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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Erin Cox, Erin Cox Local reporter covering Maryland state politics Email Bio Follow Elise Viebeck, Jacob Bogage and Christopher Ingraham, Reporters - The Washington Post
Stephan: Donald Trump and his orcs, particularly Louis DeJoy, are attempting to pull off completely in the open, with no shame, the largest attack on the American electoral process ever witnessed. I do not understand why hundreds of thousands of people in cities and towns across America are not out in the street protesting the sabotage of the United States Postal Service. Please write your senators and representative, as I have just done, to protest this and demand that they do something to not only stop but reverse this attack on our national wellbeing.
Anticipating an avalanche of absentee ballots, the U.S. Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted — adding another layer of uncertainty ahead of the high-stakes presidential contest.
The letters sketch a grim possibility for the tens of millions of Americans eligible for a mail-in ballot this fall: Even if people follow all of their state’s election rules, the pace of Postal Service delivery may disqualify their votes.
The Postal Service’s warnings of potential disenfranchisement came as the agency undergoes a sweeping organizational and policy overhaul amid dire financial conditions. Cost-cutting moves have already delayed mail delivery by as much as a week in some places, and a new decision to decommission 10 percent of the Postal Service’s sorting machines sparked widespread concern the slowdowns will only worsen. Rank-and-file postal workers say the move is ill-timed and could sharply diminish the speedy processing of flat mail, including letters and ballots.
Bill Blum, Retired Judge - Independent Media Institute/AlterNet
Stephan: Judge Blum, in my view, speaks to the trend that really concerns me: the creation by Trump and his orcs of a legal structure justifying White supremacy christofascism.
Trump and his orcs Credit: Shealah Craighead/White House
The debate over whether Donald Trump is a fascist is no longer confined to a narrow segment of the far left. It is now out in the open. Even mainstream columnists like the New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg and the Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor and influential Democratic politicians, such as Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, have come to use the “F” word to describe our 45th commander in chief.
Although it is an emotionally loaded and often misused term, fascism is as real today as a political and cultural force, a set of core beliefs and a mode of governance as it was when Benito Mussolini founded the Italian Fascist Party in 1919 and declared himself dictator six years later.
Nor is fascism a foreign phenomenon restricted to South American banana republics or failed European states. As University of London professor Sarah Churchwell explained in a June 22 Read the Full Article
Frank Newport, Senior Scientist - The Gallup Organization
Stephan: The Gallup Organization with this research paper gives us a deeper insight into how White supremacist christofascists are sacrificing all Christian principles in order to support Trump and the Republican Party. It is clear that we are in a real cultural civil war.
The process of analyzing and understanding presidential election dynamics often leads us to look at the American electorate not as a whole, but by segments. Party identification is the most frequently used way to sort voters, but other variables are also meaningfully related to political behavior and help explain how and why people vote.
Of particular interest this election cycle is the religious identity of voters, a factor that appears, at least to me, more important than it has been in recent presidential elections. This is in part because Joe Biden is only the fourth major-party Catholic presidential nominee in U.S. history and in part because Donald Trump continues to make the courting of evangelical voters a major priority of his campaign. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have appointed coordinators to reach out to faith communities.
Segmenting Americans according to their religious identity is not as straightforward as it might seem. Religious identity is like a Russian nesting doll; opening up one doll reveals more dolls within. Broad religious groups can be divided into smaller […]
Julian Borger and Sam Levine, - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: If you are old enough you may remember when the United States sent observers to other countries to observe whether or not they were running fair elections. Well, now other countries are sending observers to watch our election, because the United States is no longer seen as a functional democracy. In three and a half years. Trump and the Republican Party have completely changed the way America is seen in the world. This is so shameful I never thought I would see something like this; how about you?
Voting problems ‘may have an impact on the level of trust in election administration, which, in turn, could harm the integrity of election day proceedings’. Credit: Larry Marano/Rex/Shutterstock
An international election-monitoring body has raised concerns about the US vote in November, saying the “integrity of election day proceedings” could be under threat and recommended again sending observers to monitor the election.
It recommended member states send 100 long-term and 400 short-term observers to monitor the poll which it said “will be the most challenging in recent decades”.
A week-long needs assessment mission by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) beginning on 29 May found there was widespread concern that “election officials will face serious challenges prior to and on election day, due to new measures in response to Covid-19 pandemic, […]
Ellie Kaufman, Marshall Cohen, Jason Hoffman and Nicky Robertson, Reporters - CNN
Stephan: You have probably already heard multiple stories about how Trump and his orcs are gutting the Post Office, to stop Democrats from voting him out of office. Most of these stories are about mail-in ballots. But gutting the post office means a lot more than mail-in ballots. I live on an island and we have limited shopping so my wife and I, like most of the people we know, order meds, supplements, and a host of other things through the mail. And all of that is being sabotaged. Do you know someone, or have a family member in military service aboard or aboard a ship? Are you a mom who sends your son or daughter favorite cookies, or family pictures to them through the mail? Do you depend on the mail to get the checks upon which your income depends? Is that how the VA sends you your meds?
This gutting of the Post Office by Trump and his orcs is perhaps the most blatant authoritarian anti-democratic move he has made. And the silence and lack of action from the Congress I find breath-taking.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he opposes much-needed funding for the United States Postal Service because he doesn’t want to see it used for mail-in voting this November.By directly linking USPS funding to mail-in voting, Trump is fueling allegations that he is trying to manipulate the postal system for political gain. The pandemic has led to record-shattering levels of voting-by-mail, but Trump has tried to restrict the voting method because he says it will hurt his re-election and Republicans across the board.During an interview on Fox News, Trump said that if USPS does not receive the additional $25 billion funding request that Democrats included in the ongoing stimulus negotiations, then he believes the Post Office won’t be able to handle the influx of mail-in ballots in the upcoming election.”They want three and a half billion dollars for something that’ll turn out to be fraudulent, that’s election money basically. They want three and a half billion dollars for the mail-in votes. Universal mail-in ballots. They want $25 billion, billion, for the Post Office. Now they need that money […]
Stephan: Trump doesn't want you to vote by mail, and he willing to do literally anything to see that you can't, but he and his wife have voted by mail before, and want to do so again in November. You just couldn't make the hypocrisy of Trump any clearer.
The day before publicly opposing funding to accommodate an expected surge in Americans voting by mail in this year’s presidential election, President Donald Trump requested a mail-in ballot to vote in Florida’s upcoming primary.
The elections website for Palm Beach County, Fla., where Trump is registered to vote, shows that mail-in ballots were requested for the president and first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday. The news was first reported by USA Today.
The ballots, according to the county’s supervisor of elections, would have to be picked up in person as the deadline has already passed for them to be mailed. Unlike some states where ballots can be post-marked by election day in order to be counted, the Trumps must return theirs by next Tuesday’s primary date.
Trump railed against voting-by-mail on Thursday, saying he opposes crucial funding for the U.S. Postal Service as part of an effort to discourage Americans from voting by mail in November.
The president has repeatedly demonized mail-in voting as governors across the country have sought to expand it amid the coronavirus pandemic, but […]
Stephan: Here is the introduction to Michael Cohen's soon to be published book Disloyal. Coupled with his niece's book I think we are seeing the real Donald Trump, and it is going to be uglier than anyone could imagine. It will be interesting to see how Republican voters respond to the truth. Whether any level of corruption, crime, racism, sexism, and incompetence will repel them. That will tell us a lot about America.
The President of the United States wanted me dead.
Michael D. Cohen, second from left, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, with Michael T. Flynn, left, and former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas at Trump Tower in December. Mr. Cohen delivered the peace plan to Mr. Flynn a week before Mr. Flynn resigned as national security adviser. Credit: Sam Hodgson/ The New York Times
Or, let me say it the way Donald Trump would: He wouldn’t mind if I was dead. That was how Trump talked. Like a mob boss, using language carefully calibrated to convey his desires and demands, while at the same time employing deliberate indirection to insulate himself and avoid actually ordering a hit on his former personal attorney, confidant, consigliere, and, at least in my heart, adopted son.
Driving south from New York City to Washington, DC on I-95 on the cold, gray winter morning of February 24th, 2019, en route to testify against President Trump before both Houses of Congress, I knew he wanted me gone before I could tell the nation what I know about him. Not the billionaire […]
Stephan: I was trying to think if there was a precedent for a significant population supporting something blatantly against their own self-interest and wellbeing, as the Trumpers continue to support their hero even as he trashes their lives. It turns out there is: the women who opposed giving women the vote. This excellent piece by Washington Post reporter Samantha Schmidt , describes this almost unknown chapter in American history.
Susan B. Anthony stood on a stage in Upstate New York, asking a crowd to support the suffragist cause, when someone in the audience asked a question: Do women actually want the right to vote?
Her answer was hardly unequivocal.
“They do not oppose it,” Anthony replied vaguely.
She had little reason to believe otherwise, as recounted in Susan Goodier’s book, “No Votes for Women: The New York State Anti-Suffrage Movement.” It was 1893, and suffragists were traveling across New York to build support ahead of a constitutional convention, when lawmakers would decide if the word “male” should be removed from the wording of the state constitution. Until then, most of the opposition to women’s suffrage had been dominated by men.
But as the suffragists would soon learn, women would play a crucial role in attempting to prevent women from gaining the right to vote. As the suffragist movement gained momentum, women mobilized committees, circulated petitions, and created associations to oppose women’s suffrage in New York and Massachusetts. Thousands of women would eventually […]
