The Search for Justice
PLUS: The latest COVID stats
Black Lives need justice in the worst way. All of us need justice in this chaotic world. In Kenosha, on August 23, Jacob Blake Jr., 29, was shot from behind seven times by police officer Rusten Sheskey as he was getting into his car. Three of his children will probably be scarred for life after witnessing the blood lust of Kenosha police as they fired bullet after bullet into Jacob’s back. Jacob Blake needed justice but got bullets instead.
The kids aren’t the only ones to witness this incredible scene. A video of the shooting was played over and over, hopefully leading to mass outrage from everyone, regardless of color, who were horrified by the shocking event. Amazingly, Blake didn’t die, but will probably never walk again. Until recently, Blake had been hancuffed to a hospital bed in Kenosha, even though he was paralyzed below the waist. He had been shackled because a past warrent.
Police seem to think that the more shots they fire into Blacks and others, the deader the victims will be. Amadou Diallo, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean immigrant, died in a hail of 41 shots fired back in 1999, without warning, by four of New York’s “finest.” Police claimed that when Diallo reached for his wallet, they thought it was a gun. The cops were later acquited of second-degree murder charges. Musician Bruce Springsteen wrote and performed a song, American Skin, also known as 41 Shots, about Diallo.
Ten days after Jacob Blake was shot, President Donald J. Trump rolled into town, against the urging of local and state officials that he stay home (Biden is on his way). Characteristically, Trump was more concerned about property damage than deaths and injuries. Trump warned, somewhat after the fact, that chaos would descend on cities across the country if Biden won the election. The President, who apparently didn’t note the contradiction, said, “These are not acts of peaceful protest but, really, domestic terror.”
Kenosha is located on the road between Chicago and Milwaukee on land formerly owned by the Potawatomi tribe. Kenosha was an automobile manufacturing town, with thousands of union members, for most of the 20th century. In 1988, the last auto plant closed, causing massive unemployment.
Today, Kenosha has a large commuter population going to jobs in Chicago and Milwaukee. Long time blue collar residents, including Blacks (11.7% of the population) and Latinos (16.3%), have far less opportunities that they did 40 years ago, unless they are college educated (and white).
Kenosha is another city where jobs have dried up, and those jobs that exist provide workers with only a fraction of the pay they had with auto workers union contracts. People are angry in Kenosha and poor people are the angriest of all, even without police shooting them down. No wonder that Republicans won the votes in 2016 for president, senator and congress member in this working class town.
Men with Guns
Two nights later, as the protests continued, protesters encountered several men carrying guns. One of them, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who was toting an AR-15 rifle shot and killed a protester after a verbal confrontation. Rittenhouse ran from pursuers, but tripped and fell. He then aimed and fired four shots at three people who were attempting to disarm him. He killed one more protester and injured another.
Rittenhouse then got up and walked over to police, who were nearby. Bystanders told the cops that he had just shot several people, but the police did nothing. They probably knew him already. Rittenhouse had previously taken law enforcement youth training programs, and was a self-proclaimed militia member, Trump supporter and endorsed the slogan “Blue Lives Matter,” referring to the police. Later, the Chief of Police said that the shooting wouldn’t have happened if protesters had staying inside. “Everybody was out after the curfew.” Another reason to quarantine?
This was the second recent incident to involve right-wing militia members. In Portand, around 1,000 militia members and Trump supporters caravaned into the city and right to the middle of the Black Lives Matter rally, where they assaulted protesters. This mass invasion culminated in several nights of battles between militia and protesters in which one militia member was killed.
Is Civil War Coming?
Millions have responded to the call to defend Black Lives, ever since George Floyd was murdered. At the same time, a much smaller number of armed militia members have made their presence known around the country.
It’s not civil war by any means, but what will happen if Trump loses the presidency, and he asks for help to reclaim it? We could be headed toward multiple massacres in the streets. Everyone would have to chose sides: Are you in favor of violence and murder to redeem a man who never should have been president in the first place, or will you support the Constitution and due process?
Will it be safe to drive or walk down the street in states with big political divisions? And what will you do if Biden is robbed of a victory? (Netflix is showing a chilling documentary on how political power can be stolen. Nevermind that The Edge of Democracy is about Brazil. It can happen here.)
There will be a lame-duck Congress with a Democratic House and a Republican Senate during the crucial months before the new 117th Congress is seated on January 3, 2021. Meanwhile, will the Supreme Court cut off vote counting as they did with the vote counting in Florida, in December 2000? If the election is close and Trump is ahead on walk-in votes while Biden’s mail ballots take days to arrive and be counted, we may all have to think about a scenario like this.
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A 15-minute COVID Test May Change Our Lives (again)
How would you like to take a painless COVID-19 test at home and know the results in just 15 minutes? Well, you can’t do it yet, but if you live in Europe, you may be able to by October.
If you live in the U.S., it’s a little more complicated, of course. The Food and Drug Administration has given “Emergency Use Authorization,” to a 15-minute test made by Abbott, and called BinaxNOW. The catch is that, unlike in the European Union, it is limited to those who are showing symptoms.
That may change, but for now it is prescription only, costs $5, and you have to be sick. However, Abbott plans to start producing 50 million tests a month by October. The test comes with an app which can show a door person that you are negative and when you took the test. This could allow any store or restaurant to open, as long as it posts someone at the door.
Abbott didn’t say anything about making the test free. This is where the government should intervene to ensure that everyone can test themselves as often as needed. Other laboratories could be drafted to manufacture enough tests to provide packets of 50 home tests per person. Ideally, people would test themselves whenever they are going to be involved in a social setting. The test involves a nose swab and squirting some chemicals on the swab. Careful testing could end the reign of COVID at last.
The old saw, “let me see your papers,” may soon become “let me see your app.”
Here Are Your R Scores
These are up-to-date values for Rt, a key measure of how fast the virus is growing. It’s the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person. If Rt is above 1.0, the virus will spread quickly. When Rt is below 1.0, the virus will stop spreading. -Rt.live
The latest R scores (Sept 3) show 23 states under 1.00, meaning the virus won’t spread. There are still 28 states and DC with increasing infections. The biggest concentration of infectious states seems to be in the mid-section (it’s not really the midwest). The worst state is South Dakota at 1.29, while the lowest infection rate is 0.85 with a two-way tie between Massachusetts and Texas. The Left Coast is much improved with California (0.87), Oregon (0.94) and Washington (0.99) all stopping the virus.
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–Editor, James R Smith