his office did not respond to our request for information.

Even so, the error rate dropped to 0.55% when the county agreed to review more duplicated ballots.

In its opinion, the state Supreme Court said that extrapolating the 0.55% error rate to all 27,869 duplicated ballots in the county would result in a net increase of only 153 votes, which is not sufficient “to call the election results into question.”

C. Murphy Hebert, a spokeswoman for the Arizona secretary of state, said she is “not aware of other ‘audits’” in Arizona.

Baseless Claim of ‘Altered, Switched’ or ‘Erased’ Trump Ballots

Gosar also baselessly said that “over 400,000 mail-in ballots [in Arizona] were altered, switched from President Trump to Vice President Biden or completely erased from President Trump’s totals.” But there is no evidence to support such a wild claim.

As we mentioned earlier, the state conducted hand counts of sample ballots to make sure the machines are tabulating the ballots correctly. Under state law, representatives of both parties “randomly pick either 2% or at least two vote centers or precinct, whichever is greater, to compare a manual count of ballots done by volunteers to the count completed by tabulation machines,” as explained in a story by ABC15 in Phoenix.

In a Dec. 21 ruling, state Superior Court Judge John Hannah dismissed a state GOP lawsuit demanding that the state’s largest county redo its hand count, noting that the “hand counts verified that the machines had counted the votes flawlessly” in Maricopa County, where about 61% of the state’s population lives. Hannah called the lawsuit “meritless,” saying it “offered only suspicion of wrongdoing.”

And, as we noted earlier, a review of duplicated ballots in the county found an error rate of just 0.55% — which the state Supreme Court opinion said was not enough to affect the results. Biden won the state by less than 11,000 votes.

Hebert, the spokesperson for the Arizona secretary of state, said she wasn’t sure how Gosar arrived at his figure of 400,000 missing Trump votes.

It’s worth noting, though, that Gosar has made a similar claim with an even higher number. In a Dec. 17 tweet, Gosar claimed: “Over 700,000 votes stolen from @realDonaldTrump and given to Biden.” Twitter labeled that tweet “disputed.” Gosar linked to a video that baselessly claimed it provided evidence of “790,175 laundered votes.”

But, as Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts noted, “If Trump really got another 790,175 votes, that would mean he won a whopping 72% of Arizona’s vote while Biden got a piddling 26%.”

Signature Matching in Pennsylvania

Stefanik said, “In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court and secretary of state unilaterally and unconstitutionally rewrote election law, eliminating signature matching requirements.”

That’s not so; the court unanimously ruled that the Pennsylvania Election Code never required signature matching for absentee or mail-in ballots in the first place.

In an Oct. 23 opinion, the court upheld September guidance, issued by Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, saying that local election officials couldn’t disqualify such ballots based solely on a signature analysis.

“We conclude that the Election Code does not authorize or require county election boards to reject absentee or mail-in ballots during the canvassing process based on an analysis of a voter’s signature,” Justice Debra Todd wrote in the opinion, which was cosigned by five of the other six justices. The other justice, Sallie Updyke Mundy, one of two Republicans on the court, concurred in the ruling.

It was the second time a court had rejected the Trump campaign’s claims that, to prevent fraud, state law required efforts to check that signatures on returned ballots matched signatures on voter rolls.

In its analysis, the state Supreme Court noted that state election law “enumerates only three duties of the county boards of elections during the pre-canvassing and canvassing process,” none of which included a stipulation permitting or mandating signature matching.

“Intervenors would have us interpret the Election Code, which now does not provide for time-of-canvassing ballot challenges, and which never allowed for signature challenges, as both requiring signature comparisons at canvassing, and allowing for challenges on that basis. We reject this invitation,” the court said.

Absentee Ballot Rules in Wisconsin

Stefanik also claimed, “In Wisconsin, officials issued illegal rules to circumvent a state law – passed by the Legislature as the Constitution requires – that required absentee voters to provide photo identification before obtaining a ballot.”

That’s misleading. The guidance was issued during the primary election — not the general — and it was quickly overruled by a state court. Wisconsin state law already says absentee voters don’t have to provide a photo ID when requesting a ballot if the individual affirms that he or she is “indefinitely confined because of age, physical illness or infirmity or is disabled for an indefinite period.”

It’s true that on March 25, Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell and Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson advised eligible Wisconsin voters that, for the April 7 primary elections, they could claim to be indefinitely confined because of state-issued stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. Doing so, the clerks said, would allow those people — stuck at home and unable to provide a photo ID — to skip that step in the ballot application process.

But on March 29, the Wisconsin Elections Commission issued its own guidance, clarifying that, “Indefinitely confined status shall not be used by electors simply as a means to avoid the photo ID requirement without regard to whether they are indefinitely confined because of age, physical illness, infirmity or disability.”

Then, in a March 31 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that McDonell had given “legally incorrect” information to voters and ordered McDonell to “refrain from posting advice” that was “inconsistent” with the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s own guidance.

That also led to Christenson issuing revised guidance that month that said, “It is very important to note that ‘indefinite confinement’ based only upon the Governor’s Safer at Home Emergency Order cannot be used to legally avoid the photo ID requirement.”

‘Democracy in the Park’

Presenting what he said were facts and evidence that courts circumvented state election laws, Zeldin cited this as one example: “The Democracy in the Park event in Wisconsin had over 17,000 ballots transferred that shouldn’t have been.”

Zeldin added: “These are all facts.”

That’s actually an opinion, and one not shared by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Zeldin is referring to two events held in Madison, Wisconsin, one in September and one in October, called “Democracy in the Park” in which people were allowed to bring completed absentee ballots to parks to be collected by sworn city election inspectors. The inspectors also could serve as witnesses if a voter brought an unsealed, blank ballot.

In a lawsuit, the Trump campaign contended the 17,271 absentee ballots collected at these events amounted to illegal early in-person voting.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court disagreed. Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, a conservative, sided with three liberal justices in a 4-3 decisionopposing the Trump campaign’s efforts to strike those votes.

In his written opinion for the majority, Hagedorn wrote that given the park events were all publicly announced, the time to contest them was before the election. The court stated it was “patently unreasonable” for the campaign to file the lawsuit after the election, and for those votes to be thrown out given that “thousands of voters relied on the representations of their election officials that these events complied with the law.”

Furthermore, Hagedorn stated, the events complied with Wisconsin election law, which requires voters to return absentee ballots by mail or “in person, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot or ballots.”

“A sworn city election inspector sent by the clerk to collect ballots would seem to be an authorized representative as provided in the definition” of the statute, Hagedorn wrote.

People who brought completed absentee ballots to the parks had to have previously requested them. No absentee ballots or ballot applications were distributed at the events.

Pennsylvania Drop Boxes

Perry wrongly said the state Supreme Court had “absolutely no right” to allow the use of unmanned drop boxes where voters could drop off mail-in votes. A federal judge appointed by Trump rejected a lawsuit from the Trump campaign that sought to prevent the use of drop boxes.

Perry, Jan. 6: The Supreme Court authorized the use of drop boxes, where ballot harvesting could occur. The legislature never authorized that form of voting, and the court had absolutely no right to do so.

In September, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state’s election code permitted the use of drop boxes for submission of mail-in ballots. The court ruled that the competing interpretations of whether the state’s election code allowed drop boxes were both reasonable, rendering the code “ambiguous.” It ultimately determined that the law “favors the fundamental right to vote and enfranchises, rather than disenfranchises, the electorate” and that “the Election Code should be interpreted to allow county boards of election to accept hand–delivered mail–in ballots at locations other than their office addresses including drop–boxes.”

The following month a federal judge knocked down the Trump campaign’s effort to bar the use of drop boxes.

The opinion was written by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, a Trump appointee.

The Trump campaign argued that drop boxes would lead to the potential for the counting of “fraudulent or otherwise ineligible ballots” in the presidential election.

But Ranjan said the Trump campaign had not presented enough evidence that potential voter fraud was a likely problem. “While Plaintiffs may not need to prove actual voter fraud, they must at least prove that such fraud is ‘certainly impending,'” Ranjan wrote. “They haven’t met that burden.”

In his comments on the House floor, Perry raised the specter of “ballot harvesting” which refers to third parties collecting and delivering ballots, and which is not permitted in Pennsylvania. But no evidence has emerged to date that that was a problem at any drop boxes in the state.

Trump Cases Lacked Evidence, or Even Claims, of Fraud

In objecting to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, Greene falsely claimed: “I’d like to point out that all of the cases that have been thrown out have been thrown out on standing, not the evidence of voter fraud.” Several of the Trump campaign’s legal challenges have been dismissed by judges for a lack of any evidence of voter fraud.

For example, in one case seeking to nullifying about 2,000 absentee ballots in Pennsylvania, Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Robert Baldi, a Republican, wrote in his order: “It must be noted that the parties specifically stipulated in their comprehensive stipulation of facts that there exists no evidence of any fraud, misconduct, or any impropriety with respect to the challenged ballots. There is nothing in the record and nothing alleged that would lead to the conclusion that any of the challenged ballots were submitted by someone not qualified or entitled to vote in this election.”

In five other cases in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge James Crumish denied the suits, writing in each of the five orders that the campaign made “meritless” arguments and “concedes that all ballots by a qualified elector in this category were timely received.”

In yet another Pennsylvania case, Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote: “Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.” The court had unanimously upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the case.

In late December, the New York Times analyzed 59 court losses the Trump campaign suffered among 60 lawsuits and found that most — two-thirds — didn’t actually claim there had been voter fraud. About 12 cases that did allege fraud had “their days in court,” the Times wrote, “and consistently collapsed under scrutiny.”

In dismissing a Nevada case, District Court Judge James T. Russell wrote in a lengthy dissection of the lawsuit’s claims that the campaign “did not prove under any standard of proof that illegal votes were cast and counted.”

Some courts have dismissed cases because the plaintiffs lacked standing, meaning a right to sue. For instance, the U.S. Supreme Court cited standing in rejecting the state of Texas’ attempt to sue four swing states Biden had won. But Greene is wrong to claim “all of the cases … have been thrown out on standing.”

Pennsylvania Objection: No Claim of Fraud

Hawley prefaced an objection about a Pennsylvania voting law by saying it was “quite apart from allegations of any fraud.” Instead, Hawley misleadingly described an expansion of mail-in voting in the state, passed with Republican support in 2019.

Hawley, Jan. 6: Last year, Pennsylvania elected officials passed a whole new law that allows universal mail-in balloting and did it irregardless of what the Pennsylvania Constitution said. … And then when Pennsylvania citizens tried to go and be heard on this subject before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, they were dismissed on grounds of procedure, timeliness, in violation of that Supreme Court’s own precedent.

The state law in question, Act 77, was passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on Oct. 31, 2019. The law, which went into effect for the primary elections in 2020, expanded mail-in voting in the state, allowing for the first time no-excuse mail-in voting, which means registered voters can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason for wanting or needing one. A total of 34 states plus Washington, D.C., allow no-excuse mail-in or absentee voting.

Hawley is right that the state Supreme Court dismissed a case challenging the constitutionality of the law because the Republican plaintiffs, including U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, had waited too long to bring the suit — but he neglected to mention they waited more than a year and only filed the suit after Trump had lost the election. In the suit, the plaintiffs had asked for the invalidation of mail-in ballots cast under the statute. In dismissing the case in late November, the court wrotethat the plaintiffs showed a “complete failure to act with due diligence in commencing their facial constitutional challenge, which was ascertainable upon Act 77’s enactment.”

In a concurring statement, Justice David N. Wecht wrote: “It is not our role to lend legitimacy to such transparent and untimely efforts to subvert the will of Pennsylvania voters. Courts should not decide elections when the will of the voters is clear.”

The U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to intervene in the case.

As for the Pennsylvania Constitution, it says: “All elections by the citizens shall be by ballot or by such other method as may be prescribed by law.” Kelly’s case argued that expanding mail-in voting in the state could only be done through a constitutional amendment, not legislation. It cited another section in the state Constitution on absentee voting, which says the Legislature “shall, by general law, provide a manner” for absentee voting for qualified voters who may be “absent from the municipality of their residence” or who have other reasons they can’t vote at their polling place, such as illness, disability or religious observances.

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garudabluffs · 2 years

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“Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.” - John Adams

Letters from an American Sept.24,2022

"The law...seemed designed to keep men in the chaos of the Civil War from inflicting damage on others—including pregnant women—rather than to police women’s reproductive care." & “So, in 1864, a legislature of 27 white men created a body of laws that discriminated against Black people and people of color and considered girls as young as 10 able to consent to sex, and they adopted a body of criminal laws written by one single man.”

“In Arizona, Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson has restored a law put into effect by Arizona’s Territorial legislature in 1864 and then reworked in 1901 that has been widely interpreted as a ban on all abortions except to save a woman’s life. Oddly, I know quite a bit about the 1864 Arizona Territorial legislature, and its story matters as we think about the attempt to impose its will in modern America.”

Read →https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-24-2022/comments

535 Comments

“Heather highlights how Arizona Judge Kellie Johnson has restored part of a bizarre (and barbaric) 1864 law that could ban all abortions except to save a woman’s life.”

“The real "enlightenment" came in the form of, no lie, one man. John Adams.

His work to pull together and analyze every system of government that had pre-existed his Massachusetts Constitution was seminal and most members of the 1787 convention read it.

You can read it to. It is not easy, and I have not finished it, but it is THE reference of past governments (that nobody knows about). I believe Justice Breyer had completely read and understood this book in college based on his public statements in his life.

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Defence_of_the_Constitutions_of_Govern.html?id=Da0zAQAAMAAJ

<>”Except Adams, when implored by his wife Abigail to "remember the ladies" when forming the US government, deliberately chose to ignore women. The US was built for, by, and about rich white men.”<>

exodusters https://opened.cuny.edu/courseware/lesson/394/overview#:~:text=

https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

#Arizona criminalizes abortion

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johnnyrobish · 2 years

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Arizona Judge Reinstates Civil War Era Abortion Ban

In an extremely controversial move, Arizona Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson has lifted a 50-year-old injunction on an 1864 civil war-era state law that had been in place before Arizona was a state. That law puts a near-total ban on all abortions in the state.

Smart move Arizona! Because there is nothing 21st-century Americans want more than for politicians to bring back oppressive civil war-era laws. You know, laws written before women even had the right to vote and were still legally considered to be just property. The idea of disenfranchising over half the population should prove extremely popular. Hell, I’m sure this ruling has giddy Arizona politicians thinking, “Hey, maybe it’s time to revisit that whole ‘slavery thing’ again.”

That said, I suppose extreme right-wing judges resurrecting civil war-era legislation shouldn’t be all that shocking, considering Justice Alito went back a full five centuries in his writing on the Dobbs decision to find something to help him justify overturning Roe. No big deal. What’re a few centuries among friends? You see, when these Republicans tell you “they wanna take the country back,” they aren’t kidding! They wanna take it WAYYYYY back!

I mean, rulings like this are almost enough to make Iran’s “Morality Police” jealous. Now, if Republicans can just find a way to get rid of those pesky 13th and 19th amendments, they’ll be on their way to their vision of a White Christian Fascist Theocracy. Is there any good news among all this depressing nonsense? Well, yes, of course! At least Republicans and Judge Kellie Johnson haven’t as yet reenacted the Witchcraft Act of 1604, and that should count for something.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve just read, please consider joining me at:

#Abortion Ban #Arizona #Politics #News #newspapers #comedy #humor #satire #jokes #politics #news #current events #progressives #breaking news #national #latest

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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How Many Log Cabin Republicans Are There

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-log-cabin-republicans-are-there/

How Many Log Cabin Republicans Are There

Nbc Outtrump Supporters In Battleground States Largely Favor Lgbtq Rights Poll Finds

Asked about Trump’s attitude toward the LGBTQ community, Kabel offered a series of well-rehearsed talking points: Trump is “the most gay-friendly president,” same-sex marriage is settled law, Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the pro-LGBTQ decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, and the administration is doing great work on HIV/AIDS.

As an example of how “the press doesn’t give him a break,” Kabel cited the administration’s partnership with Gilead Sciences Inc. and pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, to provide and distribute HIV-prevention medication to targeted communities.

“He never got credit for it,” Kabel said. “The LGBT organizations thank Walgreens and CVS and, of course, intentionally forgot to mention Trump actually made this happen.”

In June, Trump declared that the same scientific know-how that produced an AIDS vaccine would deliver one soon for Covid-19, even though there is no AIDS vaccine.

Kabel said he wishes the Republican National Committee would have met this year to update the party’s official platform, which still states at least five times that marriage should exclusively be a union of “one man and one woman.” But he said he’s not worried about a backslide on LGBTQ rights.

“The social conservatives understand that we’ve won on marriage,” he said. “They’ve lost, we’ve won, and I think they really play it down now.”

Back Into The Wider World

After Bakers speech, the groups first female chairman, Sarah Longwell, announced the afterparty was at Nellies, a popular gay/sports bar with a weekend drag-queen brunch. You boys enjoy yourselves, she said, Ive got kids at home. Someone appeared in a skin-tight Make America Great Again dress and posed for photos in front of the Log Cabin logo with the dress designer; they were the most exotically outfitted attendees:

Online, Democratic critics unsheathed their knives. Your org has accomplished nothing in 40 fucking years as the GOP has gone from bad to worse to Trump on your watch, the activist and advice columnist Dan Savage wrote in response to a cheery tweet from Angelo celebrating the night. Go fuck yourselves Log Cabin Republicans, Savage wrote.

At the Mayflower, after a few minutes of post-speech networking chatter, much of the room cleared out.

Outside the grand ballroom two women in pantsuits walked down the wide marble hallway from the party. They casually held hands for a moment, then unclasped as they approached the crowded lobby.

Next to the front door stood a group of men in well-cut suits in shades of charcoal. It was impossible to tell if they were they from the Log Cabin event or part of the Mayflowers regular carousel of business guests.

And that, the Log Cabin Republicans would tell you, is exactly the point.

Sarah Longwell: Donald Trump Is Not A Republican Or A Conservative

Longwell insisted that she still holds traditional Republican beliefs, including “restraint from the executive branch fiscal responsibility and American leadership in the world where we treat our allies with respect.”

The problem with Trump isn’t a gay issue, she said; rather, it’s an American issue.

I think Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy and the country, because the rules dont apply to him, said Longwell, 40. He thinks hes above the law.

She blames the president for disregarding the Constitution, cozying up to dictators and putting his own interests first, and said she is frustrated that the GOP has stood by him.

“Republicans should be a party that cares about principles and ideas, not its loyalty to one man,” she said.

She said she’ll be voting for Biden, whom she calls a centrist. “He has a message of unity, not division.”

Other LGBTQ Republicans, like Williams, straddle the line. Asked whether she’ll be voting for Trump, she tactfully replied, “The jury is still out.”

“Since New Jersey is not in play, I’ve been trying to focus on more of our down-ballot candidates who’ve sought my support and my counsel on reaching voters,” she said.

Log Cabin Republicans And Goproud Struggle For Future Of Lgbt People In The Gop Party

The night before the Republican National Convention began in Tampa last month, a group of gay Republicans sipped wine and ate crab cakes at the Rusty Pelican, a white-tablecloth establishment with massive fireplaces and sweeping bay views. Defying the widespread perception that the Republican party is more actively opposed to gay rights than ever, R. Clarke Cooper, the 41-year-old director of the Log Cabin Republicans, told the gathering that gays are not just an insular group in the party, were an integral part of the party. Like other fetes around town that week, the reception was dominated by clean-cut white men who looked like consultants with practiced golf swings. Women and minorities were as rare a sight as unpleated pants.

Log Cabin, a Republican fixture since the late 70s, defines its mission as building a stronger, more inclusive Republican Party by lobbying for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination laws, and other gay causes. With 44 chapters and more than 45,000 members, it has become the closest thing there is in the gay Republican scene to the establishment. Its nemesis and counterpart is the three-year-old GOProud, the only other national organization for gay Republicans. While Log Cabins white-wine affair at the Rusty Pelican was designed to appeal to the old-school Republican country-club set, GOProuds event, dubbed Homocon, featured male go-go dancers in skin-tight Freedom is Fabulous belly-tees.

REPUBLICANS FROM THE GET-GO

Jonathan Hoffman: Log Cabin Republicans A Model For Politics

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The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer.

It seems as if our political contests have become more like warfare than debates these days. The increase in identity politics has lead to some political parties becoming more like tribes defined by ethnicity, race or sexual orientation, rather than parties defined by philosophy or principles. As such, there is no place for cooperation or compromise, just a question of who will prevail.

The other day I was wondering if there was some group that, by example, demonstrates that it need not be that way. I then heard someone mention the Log Cabin Republicans, and I thought, Yeah, those guys.

Who are the LCR people?

Let us begin with a little history. In the late 1970s, gay Americans were becoming more accepted in the broader culture. This prompted a backlash. States began banning gay people from teaching in public schools. The California version of this was a ballot initiative championed by a state legislator named John Briggs. The Briggs Initiative, as it was called, had overwhelming support and looked like a done deal.

I spoke with my friend Bill Beard, a gay Republican who served as chairman of the Pima County Republican Party and is active in LCR. I asked him about endorsements. He told me that the local chapter endorsed all three Republicans for Tucson City Council, and made no formal endorsement for mayor.

Thats why I thought, Yeah, those guys.

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Trans Rights: A Perplexing Issue

Like many other gay conservatives, however, he seems to disconnect gay rights and transgender rights. Kabel recalled a recent article with a quotation from the conservative activist Tony Perkins that contrasted the Democratic and Republican platforms in 2016.

“The only issue Perkins raised was the transgender bathroom issue,” Kabel said. “And I thought, ‘That means we won.'”

Kabel called transgender equality “one of the most perplexing issues going.”

“Transgender people deserve support and protection just like anybody else, but it’s a very complex issue,” he said. “It’s remarkable when you hear their stories, but it’s just a very perplexing issue about how to really address it and do it so that they’re protected but other people aren’t hurt, so that people’s religious views are actually taken into consideration.”

Transgender visibility is all but absent in the Log Cabin Republicans, from their leadership to their messaging.

An OUTSpoken Instagram post compares the LGBT left to the LGBT right by putting an image of a person who appears to be transgender or gender-nonconforming next to a shirtless picture of former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, while the campaigns store sells T-shirts bearing slogans like “gay for Tucker” “gay for Melania” and “gay not stupid.

OUTspoken sent Brokeback Patriot, who has stated trans women are not women, to New Orleans Southern Decadence party to ask passersby if they think Trump is pro-gay.

Burning During The War Of 1812

On August 2425, 1814, in a raid known as the , British forces invaded the capital during the . The , , and were burned and gutted during the attack. Most government buildings were repaired quickly; however, the Capitol was largely under construction at the time and was not completed in its current form until 1868.

Citing Resources In The Web Archive

Citations should indicate: Archived in the Library of Congress Web Archives at www.loc.gov. When citing a particular website include the archived website’s Citation ID . Researchers are advised to follow standard citation guidelines for websites, pages, and articles. Researchers are reminded that many of the materials in this web archive are copyrighted and that citations must credit the authors/creators and publishers of the works. For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Nbc Outcourt Orders Idaho To Provide Gender Surgery For Trans Inmate

Despite the backlash to the Trump endorsement, Charles Moran, the groups national spokesperson, told NBC News the group has no plans to rescind its support for the president as it was a universal decision determined by the board of directors and chapters.

When asked whether Henry was involved in the endorsement decision, Moran said he could not speak to that as he was not on the phone call during her resignation but that he and the board thank her for her service to the Log Cabin Republicans.

Henrys departure comes just weeks before the groups Sept. 17 Spirit of Lincoln reception in D.C. The annual event has typically included a dinner and reception featuring high-profile Republican attendees, but this year there will only be a reception.

Were seeing a lot of what I thought would happen: A lot of prominent leaders are leaving the group, Evans told NBC News. We need a Republican group that advocates for LGBTQ issues, but the Log Cabin Republicans have sent the message that this is not their priority.

Log Cabin Republicans Endorse Trump

The Log Cabin Republicans endorsed President Trump

The group said its national board of directors voted to endorse Trump after consulting with its chapters across the country.

Log Cabin Republicans Chairman Robert Kabel and Vice Chairwoman Jill Homan argued in a Washington Post op-ed on Friday that Trump has helped remove LGBTQ rights as a wedge issue in the GOP, citing his administration’s policies on ending the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as his push to get other countries to conform to modern human rights standards.

The leaders also cited Trump’s appointment of Richard Grenell, who is openly gay, as U.S. ambassador to Germany.

“While we do not agree with every policy or platform position presented by the White House or the Republican Party, we share a commitment to individual responsibility, personal freedom and a strong national defense,” Kabel and Homan wrote.

The move marks a reversal after the group refused to endorse Trump in 2016, citing him surrounding himself with advisers “with a record of opposing LGBT equality,” as well as his support of the First Amendment Defense Act, which would block the federal government from taking adverse action against people based on their beliefs about marriage.

The group said in 2016 that they would welcome the opportunity to work with him on LGBTQ issues.

The president has also come under fire for the views of Vice President Pence, who has opposed legalizing same-sex marriage, citing his Christian faith.

Log Cabin Republican Quits After The Group Endorses Trump’s Re

Prior to Henry’s resignation, Casey Pick, who served as the programs director for the Log Cabin Republicans from 2010 to 2013, wrote in a Facebook post that even though she began distancing herself from the group after the 2012 election, she decided to give it another chance after Henry was brought on board as executive director.

I was hopeful that despite watching the organizations slide toward Trump apologism under Gregory T. Angelo , their hiring a skilled and principled operative like Henry meant the organization would finally be able to again be a conscience this party needs, Pick wrote on Aug. 15, the same day the group endorsed Trump. I publicly celebrated her hiring, and encouraged my peers in the LGBT advocacy community to give LCR another shot, knowing that a vibrant and effective Log Cabin could be a godsend during a Trump/Pence administration.

Yet, Pick said, Henrys hands have been tied and instead of espousing a progressive mission, the group increasingly fulfills the stereotypes that used to be hurled at Log Cabin Republicans: overwhelmingly gay men who are indifferent to the experiences of women, transgender Americans or LGBT people who lack the financial or social resources to protect them from the discrimination that they so often deny even exists.

“Don’t call me a Log Cabin Republican,” she wrote at the conclusion of her post.

Civil Rights And Home Rule Era

1960s Washington DC, 4K from 35mm Kinolibrary

The was ratified in 1961, granting the district three votes in the for the election of president and vice president, but still no voting representation in Congress.

After the , on April 4, 1968, , primarily in the U Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, centers of black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until more than 13,600 federal troops and D.C. Army National Guardsmen stopped the violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned; rebuilding was not completed until the late 1990s.

In 1973, Congress enacted the , providing for an elected mayor and thirteen-member council for the district. In 1975, became the first elected and first black mayor of the district.

How Groups Get Approved By Cpac Including Massresistance

MassResistance registered for a table at CPAC on January 8, six weeks before the conference. We were told that the approval process could take 5-7 working days, but to go ahead and make airline and hotel reservations, etc. anyway.

We waited two weeks with no answer. Then on Jan. 24 a conference call was set up to discuss your organization and your plans for CPAC. It was with CPACs events coordinator and Dan Schneider, the Executive Director. He said he had never heard of MassResistance.

We described the history of MassResistance and the kind of activism we do. We were very up-front about our plans for CPAC. We were going to promote our book, The Health Hazards of Homosexuality, and similar materials. We told Schneider we believe that CPACs large constituency of younger people had not been sufficiently exposed to the pro-family message, and he agreed. He said he would like pro-family groups to come to CPAC.

Schneider said that there are four criteria for a group to be approved:

The applicant organization must stand for at least one conservative/right-of-center proposition

The applicant organization must not exist primarily for a liberal purpose

The applicant organization must be legitimate

The applicant organization cannot be disrespectful of either ACU or CPAC

We told him that it was hard to believe that the Log Cabin Republicans would pass this since they clearly exist to homosexualize the Republican Party and push the LGBT agenda in government and society.

Working For Lgbt Americans

In 2019, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc., would donate pre-exposure prophylaxis medication for uninsured, high-risk HIV individuals.

As part of the president’s Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America initiative, this medication, which could run up to as much as $20,000 per patient, per year, would be distributed to up to 200,000 individuals each year through at least Dec. 31, 2025.

The Trump plan is focused on communities most in need and has received support from those who have been involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In similar fashion, Trump announced during Pride Month in 2019 that his administration was launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality. His leadership on this issue couldnt be more necessary even in 2020, 72 countries still identify same-sexual orientation as criminal, including eight where it is punishable by death.

This campaign was spearheaded by former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, an openly gay member of the administration who subsequently served as acting director of U.S. national intelligence, becoming the first openly gay Cabinet member in our history. In coordination with the United Nations, the European Union and other human rights organizations, the campaigns goal is to pressure nations into ending homophobic laws, securing the safety and freedom of all LGBT individuals throughout the world.

Who Are The Log Cabin Republicans

The Log Cabin Republicans are a political organization founded in the 1970s that identifies themselves as staunchly Republican, with a twist. Members of the Log Cabin Republicans are strong activists for many Republican values, the idea of free markets, limited government and lower taxation, especially of high earners and corporations. They especially support privacy, and identify most with President Lincoln, one of the most identifiable presidents, who was born in a log cabin. They identify with Lincolns Republican party at that time, which could definitely be considered the more liberal of the two parties, especially in Lincolns signing of the emancipation proclamation and his promotion of civil rights for all.

This issue is extremely important to Log Cabin Republicans because most members identify themselves as gay or lesbian, or in support of equal rights for gays or lesbians. While a number of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender folks identify more strongly with the Democratic party, many members of the Log Cabin Republicans find themselves out of step with the Democrats on many issues. Their political ideas are more aligned with those of the Republican party, and thus since the 1970s the LCRs have become an important part of the political process in avidly supporting non-discrimination of the LGBT community, promoting greater funds for AIDs research, and supporting measures like the right for individuals to marry others of their choosing.

Nbc Outover 500 Lgbtq Candidates To Appear On November Ballots Shattering Records

Williams, chair of the Republican Committee in Trenton, New Jersey, agrees that some LGBTQ Republicans choose to look past certain statements or policies especially cisgender members.

LGBTQ “people who are voting for the president are most likely not going to be transgender, because we’ve been the target and the butt of most of the administration’s actions,” she said.

According to the GLAAD poll, however, 19 percent of trans and nonbinary registered voters were supporting Trump more than either gay men or lesbians .

This Former Log Cabin Republican Is On A Mission To Stop Trump

Sarah Longwell says Trump threatens the GOP but, more importantly, democracy itself.

Back in the day , when I worked on Capitol Hill, I met my very first boyfriend. Kurt was from Paducah, Ky., and worked for a fairly moderate Republican at the time, a senator named Mitch McConnell.

We were both in the closet, and I would pick Kurt up in my car at discrete locations. We never really spoke about politics, because it really didnt matter. The only thing I vaguely recall him telling me about McConnell was that they put lipstick on him for TV appearances since his mouth is like a knife slash.

And, one of my best drinking buddies during that period, worked um, lets say toiled for then-Rep. Rick Santorum. I only knew that Santorum was an absolute jerk because I sat next to him at a dinner on the Hill one night and witnessed his rude and obnoxious behavior. He was childishly upset about getting the right dinner rolls. But again, with Will, there was never any talk about politics. We just had a good time over lots and lots of beers.

Thats the way it was then in Congress. You had friends across party lines, and anyone who was virulently political was usually also friendless.

Sarah Longwell also worked for Rick Santorum back in the in mid 1990s, going on a tour with Senator Santorum to help promote his book, It Takes a Family. She was coming out as a lesbian at the time and eventually quit Santorum, who she considered the most visibly antigay politician in the country.

Nbc Outtrump Applauds Poll Showing 45 Percent Support Among Gay Men

Kazmierczak called Trump a staunch supporter of gay people and their rights, but he said he makes a distinction when it comes to religious groups.

“He doesn’t want gay rights forced on religious institutions,” Kazmierczak said. “It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t support gay people. It means that to him, religious freedom is more important than social issues.”

Trump made a halfhearted effort to court the LGBTQ community in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He called the massacre of 49 mostly LGBTQ people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that year an “assault on the ability of free people to live their lives, love who they want and express their identity.”

At the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Trump swore “to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.”

And two days before Election Day, he grabbed an upside-down Pride flag inscribed with “LGBT for Trump” at a rally in Colorado and waved it around.

Once in office, however, Trump has consistently opposed LGBTQ rights from rolling back Obama-era nondiscrimination protections to banning openly transgender service members in the military. The national LGBTQ rights group GLAAD has accused the Trump administration of 181 separate attacks on the community since his inauguration.

For Rogers, Trumps bona fides with the community arent so important.

Many gay Trump supporters say they’re tired of being told what political views are acceptable.

While Democrats Take The Lesbian And Gay Community For Granted Donald Trump’s Republican Party Is Delivering Real Results

Democrats are using their convention this week to tout their agenda for the next four years, including their promise to stand up for the lesbian and gay community. For years, Democratic Party leaders have taken for granted the lesbian and gay community along with other minority communities thinking they had no where else to turn. Those days are over.

I’ve fought for civil rights for gay Americans for the past four decades. Today, the Republican Party is delivering real results and leadership for our community:

It hasnt always been this way. For years, the GOP generally stood against the inclusion of gay and lesbian conservatives. As one of the Republican National Committee’s first openly gay members, and a longtime leader of Log Cabin Republicans, I’ve worked tirelessly alongside many friends and colleagues to pull the party into the future. Today, thanks in large part to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the party has delivered meaningful policy victories for gays and lesbians.

He didnt abandon these principles when he assumed his position behind the Resolute Desk.

Nbc Outsan Francisco Police Chief Apologizes To Lgbtq Community

Evans announced her own departure from the Log Cabin Republicans last Monday in a scathing op-ed for LGBTQ magazine The Advocate. Jennifer Horn, a former board member, and Robert Turner, the former president of the group’s Washington, D.C., chapter, also denounced the Trump endorsement and left the group last week.

Notably, Henrys name did not appear alongside those of board members Robert Kabel and Jill Homan in a Washington Post Op-Ed this month announcing the group’s endorsement of Trump. The Log Cabin Republicans declined to endorse Trump in 2016.

In the endorsement, Kabel and Homan cited Trumps commitment to end HIV/AIDS in 10 years, which was met both with cautious optimism and flat-out skepticism, and his work with Richard Grenell, the openly gay U.S. ambassador to Germany, to encourage other nations to end the criminalization of homosexuality, as examples of his dedication to the LGBTQ community.

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masterofd1saster · 3 years

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CJ court watch 1jul21

Big cases last couple days, not about criminal justice, but about Constitutional rights.

Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 594 U. S. ___ (2021) was a 6-3 decision on Arizona’s rules on voting.

***The regulations at issue in this suit govern precinct-based election-day voting and early mail-in voting. Voters who choose to vote in person on election day in a county that uses the precinct system must vote in their assigned precincts. See §16–122 (2015); see also §16–135. If a voter goes to the wrong polling place, poll workers are trained to direct the voter to the right location. Democratic Nat. Comm. v. Reagan, 329 F. Supp. 3d 824, 859 (Ariz. 2018); see Tr. 1559, 1586 (Oct. 12, 2017); Tr. Exh. 370 (Pima County Elections Inspectors Handbook). If a voter finds that his or her name does not appear on the register at what the voter believes is the right precinct, the voter ordinarily may cast a provisional ballot. Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §16–584 (Cum. Supp. 2020). That ballot is later counted if the voter’s address is determined to be within the precinct. See ibid. But if it turns out that the voter cast a ballot at the wrong precinct, that vote is not counted. See §16–584(E); App. 37–41 (election procedures manual); Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §16–452(C) (misdemeanor to violate rules in election procedures manual). For those who choose to vote early by mail, Arizona has long required that “[o]nly the elector may be in possession of that elector’s unvoted early ballot.” §16–542(D). In 2016, the state legislature enacted House Bill 2023 (HB 2023), which makes it a crime for any person other than a postal worker, an elections official, or a voter’s caregiver, family member, or household member to knowingly collect an early ballot—either before or after it has been completed. §§16–1005(H)–(I). In 2016, the Democratic National Committee and certain affiliates brought this suit***

The en banc 9th Circuit said this was all terribly discriminatory. SCt reversed.

***because this is our first §2 time, place, or manner case, a fresh look at the statutory text is appropriate. Today, our statutory interpretation cases almost always start with a careful consideration of the text, and there is no reason to do otherwise here.***

The key requirement is that the political processes leading to nomination and election (here, the process of voting) must be “equally open” to minority and non-minority groups alike, and the most relevant definition of the term “open,” as used in §2(b), is “without restrictions as to who may participate,” Random House Dictionary of the English Language 1008 (J. Stein ed. 1966), or “requiring no special status, identification, or permit for entry or participation,” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1579 (1976). What §2(b) means by voting that is not “equally open” is further explained by this language: “in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.”***

Casting a vote, whether by following the directions for using a voting machine or completing a paper ballot, requires compliance with certain rules. But because voting necessarily requires some effort and compliance with some rules, the concept of a voting system that is “equally open” and that furnishes an equal “opportunity” to cast a ballot must tolerate the “usual burdens of voting.” Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd., 553 U. S. 181, 198 (2008) (opinion of Stevens, J.). Mere inconvenience cannot be enough to demonstrate a violation of §2.***

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Brendan Eich nods. SCt decided Americans For Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 594 U. S. ___ (2021) 6-3.

To solicit contributions in California, charitable organizations must disclose to the state Attorney General’s Office the identities of their major donors. The State contends that having this information on hand makes it easier to police misconduct by charities. We must decide whether California’s disclosure requirement violates the First Amendment right to free association.***

The court also determined that the disclosure regime burdened the associational rights of donors. In both cases, the court found that the petitioners had suffered from threats and harassment in the past, and that donors were likely to face similar retaliation in the future if their affiliations became publicly known. For example, the CEO of the Foundation testified that a technology contractor working at the Foundation’s headquarters had posted online that he was “inside the belly of the beast” and “could easily walk into [the CEO’s] office and slit his throat.”***

The District Court also found that California was unable to ensure the confidentiality of donors’ information. During the course of litigation, the Foundation identified nearly 2,000 confidential Schedule Bs that had been inadvertently posted to the Attorney General’s website, including dozens that were found the day before trial. One of the Foundation’s expert witnesses also discovered that he was able to access hundreds of thousands of confidential documents on the website simply by changing a digit in the URL. The court found after trial that “the amount of careless mistakes made by the Attorney General’s Registry is shocking.”***

We have also noted that “[i]t is hardly a novel perception that compelled disclosure of affiliation with groups engaged in advocacy may constitute as effective a restraint on freedom of association as [other] forms of governmental action.” NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U. S. 449, 462 (1958).***

While exacting scrutiny does not require that disclosure regimes be the least restrictive means of achieving their ends, it does require that they be narrowly tailored to the government’s asserted interest.***

we conclude that California’s blanket demand for Schedule Bs is facially unconstitutional. A As explained, exacting scrutiny requires that there be “a substantial relation between the disclosure requirement and a sufficiently important governmental interest,” Reed, 561 U. S., at 196 (internal quotation marks omitted), and that the disclosure requirement be narrowly tailored to the interest it promotes***

the pertinent facts in these cases are the same across the board: Schedule Bs are not used to initiate investigations. That is true in every case. California has not considered alternatives to indiscriminate up-front disclosure. That is true in every case. And the State’s interest in amassing sensitive information for its own convenience is weak. That is true in every case. When it comes to the freedom of association, the protections of the First Amendment are triggered not only by actual restrictions on an individual’s ability to join with others to further shared goals. The risk of a chilling effect on association is enough, “[b]ecause First Amendment freedoms need breathing space to survive.”***

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techcrunchappcom · 4 years

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New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/arizonas-prison-population-declines-by-11-during-pandemic-national-news/

Arizona’s prison population declines by 11% during pandemic | National News

PHOENIX (AP) — The number of inmates in Arizona’s prisons has declined 11% since the start of pandemic, reflecting a slowdown in the state’s court system that has held far fewer criminal jury trials over the last year as it took steps to prevent the coronavirus from spreading at courthouses. Corrections officials say they are seeing fewer sentenced inmates being sent to prison from counties and fewer revocations of probation and community-supervision releases that would send people back behind bars. Defense lawyers say people charged with crimes are reluctant to accept plea offers out of fear that they might be exposed to COVID-19 if they were sentenced to Arizona’s prisons, where 31% of inmates have tested positive over the course of the pandemic and where 50 inmates have either been confirmed or suspected to have died from the virus.

Pima County hasn’t held a criminal jury trial since March 2020 and has called them off through next month. Maricopa County went a few months in 2020 without criminal trials, but it resumed them during the fall in limited numbers, because it has a small number of courtrooms that are equipped with plexiglass barriers and spacious enough to allow jurors to be distanced.

“The entire system is slowing down,” said Pima County Public Defender Joel Feinman.

In the four years before the pandemic, Arizona’s prison population hovered around 42,000. It started dropping in March and stood at 37,224 on Friday, according to corrections records.

While at least 300 non-violent inmates have been released from country jails in Arizona over the last year in a bid to lower virus risks, the state has refused calls for early releases of prisoners as a prevention measure.

Corrections officials say it’s difficult to say whether the state will have roughly 42,000 inmates some time after the pandemic ends. But lawyers and officials who work in county criminal justice systems said they believe the numbers of will creep back up.

“Everything that I have seen contributing to the decline is based on temporary things, so I think this is temporary,” said Christine Jones, a trial supervisor in the Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender.

More than half of Arizona’s 15 counties also have seen decreases in the number of inmates in their jails.

The jail population in Maricopa County, which operates the largest county jail system in Arizona, has had a 24% decrease in its jail population, from 7,100 in December 2019 to about 5,400 this week.

The most significant factor in lowering the county’s jail population has been police agencies that are citing and releasing people for certain nonviolent offenses, rather than booking, in an attempt to limit their contact with jails during the pandemic, said Sheriff Paul Penzone.

Penzone said his office is examining data to determine whether the cite-and-release approach taken during the pandemic will have any effects on crime rates and to examine the financial savings from having fewer people locked up.

While acknowledging that some offenders still need to be imprisoned, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, a newly elected prosecutor who believes the state should rely on prison far less, said the decline in the prison population offers a chance to consider whether the state wants to keep so many people locked up.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, whose office didn’t hold a felony trial for three months last year but has since resumed, said her office is already working with others in the legal system to reduce the backlog.

Polk said the Arizona Supreme Court’s suspension of a speedy-trial rule is set to expire at the end of March, meaning her office needs to be prepared to take a number of cases to trial unless the rule suspension is extended.

“You can’t stop arresting people and you can’t neglect public safety,” Polk said. “And you when you arrest somebody, there are a series of things in the courtroom that have to occur. We have managed to do it.”

State prisons and some county jails in Arizona have been hard hit by the virus.

More than 11,000 inmates in Arizona’s prisons have tested positive for the virus during the pandemic, leading to 31 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and another 19 deaths suspect to have been caused by the virus.

More than 2,600 people who work in state prisons also have tested positive. Corrections officials have declined to say whether any staff members have died from the virus.

In county jails across Arizona, more than 3,500 inmates and nearly 900 employees have tested positive since last spring.

Two Pima County jail inmates, a Maricopa County jail officer and a Camp Verde Detention Center employee in Yavapai County have died from the virus.

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#arizona #declines #during #pandemic #population #prison #National

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rrlawgroup · 2 years

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The term "consolidated" refers to the merger of eight precincts in one courtroom in the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court. One Justice of the Peace represents each precinct. Because of the consolidation, any matter from any of the eight precincts can be heard and decided by a Justice of the Peace. Excessive speeding, reckless driving, and commercial trucking or CDL violations are the most common offenses in Pima County. R&R Law Company offers flat-fee counsel, accessible payment options, and a solid defense with a staff committed to handling traffic-related problems. Please visit our official website to learn more about this court.

#Pima County Consolidated Justice Court #Pima County Justice Court #Pima Justice Court #r&r law group az #Justice Court Pima

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907fyfui · 2 months

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The debate between the two parties in the United States over complete rebirth is becoming increasingly bizarre

In the United States, some issues are unimaginable to other countries, leading to political debates. Gun control is one of them, and the abortion debate is no exception. In the United States, there has always been a great debate surrounding abortion. Abortion is a very important issue in the US presidential election. The US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, opening Pandora's Box. This year, Arizona in the United States has reinstated an abortion ban that almost prohibits all abortions within the state, including those that have been violated or incestuous and become pregnant, except in one case where abortion is necessary to save the mother's life. The Pima County Superior Court in Arizona immediately made a ruling that the comprehensive abortion ban would come back into effect, and all abortions except for saving lives would be prohibited. Overseas netizens claim that the Supreme Court's ruling may affect the state's election results in November this year, which is like sending a big gift to the Democratic Party. You should know that the Supreme Court justices who overturned the Roe v. Wade case two years ago were appointed by former President Trump. At that time, Trump was very proud and promoted his "great achievements" everywhere to gain the support of conservatives. But now his campaign against Biden is in full swing, and Arizona is notorious for being a swing state. Both sides are doing their best to win over centrist voters. Suddenly, such a thing happened, and Trump was also unable to shed tears, bluntly stating that the ban was "too extreme". On the other hand, the Democratic Party was quite excited. As soon as the verdict was announced, US President Biden immediately issued a statement calling on the Republican Party to fight and fight for the restoration of the Roe v. Wade verdict. It's not entirely true how much the Democratic Party cares about women, just like Republicans don't really dislike abortion for women, everything is for the sake of votes. Polls show that American voters tend to Trump on almost all major issues, believing that he can better protect the interests of the American people, but Biden is clearly ahead of Trump on abortion, gun control and other issues. The Democratic Party believes that focusing the political agenda on the issue of abortion is beneficial in diverting people's attention from economic, immigration, and foreign policies, which are long-standing and difficult issues to deal with. In contrast, it is much easier to use the banner of values all day long to "provoke war".

#right of abortion

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blarefilmsaz-blog · 5 years

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History of Tucson Film Production

The history of Tucson film production is incredibly rich. Most of the classic and most successful Westerns were shot completely or partially in Tucson. However, it did take a bit for those train robbing scenes to find their way to Tucson. In the early 1920s, major film companies wanted to secure places in USA cities. This is the time when they started getting funding from financial institutions; thus, they began to expand into different cities in the USA. Most movie companies moved to New York City and Hollywood. Other producers decided to settle in Tucson, Arizona. They wanted to take advantage of the weather of the area and the diverse scenery that would be used for video production. One of them was a desert area 11 miles east of Tucson, which became known as Old Tucson Studios. Old Tucson Studios Columbia Studios decided to build a replica of the 1860’s Tucson for the film Arizona (1940). Built in 1939 for $150,000, it was the first western studio set that brought these types of films to life. It set a new standard for how they were shot. The film was directed by Wesly Ruggles and starred Jean Arthur, William Holden, and Warren William. Ironically, after the success of the film, Old Town Studios went forgotten. It was not used again until a new trend of western movies started about 5 years later. Between 1945 to 1959, over 30 movies were shot there. Those include titles such as The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), Winchester ’73 (1950), Broken Arrow (1950), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). The Western Movie Golden Age Then, in the year 1959, an entrepreneur by the name of Robert Shelton leased the property from Pima County and restored the aging facility of Old Tucson Studios. He reopened it as a film studio and theme park in 1960. He did a great job with the big Hollywood stars of the day; “The Duke” John Wayne was like a permanent fixture in Old Tucson in the ’60s. It started with Rio Bravo (1959), followed by McLintock! (1963), El Dorado (1966), and topped off the decade with Rio Lobo (1970). Other big names followed, like Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, Ronald Reagan, and Paul Newman. In addition to revolutionizing video production, Old Tucson Studios brought tourism to Tucson. The park added tours, rides, and shows to entertain visitors. Many film production companies in Tucson would go to this theme park for gunfights. Thus, the fans who wanted to capture a glimpse of their favorite stars came in flocks. Off The Big Screen The next way forward came from television. Tucson also served as the ideal location for shooting scenes for TV series; Gunsmoke (1955-1975) shot scenes there. Bonanza (1955-1975) also shot plenty of scenes in Tucson. It wasn’t until NBC’s The High Chaparral (1967-1971) that Tucson got its first regular television series, which was mostly shot in Old Tucson Studios. The studio served as the location of a town called Mankato (Minnesota) in Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983), while Petrocelli (1974-1976) also shot a lot of content inside the studio. However, it used the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court, the Tucson Mountains, and other areas inside the city of Tucson. Father Murphy (1981-1983) was entirely in and around the area of Old Tucson Studios. The Young Riders (1989-1992) was the most recent regular TV series shot at the studio. Action-Packed Films The ’70s saw the more big-budget Western motion pictures, such as Clint Eastwood’s Joe Kid (1972) and Kirt Douglas’ Posse (1975). However, you finally started seeing more non-Western films produced, like the Action Adventure movie Moonfire (1972) and the Science-Fiction Horror film Night of the Lepus (1972). The biggest blockbuster of the decade Tucson had was the Action film Death Wish (1974) starring Charles Bronson. Tucson’s Death Wish scenes include Bear Down Gym at the University of Arizona, Tucson International Airport, Tucson Mountain Park Shooting Range, and, of course, Old Tucson Studios. Not a Place for Just Westerns The move to use Tucson as a great movie location, aside from for Westerns, continued during the 1980s. The best evidence for this is the college cult classic Revenge of the Nerds (1984). Revenge of the Nerds used the University of Arizona and areas around the campus, the Quaker meeting house on Fifth Avenue, and the Scottish Rite Temple downtown. Stir Crazy (1980), a Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder comedy, was the first out the gate in the ’80s. Stir Crazy was shot mostly all over Tucson, but also included the Florence, Arizona prison and parts of New York, Texas, and California. The Cannonball Run (1981) and The Cannonball Run 2 (1983) both had scenes shot in the Tucson area.

Westerns Coming back Strong

There were still plenty of Westerns shot in Tucson in the 1980s and 1990s; Young Guns (1988) and Young Guns 2 (1990) for example. Both of these movies had scenes shot at Old Tucson Studios. Surprisingly, it was an Action/Comedy that helped to gave Old Tucson Studios’ most recognized building a facelift. Before the filming of Three Amigos (1986), the famous mission set was given a new facade. The mission is in many of the Three Amigo scenes, but, for many, the most memorable scene in front of that mission was the ugly slaughtering of the wedding party in Tombstone (1993). Tombstone was the most iconic Western movie of the 1990s and a box office hit. The ’90s was also the home to the sexiest gunfighter ever (according to too many male Western movie fans), Ellen, played by Sharon Stone in The Quick and the Dead (1995). Now, The Quick and the Dead may not have been a mega box office like Tombstone, but it was a joy to watch. Sadly, you’ll never see another Western with all of those original Old Tucson Studio elements. A Fiery End to Old Tucson Studios On April 24, 1995, a large fire broke out inside Old Tucson Studios. About 40-percent of Old Town was burnt to the ground. Some of its most famous wooden structures, which were the magic that brought the Wild West to life, were completely lost. Three-quarters of the wooden buildings were destroyed or damaged, one-of-a-kind artifacts melted, and costumes were completely incinerated. The primary suspect was an individual who was looking for a job at the studios but was not hired. However, not enough evidence could be collected to be able to convict the suspect of the arson. The Rebuild A reconstruction project was started and, after 20 months, Old Tucson Studios reopened on January 2, 1997. Those looking to see the studio completely restored were disappointed. Although new buildings went up, they were smaller and not intended to resemble the originals. The film business took a dive and, while Wild Wild West (1999) shot some scenes there, most of the production was in California. Many of the visitors that came after the fire describe Old Town Studios as a tourist trap. Here is a link to Old Tucson Studios before it was burnt down. A Better Build In 2011, The Heritage Square Project took root. It was an attempt to bring back Old Tucson Studios’ magic and allure. The area took up a 5,000 square foot spread and was built to scale, including 12 quality movie sets and three new street lines. Tucson Film Production - Today Today, Old Tucson Studios a great place to visit. You can watch a mini-play in front of the mission and there are saloon musicals like the Folklorico Dance and Original Can-Can. You can also grab a cold beer at one of the handfuls of watering holes and reminisce. That being said, movie-making at the Old Town Studios is just about dead; smaller independent filmmakers are the only ones producing films at Old Tucson Studios since the completion of The Heritage Square Project. Perhaps Western movies are taking the same direction as Jazz and Rock-n-Roll. They’re just not hip. Maybe Old Town Studios needs a superhero? Comic book movies seem to be doing pretty well in the box office these days, but whatever it needs, Old Town Studios is not getting it. As the movies being made in Old Town Studios declines, so too does Tucson’s film industry. Tucson Film Production - Outlook It has been a remarkable run. You can currently find 442 TV shows and movie titles on IMDB that list Old Tucson – 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, the USA as a filming location. That number will continue to grow as long as Old Tucson Studios doesn't turn into a water park. For now, it seems like Hollywood has forgotten Old Tucson. It’s happened before, so it’s no surprise it’s happened again. The good news is that there’ll always be babies that’ll grow up wanting to be cowboys. And, just like vinyl records came back, so too will the big production motion picture companies be back. Blare Films Arizona and others in the industry will be here to provide support. Fun Fact Old Tucson Studios was not the only set to be built in Tucson for a Western film. In 1951, a move set just outside the Tucson’s city limits was built for a Glenn Ford movie. The movie itself was never completed. A few years later, the site was rebuilt into an outdoor shopping mall, theater, and restaurant complex called Trail Dust Town. It’s still in use today. This article is written by Blare Films Arizona a Tucson Film Production Company Read the full article

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myattorneyusa · 5 years

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18 New Immigration Judges Sworn in on May 10, 2019

Introduction

On May 10, 2019, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) held an investiture ceremony to swear in 18 new immigration judges [PDF version]. One of the 18 new immigration judges will serve as an assistant chief immigration judge with supervisory responsibilities. Each of the 18 new immigration judges was selected by Attorney General William Barr. The 18 new immigration judges will serve on 9 immigration courts across the country.

In this article, we will examine the biographies of the new immigration judges — sorted by immigration court — with reference to the EOIR news release. To read about previous immigration judge investiture ceremonies, please see our article index [see article].

Abbreviations:

Department of Justice (DOJ)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Immigration Courts With New Immigration Judges From May 2019 Investiture

Cleveland Immigration Court (Ohio) [1 new ACIJ and 1 new IJ]

Boston Immigration Court (Massachusetts) [3 new IJs]

Conroe Immigration Court (Texas)

Elizabeth Immigration Court (New Jersey)

Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center (Texas) [2 new IJs]

Miami Immigration Court (Florida) [3 new IJs]

Philadelphia Immigration Court (Pennsylvania)

San Antonio Immigration Court (Texas)

San Francisco Immigration Court (California) [4 new IJs]

James. F. McCarthy III, Assistant Chief Immigration Judge, Cleveland Immigration Court

1995-2019: Private practice.

1983-1995: Assistant city solicitor and chief trial counsel for the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

1983-1995: Judge advocate for the U.S. Navy.

1981-1983: Private practice.

1977-1981: Active duty judge advocate for the U.S. Navy.

Law degree from the Ohio State University College of Law in 1977.

ACIJ McCarthy immediately assumed supervisory duties at the Cleveland Immigration Court upon being sworn in. His legal experience comes exclusively from private practice, the U.S. Navy, and from working for the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

John M. Furlong Jr., Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court

2013-2019: Deputy district director for USCIS, DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts.

2006-2013: Deputy chief counsel for ICE, DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts.

1996-2006: Assistant chief counsel for ICE, DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Law degree from Suffolk University in 1994.

IJ Furlong has over two decades of experience as a lawyer for ICE and USCIS.

Lincoln S. Jalelian, Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court

2009-2019: Assistant chief counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts.

2008-2009: Assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts.

2004-2008: Trial attorney in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, Criminal Division, DOJ.

2002-2003: Resident legal advisor at the U.S. Office in Pristina, Kosovo.

1992-2004: Assistant district attorney in the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1992.

IJ Jalelian has worked as both a state and federal prosecutor prior to his decade-long stint as an attorney for ICE.

Jennifer A. Mulcahy, Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court

2002-2019: Assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Law degree from Suffolk University School of Law in 2001.

IJ Mulcahy worked for seventeen years as an ICE attorney prior to becoming an immigration judge.

Taresa L. Riley, Immigration Judge, Cleveland Immigration Court

2009-2019: Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Ohio, DOJ, in both the Cleveland and Akron offices, finishing her service as the Attorney-in-Charge, Criminal Division, of the Akron Branch Office.

2008-2009: Assistant prosecuting attorney for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office in Cleveland, Ohio.

2003-2008: Senior law clerk for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

1999-2003: Law clerk and judicial attorney for Judge John R. Adams in the Court of Common Pleas in Summit County, Ohio.

Law degree from the University of Akron School of Law.

IJ Riley has extensive experience as a federal prosecutor and law clerk prior to taking the immigration bench.

Holly A. D'Andrea, Immigration Judge, Conroe Immigration Court

2011-2019: Assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, DOJ, in Brownsville, Texas.

2016-2017: National border and immigration legal issues coordinator with the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, DOJ, in Washington D.C.

2008-2010: Assistant prosecuting attorney, assistant county counselor, and city attorney in Washington County, Missouri.

2007-2008: Private practice.

Law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2006.

IJ D'Andrea was a federal and former local prosecutor with a one year stint as a DOJ lawyer dealing with border and immigration issues.

Jason L. Pope, Immigration Judge, Elizabeth Immigration Court

2014-2019: Assistant chief counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Baltimore, Maryland.

2007-2012: Private practice specializing in immigration law.

Law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 2006.

IJ Pope has experience as an ICE attorney and as an immigration lawyer in private practice.

Jacob D. Bashore, Immigration Judge, Fort Worth Immigration and Adjudication Center

2006-2019: Attorney and circuit judge with the U.S. Army.

Law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2006; Master of Laws degree from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School in 2011.

IJ Bashore's experience comes exclusively as an attorney and judge for the U.S. Army.

Marium S. Uddin, Immigration Judge, Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center

2016-2018: Assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Dallas, Texas.

2015-2016: Assistant district attorney with the Dallas County District Attorney's Office in Dallas, Texas.

2011-2015: Assistant public defender with the Dallas County Public Defender's Office in Dallas, Texas.

2010-2011: Criminal defense and immigration attorney in private practice.

2005-2010: Assistant district attorney with the El Paso District Attorney's Office in El Paso, Texas (also from 2001-2002).

Law degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 2000.

IJ Uddin brings a variety of experience to the immigration bench from her stints as an ICE attorney, prosecutor, public defender, and immigration attorney in private practice.

Michelle C. Araneta, Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court

2000-2019: Prosecutor with the Pima County Attorney's Office in Tucson, Arizona.

1995-1999: Prosecutor with the District Attorney's Office in Riverdale, California.

1991-1995: Associate attorney practicing tax and bankruptcy in Orange County, California.

1989-1991: Law clerk for Judge David N. Naugle of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California [PDF version].

Law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego in 1989.

IJ Araneta brings over two decades of experience as a local prosecutor and additional experience in the area of bankruptcy law to the immigration bench.

Thomas M. Ayze, Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court

2008-2019: Assistant chief counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Miami, Florida.

2007-2008: Fraud, detection and national security immigration officer with USCIS, DHS, in Miami, Florida.

2003-2007: Asylum officer with USCIS, DHS, in Miami, Florida.

1988-2010: Judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force (active duty 1988-2002; reservist 2003-2010)

Law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1988.

IJ Ayze has a wealth of experience with ICE and USCIS, including a four-year stint as an asylum officer. IJ Ayze also served for over two decades as a judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force.

Abraham L. Burgess, Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court

2012-2019: Assistant chief counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Texas and California.

2003-2011: Judge advocate for the U.S. Army.

Law degree from Boston University School of Law in 2002.

IJ Burgess' experience is split between a seven-year stint as an ICE lawyer and an eight-year stint as a judge advocate for the U.S. Army.

Mary C. Lee, Immigration Judge, Philadelphia Immigration Court

2015-2019: Assistant chief counsel for Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, DHS, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2003-2015: Assistant chief counsel for Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, DHS, in Baltimore, Maryland.

2010-2013: Assistant chief counsel for Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, DHS, in Atlanta, Georgia.

2009-2010: Judicial law clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey.

2000-2006: Served in the U.S. Air Force.

Law degree from Rutgers University in 2009.

IJ Lee served for nearly a decade as an ICE attorney in three different locations prior to being sworn in.

Rifian S. Newaz, Immigration Judge, San Antonio Immigration Court

2018-2019: Private practice.

2011-2018: Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, DOJ, in El Paso, Texas.

2004-2010: Assistant district attorney for the Harris County District Attorney's Office in Houston, Texas.

Law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 2004.

IJ Newaz's experience comes primarily as a prosecutor at both the federal and state levels.

Nicholas R. Ford, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court

2003-2019: State of Illinois circuit court judge assigned to the criminal division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

1997-2003: Judge assigned to the central bond court division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

1991-1997: Assistant state's attorney assigned to the federal trial division of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Chicago.

1988-1991: Assistant state's attorney assigned to the major narcotics task force in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1988.

IJ Ford has extensive experience as a state judge in Chicago from 1997-2019. Prior to serving as a judge, he was a prosecutor for nearly a decade.

Susan Phan, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court

2015-2019: Assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in San Francisco, California.

2012-2015: Assistant general counsel for the State Bar of California, in San Francisco.

2009-2014: Special assistant U.S. attorney and assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, and for the Eastern District of California in Fresno.

2005-2019: Assistant attorney general with the District of Columbia Attorney General's Office in Washington, D.C.

Law degree from the University of California, Los Angelis in 2004.

IJ Phan brings experience as an ICE attorney and as a federal and local prosecutor to the immigration bench.

Jason M. Price, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court

2007-2019: Assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in San Francisco, California.

2006-2007: Assistant public defender for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender in Hagerstown, Maryland.

2000-2005: Active duty judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force.

Law degree from the West Virginia College of Law in 2000.

IJ Price has extensive experience as an ICE lawyer, public defender, and judge advocate.

Jennifer M. Riedthaler Williams, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court

2017-2019: Judicial magistrate with the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court in Elyria, Ohio.

2001-2017: Assistant prosecuting attorney with the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office in Elyria, Ohio, in the felony criminal division and the juvenile and felony non-support division.

Law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2001.

IJ Williams worked as a magistrate judge and local prosecutor prior to taking the immigration bench.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

#immigration #immigrants #US immigration

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socialjusticeartshare · 5 years

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CHILDREN DETAINED IN AMERICA'S PRISONS ARE CHARGED FOR UNDERWEAR, FOOD, BOOKS, EVEN FAMILY VISITS. THIS HAS TO STOP | OPINION

"No," she whispered, "I don't have a bra, either." The police took it when she was arrested because it had an underwire. It and her underwear went into storage with the rest of her property. This county jail does not issue bras or underwear for free, not even to minors.

I teach minors who are incarcerated in the adult jail in Pima County, Arizona.

A few weeks ago, a 17-year-old-girl arrived. As introduced myself, I noticed that she did not seem comfortable in her fluorescent green smock and pants. Though they were probably two sizes too big for her, she seemed to be holding them close to her small frame. She's not the first female student we've had, so I knew I had to ask an uncomfortable question: "Do you have underwear?" I spoke low, trying not to let my voice carry to the rest of the unit; its current occupants: 37 teenage boys.

Assuming someone would put money on her account, she'd be able to order both—underwear cost $3.25 a pair and a bra costs $13.50. Once the money was credited to her account, it would take three to five days to order them and another four to get them.

Luckily for her, I found a sports bra and some too-big underwear in a pile of items I had in my office, but this no solution for the minors who have to pay for items like bras, socks and even for video visits with their friends or families. A single 25 minute visit costs $7.50 or $16.50 for 55 minutes.

States like California passed a ban for-profit, private prison and detention centers to reduce the amount of money private companies make from housing prisoners. Yet, child (and adult) inmates across the country are, along with their families, bearing more and more of the costs of incarceration—even when it comes to bare necessities like toilet paper or feminine hygiene supplies.

The U.S. charges 250,000 U.S. youth a year as adults. Their cases are processed in adult court and they often await adjudication in an adult jail. Juvenile offenders charged as adults in Pima County are held in a separate housing unit from the adults, but they are still held in adult jail and treated like adults in almost all respects. Which cases are transferred out of the juvenile system for which charges varies by jurisdiction. Often it's based on a determination made by a prosecutor coupled with the type of charge (typically higher classes of felonies, though not always.)

I'm a high school teacher, certified to teach anywhere in Arizona, but I teach minors in an adult jail. Some of my students are as young as 14. Some are held on bonds as low as $500 and most are here for crimes that will result in probation rather than prison. Some have been granted release by a judge or a probation officer, but can't leave because they don't have an approved place to go.

These kids bear the financial and psychological costs of jail. Not yet convicted, though likely already traumatized, they face all of the punitive aspects of incarceration, with little access to rehabilitative programs or to even relatively basic amenities at a reasonable cost.

For the families of kids in jail the monetary costs add up fast. The psychological ones may last a lifetime. Imagine what happens to a kid—maybe your kid—for whom the cost of communication with family or other support is prohibitively expensive?

My students and their families pay for commissary—food and hygiene items above and beyond the extremely limited allotments the jail provides. They get hot trays for lunch, instead of the single sandwich, milk and fruit the adults usually get. But being teenagers, they are still hungry all the time.

Commissary items are paid for with money added to an inmate's account, but it typically costs $4 per transaction to do it. If a family member puts $40 on an inmate's books, the inmate gets to spend $36. Commissary also includes things like sweatshirts ($12.99) or socks ($2.75/pair) or boxers ($4.25/pair)—for the times when it is cold in the housing unit (and it often is.)

Commissary companies alone bring in an estimated annual profit of $1.6 billion per year.

The list of things that are considered optional, including clothes thick enough to stay warm, is long. The prices inflated. A litany that includes a single "soup" ($1.25 for a ramen packet I can pick up at Walmart for $0.22), phone time (a pre-paid account at about $0.20/minute, if you don't include the fees paid to load money on the account). In some places, inmates pay as much as $0.05 a minute to read eBooks that they don't own once they're done! The company that provides inmate tablets—and reaps the profits from their use—is GTL. A nationwide telecom service.

Occasionally, we'll have a student or two who has people on the outside who will put a lot of money on their books so they can buy what they need. Mostly, though, these kids get sporadic support, and it usually comes in small amounts. These kids, on the whole, don't come from affluent backgrounds and they are used to going without—it has been the story of their entire lives.

Our school is inside one of the best publicly run facilities in the country. It's clean, staffed by the finest law enforcement officers in all the land and run by a sheriff supportive of our program and our kids. We have the backing of an outstanding county School Superintendent—he even comes to play basketball with them once a month. Our jail and our school are, outside of pre-trial release or dropped charges, the best case scenario for a minor charged as an adult.

My county, like many around the country, is cash strapped. Voters, politicians and taxpayers are reluctant to pay the astronomical costs of incarceration—according to a recent report totaling upward of $182 billion a year in the U.S. Faced with lean budgets, counties turn to private enterprise to subsidize these costs. Private enterprise is happy to help—eager to provide inmates with items counties can't (or choose not to) afford. It sounds like a win-win.

The problem is this: private companies provide things inmates need at an often steep mark-up and already struggling families are left to foot the bill. Kids in my class who don't have families to pay up? They are left, literally, out in the cold.

As the Trump administration sues to prevent California from enacting a bill that ends the use of private prisons and detention centers in the state, let us consider the idea that California is taking an important first step toward the crucial goal of ending private prisons, but private prisons are not the only problem.

In Arizona and many other states, the next step would be to reconsider the profit margins allowed private companies who provide goods and services to inmates in public facilities as well as the gaping holes in funding these counties are trying to fill while still providing clean, safe and secure detention of inmates.

As we consider much needed reforms to the criminal justice system along with ways to move from a punitive system toward a rehabilitative one, we must reevaluate the relationship between cash strapped states and the fiscal realities of mass incarceration. We must also consider the toll incarceration and disconnection from family and community has on recidivism and on already disadvantaged families and kids.

Jonna Mastropasqua is a Secondary Teacher in Arizona and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project.

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#separated families #children #private prison #profit

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techcrunchappcom · 4 years

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New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/covid-19-live-updates-thanksgiving-at-a-moment-of-national-peril/

Covid-19 Live Updates: Thanksgiving at a Moment of National Peril

Here’s what you need to know:

A restaurant with outdoor bubbles in Milwaukee. Deaths are surging in the Midwest.Credit…Tom Lynn for The New York Times

Americans were celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday with the pandemic at perhaps its most precarious point yet.

Coronavirus cases in the United States have reached record highs, with an average of more than 176,000 a day over the past week. Deaths are soaring, with more than 2,200 announced on both Tuesday and Wednesday, the highest daily totals since early May. Even as reports of new infections begin to level off in parts of the Midwest, that progress is being offset by fresh outbreaks on both coasts and in the Southwest, where officials are scrambling to impose new restrictions to slow the spread.

The national uptick includes weekly case records in places as diffuse as Delaware, Ohio, Maine and Arizona, where more than 27,000 cases were announced over seven days, exceeding the state’s summer peak.

In New Mexico, grocery stores are being ordered to close if four employees test positive. In Los Angeles County, Calif., restaurants can no longer offer in-person dining. And in Pima County, Ariz., which includes Tucson, cases have reached record levels and officials have imposed a voluntary curfew.

“What we’re trying to do is decrease social mobility,” said Dr. Theresa Cullen, the Pima County health director.

Deaths are also surging, especially in the Midwest, the region that drove much of the case growth this fall. More than 900 deaths have been announced over the past week in Illinois, along with more than 400 each in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Health officials have worried aloud for weeks that large Thanksgiving gatherings could seed another wave of infections at a time when the country can scarcely afford it. In many places, hospitals are already full, contact tracers have been overwhelmed and health care workers are exhausted.

“Wisconsin is in a bad place right now with no sign of things getting better without action,” said an open letter signed by hundreds of employees of UW Health, the state university’s medical center and health system. “We are, quite simply, out of time. Without immediate change, our hospitals will be too full to treat all of those with the virus and those with other illnesses or injuries.”

More than 260,000 people have died of coronavirus in the United States. In a speech on the eve of Thanksgiving, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke of his family’s losses, and urged Americans to “hang on” and called for unity.

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Biden Calls for Unity in Thanksgiving Address

President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. stressed the importance of unity and encouraged Americans to be careful with Thanksgiving celebrations this year to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

You know, looking back over our history, you see that it’s been in the most difficult circumstances that the soul of our nation has been forged. And now we find ourselves again facing a long, hard winter. We’ve fought nearly a yearlong battle with a virus that has devastated this nation. I know the country has grown weary of the fight. We need to remember, we’re at war with a virus, not with one another, not with each other. This year we’re asking Americans to forgo so many of the traditions that we’ve long made this holiday, that’s made it so special. For our family, for 40-such years, 40-some years, we’ve had a tradition of traveling over Thanksgiving, a tradition that we’ve kept every year save one: the year our son Beau died. But this year, we’ll be staying home. I know how hard it is to forgo family traditions, but it’s so very important. I give thanks now for you, for the trust you’ve placed in me. Together we’ll lift our voices in the coming months and years, and our song shall be of lives saved, breaches repaired, a nation made whole again.

President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. stressed the importance of unity and encouraged Americans to be careful with Thanksgiving celebrations this year to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.CreditCredit…Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“I remember that first Thanksgiving, the empty chair, the silence,” said Mr. Biden, whose son Beau died in 2015. “It takes your breath away. It’s really hard to care. It’s hard to give thanks. It’s hard to even think of looking forward. It’s so hard to hope. I understand.”

A man prays on the steps of the closed St. Sebastian Church in Queens, N.Y., in March. Credit…Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York accused the U.S. Supreme Court of political partisanship on Thursday after the high court rejected his statewide coronavirus-based restrictions on religious services, playing down the impact of its ruling and suggesting it was representative of its new conservative majority.

Regardless of the governor’s interpretation, the decision by the Supreme Court late on Wednesday to suspend the 10- and 25-person capacity limitations on churches and other houses of worship in New York would seem to be a sharp rebuke to Mr. Cuomo, who had previously won a series of legal battles over his emergency powers.

“You have a different court, and I think that was the statement that the court was making,” the governor said, noting worries in some quarters after President Trump nominated three conservative justices on the Supreme Court in the past four years. “We know who he appointed to the court. We know their ideology.”

Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, insisted that the decision “doesn’t have any practical effect” because the restrictions on religious services in Brooklyn, as well as similar ones in Queens and the city’s northern suburbs, had since been eased after the positive test rates in those areas had declined.

But less stringent capacity restrictions, also rejected by the Supreme Court’s decision, are still in place in six other counties, including in Staten Island.

Legal experts said that despite the governor’s assertion that the decision was limited to parishes and other houses of worship in Brooklyn, the court’s ruling could be used to challenge and overturn other restrictions elsewhere. “The decision is applicable to people in similar situations,” said Norman Siegel, a constitutional lawyer and former leader of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “It’s applicable to any synagogue, any church, to any mosque, to any religious setting.”

Earl Wilson/The New York Times

Brittainy Newman for The New York Times

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Instead of 42 giant balloons and floats, there were 30. Many of the high school marching bands from around the country stayed home. And the parade itself covered only a snippet of the traditional 2.5-mile route, confined to a single block of 34th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Manhattan.

But the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off Thursday morning, with organizers determined to not let the pandemic completely derail the pageantry. So with the New York City Rockettes — minus the famous kick-lines that were scrapped to adhere to social-distancing guidelines — Dolly Parton, and, of course, Santa Claus, the ritual marker of the start of the holiday season got underway on Herald Square.

Planning this year’s event was a singular feat of logistical legerdemain. Starting in March, the parade planners at Macy’s and NBC, which airs the event, had to rip up the carefully calibrated script and come up with an entirely new blueprint.

“What I knew about Thanksgiving Day a month ago is different from what I know now,” said Susan Tercero, who is the executive producer of the event for Macy’s. “How do you plan something in June that’s going to happen in November when you have no idea where the country is going to be at then?”

History set a high bar for canceling the parade, which has gone off every year since 1924, except for three years during World War II.

The planners kept in communication with city and state officials and responded as evidence of a second wave in New York mounted, reducing the number of participants to 12 percent of their typical work force from 25 percent. Instead of about 8,000 people working a packed parade route in a normal year, 960 people will work over three days of filming.

Delta Airlines will begin offering “quarantine free” flights between Atlanta and Rome starting next month. Credit…Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via Associated Press

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic swept across Europe and the United States, a pilot program will allow a limited number of passengers to travel across the Atlantic from Atlanta to Italy without having to quarantine upon arrival, according to a Delta Air Lines news release on Thursday.

The airline said it had worked with officials in both Georgia and Italy and that the program would rely on a strict testing protocol to ensure the flights could be conducted safely and “coronavirus free.”

Starting Dec. 19, all U.S. citizens permitted to travel to Italy for “essential reasons, such as for work, health and education,” as well as all European Union and Italian citizens, would have to test negative for Covid-19 three times:

Once with a polymerase chain reaction (P.C.R.) test taken up to 72 hours before departure.

Once with a rapid test at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

And once again with a rapid test upon arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

Passengers departing Rome would again have to pass a rapid test at the airport.

Travelers will also be asked to provide information upon entry into the United States to support contact-tracing protocols set up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Airlines, battered by the pandemic, have been working to establish travel corridors that are both safe and reliable.

The International Air Transport Association forecast this week that the sector will lose $157 billion by the end of next year.

“This crisis is devastating and unrelenting,” the organization’s director, Alexandre de Juniac, said in a statement.

Delta, in partnership with Alitalia, said the airlines worked with the Mayo Clinic to devise the protocols and hoped they could serve as a model going forward.

Global Roundup

London will move to the second tier of restrictions, but service in restaurants and pubs will still be limited. Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times

Almost all of England must adhere to the two most severe sets of coronavirus restrictions when a national lockdown ends next week, the government said on Thursday, in an announcement likely to stoke tensions with lawmakers.

London and Liverpool have escaped the most stringent curbs and have been put into the second of three tiers, each based on an assessment of the threat from the virus.

Restaurants and pubs will reopen for indoor dining, but they will only be allowed to serve alcohol indoors to those eating a substantial meal.

In Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Newcastle and Hull, cities that must follow the toughest restrictions, pubs and restaurants will stay closed except for takeout service.

Just a handful of areas in the south of England will be in the tier with the lightest rules.

The fact that much of Northern England faces the tightest curbs is likely to revive claims that the region is not being treated the same way as London and the southern parts of the country.

Across the country, some normality will return when the lockdown lifts on Wednesday in England, and stores, gyms and hairdressers can reopen. Religious services, weddings and outdoor sporting events can also take place.

But in dividing the country into three tiers of restrictions, based on regional data, the government is hoping that the system works better than it did earlier this year, when it failed to stem a surge in cases.

This time the rules have been tightened and Thursday’s announcement, made by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, underscores the government’s desire to keep controls on the hospitality trade in the run up to Christmas.

“It is vital that we safeguard the gains we have made,” he told lawmakers on Thursday.

Some critics, however, want regions split into smaller units to reflect local circumstances, and 70 lawmakers from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party have expressed concerns about the economic damage of restrictions designed to prevent the spread of the virus.

In other developments around the world:

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and state governors agreed to tighten virus restrictions and extend the country’s lockdown through December. “Without a doubt we have difficult months ahead of us,” Ms. Merkel told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Amid a growing caseload, Greece is also extending a lockdown that had been set to end on Monday, until Dec. 7.

Prince Carl Philip and his wife, Princess Sofia, of Sweden tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the Royal Court of Sweden. Carl Philip is fourth in the line of succession to the Swedish throne.

South Korea reported 583 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, the biggest daily caseload since early March, as health officials struggled to contain a third wave that began earlier this month. In the past week, officials have banned gatherings of more than 100 people, shuttered nightclubs and allowed only takeout services in coffee shop chains.

Researchers working on AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in Oxford, England.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times

The announcement this week that a cheap, easy-to-make coronavirus vaccine appeared to be up to 90 percent effective was greeted with jubilation. “Get yourself a vaccaccino,” a British tabloid celebrated, noting that a shot of the vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, costs less than a cup of coffee.

But since unveiling the preliminary results, AstraZeneca has acknowledged a key mistake in the vaccine dosage received by some study participants, adding to questions about whether the vaccine’s apparently spectacular efficacy will hold up under additional testing.

Scientists and industry experts said the error and a series of other irregularities and omissions in the way AstraZeneca initially disclosed the data have eroded their confidence in the reliability of the results.

Officials in the United States have also said that the results were not clear. It was the head of the U.S. federal vaccine initiative — not the company — who first disclosed that the vaccine’s most promising results did not reflect data from older people.

The upshot, the experts said, is that the odds of regulators in the United States and elsewhere quickly authorizing the emergency use of the AstraZeneca vaccine are declining, a setback in the global campaign to corral the devastating pandemic.

Michele Meixell, a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca, said the trials “were conducted to the highest standards.”

In an interview on Wednesday, Menelas Pangalos, the AstraZeneca executive in charge of much of the company’s research and development, defended the company’s handling of the testing and its public disclosures. He said the error in the dosage was made by a contractor, and that, once it was discovered, regulators were immediately notified and signed off on the plan to continue testing the vaccine in different doses.

Asked why AstraZeneca shared some information with Wall Street analysts and some other officials and experts but not with the public, he responded, “I think the best way of reflecting the results is in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, not in a newspaper.”

Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, center, speaking in January about the first reported case of the coronavirus in the United States.Credit…Grant Hindsley for The New York Times

It was 10 months ago that officials identified the first U.S. coronavirus case in Snohomish County, Wash. That area north of Seattle is now reporting its highest coronavirus case numbers of the pandemic.

Snohomish County has recorded an average of about 230 cases per day over the past week, about three times higher than a month ago. Dr. Chris Spitters, the Snohomish County health officer, said hospitalizations in the region have risen about 400 percent in just six weeks.

“Hospitals are rapidly approaching where we were back in March,” Dr. Spitters said this week.

On Jan. 21, federal and local officials announced that a person who had recently traveled from Wuhan, China, had tested positive in Snohomish County, setting off an extensive effort to isolate and treat the patient. Weeks later, the Seattle region emerged as an early epicenter of the virus, although it remains uncertain whether the outbreak was linked to that first person.

Washington State recorded many of the first coronavirus deaths in the nation in March but managed to contain its outbreak in the spring and has kept its numbers low when compared to other states around the country. But in recent days, case numbers have been jumping and setting records. Gov. Jay Inslee has restored coronavirus restrictions, closing fitness facilities and prohibiting indoor dining at bars and restaurants.

Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state health officer, said Wednesday the situation was “extraordinarily urgent” and urged all residents to take action to stop the spread of the virus before hospitals become overwhelmed.

“We must all recommit to flatten the curve now,” Dr. Lofy said.

San Quentin Prison in California has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times

The Thanksgiving menu behind bars in the United States this year featured extra helpings of loneliness and tension along with the processed turkey.

Most American prisons suspended in-person visits months ago — some as early as March — to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus, leaving many inmates able to communicate with loved ones only through mail that can take several weeks to arrive or costly phone and video calls.

This year, the threat of the virus and the long separations from families have added an extra layer of anxiety to one of the most anticipated days of the year, inmates and their relatives say.

Kelly Connolly, whose brother Rory Connolly is serving time in a federal prison in Ohio, said her family felt helpless to relieve her brother’s isolation and fear of getting sick.

The ban on visits “does seem extra punitive, on top of the sentence — the daily tension and terror, in addition to all the other aspects of prison,” she said. “This is by far the longest stretch my brother has gone without seeing family members or friends.”

Prisons, jails and detention facilities have often become coronavirus hot spots. More than 327,000 inmates and guards in have been infected by the virus, and more than 1,650 have died, according to a New York Times database.

The steep recent rise in infections around the nation has meant that a number of prisons and jails that were planning to allow family visits for Thanksgiving have canceled those plans.

Getting a free coronavirus test in Los Angeles on Wednesday.Credit…Bryan Denton for The New York Times

After more than two months of unrelenting growth, the United States is poised to see a steep drop-off in new cases on Thursday.

It will be a mirage, not progress.

At least 14 states have said they do not plan to update their data on Thursday as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Other states will likely do the same. And many county and regional health departments will also take the day off.

“Out of respect for our O.S.D.H. personnel who have worked tirelessly since March in response to the Covid pandemic, we will not be reporting data on Thanksgiving,” the Oklahoma State Department of Health said in a statement on Wednesday.

The New York Times reports new cases and deaths on the date they are announced by officials in hundreds of state and local health departments. In a typical week, daily fluctuations are smoothed out by using a rolling average that accounts for spikes on Fridays, when many states report their highest numbers of the week, and drops on the weekends, when some places don’t report any data.

That analysis will become harder after Thanksgiving, which is almost assured to have far fewer cases than the 187,000 announced last Thursday, when 49 states reported fresh data. The country’s seven-day case average, now above 175,000, could fall sharply, at least for a day.

Harder still is knowing what to expect in the days after Thanksgiving. Some states are likely to report artificial spikes when they resume reporting on Friday, which could push the country past 200,000 cases in a single day for the first time.

But the blurry data could persist longer. Health officials in Vermont have said they will forego reporting both Thursday and Friday. And access to testing is likely to decrease for a few days, meaning more infections could go uncounted. In Louisiana, testing sites run by the National Guard will be closed both Thursday and Friday. In Wisconsin, some National Guard testing sites are closed all week.

Numbers aside, public health officials are worried about what the holiday may bring. For weeks, governors and hospital executives have been begging people to skip turkey dinners with people not in their households. The country’s case average is as high as it’s ever been, cases are rising in 40 states and deaths are reaching levels unseen since May, with more than 2,200 announced nationwide both Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Unless we unite behind the belief that each of us has a responsibility to protect others, we will face a devastating holiday season,” said Barbara Ferrer, the public health director in Los Angeles County, Calif., where cases have soared to record levels this week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Dr. Theresa Tam, the country’s chief public health officer, held a news conference on Oct. 13, the day after Canada’s Thanksgiving.Credit…Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Does Canada’s Thanksgiving, which passed well over a month ago, offer a preview of what the United States now faces in terms of the pandemic?

The differences between public health systems in Canada’s provinces and their pandemic rules make it difficult to generalize about the entire country’s holiday aftereffects.

Daniel Coombs, a professor of mathematics at the University of British Columbia and an infectious disease modeling expert, said that several “provinces have seen rises that are hard to directly link to Thanksgiving purely from case counts.”

But Professor Coombs said many provinces did find through contact tracing that some new cases were linked to Thanksgiving events.

Over the past six weeks, he said, outbreaks that started at Thanksgiving have continued to grow. “It is not really possible to say what fraction of current cases were specifically seeded by Thanksgiving gatherings but I think it is indisputable that the effect is there,” Professor Coombs said.

Since Thanksgiving, new restrictions have been imposed in many parts of Canada. This week an agreement between the four provinces along the Atlantic coast that allowed quarantine-free travel between them was suspended after a growth of cases in two of them. Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario all imposed new measures in all or some areas this month.

But Colin D. Furness, an assistant professor at Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the University of Toronto, cautioned that Canada’s version of Thanksgiving is not an ideal proxy for the American version. It is not even a statutory holiday in some provinces, and Canadians generally wait until Christmas to travel for family get-togethers.

“So for the U.S., where Thanksgiving is the biggest travel weekend of the year, and where Covid is currently raging in many places, the threat posed by this holiday is enormous,” he said. “If we looked at the Canadian experience, we might underestimate the U.S. risk.”

About 60 students and parents from Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District in New Jersey protested last week after the superintendent announced schools would remain closed until Jan. 19.Credit…James Estrin/The New York Times

Gov. Philip D. Murphy has urged New Jersey school districts to open for some face-to-face instruction, repeatedly noting that the coronavirus spread among teachers and students was far lower than expected.

Last week, as New York City was reeling from the mayor’s decision to close the nation’s largest school district, Mr. Murphy joined with six other governors — including New York’s — to release a statement about the importance, and relative safety, of in-person instruction.

His own schools weren’t listening: While most districts in New Jersey had reopened for some in-person instruction, many announced plans this week to return to all-remote learning through all or part of the holidays.

The tensions point to the difficulty governors across the Northeast have had in persuading districts to reopen more fully — decisions that often require school boards to buck powerful teachers unions and to live with the inherent risk of outbreaks as the virus surges.

Parents and children are often caught in the middle, forced to quickly shift routines and expectations in a year already marred by the extraordinary challenges of remote instruction.

Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, has the power to shut down schools, as he did in March when New York and New Jersey were an early epicenter of the pandemic. And he has said that decisions about all-remote instruction need state approval and that districts must be working toward bringing students back to class.

Still, for all the governor’s public exhortations, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Education could not point to a single instance when the state rejected a district’s plan to shift to all-remote instruction.

The governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut have faced similar pressure from districts and unions as they continue to stress the importance of in-person education. In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered a plan to keep New York City’s schools open for at least a few more days, but the mayor rebuffed him.

The state of Texas limits attendance at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, to half its capacity of over 100,000. The team plays the Washington Football Team on Thursday.Credit…Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Tens of thousands of fans are expected to be at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, when the Dallas Cowboys, as they have nearly every year since 1966, play at home on Thanksgiving, this time against the Washington Football Team.

To control the spread of the coronavirus, state rules limit attendance at the stadium to half its capacity of more than 100,000, and no game has approached that limit. Still, attendance has grown every game, hitting a high of 31,700 on Nov. 8, when the Pittsburgh Steelers were in town. Jerry Jones, the team’s owner, plans to keep selling tickets even as the number of infections surges in Tarrant County, where the Cowboys play home games.

“I see a continued aggressive approach to having fans out there,” Mr. Jones said last week on Dallas sports talk radio. “And that’s not being insensitive to the fact that we got our Covid and outbreak. Some people will say maybe it is, but not when you’re doing it as safe as we are and not when we’re having the results we’re having.”

Local and state authorities have ultimate authority over whether fans can attend games, and the rules in Texas are more permissive than in states like California and New Jersey, where teams have played without spectators this season.

But Mr. Jones’s approach runs counter not just to what other N.F.L. teams have done in recent weeks, but to what medical experts say is prudent public health policy. The number of cases in the county has jumped more than fivefold since the start of the regular season in early September, when there was an average of 1,500 confirmed infections a day.

On Wednesday, the N.F.L. has moved the Thanksgiving night showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers to Sunday afternoon after nearly a dozen players and staff members on the Ravens tested positive for the virus.

Pope Francis on Sunday at the Vatican.Credit…Vincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Pope Francis, writing for the New York Times Opinion section, says that to come out of this pandemic better than we went in, “we have to let ourselves be touched by others’ pain.”

In this past year of change, my mind and heart have overflowed with people. People I think of and pray for, and sometimes cry with, people with names and faces, people who died without saying goodbye to those they loved, families in difficulty, even going hungry, because there’s no work.

Sometimes, when you think globally, you can be paralyzed: There are so many places of apparently ceaseless conflict; there’s so much suffering and need. I find it helps to focus on concrete situations: You see faces looking for life and love in the reality of each person, of each people. You see hope written in the story of every nation, glorious because it’s a story of daily struggle, of lives broken in self-sacrifice. So rather than overwhelm you, it invites you to ponder and to respond with hope.

To come out of this crisis better, we have to recover the knowledge that as a people we have a shared destination. The pandemic has reminded us that no one is saved alone. What ties us to one another is what we commonly call solidarity. Solidarity is more than acts of generosity, important as they are; it is the call to embrace the reality that we are bound by bonds of reciprocity. On this solid foundation we can build a better, different, human future.

Credit…Vinnie Neuberg

Last week, David Leonhardt invited readers of his Morning newsletter to send six words describing what made them thankful in 2020. Here is a selection of their responses:

The crinkling eye above the mask.

A furtive hug with a friend.

The backyard haircuts are getting better.

My choir still meets on Zoom.

Friends who give me streaming passwords.

Family reunion in January, before Covid.

Miss family, but safer for them.

Saved a lot of lipstick money.

More homemade pasta, no more jeans.

No shame in elastic-waist pants.

Braless at home? No one cares.

Mom, 87, rocking pretty, pandemic ponytail.

Teenage son still likes to snuggle.

My parents live two blocks away.

No better excuse to avoid in-laws.

This stinking year is nearly over.

#covid #National

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