Green Party announces convention speakers: Cam Gordon promises to be "interesting"

The Green Party has announced its national convention speakers.

Not sure what an Aussie Green has to offer, but the others could all be good, but are not guaranteed to be so.

And, that's one person in particular, per the header.

Let us look at him, and elements in his political background that make him very relevant to this year's convention, but also ... very problematic, unless there's been an official "repentance" of some sort, and I don't mean that in a Maoist way.

Cam Gordon as a Minneapolis councilcritter will hopefully have a lot to offer pre- and post-George Floyd issues, including just where the city is at on police defunding as of convention time, and offer all this from a Green perspective. OTOH, per the Wiki link, he's got a problem himself related to this.

Already on the council in 2008, he voted with the council majority to let the Minneapolis PD have authority to break up groups of 25 or more. This was just an extension of the anti-First Amendment, anti-freedom of assembly stance in Denver 2004. (I was there, at the end of a vacation, the day before the 2004 DNC started.) OTOH, the StarTrib says, that initially at least, he OPPOSED this. On the third hand, the Minnesota Post says he was a squish on other policing issues before the 2008 RNC, held in St. Paul. Dennis Loo (the link to another piece of his at Wiki is broken) extends MinnPost's squish link to say Gordon backed the limit, as well as other things, and that the council's Free Speech Committee as a whole was a squish and ... well, if Gordon wouldn't resign from it, he cosigned its squishiness. (He has a newsletter than he posts on the city council Ward 2 webpage. However, at the time I was writing this, the city's website was down for whatever reason. As of June 16, it remains down.)

I have, via Wiki, found his blog. For July 2008, he said he voted for no rubber bullets and other issues, EXCEPT that for both July AND August, he is silent about the assembly issue. How he squares that with Loo's LONG list of complaints, like shifting the last meeting time? We don't know, and per the old proverb???

"Silence gives assent."

(Update: I got his August 2008 official newsletter. Says NOTHING about the permit issue. It does, like his blog for July, talk about rubber bullets, etc., but NOTHING about the assembly permit issue. You're busted.)

Per Wiki, Loo, a sociology professor, included this in his book "Globalization and the Demolition of Society." Loo teaches at Cal Poly Pomona and even there, in addition to being a difficult prof to many, is apparently known as a leftist, per Rate my Professors. Wiki's link to Loo's book in Google Books is a 404 and other returns in Google Books don't give individual pages.

Question is: How many Greens know this, and since the convention is "virtual," how much grilling will he face over this?

UPDATE, June 27: Cam Gordon is MISSING IN ACTION on calling for defunding the Minneapolis PD, at least being vocal enough about it to draw threats that need a security detail, UNLIKE three fellow council members. AND, one of them is Hispanic, so even not being Black is not an excuse. Yes, he supports it, but ... in his seeming mild-mannered Green Minnesota Nice way.

I of course never want any elected or appointed official at any level of government to be threatened for any reason by residents or citizens of any political persuasion. Nonetheless, this has happened, to two Blacks AND one very light-complected Hispanic, and none of them are Cam Gordon.

==

Ajamu Baraka, as an African-American as well as the party's 2016 Veep nominee, will hopefully offer his own thoughts on this and how ConservaDem mayors and state DAs like Amy Klobuchar have contributed to the #BlackLivesMatter need from the left hand of the duopoly. As, of course, as I recently blogged, have Democrat-nominated SCOTUS justices.

Robin Harris as co-chair of the Black Caucus is also a good choice.

Lisa (corrected) Savage as Senate candidate in Maine, which has ranked choice voting, will hopefully benefit from the profile boost.

Limits of Green tolerance?

I was, until either late last Thursday, or Friday morning, a few months ago, a member of a "closed" Facebook group about discussion of Green Party issues.

The group's description, while noting it is not an official Green Party social media outlet, stresses that it is run "by Greens, for Greens." I was added, per request of a Facebook friend also a member, about 3 weeks ago.

In the past few days before getting the boot, I had first called out two people for talking about conspiracy theories, one a JFK assassination comment touting JFK conspiracy theorist David Talbot's book about the history of the CIA, and another about 9/11 Truthers and NIST allegedly being tired of trying to refute them. Per officially listed Green Party values, I talked about issues, not people.

Then, on another thread, about piece issues, a person started posting links to the Washington Times and Charles Krauthammer. I eventually, after asking aloud "why," clicked the link to his profile. On his feed, I saw public posts by him calling Earth Day a "scam" (certainly not a Green-leaning thought) and an anti-gay post that went Godwin's Law with a picture of Hitler.

So, I then asked why he was a member of the group, tagging the one moderator, Joni LeViness. I also asked aloud who had invited him and why? That was Thursday, the 12th. Again, I didn't violate posted principles; the worst I called him was "dude."

The next morning? I discover I've apparently been booted.

If it was over calling out conspiracy thinking, congrats, folks, you've just reflected and doubled down on a stereotypical view many have of the Green Party.

If it was over calling out why a person was a member, if one of the moderators got butt-hurt about it, congrats, you're making yourself look more like Dems or Rethugs.

If it was for posting links to some of my blog posts, all you had to do was tell me to post less. They're certainly more Green-aligned than stuff others had posted.

If it was for saying that, on another thread, while I have no proof Snowden is a fellow traveler of Putin, that I don't reject the idea, either, congrats again for a relative lack of critical thinking.

Well, that turned out to be a glitch or something. I got back in.

But, later on?

I was in, but "frozen."

And, it turns out it wasn't me. One of the admins apparently first untagged other admins so he was the sole admin, then "archived" the group. I do know about the archiving. I can't say more about the apparently. It might be related to issues related to Mike Gamms and the GP official FB group. That's all I can say right now, other than referencing Gamms.

Texas progressives look at the usual idiocy

Besides the 13th week of COVID-related blogging and news, there was so much related to George Floyd that I decided I needed THREE Texas Progressives roundup posts this week.

So, here's everything else.

Texas politics

I'll pass on watching an establishment Dem grifter vs. a ConservaDem gun nut debate in the Democratic Senate runoff, but you can go ahead.

It's the economy, stupid. How will white Texans' economic take of May be in October, and how will that translate to the polls? Given Texas Hispanics' likely low turnout again, and what I would think would be not-high enthusiasm for Biden, this is a big issue — how white Texans who aren't Democrats but aren't Trump blank-checkers will vote. Or not vote.

Texana

An Amarillo Mexican, or "Mexican," restaurant with a race-stereotyping name won't back down. And, dude? The name is "topped" by the logo, which looks even worse. You're the dumb shit who ordered merch in advance too. If you go belly up, blame nobody but yourself.

Christoph Spieler shares two lessons for transit agencies during times of crisis.

National politics and commentary

The Green Party is making preparations for its national, online-only convention.

George Floyd's killing and related has led women of color either currently or formerly with NOW to blow the whistle on racism there. That said, the Daily Bees piece ignores that Friedan herself and other early "second-wave" feminists were also anti-lesbian.

SocraticGadfly notes how Ted Rall is becoming a self-writing parody of himself.

Off the Kuff analyzed two more polls showing a tight Presidential race in Texas.

National Republicans are starting to worry about the election.

Iowa GOP voters as well as the state party were obviously VERY tired of Steve King. Why didn't this crushing primary loss happen many years ago? Is this a proxy for people getting tired of Trump, or at least the alt-white associated with Trump, to which King himself became more openly devoted after Trump's election?

If you're almost my age, or older, you probably remember Sambo's restaurants. Did you know there was still one left today? Well, "was," as it's seen the light and changed its name. That said, the restaurant chain was named after its cofounders, and "Sambo" was popularized as a name for subcontinental Indians, not American blacks, per the book of that name.

Goodbye to James Bennet as NYT op-ed head. He won't be missed. Will his temporary or permanent successor reign in Bret Stephens or Bari Weiss? Probably not. Move Teapot Tommy Friedman out to pasture? Unlikely.

Paradise in Hell warns his Trump-supporting friends and colleagues that the day is coming when they will have to choose between their president and their country.

Therese Odell is always on top of the news and how politics and current events relate to the TV industry.

When Tom Cotton does it in a NYT op-ed, it's wrong. When Israel does it, it's OK.

Overton Window alert: Politico calls Lisa Murkowski a "moderate."

Economy

A mild May jobs rebound (most likely, many of the jobs are short-term in grocery and related retail that needs more stockers, sorters and cleaners, or in businesses in general hiring temperature takers, but at near-minimum pay and with little training) can't hide larger problems that will continue to play out. That's even as Kroger has dumped its "hero pay" (albeit then being pressured into some more onetime bonuses) and other grocery stores either have followed or will. (In other cases, the rehirings were done to meet the terms of the Paycheck Protection Program. That's "semi-temporary," and remember, that program is loans, not grants.)

Texas progressives call out Texas wingnuts for 8:46

8:46? If you don't know the reference, Google it, then come back and dig in.

In the meantime, let's look at a weekly roundup of reaction to police thuggery, police racism, and more, and how to possibly fix it. I've got so much here that I split the non-COVID part of this week's roundup in two itself.


Politics and police — Texas

Gov. Strangeabbott called on Bexar and Nueces County GOP leaders to resign after they got caught posting George Floyd false-flag conspiracy theories on Fuckbook. Besides the story itself, note that this shows racism in major urban counties is just as problematic as in the boonies. Strangebbott, beyond any degree to which he is truly disgusted, is of course worried about losing suburban swing voters in the general election. However, he did not call for Comal County's chair-elect to step down over a George Soros conspiracy theory. Nor has he called for Harris' chair-elect to not step up over more blatant racism. (Pee Bush, to his credit, wants all four to move along.) Update: It eventually became a dozen, and other folks like nutbar Ag Commish Sid Miller, who has either had way too many or not nearly enough Jesus shots. Keith Nielsen, co-chair elect in Harris County, got the message and won't step up. Other than Nielsen, nobody is stepping aside or down, and state elected officials haven't had further comment. And, once again, why post to "public" on Facebook?

Police

The problem, in a nutshell, from a long read:

State leaders have been much more adept in calling up the National Guard and coördinating police actions to confront marchers than they were in any of their efforts to curtail the virus. Can't put it any better than that. 

Well, I can. This is the New Yorker, NOT, say, Counterpunch. Most New Yorker readers have had their heads buried since Abner Louima was sodomized by some of Gotham's finest, or Amadou Diallo was shot full of holes. Maybe Upper East Side habitués are worried about a brown tide.

More and more white folks don't trust cops, and the dropoff is rapid, post-killing of George Floyd. For "pergressuve" or beyond folks, all races, David Bruce Collins describes just what we want in police reform.

I mean, even nationally known former Sundown Town Vidor, Texas, had a George Floyd support event. Christopher Hooks covered the Black Lives Matter rally in Vidor. Other than not mentioning Michael Cooper's Green Party political past, it was good.

ButtFeet's Anne Helen Peterson talks about how small-town protests in general matter. That said, she buried the secondary lede. Not until halfway through the piece does she talk about how Indians have a higher per-capita death by cop rate than even blacks do. That's WHY they're active in many of these Western small-town protests.

Lack of trust can extend to black police chiefs. U. Renee Hall is losing it in Dallas. From the Dallas Observer, hall continues to defend her cops, while the issue is splitting the Dallas City Council, and the council vs city manager Broadnax, who, up to this point has been the best one there in more than a decade, or even longer. The Snooze now reports that a majority of the council is at least interested in "defunding." Hall's apparently deliberate footdragging on providing information is a good way to shoot herself in the foot while hoping white North Dallas will bail her out. Surprisingly, Jim Schutze hasn't weighed in with a column on the issue yet, given his history of criticism of Hall.

On the Hispanic cop side, Art Acevado is trying to spin in Houston. Texas Monthly isn't buying. Houston Mayor Sly Turner has announced a task force to look at HPD reform. Kuff says it's a good thing but needs more; I say it's not a good thing because ConservaDem and political infighter Turner is surely already using the task force idea to bury more meaningful change.

DosCentavos writes about where the conversation on police reform needs to begin based on the #8CantWait campaign.

Grits tells Texas Monthly:

The police unions’ political power is a big part of it. Prosecutors are allied with police, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican: if you have that job, you’re not gonna prosecute cops because you have to work with them every day.

But will still attack me for voting outside the duopoly for president, even when he knows the truth about qualified immunity and Democratic Supreme Court justices? No, Scott Henson, if Democrats want my vote at the state and national level, they have to earn it (back).

Bill Barr's uniformed thugs on the streets in DC represent but a sliver of the U.S. government's total of 132,000, give or take, law enforcement officers. Read the details.

Despite the visibility of George Floyd, per capita, police are killing fewer civilians in central cities. HOWEVER, they're killing more than before in both suburbs and rural areas. Side note: Without quoting anybody, in my small town media area, there's white folks who I have heard say, "Yeah, George Floyd was killed," as in ... that was deliberate. As for the why? The link notes that death by cop in some big cities has led to police reforms that appear to be sticking. "Minnesota nice" Minneapolis, librulizm and all, is NOT one of those cities.

The military looks askance at Trump again. BUT, if he explicitly tries to violate the Posse Comitatus Act, or invokes the Insurrection Act without warrant, will it explicitly resist?

Killer cop Derek Chauvin is also allegedly fraudulent voter Derek Chauvin. BUT BUT BUT we're all "told" that it's only people with darker skins who are librulz who commit vote fraud amirite?

Sometimes, papers ARE not trustworthy. Like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has slouched toward Trumpian Gomorrah since his election, censoring its own reporters.

Ryan Cooper says Nordic countries can teach us something about better policing, better sentencing and better incarceration — the whole criminal justice system. He's largely right. BUT ... he's wrong in bits, namely on crime clearance rates. Although there are some VERY likely suspects, from Sweden's strong right wing (and it IS strong), Swedish police have, likely deliberately, let the trail of the murder of Olaf Palme grow cold, and prosecutors, likely deliberately again, surely support that. (And I've let Cooper know that on Facebook.)

Going beyond Cooper's kinder, gentler policing? Aside from ending the War on Drugs, what if we stop having cops do so much policing? (That said, per the "killing more" link above, contra the author, in many cities, police haven't come close to exhausting internal improvements, and the interviewed book author should know better.)

Drew Brees, and even more his wife, have recognized they have white privilege combined with classism. And, while I don't believe issues of race can almost always be reduced to class, class is often part of the mix, and America is NOT anywhere close to being a classless society.

Jake Tapper asked Ben Carson just how much of an Uncle Tom for Trump he was was going to continue to be, and the brain surgeon did a Stepin Fetchit tap dance around the question.

The Texas Signal reports on the Travis County DA primary runoff and how it relates to the wider criminal justice reform debate.

Via Out in SA, Equality Texas vows to do better at every level of their organization to help dismantle systems of oppression against Black Americans.

Here's the backstory on how NFL players got Commish Goodell to speak.

Finally? The Dunning-Kruger effect applies in spades to people's self-analysis of their racism, or lack thereof.

Snarking on Libertarians in depth: More dramatic and newsworthy, part 1

That comes from my post two weeks ago about Libertarian Party presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen. Paulie wound up linking to it on Independent Political Report, then Richard Winger, proprietor of Ballot Access News, dropped multiple comments.

One theme, besides Jorgenson being "The Libertarian Lady is not for turning," a la Maggie Thatcher, was that she was NOT the leader in the first round of balloting. AND, that who knows who Libertarians at state caucuses and primaries actually wanted because LP presidential delegates are unpledged, which led me to call Libertarians more disorganized than Greens. (Both Paulie and Richard are capital L-Libertarians, AFAIK, not just small l's.) And, part 2 is up and here.

The second half of the header comes from Richard's third comment to that post, about unpledged delegates:

(I)t makes the Libertarian conventions more dramatic and newsworthy than a convention where it is obvious in advance who is going to be nominated.

Well, this is all interesting, of course.

You know what else is interesting?

Two drivers driving without driver's licenses having a wreck. You know, Richard, drivers like 2004 LP presidential nominee Michael Badnarik!

(Contra his book title, Badnarik isn't actually king, and as I said in one of my updates to the original post, Libertarians who think like that need to read them some Hobbes.)

Picture a Badnarik type going beyond Badnarik's original refusal to get a DL because Texas requires a Social Security number, and to his more base-level refusal.

"We didn't, and don't, require people to get licenses to ride a horse, and what is a car but a bigger, faster horse? It even is measured in horsepower!"

Or to go one step further?

"We didn't, and don't, require wagon masters to get a license to drive a wagon train of horses, and what is a locomotive but a bigger, faster wagon train? I mean, it's even called a train!"

There are many things that are dramatic and newsworthy in your Libertarian universe, Polonius, that aren't really desirable.

Texas progressives: Coronavirus, week 13

Let's call it lucky 13.

With Gov. Strangeabbott moving to Phase 3 of "reopen Texas," and more set for this Friday, the economy is in the lap of the gods the consumers who allegedly make a godlike, rational, quasi-divine invisible hand, per about all the modern GOP and too damn many Democrats. That's even as COVID cases continued to rise on a daily basis last week. (Here's Texas' numbers per Worldmeters.) Strangeabbott promised us he would watch deaths and hospitalizations. That's ALL he promised. He explicitly did NOT promise that potentially alarming trends would change any of his actions. Meanwhile, we're still behind the curve on contact tracing, and the company Abbott is having do it has a CEO who lied about having a PhD and whose name is Das Nobel. Both wingnuts and wingnuts lite in the Texas Lege are totally in an uproar over this and more, like privacy concerns.

I'll still do occasional updates, but this will likely phase out a weekly roundup. If a second wave is bad enough, I'll be here.


National

If you're a grocery store staffer at places like Kroger, I guess we're so thoroughly reopened that you are now, corporately, no longer a hero. Whole Paycheck and Star$$$ have also ended "hero pay." Others have extended it for a bit longer.

People are inhaling, washing food with straight bleach and other COVID home medical nuttery, the CDC says, in data from poison control centers, though it refuses to blame Trump.

Cases have surged again in Florida, and started a surge in Los Angeles.

We all who have some brains already knew that temperature checks weren't a lot more than some equivalent of virtue signaling. More here, especially about how true that is when people conducting them aren't trained.


World

Meet Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health head, who has made that province almost New Zealand-like on handling COVID, even as Quebec and Ontario continue to get clobbered. Given the federal nature of Canada's health care system beyond the bare bones nationwide structure of its national health care, this has lessons for American states today and tomorrow. Pretty Boy Trudeau, nationally, only looks good per the soft bigotry of low expectations of comparison with Trump. Reality here, from Macleans, Canada's Time/Newsweek/US News. (Trudeau also sucks, but looks good next to Trump, on Israel-Palestine issues.)

Anti-Bill Gates conspiracy theories have gone international. Abroad, they're often associated with population control. In China, there will probably be some state-controlled end we haven't seen yet.


Week 1 is here and week 2 is here. Week 3 is here and week 4, here. Week 5 is here. Ditto for Week 6. Here's Week 7. And, looking past this? Weeks 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. And, after a three-week hiatus, but necessitated, week 14.

Gellman and Snowden

Barton Gellman's new book about Snowden is finally coming out. The Atlantic has an excerpt. The excerpt is about Gellman's own history of being surveilled, and is scary as shit.

Wired has another excerpt, with Gellman talking about what questions talking to Snowden led him to next. The idea of contact chaining, even if not abused to the degree the NSA could have abused it, is insidious indeed.

Given that Snowden's own book raised more questions than it answered, per my review, I'm interested.

Update, Sept. 21, 2023: Bruce Schneier talks about his experience of working with Greenwald, how both Greenwald and Barton Gellman held back files from their initial reporting and more.