“Well, I don’t know what the bankers have said. The Plaza is a very valuable property. Everybody told me, ‘oh, you paid too much, you paid too much,’ now they’re all saying what a great deal he made on the Plaza.”
–Donald Trump, in an interview with Barbara Walters in 1990. [Of course, it ended like so many other Trump business ventures that went south: he ended up taking an $83 million bath on the Plaza Hotel.]
“As we approach the election, again, …who’s to say whether or not these agents could potentially be used to intimidate or otherwise disturb the election process while they’re here?”
–New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, expressing concerns that Trump’s storm troopers could disrupt the presidential election on Nov. 3. [You know, fascism, third-world dictatorship, and all that stuff that we thought could never happen here—like storm troopers, children in cages, firing inspectors general, that kind of thing.]
“The violent tactics deployed by Donald Trump and his paramilitary forces against peaceful protesters are those of a fascist regime, not a democratic nation. Unless America draws a line in the sand right now, I think we could be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election.”
—Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, quoted in The Guardian, July 25, 2020.
“It would be a cold day in hell before I would consent to a unilateral, uninvited intervention in one of my cities.”
—Forer two-term Republican governor of Pennsylvania and the first homeland security secretary. [And of course, Trump responded by calling Ridge a RINO (Republican in Name Only).Insults, slurs and derogatory nicknames seem to be his only way of responding to criticism—as opposed to applying logic and reason to dispute resolution.]
“A key difference between now and before: In 1970, the attorney general was urging restraint. Today, the AG leads the charge.”
—The Washington Post, in an editorial explaining the difference between J. Edgar Hoover’s convincing then-Attorney General John Mitchell to dissuade Nixon from signing the so-called Huston Plan calling for federal troops to restrain domestic unrest 50 years ago, and Attorney General William Barr’s “Operation Legend,” which does just that.
“Plaintiffs’ gambit here—they seek to have the Court enter an emergency injunction based on alleged past encounters involving federal law enforcement officers, but have not demonstrated that similar incidents will take place in the future, much less that these particular plaintiffs will again experience the same alleged conduct by federal law enforcement officers. Because Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate a certainly impending injury, they lack standing to seek injunctive relief.”
–Attorney General William Barr’s response in claiming that the ACLU has no legal standing to request that Trump’s storm troopers be prohibited from beating, gassing or shooting with “impact munitions” reporters to prevent them from recording attacks on Portland citizens. [Nothing to see here, move along (translation: we don’t want witnesses).]
“Only nine states, an electoral Hall of Shame, make you choose between your health and your right to vote, because they don’t count the pandemic as a valid reason to request an absentee ballot. The nine: Connecticut, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, LOUISIANA, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.”
Dana Milbank, Washington Post, July 24, 2020. [Louisiana? With the myopic legislators so gifted with the Clay Higgins demagogic version of justice and democracy that we have in this state, go figure. If it doesn’t benefit their corporate donors, they’re just not interested.]
Louisiana Voice 
Tom, you just don’t recognize genius when you see it. I’m sure Trump planned that loss for reasons you and I cannot hope to comprehend.
“The most telling revelation I ever received about Donald Trump was from a New York hedge-fund bro for whom I did some occasional speechwriting. In late summer 2015, I went to him and said, “We have to stop this guy. He’s a billionaire. He could fund his own campaign.” The hedge bro looked at me and laughed: ‘Trump’s not a billionaire. I’m a billionaire. Trump is a clown, living on credit.'” – Rick Wilson, the Daily Beast, July 12, 2020
Great series of quotes. On the one about absentee ballots, I checked the Sec of State website earlier this morning on just that issue because I would like to vote by mail this time. I think one can request an absentee ballot due to the epidemic but am not clear if you need to provide proof in the form of medical records. Can anyone provide insights?
Here is what it says and the list of choices you can select from:
I have been affected by COVID-19. I am unable to vote in person because I am…
-At higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to serious underlying medical conditions as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (including chronic lung disease, moderate to severe asthma, hypertension or other serious heart conditions, diabetes, undergoing chemotherapy, severe obesity (BMI of 40 or higher), chronic kidney disease and undergoing dialysis, liver disease, pregnancy, or immunocompromised due to cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications)
-Subject to a medically necessary quarantine or isolation order as a result of COVID-19
-Advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns
-Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis
-Caring for an individual, name of ___________, who is subject to a medically necessary quarantine or isolation order as a result of COVID-19 or who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.
It looks like that Washington Post quote is fake news, Tom. Louisiana should not be included in that list of states. I just submitted my online request for an absentee ballot on the basis of the first option related to COVID-19. The only documentation required was my DL number. I think it will be approved and look forward to receiving it in the mail.
Fake news??? It appears more like a rational and humane decision by the state that might not have been known by WAPO when they published their story.
I was quoting Dana Milbank who, is both an unabashed opinionated writer and steadfastly opposed to Trump, has been accurate in the past. Guess all are subject to human error, though when it’s in print, it’s magnified considerably.
Bayou Bernie,
Anyone whose age is > 65 may request an absentee ballot for any upcoming elections, regardless of COVID. Yes, I agree, the WaPo article is a bit misleading. Among the exemptions listed above, age should have been listed. I will be taking advantage of the senior perk (my dealings with the Sec of State Office have been informative and professional) for the first time this year (Aug 15) and in the future. Must get the ballot in on time; may drop it at the Parish Registrar of Voters.
As information, it takes a bit more postage than the regular stamp to mail it.
Several weeks ago I received a number of emails and other messages asking if we had received a letter from the Secretary of State offering a mail in ballot to any registered voter 65 and over. Seems Louisiana has for some time allowed 65+ voters to vote by mail, but few knew about that due to a total lack of publicity by the SoS (which riles me up, after a three decade career as a state communications director).
Turns out we were among the 300,000 seniors left out by the SoS, who claimed the oversight was due to a clerical error, after an investigation and public records request for the list of names of eligible senior voters by WDSU TV. So instead of waiting for SoS to send out more letters, we requested ballots online on a Sunday night for the July primary. The ballots were in the mailbox Wednesday morning. Amazing. Just for fun, we had checked the box requesting mail in ballots for all elections going forward. (One can still vote in person in early voting or on election day, the mail in ballot is not valid unless filled out and received no later than close of business the day BEFORE election day.) We just received our mail in ballots for the August 15 run off election in the mail. Filled them out and will mail them back Monday. We have been early voting for some time, just walking in to any location, casting a ballot with no waiting and on our way in just a few minutes, but it is nice to have the mail-in option.
Right now, as Bayou Bernie said, anyone can request a mail in ballot due to coronavirus concerns. But I have a sneaking suspicion that mail in ballots may become more available to all voters going forward, as it must be far less expensive than labor intensive polling places with many poll workers, and machines moved from storage and back.
For the most part, LA SoS has been efficient, professional and easily accessible, with a good website. The ID requirement is addressed on the mail in ballot with a security question; state OMV will issue a photo ID card to anyone without a driver’s license, at a cost of $21.00 for those under 60 and free for people 60 or older. In person voters without a photo ID fill out an affidavit to vote on a provisional ballot. I have no idea if those ballots are actually counted. I hope I’m not missing something, but it appears that registered voters in LA should find it easy to cast ballots. Suppressing voter registration and possible purging are another matter entirely, and may be issues that need a hard look.
Most of today’s quotes have to do with the unidentified troops showing up in Portland (and previously in Washington, DC). This is VERY frightening to me! Putting together some facts and observations, I have come to the conclusion that we are probably seeing the beginning on an extremely dangerous constitutional crisis.
Fact/observations:
– Impeached trump and other Republicans often project their thinking on Democrats.
– Conservative news sources said that Obama was going to declare martial law and cancel the Presidential elections in 2012 and 2016 so he could remain President.
– I am told some news sources are saying the “federal agents” are actually mercenaries, which I think is supported by the lack of official uniforms and IDs.
Conclusion: Impeached trump is deploying hired thugs to masquerade as federal agents, and (this is my pure speculation) may have other hired thugs infiltrate the peaceful demonstrators, like the Boogaloo Boiz did early in the George Floyd demonstrations, to ensure that the demonstrations become more violent. He is building a case that the country is becoming so violent and out of control that martial law must be declared and the election must be postponed indefinitely. A true constitutional crisis.
I think we need to be figuring out how to stop this strategy before he can actually implement it. Maybe we need to start a letter writing campaign to the media so the media sunshine will stop this evil plan.
Wikipedia: Definition of Fascism:
Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
Sound like anyone you know and of whom we should be very cautious?