Is Puerto Rico Ready for a Pro-Independence Governor? It Looks Like It

RAQUEL REICHARD LAST UPDATED NOVEMBER 4, 2024, 9:46 AM

PHOTO: ERIK MCGREGOR/LIGHTROCKET/GETTY IMAGES.

While much of the contiguous United States is talking about Puerto Rico after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to the archipelago as a “floating pile of garbage” at Donald Trump’s campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, the people of Puerto Rico have another election on their minds: a historic gubernatorial race. For the first time in history, a pro-independence candidate could win the election for the head of the government in the U.S. territory.

Since the mid-20th century, Puerto Rico has been governed by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP) or the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party (PPD). While third-party candidates have run, none has been able to garner enough votes to threaten Puerto Rico’s two-party system. But this election season, Puerto Rico’s Pro-Independence Party and its new Citizen’s Victory Movement — an anti-colonial party founded in 2019 — have come together under a coalition called La Alianza de País, or Alianza, and its nominee — Juan Dalmau — has gained enough support in the polls to potentially defeat the two traditional parties.

At the time of writing, Jenniffer González, the candidate from the incumbent pro-statehood party, is leading Dalmau by just about 2 to 8 percentage points, according to NBC News. However, political scientists on the archipelago believe it’s a lead that Dalmau could eclipse on Election Day, especially if young voters make it out to the polls and if older, religious Puerto Ricans cast their ballot for the emerging Christian party Project Dignity’s nominee Javier Jiménez. But Pro-Trump comedian Hinchcliffe delivered Dalmau another advantage: Some long-term PNP voters riled by the disparaging “joke” could reconsider their support as González, Puerto Rico’s current resident commissioner, is a Republican and staunch Trump ally.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUAN DALMAU.

For decades, the United States, which invaded and colonized Puerto Rico in 1898, has used fear as a tool to thwart pro-independence movements on the archipelago. While masterminding the lie that Puerto Rico could not exist without its colonial relationship with the U.S., the government on the archipelago, then led undemocratically by non-Puerto Rican U.S.-appointed governors, used violence to ensure it doesn’t.

During a peaceful civilian march organized by Puerto Rico’s Nationalist Party to commemorate the abolition of slavery on the archipelago on March 21, 1937, police opened fire, killing 17 civilians. When the party’s leader, Pedro Albizu Campos was arrested on October 30, 1950 after pro-independence revolts in Jayuya, Utuado, and the governor’s mansion in Old San Juan, he alleged that the state subjected him to human radiation experiments that could have later contributed to his death. In 1948, the legislature passed the Gag Law, which made it illegal to own or display a Puerto Rican flag, sing or write a patriotic song or literature, or convene in favor of Puerto Rican independence. The law wasn’t repealed until 1957.

In more recent years, both the PNP and the PPD have sustained this fear by spreading misinformation about pro-independence parties. During the ongoing gubernatorial race, for instance, González has used political ads to liken Dalmau’s social democracy platform to communism, a popular strategy used by Republicans in the contiguous United States to manipulate the traumas of people who fled authoritarian communist or socialist governments, including those in Puerto Rico’s neighboring Cuba.

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“Puerto Ricans have found that betting on themselves, their community, their land, and their autonomy could be a more fruitful path forward.”

RAQUEL REICHARD

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But Puerto Ricans are increasingly reconsidering the story the ruling governments on the archipelago and in the U.S. have been telling them. Amid recent back-to-back financial, natural, and political disasters, many have come to the conclusion that their colonial relationship is actually holding them back from prospering in their own homeland. From its 2015 financial crisis, which led the U.S. Congress to create the undemocratic fiscal control board that cut budgets and caused job losses, and the 2017 hurricanes, which revealed devastating state corruption, to the ousting of then-Governor Ricardo Rosselló, which helped many islanders recognize and utilize their own power, many Puerto Ricans have found that betting on themselves, their community, their land, and their autonomy could be a more fruitful path forward.

This growing sentiment was on display on November 3 during Alianza’s Festival of Hope at Lot 4 near the Pedro Rosselló Convention Center in Santurce, where more than 50,000 people holding Puerto Rican flags and green and white Patria Nueva flags gathered to support Dalmau and the Alianza movement. Among them were party leaders like Dalmau, Ana Irma Rivera Lassen (running for resident commissioner), Manuel Natal Albelo (running for mayor of San Juan); U.S. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-New York); and popular music artists like Rauw Alejandro, Residente, iLe, and Bad Bunny, who closed out the event announcing his official endorsement of Dalmau.

“I dream of a prosperous and dignified Puerto Rico like the one we deserve. That my people have the quality of life we deserve, a better quality of life. I dream of a Puerto Rico where the education of our boys and girls is a priority and not a dirty system of corruption. I dream of a Puerto Rico where young people do not have to leave to fulfill their duties. I dream of a functional and accessible health system for the love of God. I dream of a road where I don’t have a tire blow out every time I go outside. I dream of something as basic as not having the power go out every day in my country,” Bad Bunny said in a 20-minute long speech. “I dream of a people who are awake and who recognize the strength we have, that here the people rule, that here you, we, the people rule and not the political parties.”

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“I dream of a people who are awake and who recognize the strength we have, that here the people rule, that here you, we, the people rule and not the political parties.”

BAD BUNNY

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While it was the first time the artist, who went on to perform his song “Una Velita,” publicly endorsed Dalmau, this election year he has been vocal about local politics. In June, the rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, announced a buy-one-get-one-free concert ticket deal for his Most Wanted Tour stops in Puerto Rico to locals who showed their voter registration card. The initiative aimed to improve voter turnout. For decades, the archipelago had impressively high voter turnouts of 73% to 89%, but starting in 2016, it dropped to 55% as Puerto Ricans grew increasingly apathetic about the traditional parties. Additionally, in September, Bad Bunny purchased billboards across San Juan that criticized the pro-statehood party and has consistently used his social media accounts to spread educational information about Dalmau and his anti-corruption platform.

At a time when Trump’s camp refers to Puerto Rico as a “pile of garbage” — essentially calling the archipelago’s people who make up the land trash, repeating language that has been used by the U.S. colonial state to dehumanize Puerto Ricans for more than 100 years — Puerto Ricans are eager to support a government that could, if even symbolically, actually challenge that colonial power.

Ahead of Puerto Rico’s November 5 gubernatorial election, we spoke with islanders about the historic support for a pro-independence candidate and what an Alianza governorship could symbolize and accomplish.

Mayra Díaz-Torres

Why do you think there is so much support for Juan Dalmau?

For me it’s important to talk about the context. After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico has experienced great sorrows. Puerto Rico has experienced natural and political onslaughts. Not long after the storm, we dealt with the blows from then-Governor Ricky Rosselló, and the entire PNP, which represents a corrupt class — that withheld first-aid goods even though there were people dying. I think that from all of this heartbreak and all of this rage that we experienced from Maria and the aftermath of that hurricane, that corruption we endured from the PNP and the PPD, too — the failures of this two-party system has elevated us. I’m hopeful that it has brought us as a people to rage and to turn our hurt into solutions. And I believe that’s the result of this revelation, one that Indigenous and Afro-descendants have always talked about, that we have been domesticated, and that there is no greater form of domestication than colonialism. Puerto Rico has been a colony of the U.S. for more than 100 years.

Most recently, look at the Trump rally, where the comedian [Hinchcliffe], who by the way is a pendejo, and others have tried to tell us that the way they speak about us and treat us are all jokes and that we have to lighten up, to have a better sense of humor. But that’s not true. That’s the systemic racism and colonialism we’ve experienced for many years. And I feel like this anger and pain — especially in the last five years from the colonial, racist, and anti-democratic Financial Oversight and Management Board (La Junta) — is pushing us to restore our dignity, humanity, and utilize our power.

What would a pro-independence governorship symbolize for Puerto Rico?

For me, the idea that a pro-independence candidate could win the governorship in Puerto Rico is historic. As a colony, we have a lot of trauma and a lot of fears that the United States have told us and that the criollo class here has repeated to us: the lie that we aren’t anything without the United States. This language is abusive. This is what a man who abuses and violates a woman tells her: “You can’t exist without me.” This is the language that an abusive father tells his children: “You are no one.” Thinking about this cycle of violence we have experienced under colonialism for hundreds of years, seeing us in this moment brings me enthusiasm. I’m trying to be cautious, but I am enthusiastic. Yes, there are things we need to look at and preoccupy ourselves with, but I think this election is historic for us as a country.

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“This colonial fallacy that we are nothing without the United States doesn’t work on us anymore. It’s a mantra that has kept us subjugated.”

MAYRA DÍAZ-TORRES

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Of course, though, when the leading parties see that the people they want to oppress are finding their dignity and realizing this treatment is criminal, the ammo, the response to that, is to create fear. And I think the traditional parties are inciting fear around independence because historically in Puerto Rico conversations around independence have been criminalized. They don’t want us to know or accept Puerto Rico’s history struggling for independence. We have rebelled, many times, in many decades, and under many contexts. There has been state prosecution against pro-independence movement leaders in an effort to thwart the revolution and criminalize even the idea of independence, from Pedro Albizu Campos to the Ponce massacre. Historically, we’ve seen this ideology be treated as criminal, something to not be taken seriously, and now we’ve seen the traditional parties taking advantage of that narrative to stir fear in this moment. But fear doesn’t work on us anymore. This colonial fallacy that we are nothing without the United States doesn’t work on us anymore. It’s a mantra that has kept us subjugated.

What would you say to someone fearful of pro-independence leadership in Puerto Rico?

Liberation is coming. It’s unavoidable. Because no nation can be subjugated forever under imperialism. People are leaving Puerto Rico, not because we want to but to seek opportunities, because these opportunities are not available to us here due to the policies of the PNP and the PPD. The aftermath of Maria taught us so much. We know that despite more than 100 years of colonialism, we have so much love for our country, our culture, and our people. I think that if you consider that love we have for ourselves and for our land, a land they’re trying to displace us from, I think we are moving. I think this is a critical moment. There’s going to be fear and hardships, but we haven’t succeeded under this colonial regime. Yes, we have cultural prominence globally; we are talented. But we are not happy. We are struggling. This isn’t just about status; it’s also about great corruption from the traditional parties. Liberation is destined. Every nation deserves and needs freedom to prosper.

Ale Figueroa

Why do you think there is so much support for Juan Dalmau?

We are at a turning point. I work as a digital strategist to transform the narrative for societal change, and this has been a long time coming. It may seem like it’s coming out of the blue, but it’s something that has been simmering since about the 2008 election, when the plan was set into motion to make Puerto Rico be in the service of millionaires, billionaires, and Wall Street, at the expense of locals.

A group of people, an entire society, have been promised things that just never arrived. Growing up, we were told, “you take these steps, and it’ll lead to success.” But millennials are the first generation in Puerto Rico to really encounter dystopia and lies. We never saw prosperity. We never saw this future that they boasted about and benefited from in the past. It’s taken a toll on our ability to even be part of our own community and participate in our own country. The impacts of colonialism means that everyday people will have to say goodbye to their homes, communities, and families, just so they can find a means to survive. We are a generation that is split, that is fragmented, and is dispersed throughout the world. It is not untrue that there are more Puerto Ricans living outside of Puerto Rico than on the islands, and that is a testament to the sacrifices that people have had to make while still being deeply connected to their culture and communities.

What would a pro-independence governorship symbolize for Puerto Rico?

It symbolizes a change. I think if we are honest we know that nothing can change overnight, even if we have a pro-independence governor in power. That decision is ultimately not up to the people of Puerto Rico because of our colonial situation with the United States. Ultimately, who decides whether or not Puerto Rico becomes independent or a state of the U.S. union is the United States Congress.

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“If what we create and bring to the world is this rich in these conditions, I can’t begin to imagine how incredibly beautiful and magical it is for ourselves and the rest of our global community for us to thrive, and for people like us across the world to thrive. “

ALE FIGUEROA

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But I think it means something a lot more meaningful, something that will take generations to build upon, but it is the promise of something new. It’s the promise of being able to — and for the first time in our history — finally have a say and decide what we want. It is an opportunity for Puerto Ricans to know and understand that our future is in our hands and that we have complete authority and autonomy for ourselves without intervention. And we deserve a future where our people and communities can thrive. If what we create and bring to the world is this rich in these conditions, I can’t begin to imagine how incredibly beautiful and magical it is for ourselves and the rest of our global community for us to thrive, and for people like us across the world to thrive.

What would you say to someone fearful of pro-independence leadership in Puerto Rico?

I would ask them if they think it’s worth it to continue going through what we’re going through to the point of normalizing, to the point of expecting future generations to not believe that they deserve better. I’d ask them to take a chance on themselves and their futures, not because this would be independence for Puerto Rico but because it would mean independence for us to finally have a seat at the table, to be represented, and make the decisions we want to make when the time comes, while still keeping our mouths fed, our bodies clothed, our families sheltered, and our culture and our people thriving.

Aliana Margarita Bigio-Alcoba

Why do you think there is so much support for Juan Dalmau?

The Patria Nueva project as well as the Alianza de País continue to gain momentum because people see in Juan Dalmau and the rest of the candidates a hopeful, inclusive vision for Puerto Rico. This campaign is driven by a clear path toward a Puerto Rico for all — not just for tax dodgers and gentrifiers.

Unlike others, Dalmau has shown his dedication by engaging directly with communities through forums and town halls, positioning himself as the people’s candidate and the best choice for Puerto Rico’s future.

What would a pro-independence governorship symbolize for Puerto Rico?

I was born and raised in a household that supported statehood for Puerto Rico, and I saw what assimilation did to my parents. They shared stories of not being allowed to have a Puerto Rican flag in their rooms, cars, or school notebooks. Showing love for your country was frowned upon, labeled as “terrorist” or “communist.” These are the effects of colonialism; it’s not just political — it’s personal.

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“Many former statehood supporters now support Dalmau because his campaign with La Alianza de País proposes an Asamblea Constituyente, one that would include everyone, offering Puerto Rico a respectful, dignified, and binding decolonization process.”

ALIANA MARGARITA BIGIO-ALCOBA

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Now, at 26, watching my loved ones support Dalmau and the possibility of an Alianza de País victory brings immense joy and a show of radical hope.

What would you say to someone fearful of pro-independence leadership in Puerto Rico?

I’d encourage people to review our history, to resist the collective amnesia the powerful try to impose on us.

The status of Puerto Rico won’t be resolved through non-binding plebiscites with Congress. Many former statehood supporters now support Dalmau because his campaign with La Alianza de País proposes an Asamblea Constituyente, one that would include everyone, offering Puerto Rico a respectful, dignified, and binding decolonization process.

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/puerto-rico-governor-race-independence-juan-dalmau

Nailed It, Indeed-

https://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2024/11/blog-post_14.html

Peace & Justice History for 11/5:

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november5

New South Wales parliament passes bill to strengthen LGBTQ+ rights

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/17/new-south-wales-parliament-passes-bill-to-strengthen-lgbti-rights

Equality bill will allow transgender people to have their sex changed on their birth certificates without surgery

The NSW equality bill brings the state into line with others. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Rights and protections for LGBTQ+ people in New South Wales have been strengthened with the passing of a bill in the state parliament late on Thursday, after the legislation was watered down to gain Labor support.

The equality bill will give transgender people the ability to have their sex changed on their birth certificates without undergoing invasive surgery, bringing the state in line with others, and non-binary will become a gender option for birth certificates.

There were cheers in the chamber when the bill passed about 8.40pm. The in dependent MP Alex Greenwich, who introduced the package a year ago, embraced the leader of the government in the upper house, Penny Sharpe after the vote that succeeded without the opposition’s support.

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Greenwich said the changes would “improve LGBTIQA+ dignity, safety and equality” and thanked Sharpe for her work getting the legislation through the upper house.

“We’ve got more work to do and we start that work now with new confidence from these significant wins for our community,” he said on Thursday night.

After months of stagnation, Greenwich convinced the premier, Chris Minns, to support the bill by making a number of major concessions, including dropping changes to the anti-discrimination act.

While advocates welcomed the remaining elements of the bill, many also raised concerns that protections for LGBTQ+ teachers and students at private schools had been dumped.

The Equality Australia chief executive, Anna Brown, thanked community members who shared their stories and all those who campaigned to garner support for the changes.

“These new laws will have no impact on the lives of most people in our state, but for a small number of people it will make their lives immeasurably better,” she said after the bill passed.

“It’s a journey that continues as we turn our attention to the state’s anti-discrimination laws and our ongoing efforts to protect vulnerable teachers and students in religious and private schools across the state.”

Greenwich had hoped the Coalition would allow MPs a conscience vote on the bill but earlier in the week the opposition leader, Mark Speakman, confirmed his party would stand against the reforms.

Despite that, the Liberal MP for the North Shore, Felicity Wilson, crossed the floor.

“Just because your party doesn’t have a conscience vote doesn’t mean you don’t have a conscience,” she told ABC Radio Sydney earlier in the week.

Greenwich said on Wednesday that the Coalition was moving further to the right and “using my community as a political football, as a political punching bag”.

“I am concerned that we are seeing a rightwing trend developing within the Coalition,” he said. “No other leader has denied their members a conscience vote on LBGT issues.”

The opposition attorney general, Alister Henskens, held a news conference with religious figures and community members opposed to the reforms earlier in the week.

Among the concerns he raised was about the “impact upon the privacy of women’s spaces”.

“It’s moving too far and it’s moving too quickly,” he said.

But the attorney general, Michael Daley, said the opposition was misrepresenting the package.

The bill also repealed offences for living off the earnings of a sex worker and made threatening to “out” a person’s LGBTIQA+ status an offence.

Anti-LGBTQ+ attacks nationwide have increased 112% over the last two years

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/11/anti-lgbtq-attacks-nationwide-have-increased-112-over-the-last-two-years/

The attacks’ effects are crossing state lines, harming queer people even when they live in LGBTQ+-friendly regions, experts say.

By Daniel Villarreal Saturday, November 2, 2024

A broken window on an LGBTQ fashion boutique storefront in Manhattan, New York on June 12, 2023.Photo: Shutterstock

There has been a 112% increase in documented attacks on LGBTQ+ people nationwide, according to a newly unveiled Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker (ALERT) from the queer media watchdog organization GLAAD. GLAAD hopes to use the tracker to provide comprehensive reporting and analysis detailing anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the U.S. and the specific communities and targets affected by it.

ALERT recorded 524 such incidents between June 2022 and 2023 and 1,109 incidents from June 2023 to 2024. These attacks have included over 450 protests, 330 propaganda drops, 320 acts of vandalism, 200 bomb & mass shooting threats, 130 assaults, and 45 cases of arson that have resulted in at least 161 injuries and 21 deaths, GLAAD’s ALERT Desk reported.

Related:

These 4 trans-related Supreme Court cases affect everyone’s future civil rights

While the cases focus on drag bans and trans protections, they address larger issues of free speech and civil rights.

The attacks have also included over 567 attacks on transgender and gender non-conforming people, 360 incidents targeting educational institutions and libraries, 325 incidents targeting Pride flags and other LGBTQ+ community symbols, 160 protests and violent threats against drag performers, and 140 incidents targeting health care providers of gender-affirming care and their patients.

The tracker, which will be updated quarterly, includes data on criminal and non-criminal acts of hate from sources like news media, partner organizations (like the Human Rights Campaign or Anti-Defamtion League’s Center on Extremism), right-wing forums on social media sites like Gab or chat apps like Telegram as well as incident reports submitted via GLAAD’s website. All documented incidents must occur against groups or individuals within the U.S. and must include harassment, threats, or actual violence specifically targeting LGBTQ+ people.

GLAAD’s ALERT team will verify the validity of each incident to maintain credibility, remove duplicates, and exclude spam and trolling, the organization said.

“The ALERT Desk tells a story not entirely captured by the FBI’s hate crime statistics because many of these incidents, like protests at Pride events, don’t meet the criteria necessary to bring legal charges [and] aren’t included in most official hate crime counts,” GLAAD wrote in its recently released report on ALERT’s findings. “However, we must recognize that the impact of these acts on local LGBTQ communities is felt regardless of whether or not the incident is prosecuted.”

“We must recognize that the impact of these acts on local LGBTQ communities is felt regardless of whether or not the incident is prosecuted.”
GLAAD’s 2024 report on ALERT’s findings

During a press call, Barbara Simon, senior director of news and campaigns at GLAAD, noted that ALERT seeks to contextualize anti-LGBTQ+ incidents to help media and other experts understand larger systems of violence.

“[Recently], there was a bomb threat against a library in Massachusetts,” Simon said, a threat against a Drag Queen Story Hour at the public library in Somerville. “But it’s not just about that library. It’s not just about the inclusive materials and programs they had, about how the bomb squad had to come in and sweep the library, how children and families and patrons had to evacuate the library.”

“Our data shows how that incident is connected to the bigger picture, which is more of a broad-based, systemic attack against LGBTQ people, our visibility, our equality and our allies,” Simon added. “It is one of 365 attacks nationwide against drag artisan events. It’s one of 63 anti-LGBTQ attacks in Massachusetts alone, one of 15 attacks specifically against drag in Massachusetts.”

The quarterly reports will also include stories from those affected by the incidents.

GLAADA bar graph showing anti-LGBTQ+ hate incidents from GLAAD’s ALERT Desk. | GLAAD

For example, Dr. Jack Turban, pediatric psychiatrist and director of the gender psychiatry program at the University of California in San Francisco, said during the press call that bans on gender-affirming care for youth in 26 states have worsened the mental health of his young trans patients even though they live in a state where such health care is protected. Their mental health has been worsened, Turban said, because of an increase in anti-trans rhetoric nationwide whose indirect effects cross state lines.

“Kids are hearing things like being trans is a mental illness, or being trans is bad, or you shouldn’t be allowed to use the bathroom that aligns with your gender identity because trans people are sexual assaulters, or you shouldn’t be allowed to play on sports teams with your friends because you’re going to physically hurt them,” Turban said. “My patients know that none of those things are true, right? They can know that, but if you’re hearing it every single day, all over social media and all over the news and now right in their communities, even it’s impossible to not be impacted by that.”

GLAAD pointed out that media coverage tends to falsely frame medical care for transgender people as a “debate” despite every major medical association supporting the care. This coverage compounds the effect of hateful rhetoric from anti-trans politicians, protestors, and pundits.

ShutterstockSalina EsTitties attends the 35th Annual GLAAD Awards on March 14, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. | Shutterstock

The hateful rhetoric affects even LGBTQ+ celebrities and their fans, like Salina EsTitties, a competitor who appeared in Season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. EsTitties told the press call that she’s generally insulated from hatred against gender non-conforming people since she lives in the very gay city of West Hollywood, California. However, she sees its impact whenever she travels to other states or posts social media videos about LGBTQ+ issues.

“There’s comments every single day of people being like, ‘This is not what God created. God created two genders. Oh, they keep adding alphabets. Oh, just shoot it between the eyes and get rid of it,’” EsTitties said. “The online hate is insane and there’s so much of it, and people are so willing to just let it all out, but it’s a clear representation of how people actually feel in America and across, you know, the U.S. here.”

“Not only are our LGBT community dealing with having to be their authentic selves,” she continued. “Being their authentic selves with just who they are outside of their queer identity is a lot to navigate, and it’s not easy, especially when people are telling you, ‘You’re the Devil, you’re a demon,’ or ‘It’s not acceptable to be that.’”

Hate crimes typically increase during presidential election years. Marie Cottrell, executive director for the New Jersey-based LGBTQ+ advocacy center Out Montclair, said she hopes that increased awareness of anti-LGBTQ+ hate incidents will empower communities to build intersectional coalitions between other demographic groups whose members are targeted by similar hate.

“I think that it’s really important that you be the person that the community needs,” Cottrell told the press call. “They need to see you stand for and with them. Find folks who in your community who will stand with you in the face of intolerance, build a community of support within your township — whether that’s forging a relationship with your LGBTQ liaison within the local police department … working with the township, the mayor, the town council, and really having open conversations … having conversations that address really hard questions and topics and that starts the process of understanding and healing in your community.”

“It’s a small step, but it’s a step forward and a step forward in helping others understand the community,” she said.

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Peace & Justice History for 11/3:

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november3

Return the SCOTUS to law and order-

(I don’t know if this is gonna work; I’m not on Instagram, but I went there, and could see, hear, read, and got the embed link. MomsRising is asking for shares, so if anyone cares to share, thank you!)

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Peace & Justice History for 11/2:

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november2

Republicans against democracy. They want to rule.

Arsonists Destroy Ballot Drop Boxes In OR And WA

Two Ballot boxes damaged overnight with incendiary devices in SE Portland at 11th and Belmont AND Fishers Landing Vancouver, WA. It’s not known at this time if any ballots were damaged.

You can track your ballot at https://t.co/AUxYiUinIz. pic.twitter.com/Oc24CaIzOU
— PDX Real (@PDXReal1) October 28, 2024

https://twitter.com/johnpavlovitz/status/1850932039156928657

Below is what the tRump campaign is all about, toxic masculinity. Gang thug 12 yr old boys on the playground standing around insulting other kids pretending to be tough guys. Is this what you want for president, for congress? People who feel that everyone different from them should be insulted and belittled? Hugs

Joe Rogan Encouraged Trump To Hire Racist Comic To “Write Bangers For Trump To Shit On People” [VIDEO]

Vance: It’s Stupid That You Can’t Even Tell Racist Jokes

Homocons Say It Out Loud: We’re In It For Our Wallets

Inside The Plan To Oust “Disloyal” Civil Servants

Crucifix-Waving MSG Speaker: “Harris Is The Antichrist”

Trump Spox: MSG Rally Was “Happiness And Joy”

MSG Speaker: “We Need To Slaughter These People”

Florida GOP Rep Defends Racist MSG Rally “Joke”

POLL: 70% Now Say Trump Will Not Concede Election

Philadelphia DA Sues Musk Over $1 Million Giveaways

NFL Player Crashes Interview To Flaunt MAGA Hat

NFL rules forbid political “messages or gestures” during games or on the field. Just ask Colin Kaepernick, who was attacked by Bosa for kneeling during the anthem. The cult is celebrating Bosa and attacking NBC for editing the incident out of their coverage.

NFL Player Faces Potential Fine Over MAGA Hat Stunt

8.2 billion people and he is desperate for more … white ones. Yes that is the truth of it. First he is so egotistical he thinks his genetics are superior to any others. Second the fear he has is that brown people will out number white ones and rule the world. As a member of South Africa’s apartheid system he hates the idea of whites not being firmly and securely ruling over everyone else. He is a sick man. Hugs

Musk Buys Texas Mormon-Style Family Compound

Axios: Trump Plans To Scapegoat RNC Chair If He Loses

They are so sure the voter purges are hurting the democrats that they push deeper and deeper cuts to the voter rolls. Not realizing they are hitting their own people now also. Hugs

Texas Cultist Axed From Voter Rolls As “Noncitizen”

And she seethed at the idea that anyone would question the citizenship of a former federal employee with the “whitest name you could have.”

The elections office in Montgomery County, just north of Houston, had sent Howard-Elley a letter in late January saying that she had been flagged after she indicated that she was not a U.S. citizen in response to a jury summons. She had 30 days to provide the county proof of citizenship or she would be removed from the voter rolls, according to the letter.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/texas-noncitizen-voter-roll-removal-mary-howard-elley/

Kamala Harris’ Crowd Size Crushes Previous Record With Ellipse Speech

https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-crowd-size-washingtion-dc-rally-1976987

Published Oct 29, 2024 at 7:55 PM EDTUpdated Oct 29, 2024 at 9:00 PM EDT

More than 75,000 spectators gathered in Washington, D.C., to hear Vice President Kamala Harris‘ closing argument speech at the same site of former President Donald Trump‘s infamous “Save America” rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Harris’ event at the Ellipse arrived one week before Election Day and followed Trump’s closing arguments at Madison Square Garden on Sunday that received backlash for its inflammatory and racist rhetoric.

As the vice president took the stage Tuesday night, her campaign’s rapid response director, Ammar Moussa, posted to his account on X, formerly Twitter, that there were “OVER 75,000 people on the National Mall to watch Kamala Harris deliver her closing remarks.”

“Here. We. Go,” Moussa added.

CNN later reported that the Ellipse was at capacity and some guests were directed to an overflow area on the National Mall, per a Harris campaign official.

Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Ellipse just south of the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 29. The Harris campaign said that more than 75,000 people gathered to… More BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump held his January 6, 2021, rally at the Ellipse on the same day a mob of his supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 election in which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. According to the House Select Committee tasked with investigating January 6, around 53,000 people attended Trump’s speech before the attack.

Harris’ previous crowd size record was set on Friday at her rally in Houston, which included an appearance from Beyoncé. The vice president’s campaign said around 30,000 people showed up to the Shell Energy Stadium event, which was focused on reproductive rights.

Trump frequently touts his own rally sizes, although as Newsweek has reported, the former president often exaggerates his crowd numbers. Trump’s campaign said that the former president’s event in New York City on Sunday filled Madison Square Garden to capacity. The venue can fit a maximum of 19,500 people.

Sunday’s event was marred by racist remarks hurled about Latinos, Black people, Jews and Palestinians. Sexist comments were also made about Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by several speakers.

Trump’s campaign has spoken out against one comment, made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who said during his speech that Puerto Rico is a “floating island of garbage.” The former president’s team said that the “joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” Trump told ABC News’ Rachel Scott when asked about the joke on Tuesday, “I don’t know him. Someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is.”

The former president also failed to condemn other statements made at Madison Square Garden during a speech at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, saying instead, “There’s never been an event so beautiful.”

“The love in that room was breathtaking,” he added. “It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honor to be involved.”

Harris said during her Ellipse speech that Trump “has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other.”

“That is who he is,” she added. “But America, I am here tonight to say that is not who we are.”

The vice president also criticized Trump’s comments about going after the “enemy from within” if elected to the White House. Despite receiving immense pushback for the comments in recent weeks, Trump repeated the phrase during his Madison Square Garden speech, telling supporters, “We’re running against a massive, crooked, malicious leftist machine that’s running the Democrat Party. They are smart and vicious, they are the enemy within, we must defeat them.”

On Tuesday, Harris told supporters, “Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. People he calls …’the enemy from within.'”

Harris added, “Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at my table.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email Tuesday for comment.