October 31, 2020

Former NY Gov. Tilden comes up short again

NEW LEBANON – Even in death, 19th century New York Democratic Governor Samuel J. Tilden can’t escape losing out.

Tilden was a single electoral college away from winning the 1876 presidential candidate when backroom political deals handed 20 electoral college votes and the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, governor of Ohio, with a 186-185 victory.

Now, for the second time in the last half century the 400-pound bronze wreath that adorned Tilden’s massive memorial at the Cemetery of the Evergreen has been stolen. The latest theft gives an additional poignant meaning to the inscription on Tilden’s monument.

“I still trust the people” inscribed on Tilden’s memorial may be his final words on winning the popular vote by more than 250,000 votes in the 1876 election.

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Former-NY-Gov-Tilden-can-t-escape-theft-in-life-15690320.php

October 31, 2020

Travelers to NY must test for virus, nearby states exempted

Source: AP

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is now requiring travelers from non-neighboring states to get a coronavirus test before, and potentially after, they arrive in the state.

New York for months had attempted to maintain a list of states with high COVID-19 infection rates, where travelers from those states would be required to quarantine 14 days upon arrival. It is now scrapping that effort.

Instead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday travelers from all non-neighboring states must test negative for COVID-19 no more than three days before they enter New York.

Individuals arriving without proof of a negative test won't be stopped from entering the state, but will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Travelers-to-NY-must-test-for-virus-nearby-15690958.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-CP-Spotlight

October 31, 2020

Tanzania, once envy of the region, watches democracy slide

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Vote-counting was far from over when Tanzanian opposition leader Seif Sharif Hamad was frustrated enough to call people onto the streets. As thwarted observers alleged the most blatant election fraud in the country’s history, and with no way to challenge the results in court, there was little to do but protest.

But Hamad and others didn’t get far. As they walked toward a roundabout in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar on Thursday, police fired tear gas, then arrested them — Hamad's second arrest in a week. A party official, Ismail Jussa, was badly beaten by soldiers and hospitalized. On the eve of the vote, at least 10 people in Zanzibar were killed.
Read More

“We were a cradle of peace,” their colleague, ACT Wazalendo party campaign manager Emmanuel Mvula, told The Associated Press after describing the events. But after witnessing Tanzania’s sharp turn away from democratic ideals, “I’m worried for our future as a nation.”

That populist President John Magufuli late Friday was declared the overwhelming winner of Wednesday’s election was no surprise. But the ruling party’s victory in almost all parliament seats has shocked even critics who had warned of creeping repression under Magufuli’s first five years in power.

Read more: https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Tanzania-once-envy-of-the-region-watches-15690340.php
(Midland Reporter-Telegram)

October 31, 2020

Lincoln Project brings edgy anti-Trump billboards to Mar-a-Lago this weekend

Just in time for Election Day, President Donald Trump's last South Florida rallyand expectations the first lady will cast her vote locally, the Times Square billboards showing Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner seemingly delighting in the death and suffering caused by the coronavirus pandemic will be floating near Mar-a-Lago this weekend.

The billboards are the latest salvo fired by The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group of mostly Republicans, that has inundated the Internet with snarky, sarcastic ads targeting Trump and other Republican candidates.

On one billboard, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a senior White House adviser, gestures like a game show hostess to statistics about Covid-19 deaths. The image was taken from a photo she originally posted showing her cradling a can of Goya beans in response to Goya facing a boycott.

On the billboard, the can is no longer in the photo. Instead, it's the national coronavirus death toll.

Read more: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2020/10/30/lincoln-project-brings-edgy-anti-trump-billboards-mar-lago/6090242002/

October 31, 2020

BLM, Proud Boys rally outside Riverview High in Sarasota

Riverview High School students leaving school Friday afternoon encountered protesters and counter protesters who had organized rallies on the sidewalk outside the school.

A group of roughly 100 people holding Black Lives Matter signs and LGBTQ pride flags chanted back and forth with a smaller group of supporters for President Donald Trump, many from the local Proud Boys organization.

The groups were both a mix of adult organizers and Riverview High students, and the peaceful demonstration went on for more than an hour after dismissal, with members from both sides venturing across the lines to talk with their ideological opponents, despite the loud protests echoing back and forth.

Lotus Bolan, a 16-year-old girl, and Bryce Johnson, 18, stood in the midst of the din, debating the true agenda of the Black Lives Matter organization. Johnson disputed Bolan’s claim that BLM is about inclusion and unity, and he said BLM has Marxist goals.

Read more: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/education/2020/10/30/blm-proud-boys-rally-outside-riverview-high-sarasota/6083300002/
(Sarasota Herald Tribune)

October 31, 2020

Misdemeanor charges recommended for three Democratic Sarasota County Commission candidates

SARASOTA COUNTY – The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has recommended criminal charges against the three Democratic candidates for County Commission for accepting campaign donations above what’s allowed in local elections.

The Sheriff’s Office has found probable cause to believe that candidates Mark Pienkos, Cory Hutchinson and Alice White committed misdemeanor campaign finance violations.

The candidates were issued nonarrest probable cause affidavits late last week. Ultimately, the State Attorney’s Office will determine whether to pursue the charges.

Violation of local campaign finance laws comes with a fine of $500 or 60 days in jail.

-snip-

This month, some members of the Republican-led Sarasota County Commission said that they wanted to come down hard on the three Democratic commission candidates.

Read more: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/29/charges-recommended-candidates-mark-pienkos-cory-hutchinson-alice-white/6071099002/
(Sarasota Herald Tribune)

October 31, 2020

Black voters could tip Florida for Joe Biden

Democrats and Republicans agree on a key strategic question in the final days of the Joe Biden-Donald Trump presidential race: The winner could depend on how many Black voters are energized by Biden.

How important are Florida’s African American and Caribbean American voters?

• Running behind schedule, Biden went ahead with the unpublicized but strategically important visit Thursday to Sistrunk Boulevard, the historic main street of the Black community in northwest Fort Lauderdale. He made the stop even though his plane was waiting to take him to a rally in Tampa.
• On the final Saturday of the campaign, when time is the candidates' most precious commodity, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will make stops in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. A central mission of the first Black candidate on a major party ticket is ginning up Black voter turnout on the final week of early voting.

Increasing turnout

There’s no doubt the overwhelming majority of Black voters will cast ballots for Biden. Public opinion polls and political strategists figure he’ll get the votes from about nine out of every 10 Black voters.

“The vast majority will vote for Biden. I don’t have a doubt about that," said Rudy Jean-Bart, a professor of American history and African American history at Broward College. "For many, it’s more about Donald Trump than Joe Biden. I think people of color, Black people in particular, are frightened by the prospect of another four years of Donald Trump.”

Read more: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/fl-ne-biden-black-voters-presidential-race-20201030-zqwslss36bftpi56nz7xu4h2fi-story.html
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

October 31, 2020

El Paso County's judge has ordered nonessential businesses to close to slow coronavirus spread. The

El Paso County’s judge has ordered nonessential businesses to close to slow coronavirus spread. The Texas attorney general says he can’t do that.

by Julián Aguilar, Texas Tribune


EL PASO — El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego ordered a two-week shutdown Thursday of nonessential businesses in this border area to help curb the record-breaking rise of COVID-19 cases that have overwhelmed hospitals. But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office swiftly challenged the judge's ability to issue the shutdown, setting up a potential legal battle, and El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said Samaniego never consulted him about that plan.

Samaniego's order comes after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide executive order in September allowing some nonessential businesses to reopen to 75% capacity.

"El Paso County Judge Samaniego has no authority to shut down businesses in El Paso County," Paxton's office said in a tweet. "This is a direct violation of @GovAbbott’s executive order. My office is quickly exploring all legal actions."

The county judge said at a virtual press conference he believed he was on solid legal ground to issue the latest order, which he acknowledged was a rare move in light of what the rest of the state is doing.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/29/el-paso-coronavirus-shutdown/

October 31, 2020

Facebook disables Open Carry Texas group, member accounts

More than 46,000 member accounts from Open Carry Texas groups on Facebook — including Temple-based founder and president CJ Grisham — were disabled in the past several days, the gun rights organization said.

Open Carry Texas got a notice their groups would be disabled and had a chance to appeal, Grisham said. The appeal amounted to clicking on a button that said the groups wanted Facebook to take “a second look.”

“Facebook is engaged in a full scale war against conservative opinions, no matter what it is,” Grisham said. “All we were told was that ‘Open Carry Texas’ has been disabled because it has content that goes against (Facebook) community standards.”

No notice was received when the page was locked, Grisham said. Then the page was disabled after about 24 hours. The group was deleted from Facebook, which also removed links that included @opencarrytexas.org, Grisham said. The personal accounts of many members have been disabled — including Grisham’s main and backup accounts, he said.

Read more: https://kdhnews.com/news/region/facebook-disables-open-carry-texas-group-member-accounts/article_c6ba194a-6cd2-5fbe-8cf1-f3f74a7de9a9.html
(Killeen Daily Herald)

October 31, 2020

Texas Is a Tossup. So Why Won't Trump or Biden Campaign There?

A story in today’s New York Times focuses on the presidential election campaign in Texas.

Reporter Jonathan Martin asks why, if Texas is in play, President Trump is not spending any money in the state on TV advertising. Martin also asks why Trump’s challenger, Democrat Joe Biden, has not visited the state. He does point out that Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, will campaign in Texas on Friday.

The Rio Grande Valley is featured in the story, with the reporter noting that turnout, thus far, has not been as high in the Valley as it has in larger metro areas.

“After initially only planning to have Ms. Harris visit the state’s two largest metropolitan areas, Mr. Biden’s campaign announced Wednesday that she would also visit the Rio Grande Valley,” Martin writes.

“In border communities like Brownsville and McAllen, the question for Mr. Biden is not whether voters will support a Democrat — they do so reliably — but whether voters in this working-class region hit hard by the coronavirus will turn out at the same levels as the more affluent parts of the state.”

Read more: https://riograndeguardian.com/texas-is-a-tossup-so-why-wont-trump-or-biden-campaign-there/

=======================

Local coverage from the McAllen Monitor:

Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris touched down at McAllen International Airport at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.

Harris deplaned shortly afterward and took a couple of questions from reporters on the tarmac.

“Hi guys. It’s great to be here in the Rio Grande Valley… ” she said as she greeted reporters.

Harris was asked about flipping the state and if that was the reason for the attention on Texas. She said her focus is on every state and earning the vote.

More at https://www.themonitor.com/2020/10/30/kamala-harris-lands-mcallen/