New York’s primary, more Tara Reade, and coronavirus + ICE.
the “new normal” is giving me hives
Hello everyone! Hopefully your morning is off to a great start, and if not, uhhh bummer. Maybe some news will cheer you up?
New York state has cancelled their June presidential primary: in a move that many consider a blow to the movement that still adamantly backs Bernie Sanders.
Tara Reade’s former neighbor has corroborated her story: and says that she remembers Reade telling her about the alleged assault committed by Joe Biden.
COVID-19 may end up spreading rapidly in ICE detention centers: in fact, even an optimistic model of how coronavirus will spread indicates that over 70% of individuals will be infected within 90 days.
OK, we’ll admit: none of this is going to cheer you up. At least you’re keeping yourself informed! Let’s break it down.
ELECTION 2020
New York State Has Cancelled Their Presidential Primary
Bernie Sanders may have suspended his campaign but that doesn’t erase his support. That’s why so many who have yet to vote in their own presidential primaries were still planning on voting for him once they could, whether as an act of symbolism or, in some states, in an effort to get Sanders more delegates, which may give him more of a voice to influence the Democratic party. In New York, it looks like that’s not going to happen due to the state cancelling their June presidential primary over coronavirus concerns.
The Move & the Justification
A provision in New York’s April state budget was included that allowed the state’s board of election to remove candidates who have suspended their campaigns. The board’s two Democrats unanimously voted to have Sanders scrubbed from the ballot, ultimately cancelling the presidential primary altogether.
One of those board members described Sanders supporters as wanting a “beauty contest” and cited the public health crisis as justification for setting what they believe is a higher standard for elections.
Some are blaming Governor Andrew Cuomo for including the provision that ultimately led to this, though the Cuomo camp denies that there was any political motivation in doing so.
This is Outright Wrong
Talk about undermining democracy. After all, keeping Sanders on the ballot and allowing more lenient rules towards retaining delegates at the convention was meant to bring progressives into the fold. How’s that going to work out if one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the nation commits to such undemocratic practices?
The Sanders camp rightly criticized primaries in other states for jeopardizing the health of voters. But here’s the thing: Cuomo already issued an executive order allowing anyone in the state to cast an absentee ballot. The majority of the state is going to vote on June 23 anyway, for congressional and state legislative primaries, so what’s the deal?
The Biden camp has already been critical of the notion that Trump may use the pandemic as an excuse to postpone the November election. If that’s a good faith concern, Biden should be critical of this, too.
Bottom line: this isn’t a good way to build unity and, in light of the fact that other elections are still taking place, feels like a cheap power grab. The party needs to do better.
TARA READE
Reade’s Former Neighbor Has Corroborated Accusation Against Joe Biden
Tara Reade’s former neighbor has corroborated her story. If you’ve been following this story like we have, you know the details: Tara Reade is a former Joe Biden staffer who has accused Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993. A few days ago, a clip of what may be Reade’s mother calling into “Larry King Live” about the incident emerged. Now, Reade’s former neighbor, a Biden supporter, has stepped forward to say that she believes the assault took place, as she recalls Reade telling her about the incident in the mid-90s.
The Details
Business Insider has brought up not one, but two new people who have corroborated Reade’s telling of the events.
Lynda LaCasse, Reade’s former neighbor, says that Reade told her about the events in detail during the mid-90s. LaCasse recalls that Reade seemed devastated and upon retelling the story at least two years after it allegedly happened, Reade broke down crying.
LaCasse is a Biden supporter who has decided to speak up, saying, “I have to support her now because that’s what happened. We need to stand up and tell the truth.”
Lorraine Sanchez, a former coworker of Reade’s, has also come forward. Sanchez says that she recalls Reade talking about a former employer who had sexually harassed her and, when Reade complained, she was fired.
Bottom line: is this a “smoking gun?” No, but it’s an alleged sexual assault case from 1993, so if it did happen, there may not be a smoking gun at all. Still, we feel that at this point, there’s enough evidence to indicate that we need to know more. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we find Reade’s allegation credible enough to warrant belief in her claims.
CORONAVIRUS
A New Study Indicates That ICE Detention Centers Are at High Risk for Coronavirus
ICE detention centers. Much like prisons, they may represent a serious risk for the spread of COVID-19. A new study involving experts from Brown University, George Mason University, Brandeis University, the University of British Columbia, and British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute has modeled just what that may look like.
Optimistically: the study estimates that by day 90, over 70% of detainees will be infected with COVID-19.
Pessimistically: that same model expects nearly 100% of detainees to be infected within the same time frame.
If this is the case, these immigrant detention centers pose a serious health risk and could overwhelm local health care facilities.
Bottom line: We’ll be honest, we think ICE is a pretty abominable agency who are responsible for quite a good deal of pain and suffering. Let’s not add mishandling of a global pandemic to the list, please?
END OF THE LINE...
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The Bread Line
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