Trump's Tweetstorm on Portland -- Feeding Racial Unrest

President Donald Trump unleashed a tweet storm – more than 80 messages – early Sunday (August 30) about Portland, Oregon, hours after a man was killed there during clashes between a large group of Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

The president retweeted a post that had used a profanity to describe Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler – “Ted Wheeler is the useless fucking idiot and comic relief that gets everyone killed in every disaster movie” – commenting only to “Tone down the language, but TRUE!” – and others in which the original tweeters accused the mayor, a Democrat, of “war crimes” and of having blood on his hands – "It is August 29, 2020, and Ted Wheeler has not yet resigned for committing war crimes.”

Trump referred to Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington as "Disgraceful Anarchists" and said, "We are watching them closely” while he shared a video of the pro-Trump caravan driving into Portland labeling its members as “GREAT PATRIOTS!!!” He concluded a string of dozens of tweets with the slogan “LAW AND ORDER!!!”

(Allan Smith. “Trump praises right-wing supporters, rails against protesters after unrest in Portland.” NBC News. August 30, 2020.)

Trump unleashed this frantic, misdirected barrage during a time of great social and political unrest. It is evident that this president of the United States lacks concern about healing and, instead, continues to divide the country for his personal gain. He is looking to inflame unrest in U.S. cities because he believes it will help his re-election campaign. Without the core group of Trump loyalists, he has no path to victory.

Speaking at a news conference, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler asked, "Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence?" He continued …

"It's you who have created the hate and the division. It's you who have not found a way to say the names of Black people killed by police officers even as people in law enforcement have. And it's you who claimed that White supremacists are good people. Your campaign of fear is as anti-democratic as anything you've done to create hate and vitriol in our beautiful country."

Onetime Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has issued a statement to The Atlantic denouncing Trump's behavior and rhetoric. Mattis wrote …

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll (June 2020) found Americans are deeply unhappy about the state of their country – and a majority think President Donald Trump is exacerbating tensions in a moment of national crisis.

The survey concluded Americans – including 63% of Republicans – say the country is heading in the wrong direction. And close to two-thirds – including 37% of Republicans – say Trump is making America more divided.

(Julie Pace and Emily Swanson. “AP-NORC poll: Trump adds to divisions in an unhappy country.” AP News. June 18, 2020.)

The protests over police brutality against black Americans have proven to be a particularly searing moment for the nation, as well as for Trump’s presidency. And he gets low marks for his handling of them.

A majority of Americans – 64% – say Trump has made things worse during the unrest following the death of Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Seventy-two percent of black Americans and 51% of white Americans think Trump has made things worse following Floyd’s death.

Trump took to Twitter in May 2020 to express his displeasure with the anti-racism protests around the country following the police killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans. “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way,” he wrote.

Trump tweeted: “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” has a racist history, being used before by a white police chief in response to civil unrest and a segregationist politician.

Racial division is a hallmark of Trump's presidency. He engages in public racism seemingly at will as he repeatedly pours gasoline on racial flames. Consider …

• He led the “birther” crusade against Barack Obama, questioning whether the nation’s first African-American president was born in the United States.
• He kicked off his 2016 presidential announcement talking about Mexican rapists. (“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”)
• He said a U.S. federal judge had a conflict of interest in presiding over a case involving Trump because of the judge’s “Mexican heritage.”
• As president, he referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole” countries.
• He talked about “very fine people, on both sides” in response to the unrest in Charlottesville, Va.
• He questioned LeBron James’ intelligence.
• And he did the same to Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

Republicans worry Trump's racist comments will hurt him in 2020. Republican pollster Frank Luntz says …

“Anything that detracts from a truly remarkable economic renaissance undermines his re-election. This is a distraction.”

(Tessa Berenson. “'This Is a Distraction.' Republicans Worry Trump's Racist Comments Will Hurt Him in 2020.” Time. July 30, 2019.)

Yet, the GOP fails to do anything about Trump's outbursts. They hold onto the same platform endorsed in 2016. To Trump, and to many of his supporters, the American body must be a white body. Trump has revealed the depth of the country's prejudice and inadvertently forced a reckoning.

“I’m the least racist person there is anywhere in the world,” Trump told reporters on July 30, 2019. He will continue to call himself “not racist,” and turn the descriptive term “racist” back on anyone who has the temerity to call out his own prejudice.

Ibram X. Kendi, author and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, explains …

“Trump clearly hopes that racist ideas – paired with policies designed to suppress the vote – will lead to his reelection. But now that Trump has pushed a critical mass of Americans to a point where they can no longer explain away the nation’s sins, the question is what those Americans will do about it.”

(Ibram X. Kendi. “Is This the Beginning of the End of American Racism?”

The Atlantic. September 2020.)

The White Christian Vote For Trump: Privilege and Fear

“You give me your vote and I’ll give you special privileges and do all I can to codify your worldview in our government. 

Both parties have delivered.”

– Rachel Laser, head of Americans United
for Separation of Church and State

In addition to her role at Americans United (AU), Rachel Laser is a lawyer, advocate, and strategist who has dedicated her career to making our country more inclusive. Rachel Laser says …

“This old playbook, which threatens to normalize the weaponization of religion, is too easily pulled out and put back in use by those in power who are seeking to preserve traditional power structures. We especially see this today with the Trump administration.”

(Meredith Thompson. “Defending the Separation of Church and State: An Interview with Rachel Laser.” The Humanist. August 06, 2020.)

In a coordinated effort, the Trump administration, the US Supreme Court, and state legislative initiatives like Project Blitz (a full-frontal assault by Christian nationalists to force a narrow set of religious beliefs into shared secular laws) are attempting to redefine religious freedom to mean religious privilege.

James Randy Forbes, a member of the Republican Party and U.S. Representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2001 to 2017, founded Project Blitz. The group is a coalition of Christian right groups, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation, and the Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislators Conference.

Project Blitz has specific goals – to inject religion into public education, to attack reproductive healthcare, and to undermine LGBTQ equality using a distorted definition of “religious freedom.” In order to achieve these goals, the Project Blitz campaign arms state-level politicians with model bills, proclamations, and talking points through its legislative guide.

Project Blitz described their purpose as “the fight for faith” and cast unnamed political opponents as attacking faith itself. This is the template for the method they then turn on groups and individuals. The group has repeatedly smeared lawmakers that stand against its Christian nationalist agenda as “anti-faith” in order to undermine their position.

The Religious Blitz For Trump

With a huge majority of evangelical Christians lined up behind Trump, as have white Catholics. (A May poll by Public Religion Research Institute showed the president’s standing slipping among both groups.) Trump has repaid them with devoted attention to issues such as abortion, school vouchers, and religious liberty.

(David A. Graham. Jeff Sessions Explains Why Christians Support Trump.”

The Atlantic. June 30, 2020.)

.

Michael Gerson, in a 2018 Atlantic cover story, criticized the habit of “evangelicals regarding themselves, hysterically and with self-pity, as an oppressed minority that requires a strongman to rescue it. This is how Trump has invited evangelicals to view themselves. He has treated evangelicalism as an interest group in need of protection and preferences.”

But, at what price to their professed faith do Christians absorb Trump love? As the single largest religious demographic in the United States – representing about half the Republican political coalition – sees itself as a besieged and disrespected minority, evangelicals have become simultaneously more engaged and more alienated.

Gerson, a nationally syndicated columnist appearing twice weekly in The Washington Post, who also served as a top aide and speechwriter for George W. Bush, says …

“The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.”

(Michael Gerson. “The Last Temptation.” The Atlantic. April 2018.)

Gerson sees this as the result when Christians become one interest group among many, scrambling for benefits at the expense of others rather than seeking the welfare of the whole. Gerson contends, “Christianity is love of neighbor, or it has lost its way. And this sets an urgent task for evangelicals: to rescue their faith from its worst leaders.”

“Fox News and conservative talk radio are vastly greater influences on evangelicals’ political identity than formal statements by religious denominations. In this Christian political movement, Christian theology is emphatically not the primary motivating factor.”

– Michael Gerson

Christians have called Trump “the chosen one,” and Pentecostal minister Paula White said that saying no to Trump is the same as “saying no to God.” Conservative radio host Wayne Root has even called Trump “the second coming of God.”

While Trump has eased enforcement of the so-called Johnson Amendment (which bars religious groups from endorsing or opposing political candidates), reversed Obama-era protections for transgender people, and moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, his Christian base largely remains loyal on the verge of the 2020 election.

Still, it is amazing that Christians vote for a candidate who does these things:

* Says, “It is what it is,” in reference to the current number of the U.S COVID-19 deaths,

* Separates families at the border and puts children in cages,

* Repeatedly lies (evidence shows over 20,000 lies while in office,

* Prefers forms of communication that are insults and demeaning comments,

* Denies knowledge of hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels,

* Embraces White nationalism,

* Demeans women over and over.

And, of course, Trump and the GOP have promised to restore Christian supremacy and have simultaneously propped up white supremacy along with it. In black communities of faith, the scourge of police brutality and the broader racial inequalities pervade our nation’s criminal justice system. Meanwhile, in many white faith communities across the country, a deliberate avoidance of and in some cases an active dismissiveness toward these issues has taken root.

Surveys in 2018 conducted by PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research, found that white Christians – including evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics – are nearly twice as likely as religiously unaffiliated whites to say the killings of Black men by police are isolated incidents rather than part of a pattern of how police treat African Americans.

(Alex Vandermaas-Peeler, Daniel Cox, Maxine Najle, PhD, Molly Fisch-Friedman, Rob Griffin, Ph.D., Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. “Partisan Polarization Dominates Trump Era: Findings from the 2018 American Values Survey.” PRRI Research. October 29, 2018)

The PRRI surveys found nearly three-quarters (73%) of Democrats and 54% of independents say the recent killings of African Americans are part of a broader pattern of how police treat African Americans. By contrast, only 22% of Republicans – including 27% of Republican women but only 19% of Republican men – say these killings are part of a broader pattern of African Americans’ treatment by police, while nearly eight in ten (77%) Republicans say these killings are isolated incidents.

Perhaps, most astounding …

“The surveys also found white evangelical Protestants stand out for the extent to which they believe recent killings of black men are isolated incidents. More than seven in ten (71%) of white evangelical Protestants say these killings are isolated incidents, a view shared by roughly six in ten white Catholics (63%) and white mainline Protestants (59%).

“In contrast, only about four in ten (43%) Hispanic Catholics and about one-third of religiously unaffiliated Americans (33%) and Hispanic Protestants (32%) say these killings are isolated incidents. Just 15% of black Protestants identify the recent killings of black men by police as isolated incidents, while more than eight in ten (84%) say they are part of a broader pattern.”

(Alex Vandermaas-Peeler, Daniel Cox, Maxine Najle, PhD, Molly Fisch-Friedman, Rob Griffin, Ph.D., Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. “Partisan Polarization Dominates Trump Era: Findings from the 2018 American Values Survey.” PRRI Research. October 29, 2018)

The results point to a stark conclusion: While most white Christians think of themselves as people who hold warm feelings toward African Americans, holding racist views is nonetheless positively and independently associated with white Christian identity. Again, this troubling relationship holds not just for white evangelical Protestants, but also for white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.

As white Christians vote for their perception of Godly standards, they feel themselves slipping from the status of being a culturally dominant majority to just another subgroup in our extraordinary cultural mosaic of America.

Put more simply, they feel outnumbered. After all, as the Pew Foundation’s Michael Lipka notes, “A rising share of Americans do not identify with any religion, while a shrinking portion of the population is Christian.” This bloc of voters does not fear a specific minority as much as they fear becoming one.

“Of all the changes to identity and belonging, the century’s second decade has been particularly marked by a religious sea change. After more than two centuries of white Anglo-Saxon Protestant dominance, the United States has moved from being a majority-white Christian nation to one with no single racial and religious majority.”

– Robert P. Jones, CEO and founder PRRI (2019)

Bringing Guns To a Protest: White Vigilantes and Cops

“White vigilantes and far-right actors have shown up

 to oppose Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. 

at least 497 times this year.”

– Alexander Reid Ross, doctoral fellow at the
Center for Analysis of the Radical Right

Data shows a broad threat of gun violence at protests long before Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly opened fire on anti-racist protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two and severely injuring another.

Alexander Reid Ross began gathering data on May 27, two days after police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, and continued through this week. The dataset, which Ross shared with HuffPost, documents a staggering amount of violence directed at protesters by the far-right, including 64 cases of simple assault, 38 incidents of vigilantes driving cars into demonstrators, and nine times shots were fired at protesters.

All told, six protesters were hit by vigilante bullets in this summer’s violence. Three died from their wounds.

Ross’ dataset also includes 387 incidents of intimidation, such as people using racist slurs, making threats and brandishing firearms. Ross says …

“There just isn’t really anything to compare it to. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

The data – which Ross gathered from social media posts, news reports and the ACLED US Crisis Monitor with help from Political Research Associates and the the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights – includes some harrowing tales of violence.

(Christopher Mathias. “White Vigilantes Have Always Had A Friend In Police.”

HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-vigilantes-kenosha_n_5f4822bcc5b6cf66b2b5103e August 28, 2020.)

The violence included the following:

* A U.S. Army sergeant, who had previously posted tweets about targeting Black Lives Matter activists, shot and killed a protester in Austin, Texas.

* Black Lives Matter protesters marching through a rural part of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, say a white man opened fire on them at night, striking one protester in the face.

* A man in Iowa City, Iowa, allegedly drove his car into a crowd of protesters and, according to a criminal complaint, later justified the attack by telling police the protesters needed “an attitude adjustment.”

Such stories this summer have coincided with story after story of cops and national guardsmen openly supporting or collaborating with fascists and white vigilantes.

Ross said his dataset includes about two dozen incidents of vigilantes receiving approval or support from law enforcement. For example …

• A sheriff in Arizona announced he would form a “civilian posse” to help “suppress lawlessness” during a time of “widespread unrest.”
• In California, a sheriff’s deputy was spotted wearing a “III Percenters” militia patch on his uniform while policing a protest, while in Portland, Oregon, cops let the neo-fascist gang the Proud Boys attack protesters in the streets.
• A police chief in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, was suspended for two weeks after writing a Facebook comment encouraging people to drive their cars through Black Lives Matter demonstrators. “HIT THE GAS AND HANG ON FOR THE SPEED BUMPS,” he wrote.

(Christopher Mathias. “White Vigilantes Have Always Had A Friend In Police.”

HuffPost. August 28, 2020.)

There has been a “tremendous increase” in right-wing paramilitary activity this year. Boogaloo Bois, III Percenters, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and white nationalists have become a regular fixture of right-wing counterprotests.

Other armed mobs of mostly white men who have appeared after online calls to defend their communities from mostly imaginary threats of left-wing looters being bused into town. They are not part of any recognizable organized group.

“If you get counterprotesters showing up who are armed, cops are almost always facing towards the Black Lives Matter and racial justice protesters, not towards the armed counterprotesters.”

– Steven Gardiner, a research analyst at Political Research Associates

Trust in the police remains low among people of color, who are often victims of police violence and abuse and are disproportionately underserved as victims of crime. The FBI’s 2015 Counterterrorism Policy Directive and Policy Guide warns that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers.”

“The failure of law enforcement to adequately respond to racist violence and hate crimes or properly police white supremacist riots in cities across the United States over the last several years has left many Americans concerned that bias in law enforcement is pervasive.”

– Matt Coker, Los Angeles Times

In 2017, the FBI reported that white supremacists posed a “persistent threat of lethal violence” that has produced more fatalities than any other category of domestic terrorists since 2000. Alarmingly, internal FBI policy documents have also warned agents assigned to domestic terrorism cases that the white supremacist and anti-government militia groups they investigate often have “active links” to law enforcement officials.

(Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security, Joint Intelligence Bulletin. “White Supremacist Extremism Poses Persistent Threat of Lethal Violence.”

May 10, 2017.)

(Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counterterrorism Division, Counterterrorism Policy Directive and Policy Guide. April 1, 2015 – Updated November 18, 2015)

Obviously, only a tiny percentage of law enforcement officials are likely to be active members of white supremacist groups. However, evidence of overt and explicit racism within law enforcement since 2000 is strong. Law enforcement officials with alleged connections to white supremacist groups or far-right militant activities have been exposed in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and elsewhere.

(Becky Bratu. “Two Alabama Officers Put on Leave for Alleged Ties to ‘Hate Group.’” NBC News. June 17, 2015, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/two-alabama-officers-put-leave-alleged-ties-hate-group-n377421; Michael Winter. “KKK Membership Sinks 2 Florida Cops.” USA Today. July 14, 2014,

Research organizations have uncovered hundreds of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials participating in racist, nativist, and sexist social media activity, which demonstrates that overt bias is far too common. These officers’ racist activities are often known within their departments, but only result in disciplinary action or termination if they trigger public scandals.

(Rashad Robinson.“We Can’t Trust Police to Protect Us from Racist Violence. They Contribute to It.” Guardian. August 21, 2019)

Message From the Top

The Trump campaign has run over 2,000 advertisements on social media since June 2, warning about “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups,” some versions of which featured a point-down red triangle, an image used to identify political enemies in Nazi concentration camps.

Over the summer, Trump has repeatedly referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as “thugs,” and in June ordered peaceful demonstrators to be tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets.

Now, seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who has described himself as a militia member and who appeared in videos next to other armed men linked to a local militia group known as the Kenosha Guard, has been arrested and charged with killing two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse himself is a Trump supporter who attended one of the president’s rallies earlier this year, according to BuzzFeed.

Trump and his allies have not condemned armed vigilantism. "How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?" Tucker Carlson asked on his Fox News program.

The opening night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) prominently featured a speech by Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the wealthy white couple who illegally brandished firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis, Missouri.

Consider what followed …

Then, just one day after the McCloskeys’ RNC speech, a white gunman killed two people and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was likely influenced by the glorification of vigilante violence that is endemic to the far right.

Militia and right-wing vigilantes agree with the call to take up arms against the “radical left.” They are bringing their guns to towns all around America. This dark path of violence is advocated by Make America Great Again supporters, White Nationalists, and systemic racists.

“While the explicit formula for staving off an impending 'socialist utopia,' as Tim Scott phrased it, is to win the election, the RNC, many Trump supporters, and their far right and fascist fellow travelers are simultaneously engaging in racist rhetoric about the need for a militant defense of 'quiet neighborhoods' from mobs of immigrants and 'radical leftists,' hellbent on 'replacing' America (reminiscent of the Charlottesville chant 'Jews will not replace us').

“The paradoxical call to subvert the law in order to uphold the law is quintessentially fascist. It’s a fascistic worldview that is apparent in the police embrace of the logo of the Marvel superhero The Punisher: a strongman unconstrained by the 'weak' and 'effeminate' limits of bourgeois legalism in his pursuit of transcendent justice.”

(Mark Bray. “RNC Gave Prime Time to Vigilantes. The Next Day a Gunman Shot BLM Protesters.” truthout.com. August 26, 2020.)

Abomination at the White House -- Trump's Garish Acceptance Speech

In accepting the Republican nomination, Trump turned his back on the crowd and surveyed the executive mansion, stretching out his arms in a gesture that exemplified his vision of ultimate, unaccountable presidential power. He boasted …

“The fact is, I’m here — what’s the name of that building?” he said, pointing to the White House. “The fact is, we’re here and they’re not.”

– Donald Trump, Acceptance Speech, White House

With all the ostentatious pomp and reality show pageantry fit for a man-who-would-be king, Trump gave his acceptance speech from the south lawn of the White House on August 27, 2020. Featuring an over-elaborated red carpet entry by the president and the first lady, the event was a gaudy spectacle fit for his adoring Trump minions. And, oh yes, the finale featured a dazzling fireworks show with the Washington Monument as a theatrical backdrop.

The large screens with their "Trump/Pence" logo were a jarring sight below the Truman Balcony and on the grounds of a national icon financed by all taxpayers.

“The set-up was a defiant metaphor for Trump's willingness to crush the traditions of the presidency, to put his own immediate gain over the dignity of the office and to troll his enemies while he was at it.”

(Stephen Collinson “Trump – Dark and Defiant As Ever.” kezi.com. CNN. August 28, 2020.)

Trump shredded norms and laws like the Hatch Act that have restrained previous presidents from using public property as a political prop, and delivered his speech from the White House. The result was gauche images of “TRUMP/PENCE” signs on property that isn’t supposed to belong to any political party.

Note – The Hatch Act is a 1939 law that restricts federal employees' engagement in specific partisan political activities, with the aim of preventing members of the executive branch from interfering in elections. These prohibited activities include running for office, hosting fundraisers, making campaign speeches or distributing campaign materials.

Walter Shaub, former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, described Trump’s decision to have the RNC at the White House as an “abomination” that “may be the most visible misuse of official position for private gain in America’s history.”

Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, said while it can be difficult for a president to totally separate himself from politics, using the White House as a "prop" at a party convention is unprecedented in recent times. Zelizer told ABC News …

"There still is a boundary between politics and governing, and the Oval Office and White House are a public site meant for the country that isn't meant to be a political backdrop. To just use it as the major site for a convention speech seems like a lot with President Trump – you just take all the guardrails down."

The massive gathering on the White House lawn comes after Trump canceled convention plans in Charlotte, North Carolina, complaining that he would not be able to hold a large celebration without masks or social distancing.

Trump's crowd of 2,000 people on the South Lawn, few wearing masks and sitting close together, was an extraordinary scene during a pandemic that has brought America to its knees, but it exemplified Trump's willingness to spin a false alternative reality for political gain.

“Amazingly, he (Trump) accused Biden of ignoring science -- and falsely said that his opponent wanted to shut down the whole country -- after flouting his own public health experts in a denial-laden and disastrous response to the pandemic.”

(Stephen Collinson “Trump – Dark and Defiant As Ever.” kezi.com. CNN. August 28, 2020.)

In a statement sent to Vox, Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), noted that “history is littered with totalitarians who used their government as political props.”

“With Trump’s show in front of the White House -- the climax of a three-and-a-half year crescendo of attacking the foundations of our democracy -- we saw something we’ve never seen before. And it’s terrifying.”

(Aaron Rupar. “Trump’s RNC speech was a mess. But the optics of it were powerful.” Vox. August 28, 2020.)

Former White House ethics chief Walter Shaub, who served for six months under Trump and six under President Barack Obama, said the South Lawn speech wasn’t just an ethical lapse but “the breach of a sacred trust.” Shaub reported …

“This abomination may be the most visible misuse of official position for private gain in America’s history. It is an abuse of the power entrusted to this man, the breach of a sacred trust. It is the civic equivalent of a mortal sin – maybe a religious one too. And it is a harbinger.”

(Ed Mazza. “‘Abomination’: Critics Rip Trump For ‘Desecrating’ White House With RNC Speech.” Huffington Post. August 28, 2020.)

Trump's acceptance speech was only one of several purely political events done on government property lately. Earlier in the week, Trump turned a naturalization ceremony at the White House into a televised spectacle during the RNC. And on Thursday, for Trump’s speech, the White House was festooned with campaign signs and logos.

“What's the name of that building?” It is evident Trump would like to put his official Trump Organization trademark on the White House. The question remains: Can America endure another four years of Trump's attacks on democracy? This speech is a “harbinder” of more abuse of power says Walter Shaub. God help us to stop this abuse in November.

The Kenosha, Wisconsin Guard's Call To Arms

"Hell no … there's no way. There's no way I would deputize people. Part of the problem with this group is they create confrontation. 

“People walking around with guns - if I walk in my uniform with a gun all of you probably wouldn't be too intimated by it because you're used to officers having guns, but if I put out my wife with an AR-15 or my brother with a shotgun or whatever it would be walking through the streets you guys would probably wonder what the heck was going on."

– Kenosha County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Beth

The police shooting of Jacob Blake has since sparked nationwide outrage and days of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In an organized effort to minimize the spread of the destructive behavior, individuals and groups began exercising their own form of vigilantism.

The result? 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse has been arrested in Antioch, Illinois, on a murder charge following shootings in Kenosha on August 25 that killed two people during unrelenting, violent demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. A Facebook account listed under Rittenhouse’s name included images of the young white man posting with a military-style rifle, as well as multiple posts expressing support for law enforcement.

Rittenhouse also did a video interview with the Daily Caller in front of a boarded up building. In the clip, he says …

"People are getting injured and our job is to protect this business. And my job also is to protect people. If someone is hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle; I’ve gotta protect myself obviously. But I also have my med kit."

(N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Patrick Marley, Sarah Volpenhein, and Joel Shannon. “Kenosha shooting: One officer fired all seven shots into Jacob Blake's back; Teen arrested in killing of protesters.” USA TODAY. August 26, 2020.)

Sheriff Beth said he believed the alleged gunman may have been a part of a vigilante group, another concern he cited with deputizing such citizens. Beth said …

"That would have been one deputy sheriff killed two people. The liability that goes with that would have been immense."

(“‘Oh Hell No': Kenosha Sheriff Says Vigilante Group Asked Him to Deputize Them

'There's no way. There's no way I would deputize people,' he said.” NBC 5 Chicago.

August 26, 2020.)

Repeated calls for armed vigilantes to travel to Kenosha to protect businesses following the police shooting of Jacob Blake spread across social media in the hours before the shootings.

Researchers at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Lab said in a August 26 blog post that multiple threads on Facebook and Reddit urged militias and other armed people to head to the protests.

Social media posts locally purported to call out those who riled up vigilantes ahead of the violence on the night of August 27 – even calling for charges to be filed.

(“Authorities Track Local And Online Calls For Vigilantes To Come To Kenosha.” Kenosha, Wi (AP and WLIP. August 27, 2020.)

Beth said that militia notices he saw on social media “looked like party invitations.” He said that deputizing citizens to provide law enforcement would entail such individuals coming under the umbrella of the sheriff’s office.

“Any patriots willing to take up arms and defend our city tonight from evil thugs?”

– Local Kenosha militia group post on Facebook

Kenosha Guard, the Wisconsin militia group that called for armed citizens to patrol Kenosha on Tuesday night, was small, recently formed and less a structured organization than a “general call to arms,” its founder, a former local elected official, told the Guardian.

Mathewson, a 36-year former Kenosha city alderman “known for clashing with city officials,” said he was upset at the unrest in the city after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

The group’s message, he said, was a call to Americans to exercise their right to bear arms: “If you love our city and don’t want to see it burn, get your guns and go outside.”

Kenosha Guard’s Facebook posts and planned Tuesday night event were covered by the conspiracy theory website InfoWars, and prompted a passionate response, Mathewson said, with private messages from hundreds of people, and thousands of people who indicated they might attend the event.

Mathewson, said that a 17-year-old “had no business being armed legally or ethically,” but the shooter is “responsible for his own actions.”

(Adam Mahoney Armed white men patrolling Kenosha protests organized on Facebook.” The Guardian. August 26, 2020.)

In a widely circulating video from Tuesday night, Kenosha police can be heard thanking and tossing bottled water from an armored vehicle to what appear to be armed civilians walking the streets.

“We appreciate you being here,” an officer is heard saying over a loudspeaker.

In one video, a militia member says cops told them they would "push" the protestors towards them because they knew they could handle them. And, yet another video shows Rittenhouse and another armed man identify themselves as local militiamen, despite Rittenhouse being from Illinois.

When asked about that interaction, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said, "Our deputies would toss a water to anybody" including Black Lives Matter demonstrators, but he would not comment on the statement made by a deputy saying the militia's presence was appreciated.

(Adam Rogan. “Police in Kenosha shared water, said they 'appreciate' armed group before two killed. The Journal-Times. Racine. August 26, 2020.)

Some bystanders said that the situation on the night of August 25 was so chaotic that it was unclear even to some protesters and media on the scene whether gunfire was coming only from militia-type vigilantes or also some local business owners standing guard with guns over their properties.

What the Hell?

Facebook posts recruiting vigilantes? Armed militia at protests? Teens with long rifles? This formula begs confrontation and deadly violence. And, this is exactly what happened. Business owners must be allowed to protect their properties; however, the presence of angry, public armed forces will certainly escalate an already explosive situation. Not only were two people shot dead, but also an emotionally charged teen has effectively ended his own life.

The Kenosha Guard militia are a group of citizens who claim to be "patriots" willing to take up arms and defend residents in Wisconsin from "evil thugs.” The group, which seeks “Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives and Property,” hosted events on Facebook until the violence. The militia showed up at the Black Lives Matter protests with weapons claiming to “defend our city.”

A post written to Kenosha Police Chief Miskins signed “Kenosha Guard Commander” said:

“As you know I am the commander of the Kenosha Guard, a local militia. 

“We are mobilizing tonight and have about 3,000 RSVP’s. Our effort has made the national media. I ask that you do NOT have your officers tell us to go home under threat of arrest as you have in the past.

“We are willing to talk to KPD and open a discussion. It is evident that no matter how many officers, deputies and other law enforcement officers that are here, you will still be outnumbered.”

(Quin Hillyer. “Vigilantes in Wisconsin are morally culpable for killings.”

Washington Examiner. August 26, 2020.)

These militia members are not patriots. That post to the police sounds like an invitation to a war, not a lawful pleading for justice. The armed vigilantes are provocateurs who are disrespectful of the law. Kyle Rittenhouse considers himself a member of the right-wing militia. And, he is reported to also have a yearslong affiliation with police cadet programs, with photographs on social media showing him in full uniform complete with a badge, arm patch and trooper-style campaign hat.

It is clear Rittenhouse was a misguided youth consumed with unwarranted passion. It is also clear that he was not the only vigilante responding to the call for armed resistance. This confrontation could have escalated into an all-out firefight.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial joined with the heads of three Wisconsin-based affiliates of the group on August 26 to issue a statement calling for action in response to the violence of armed groups attacking protesters.

Reopening Schools -- Now, So Much Depends Upon ...

"School is important for student's academic growth, but it is also important to their social and mental health. Each family must make decisions on how to take part in school this fall based on their specific circumstances, such as spread of COVID-19 in your community, your work demands, your child's health and academic needs, and health risk."

– Jeremy Forster, M.D., a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Health System

Schools are reopening amid fears of the spread of COVID-19. Parents are the front line for protection. And, of course, schools are taking extra precautions to stop the virus. What is painfully clear is that a united effort will be the only successful strategy to keep schools open and coronavirus infection down. Now is the time to guard educational operations.

Parents, guardians, and caregivers need to check local transmission rates, be sure rapid access to tests and results are available, and employ means for “track and trace” for contacts of testing and quarantine.

The website covidactnow.org monitors community transmission using five indicators or numbers: new cases, infection rate, degree of testing, hospital capacity and contacts traced. The website also created a warning system building on an early monitoring system developed by the White House coronavirus task force. 

At home, there are crucial actions to take and points to consider:

Check in with your child each morning for signs of illness. If your child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, they should not go to school. Make sure your child does not have a sore throat or other signs of illness, like a cough, diarrhea, severe headache, vomiting, or body aches. If your child has had close contact to a COVID-19 case, they should not go to school. Follow guidance on what to do when someone has known exposure Identify your school point person(s) to contact if your child gets sick. (“Back to School Planning: Checklists to Guide Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July 23, 2020.)

"Even though it may seem like just a minor runny nose or cough, staying home from school or work is the right thing to do to reduce the risk of exposing others to not only COVID-19, but other respiratory viruses like influenza, as well.”

– Nipunie Rajapakse, M.D., pediatric infectious disease specialist at Mayo Clinic

The checklist below is meant as an additional – although not comprehensive – guide for teachers, parents and administrators.

Masks. Teachers, staff and school employees should be fitted for KN95 or N95 masks. These masks block 95 percent of particulate matter when properly fitted. Students must always wear masks, except when they are eating or drinking. But teachers and parents need to emphasize the importance of keeping the mask on and not fidgeting with it. Taking off and putting on a mask throughout the school day may contaminate the mask and child.

Air flow. Like in hospitals, schools should install and use HEPA filters. Ideally, schools should keep windows and door open, letting fresh air reduce the concentration of indoor contaminants, such as virus particles. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters work in a similar way, but won’t create problems for children with allergies or asthma. Removing viruses from the air reduces the potential for exposure.

Pods. Students should be divided into groups or pods of 10 to 15 students. The pod learns, eats and exercises together the entire school day. This way each student can stay 6 feet from their peers while seated at their desk. A pod also helps identify and contain a potential outbreak.

Drinking fountains. Schools must replace water fountains with bottled water. Using a water fountain brings hands, mouths and noses close to a high traffic surface. A student infected with COVID-19 may shed the virus on the on/off knob, water source and other parts of the fountain. Closing a fountain eliminates a potential source of contamination.

Hand Washing. Schools should promote and demonstrate regular hand washing and positive hygiene behaviors and monitor their uptake. Ensure adequate, clean and separate toilets for girls and boys. (Post signs encouraging good hand and respiratory hygiene practices.)

Outdoor education. Students should eat and exercise outdoors as much as possible. Intense activities require more inhales and exhales. This can increase the number of virus droplets in the air, leading to greater exposure to COVID-19. Conducting both activities outside allows fresh air to reduce the concentration of viruses.

Movement. Hallways are one-way corridors, moving students in one direction. One-way hallways reduce the chances of face-to-face contact, which increases the likelihood of transmission.

Cleaning. Classrooms and buses are cleaned twice a day. Depending upon the surface, COVID-19 can live on surfaces for hours to days. Cleaning is necessary to destroy the virus in common space surfaces, such as bathrooms, lockers and buses.

Testing. Schools must be vigilant. Surveillance systems should be set up to periodically test sewage, heating air conditioning and ventilation systems and compressors to help in the early detection of an outbreak.

Extracurriculars. School should stop chorus, band, wrestling, football and other contact sports. Social distancing is impossible with these group activities. Singing and playing wind instruments aerosolize the virus. A two-hour choir practice with one symptomatic singer in Washington state resulted in 87 percent of the group becoming infected.

Students at higher risk. While COVID-19 school policies can reduce risk, they will not prevent it. Some students with high-risk medical conditions may need other accommodations. Talk with your pediatrician and school staff (including school nurses) to see if your child needs additional solutions to help ensure safety at school.

(Dr. Valda Crowder. “Back to school? COVID-19 advice for American parents and teachers amid a pandemic.” NBC Think. August 24, 2020.)

So much needs to happen so that students can learn and thrive without raising the risk of spreading COVID. The goal of having children attend school in person will only be safe when a community has the spread of the virus under control. And then, a layered approach is needed to keep students, teachers and staff safe. But this will only be possible if intense cleaning, social distancing and testing protocols are carried out. And if an outbreak does occur or rates begin to rise again, schools may have to close again

Will Your Children Sleep Through Your Smoke Alarm? Does It Have a Voice Feature?

“A mother’s recorded voice will wake a child and get him or her out the room much faster than a standard smoke alarm, a randomized trial has found.”

– Journal of Pediatrics (2018)

Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Sleep Disorders Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that a sleeping child was about 3 times more likely to be awakened by one of the three voice alarms than by the tone alarm. The alarms using the mother's voice awakened 86-91% of children and prompted 84-86% to "escape" from the bedroom, compared with 53% awakened and 51% escaped for the tone alarm.

The study also examined the effect of the different alarms on the amount of time it took the children to get out of ("escape" from) the bedroom.

In a real fire, seconds can make a difference. If a child wakes up but takes too long to leave a burning building, serious injuries or death could occur.

The median time to escape for the high-pitch tone alarm was 282 seconds -- nearly five minutes -- while the median times to escape for the voice alarms ranged from 18 to 28 seconds.

(Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH, Thitphalak Chounthirath, MS, Mark Splaingard, MD. “Effectiveness of a Voice Smoke Alarm Using the Child's Name for Sleeping Children: A Randomized Trial.” Journal of Pediatrics. October 25, 2018)

These researchers examined characteristics of four different smoke alarms to determine which ones worked best to wake children. They tested three alarms that used the mother's voice in addition to a high-pitch tone smoke alarm commonly used in homes.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Gary Smith, who directs the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, says …

“The thing that was most remarkable to us was to see a child sleep five minutes through a very loud high-pitched tone, but then sit bolt upright in bed when their mothers voice sounded through the alarm. We didn’t expect the difference to be so dramatic.”

The study’s co-author, Dr. Mark Splaingard, director of the hospital’s sleep disorders center, said the findings could help save lives in the future. Splaingard expains …

“Children are remarkably resistant to awakening by sound when asleep. We were able to find a smoke alarm sound that reduces the amount of time it takes for many children … to wake up and leave the bedroom.”

Sleep is a uniquely vulnerable time. Half of all fire deaths occur during the night. “Knowing which alarms work best can save lives,” says Splaingard. One night in 1998, Splaingard treated three kids with severe burns. He was puzzled because their house had a functioning alarm, but it hadn’t woken the kids up. Within a few years, Splaingard began his research to solve the problem.

Tests also showed that the mother did not have to say the child’s name for the voice alarm to be effective.

Children under the age of five were not tested because they are considered too young to rescue themselves in a fire, while teenagers do not have the same difficulty in waking up to smoke alarms. And, adolescents (older than 12 years) do not experience the same difficulty as younger children in awakening to a high-pitch tone smoke alarm.

In 2020, further research looked into what may be a better in response to a smoke alarm that uses a male voice, a female voice, a combination of a low-frequency tone plus a female voice (hybrid alarm), or a high-frequency tone. The results ...

“Use of the male or female voice or hybrid alarms in children's sleep areas may reduce residential fire-related injuries and deaths among children old enough to perform self-rescue. IMPACT:The male voice, female voice, and hybrid alarms were each significantly more effective than a high-frequency tone alarm in awakening children aged 5-12 years from slow wave sleep and prompting their performance of an escape procedure.

“There were no significant differences in the effectiveness of the male voice, female voice, and hybrid alarms when compared with each other. Use of these alarms in children's sleep areas may reduce residential fire-related injuries and deaths among children old enough to perform self-rescue.”

(G,A, Smith, T. Chounthirath, and M.Splaingard. “Comparison of the effectiveness of female voice, male voice, and hybrid voice-tone smoke alarms for sleeping children.” Pediatric Research. March 12, 2020.)

Further Support

Another reason why mom's voice works so well? Most smoke alarms blare out high pitched beeps at a frequency around 3,000 hertz. Studies have shown that alarms with lower pitches -- around 500 hertz, for instance -- work better at waking people up.

When smoke alarms were first developed, their inventors were more worried about detecting fire. They just assumed that a loud, high pitched noise would wake people up.

In fact, low frequencies would be “more effective for a whole range of vulnerable people,” says Dorothy Bruck, a sleep scientist at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. People who are older, or have trouble hearing, also respond better to lower-pitched alarms, she notes.

(Dan Garisto. “New smoke alarm tests a mother’s touch.” Science News For Students.

December 11, 2018.)

The National Fire Protection Association now recommends using low-frequency alarms, which can be 12 times more effective. Most households, however, still rely on devices that blare out high-frequency tones.

So, where do you buy a smoke alarm that allows the recording of a mother's voice? I have found alarms online with a prerecorded voice that blares “Fire! Fire! Fire!” But, I cannot find a device that allows recording a specific (customized) voice. It seems so simple. Could it be that regulations are so stiff that such a product is not yet available? Is there something else to consider. I'm sure time will tell.