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Meanwhile here's the attorney Trump put in charge of investigating the very real problem of voter fraud. A very serious person, hellbent on accomplishing things and not just bullshit performance art meant to attract donations to cover champagne and cigar bills.
Yeah, sometimes I feel something close to genuine pity for Rudy. He's entering territory that (for the political class) is the equivalent of biting off the heads of chickens at the county fair.
On Oct. 7, residents of Baldwin Cottage received an email from Josh Matos, the area coordinator for Multicultural and Identity-Based Communities. “I am reaching out to you to give you an update on the radiator project,” Matos wrote. “Starting tomorrow (Friday, 10/8) the contractors will be entering rooms between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. to...
On Oct. 7, residents of Baldwin Cottage received an email from Josh Matos, the area coordinator for Multicultural and Identity-Based Communities.
“I am reaching out to you to give you an update on the radiator project,” Matos wrote. “Starting tomorrow (Friday, 10/8) the contractors will be entering rooms between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. to install the radiators. This will mean that they will be in your room for a period of time to complete the work.”
I had not been contacted about any sort of radiator installation before this email, so right away the word “update” stood out to me as untrue. I grew concerned reading the second line, which informed me that I had less than 24 hours to prepare for the arrival of the installation crew, and I was further perturbed by the ambiguous “for a period of time.”
In general, I am very averse to people entering my personal space. This anxiety was compounded by the fact that the crew would be strangers, and they were more than likely to be cisgender men.
Baldwin Cottage is the home of the Women and Trans Collective. The College website describes the dorm as “a close-knit community that provides women and transgendered persons with a safe space for discussion, communal living, and personal development.” Cisgender men are not allowed to live on the second and third floors, and many residents choose not to invite cisgender men to that space.
I was angry, scared, and confused. Why didn’t the College complete the installation over the summer, when the building was empty? Why couldn’t they tell us precisely when the workers would be there? Why were they only notifying us the day before the installation was due to begin?
I considered reaching out to Matos, but what would I say? The College was unlikely to address any of my concerns the day before the scheduled installation, and if they did, it would more than likely be in a passive we-are-truly-sorry-for-the-inconvenience sort of way, punctuated by an insistence that I would not be excessively bothered and that the installation was necessary, whether I liked it or not.
The next day, I waited apprehensively. The workers began installing in common spaces, and I could see immediately that they were all men. It was clear that the College had not made a special request that male workers not be allowed onto the upper floors of Baldwin. Predicting when they would reach my room was pure guesswork. I was trying to anticipate whether I would be in class when they arrived, or if I’d have to welcome strangers into my room only to be ejected to allow them space to work.
When the insistent knock eventually came, I scrambled to get my mask on and repeatedly shouted, “Coming!” through the door. Four or five construction workers stood outside, accompanied by someone who I could only assume — by his neat polo and clipboard — to be an emissary of the College. We stared at each other for a moment before I moved aside to allow the workers to enter. The emissary began issuing platitudes that the work wouldn’t take long and encouraged me to prop open my door. I asked meekly if I could actually not have a radiator installed in my dorm. I knew the answer was no before I had even said it, but hey — worth a shot.
I left for class, and by the time I had come back, they appeared to be done, though Polo Man warned me that they would return later in the week to check the insulation. Sure enough, they were back the next day. I felt mildly violated and a little peeved.
I couldn’t help but think that, though there were other dorms affected by the installation, Baldwin Cottage was one of the worst places for it to occur. There are myriad reasons to want to be housed in Baldwin Cottage, but many people — myself included — choose to live there for an added degree of privacy and a feeling of safety and protection. A significant portion of students choose to live in Baldwin because they are victims of sexual assault or abuse, have suffered past invasions of privacy, or have some other reason to fear cisgender men.
When I asked other Baldwin residents how they felt about the whole debacle, some responded with the usual complaints about any hardware project — the mess, the noise, the suddenness — but others admitted that they weren’t entirely comfortable with the way the installation had been handled and the fact that they were subject to the whims of the contractors. One resident told me that they were instructed to ask another resident to hurry up in the shower so that the workers could have access to the bathrooms. In my experience, if the workers couldn’t hear the water running, they would come into the communal bathroom as they pleased, regardless of who was occupying it.
I understand, of course, that installations like this are routine; the College needs to improve its facilities occasionally, and who am I to stand in the way of that? After all, I get a brand-spanking-new radiator, right in time for the cold weather. But why not finish the project during the four months of the summer semester, when the building was unoccupied? Why not alert us earlier to the intrusion? Why didn’t the College make a schedule detailing when the workers would be likely to arrive at each dorm and in each room? They should have taken measures to keep students comfortable and safe — especially those who have elected to live in a specifically designated safe space.
It was nearly last call on a Friday when Jacob Eli Knight Vasquez went to get a drink across the street from the tavern where he worked in northwest Portland — an area with a thriving dining scene, where citygoers enjoy laid-back eateries, international cuisines and cozy cafés.
The 34-year-old had been at the pizza bar only a short time when shots rang out. Vasquez was struck by a stray bullet and died at the scene.
His killing in late September was one of the 67 homicides this year in Portland, which has surpassed its previous full-year record of 66 in 1987. And with more than two months remaining in the year, Portland will likely shatter its previous high mark.
In a metropolis wracked by gang violence, fear and frustration have settled over Portland as stories like Vasquez’s make some wary to go out at night. Unlike previous years, more bystanders are being caught in the crossfire — from people mourning at vigils and sitting in cars to children playing in a park.
“People should be leery because this is a dangerous time,” said Lionel Irving Jr., a lifelong Portland resident and a gang outreach worker.
Portland’s police department is struggling to keep up amid an acute staffing shortage and budget cuts. Now, the liberal Pacific Northwest city is implementing novel solutions aimed at improving safety, including adding traffic barrels to prevent drive-by shootings and suspending minor traffic stops so officers can focus on immediate threats.
But critics say Oregon’s largest city — where the population has grown by nearly 50%, to more than 650,000, over the past few decades — is flailing.
“Let’s please untie the hands of our law enforcement officers,” Vasquez’s brother-in-law, Don Osborn, said outside the business where Vasquez was slain. “I believe if the proper tools were in place for our law enforcement officers, this wouldn’t even have happened.”
So far this year, Portland has had more than 1,000 shootings, at least 314 people have been injured by bullets, and firearms have accounted for three-quarters of homicides. Police attribute much of the gunfire to gangs, fights and retaliation killings, but they are also affecting bystanders.
Nine-year-old Hadar Kedem recently told city leaders about a dangerously close call when she was caught in gunfire earlier this year.
Hadar had been playing with her father, brother and dog at a northeast Portland park when a group of people in ski masks started shooting. Hadar and her family dove for cover behind a metal equipment bin. One bullet landed within feet of the fourth-grader.
“I know that not only do I want change, but everyone wants change,” Hadar said during a City Council meeting last month. “I want to feel safe.”
Nationally, homicides increased by nearly 30% from 2019 to 2020, based on FBI data. However, in Portland, deadly violence — which has been exacerbated by the pandemic — is increasing at a faster rate than nearly all major cities, with an 83% increase in homicides in 2020.
Portland has had more homicides in 2021 than some larger cities, including San Francisco, and twice as many slayings as its larger neighbor, Seattle. Other hard-hit Western cities include the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metro area, which has about 679,000 residents and has had a record 97 homicides this year.
Portland police have struggled to quell the violence with a force 128 officers below its authorized strength. Since August 2020, about 200 officers have left the department. Many, in their exit interviews, cited low morale, lack of support from city officials and burnout from months of racial justice protests, which often ended in plumes of tear gas before largely dying down last fall.
“We are running on fumes. There’s no way we can investigate thoroughly, and correctly, all these shootings," said Daryl Turner, executive director of Portland's police union.
Turner says the city needs to hire 840 officers over the next five years to implement proper community policing and keep Portland safe.
Besides staffing, Turner said the increase in violence is directly related to budget cuts.
Amid booming calls to defund the police, city leaders slashed $27 million from the police budget last year — $11 million due to the pandemic-caused budget crisis — a decision that Turner says has cost lives.
Officials also disbanded a specialized unit focused on curbing gun violence, which long faced criticism for disproportionately targeting people of color. However, the City Council has approved the creation of a new team of officers to address gun violence, set to launch in November, but with no additional funds.
Insufficient manpower and money have forced officials to implement nontraditional ideas in an attempt to hinder gun violence.
More traffic barrels were installed this month in a southeast Portland neighborhood plagued by shootings, some linked to high-speed drivers. City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said they hope to slow activity at gun violence hot spots and make it harder to "both commit a crime and get away with it.”
“This is an all-hands-on deck situation where government needs to dig deep, think creatively,” Hardesty said. “From police to community-based organizations to infrastructure design — we all have a role to play in this emergency."
In addition, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced in June that officers are no longer being directed to stop drivers for low-level traffic violations.
Wheeler and Police Chief Chuck Lovell said this was in response to data showing a disproportionate impact on Black drivers, but also because the city doesn't have enough officers.
But experts, police and residents say these measures aren't nearly enough to counter the most violent year in the city's modern history.
“This past year has shattered anything that I’ve ever witnessed,” said Irving, the outreach worker and a former gang member.
He said he does not believe gun violence will slow unless more officers patrol the streets and a specialized gun violence unit is created. Investments also are needed for community-based organizations that help at-risk youth, he said.
Four cultural institutions in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown neighborhood recently sent a letter to officials, demanding immediate action to keep visitors, staff and volunteers safe.
The increasing violence and pleas for cities to do more have compelled some areas to switch from defunding police departments to restoring funding.
Portions of police budgets are also being restored around the U.S. There were massive budget cuts for departments such as Los Angeles and New York amid the nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd last year. But local leaders have approved reviving some funding.
In Portland, there's money available for public safety in the form of a $60 million general fund excess balance.
The City Council can use half the money, which came from business taxes last year and was far more than anticipated, however it wants. Whether a significant portion will go to the police bureau has not yet been determined.
“We have to realize that everybody has a role, from community members to the police department,” Irving said. “No one entity is going to solve gun violence.”
Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine made history Tuesday by becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in America’s eight uniformed services.
Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine made history Tuesday by becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in America’s eight uniformed services.
Levine, 63, was ceremonially sworn in as an admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
“I am deeply honored & grateful to join the ranks of men & women across this great nation who have committed to defend the United States against small & large threats, known and unknown,” Levine tweeted upon her swearing-in. “I promise to uphold that trust to the fullest extent of my abilities.”
“Admiral Levine’s historic appointment as the first openly transgender four-star officer is a giant step forward towards equality as a nation. This is a proud moment for us at HHS,” department secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Becerra went on to describe Levine as “a highly accomplished pediatrician who helps drive our agency’s agenda to boost health access and equity and to strengthen behavioral health” and “a cherished and critical partner in our work to build a healthier America.”
Founded in 1889, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the uniformed branch of the US Public Health Service, which dates back to 1798 when it was known as the Marine Hospital Fund. According to HHS, Public Health Service officers “serve throughout the nation in communities that are most in need by providing health care to underserved and vulnerable populations or advancing practice, policy, or research.”
President Biden nominated Levine as assistant secretary for health in February of this year and she was narrowly confirmed by the Senate the following month. She is the first transgender person to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation.
Levine had previously spent three-and-a-half years as Pennsylvania’s health secretary, where she oversaw the Keystone State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During her confirmation process, Levine was criticized by some Republicans for being in charge when her department ordered COVID-19 patients to be readmitted to nursing homes — similar to the scandal that enveloped the administration of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
They should have acquiesced to his demand and just let him freeze.
At some point, these people have to be taught consequences.
It sounds like he had a radiator, this was just a new replacement. I’m a firm believer in ignoring ridiculous objections. It just seems to lend credence to their objections.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is sometimes hard to verify their authenticity." -Abraham Lincoln
Maybe I'm missing something, but if Portland really wanted to address the issue of increased gun violence. they probably need to expand their efforts beyond keeping the cops full of Voodoo Doughnuts.
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