tv Democracy Now LINKTV August 17, 2020 4:00pm-5:01pm PDT
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08/17/20 08/17/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the american people love and respect our post office is not for sale and offer being dismantled. we will not be disenfranchised. by their eliminating vote by mail. amy: protesters rallied outside of the home of postmaster general louis dejoy this weekend after president trump admitted to working to undermine the postal service in order to make it harder to vote by mail in
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november. we will speak to congressmember ro khanna about the crisis at the post office and why he is planning to vote against the democratic pararty's platform at the democratic national convention, which begins virtually today. we will speak with black lives matter activist cori bush who appears set to be headed to congress after defeating 10-term congressmember lacy clay in a major primary upset in st. louis. >> it is historic at this year of all use we are sending the black working class single mother -- [cheers] all the way to the halls of congress! amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.orgrg, the quarante report.
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we are breaking with convention this week, covering the democratic national convention. house speaker nancy pelosi has called lawmakers back from summer recess for an urgent vote this weeeek to stop changes at e u.s. postal services that could interfere with the upcoming election. on thursday, president trump admitted he's working to undermine the usps in order to make it harder to vote by mail in november. by pushing republicans to reject a new coronavirus stimulus bill over democrats' demands for funding to bolster election security and $25 billion to support the postal service. democrats are demanding postmaster general louis dejoy -- a major trump donor -- and other top officials testify before congress. the internal u.s. post office watchdog is reviewing recent policy changes and dejoy's compliance with ethics rules, cnn reported friday. dejoy and his wife hold as much
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as $75 million in assets in competitors or contractors of the postal service. and attorneys general from at least six states are considering lawsuits against the trump administration to prevent it from reducing mail service in the run-up to the elections. as postal union members and democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm over delays in mail and other disruptions, the usps said friday it would stop removing mailboxes in the run-up to the election, though reports emerged this weekend of boxes being removed around new york and new jersey. last week, the postal service sent letters to 46 states and washington, d.c., warning all mail-in ballots may not get delivered on time. meanwhile, vice news reported internal documents show the usps introduced plans in may to take hundreds of letter sorting machines out of service. on saturday morning, protesters staged a noisy wake-up call demonstration outside dejoy's
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washington, d.c., home, chanting and banging pots and pans. attempting to steal an election, ok? we are going to be voting by mail in such high numbers. it is a safe way to vote. donald trump and louis d dejoy e saying, you can't vote by mail. amy: protests also took place sunday outside the greensboro, north carolina, residence of louis dejoy. the u.s. death toll from the coronavivirus has totopped 170,. public health officials are expressing alarm as the number of daily covid-19 tests across the united states has dropped 17% since mid-july, making it harder for states to track the outbreak. thehe centers for d disease control's wararning infection rates are "steadily increasing in children.n." this comes as millions of
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children prepare to return to school. in arizona, , one school distrit outside of phoenix has canceled classes for a week after teachers threatened to stage a sick-out. new data is coming to light about how the pandemic is disproportionately impacting people of color. according to the cdc, 14,000 pregnant women have tested positive since january. nearly half of them have been latina mothers. a new study by the university of pennsylvania found black and latina women are five times more likely to be infected than white women. meanwhile, "time magazine" reports ice, immigration and customs enforcement, is still detaining 120 children despite a court order to release them due to covid-19 coconcerns. the global coronavavirus death toll has topped 775,000. new zealand has postponed its upcoming election by a month following a new outbreak of nearly 70 cases. this comes after new zealand went more than 100 days without any new infections.
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in india, the death toll has topped 50,000, the world's fourth highest behind the u.s., brazil, and mexico. lebanon's health minister is calling for the country to be shut down for two weeks due to a spike in new cases. this comes less than two weeks after a massive explosion in beirut killed over 200, injured thousands, and left 300,000 homeless. over the weekend, protest continued, recalling for the resignation of the lebanese president. in belelarus, an estimated 200,0 peopople took to the streets of minsk sunday as protests continue one week after longtime authoritarian leader alexander lukashenko was declared the winner of the presidential election with 80% of the vote. the european union is considering imposing further sanctions on belarus, and amnesty international said jailed protesters likely suffered widespread torture. at least two people have died
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during the protests. workers across a range of industries, including state-run factories, have joined the protest movement by going on strike. in thailand, student-led, anti-government protests continue, with over 10,000 people taking to the streets sunday, the largest turnout -- demonstration since the 2014 coup put a military junta in power. protesters are calling for a new constitution, democratic reforms and constraints on the power of the monarchy. >> they're not happy with the dictatorship government over the past six years. they have been has -- harassing the people. they couldn't even m manage the really packageges during the covid-19 cririsis. amy: in somalia,a, at least 16 peopople were killeded, includig governmentnt officials, , after al-shababab militants s detonata car bombmbutside a hotel and seized hostages in the capital mogadishu sunday. over 200 people were rescued after a four-hour confrontation
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between somali special forces and al-shabab. in i ivory coastst, at least six people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in recent days as protests intensify against president alassane ouattara's announcement last week thahat he would run for a third term in upcoming october elections. police have reportedly used tear gas and shot at protesters. opponents say ouattara's bid for reelecection is a violation of e constitutional two-term limit for presidents. president trump says he will use unilaterally reinstate international sanctions on tehran, after the u.n. security council rejected a u.s. resolution to extend the embargo on iran. trump plans to claim the u.s. is still technically a participant in the 2015 iran nuclear deal, even though trump himself withdrew from it, and can therefore order an extension of sanctions if iran violates the deal. iran called the u.n. vote a humiliating defeat and european countries expressed doubt as to whether trump can unilaterally force such measures.
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in immigration news, propublica and the texas tribune report guards at an immigration and customs enforcement jail in el paso, texas, systematically sexually assaulted and harassed at least three prisoners. a 32-year-old salvadoran woman, who was recently released from the ice jail, brought the accusations to light and told her attorneys she feared for other prisoners still in custody. the assasats would allegedly take place in areas that were not recorded by surveillance cameras. another woman who came forward, a 35-year-old mother from mexicofaces deportation this week as attorneys demand f for a crimininal investigation. the government accountability office said friday thehe top two officials at the department of homeland secururity are not legally allowed to serve in their roles within the agency. according to the watchdog, chad wolf, acting secretary of dsh, and ken cuccinelli, were not installed according to the proper order of succession.
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democrats have called on them to resign. last week, the aclu called for dismantling dhs by breaking it up into smaller federal agencies. immigration activists say the agency should be fully abolished. anti-racist protesters were violently confronted by right-wing groups in several cities over the weekend. in georgia, a pro-confederacy rally drew armed, far-right militia members to the stone mountain confederate memorial in stone mountain park saturday. they attacked anti-fascist and black lives matter protesters with pepper spray as the counter protesters chanted, "go home racists!" meanwhile, in kalamazoo, michigan, members of the far-right hate group the proud boys started attacking counter protesters who showed up at their rally. the proud boys waved american and trump flags and shouted racist slogans. samuel robinson, a local, black reporter from mlive was arrested and briefly detained, while covering the protest, despite identifying himself as a member of the press. in portland, oregon, right-wing
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extremists and members of the alt-right group patriot prayer organized a small rally, where they shot pellets from paintball guns and pepper spray against antiracist counter p protesters. in jackson, mimississippi, prosecutors have charged three police officers with murdering a black man outside his own home more than a year and a half ago. a grand jury indictment filed friday alleges that in january 2019, the three officers pulled 62-year-old george robinson from his car, threw him headfirst into the pavement, and then beat and kicked him in the head and chest. a coroner's report found robinson suffered broken ribs and a bleeding brain caused by blunt force trauma to the head. policegia, a white officer fatally shot a six euro black man during a traffic stop north of savannah earlier this month. the indictment alleges the 27-year-old highway patrol officer jacob gordon thompson
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tried to stop julian edward roosevelt lewis over a burned-out tail light and gave chase on a dirt road when lewis tried to drive away. after forcing lewis' car into a ditch, officer thompson allegedly drew his gun and fired a single shot into lewis' head almost immediately after exiting his patrol car. in election nenews, in puerto rico, governor wanda vazquez on sunday conceded the gubernatorial primary to pedro pierluisi, who previously served as governor, after former governor ricardo rossello was forced to resign amid weeks of massive protests. san juan mayor carmen yulin cruz also lost her gubernatorial bid. in calififornia, around 2 millin residents had their power shut off friday in the state's first rolling blackouts since 2001. an unrelenting heat wave has enengulfed the region and is expected to last halfway through
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this week, as the coronavirus outbreak introduces yet new challenges for californians seeking to escape the heat in cooling centers or other public places. meanwhile, in iowa, hundreds of thousands remain without electricity after a deadly inland hurricane ravaged the state last monday, leveling homes and devastating millions of acres of farmland. and robert truru, presidenent trump's younger brother died on satuturday at age 7171. he had been sick for severeral months. president trump visited his brother at a new york hospital the day before he died. robert trump served as an executive vice president of the trump organization. in june, he sued mary trump -- is nice -- in an attempt to stop the publication of her tell-all book about the trump family. it is not clear the causes of robert trump death. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the ququarante rereport.. i'm amamy goodman. all week this week we are
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breaking with convention as we cover the democratic national convention, but we begin with the post office. house speaker nancy pelosi has called lawmakers back from summer recess for an urgent vote this week to stop changes at the u.s. postal service that could interfere with the upcoming election. president trump has admitted to working t to undermrmine the postal service in order to make it harder to vote by mail in november, telling fox news republicans rejected a new thursday coronavirus stimulus bill over democrats' demands for funding to bolster election security and $25 billion to support the postal service. pres. trump: they did that money in order to have that post office work so we could take all of these millions and millions of ballots. in the meantime, they are not getting there -- by the way, those are just two items. and if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting. amy: democrats are demanding postmaster general louis dejoy -- a major trump donor -- and
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other top officials testify before congress. the internal usps watchdog is reviewing recent policy changes and dejoy's compliance with ethics rules, according to cnn. meanwhile, the usps said friday it would stop removing mailboxes in the run-up to the election, even as reports emerged this weekend of boxes being removed around new york and new jersey. as well as other parts of the country. last week, the postal service sent letters to 46 states and washington, d.c., warning all mail-in ballots may not get delivered on time. vice news reports that internal documents show the usps introduced plans in may to take hundreds of letter-sorting machines out of service. on saturday morning, protesters staged a noisy "wake-up call" demonstration outside dejoy's washington, d.c., home, chanting and banging pots and pans.
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>> this is openly, blatantly attempting to steal an election, ok? we are going to be voting by mail in such high numbers. it is this i put a vote. people don't want to go to the polls during the pandemic. donald trump and louis dejoy are saying you can't vote by mail. amy: protests also took place sunday outside the greensboro, north carolina, residence of postmaster dejoy. this all comes as the democratic national convention kicks off virtually today, supposedly in milwaukee. but our next guest, democratic congressmember ro khanna of california, will be voting no on the dnc platform. we will find out why. at ro khanna joins us now from first, washington, d.c. he is a member of the house committee on oversight and reform, where postmaster general louis dejoy is set to testify a week from today. welcome back to democracy now! why don'n't you lay out for us e
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crisis of the post office with president trump openly admitting on fox that he is trying to defund the polic post t officece of people cannot maiail in their votes, although he and his wifee plan to.o. >> i it is a very serious issue. ththe presidencies t the polling that overwhelming g democrats wt to vote by mail because that listen to a lot of the science and d people are concerned a abt the safety on the pandemic come and a lot of republicans don't want to vote bmamail. so is popostmaster general hasas taken a deliberate attttempt to remove vote sorting machines. coincidentally, these machines are being removed in battlegrground states. sosome reportsts they are removn areas where hillary clinton has done well. the postmaster general is -- he isrdered shortening and lessening the
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staff time to make it harder for ballots toto get delivered o on elecection day. why does this matter? in the battleground states, many of the statates have a law thatf the ballot is not received by election day, that palette does not count. that is the law in pennsylvania and michigan and a number of other states. so you could see a situation where millions of people who even there ballot is sent in some cases a week before, it does not get to the election officer by election day and it is discarded. in my view, that is a deliberate strategy to try to disqualify millions of votes in for the presidenent to try to o steal ts election. amy: you were supposed to come back in september. house speaker nancy pelosi has called you back k earlier. explain n what is going to hapan in y your commmmittee, congressn khanna, the oveversight c commi. >> my view is we shshould have never left.
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first of all, we still have the urgent task of getting peoplple- resources for those who are unemployed. we don't have the extension, rental assistance, we don't have a stimulus check. so we need to be in washington, but we need to do a few things with thiss that coconcerns the t office. first, it is not enough to jusut give the post office mononey. dejoy isis not going to spend tt money in a way we can trust. we need to have very specific legislation that dictates exactltly what the post offifice needs to do. the number of staff members they need, the ships they need, the mall sorting equipment t they neneed. it has to be statutorily spelled out t and i believe there needso be criminal penalties for the board of governors or the postmaster genereral for not following that. what is absurd is you have the board of governors as a former rnc chair who ran mitch mcconnell's super pac. it makes no sensee for a mature democracy to have the post
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office beingng run currerently y political acts. we need to have legislation that basically takes over the administration of the post office until the election. amy: obama's campmpaign manager, one of them, tweeted -- "one primetime hearings, two subpoenas to trump white house and cap officials, three, visit local post offices with cameras and show people what is happening, four come events with those getting prescriptions late, five, involve governors, no rest, no vacation, go to war for our country. this is not." so if you can talk about what he is referring to and this issue of getting veterans and everyone else getting their prescriptions -- the question of why trump would be doing this when he gets a lot of rural support and so areas --le inrural
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1775, the post office. he is right and he is been a very strong voice e on this andi do think we have to win the narrative to let people know what the president is doing. you're right, it will hurt in rural communitity's, in a lot of places that voted for him because people will realize that it is going to take longer for them to get their medicine, take longer for them to get essential equipment and packages. but the challenge is the president has calculated that is fine, that he is willing to have that kind of slowdown in order to potentially disenfranchise millions of people. agreele we have to -- i with david plus, we have to be as loud as possible, letting people know this president is doing to the post office. we also need to solve the fundamental problem that the
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president can't do it. i don't think political demonstration and political outrage is going to be an up. we have seen this president is totally indifferent to public sentiment. so how do we get the post office to actually follow regulatory guidelines with the threat of criminal sanctions to make sure they are delivering the mail? i think that will be the large focus on these hearings. amy: the fact that the postmaster genereral louis dejo, a mega donor for trump -- hehead up funding the republican national convention -- and his wife, our major investors to the tune of something like 75 million dollars perhaps to $100 theion in competitors to post office and contractors. this did not come out in louis dejoy's release of documents, but in his wife's who is president trump's choice to bebe the u.s.s. ambassador to canada.
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>> you are absolutely right. they wanted to privatize the popost office for decades. theyes back to 2006 where passed a law requiring the post office to put money away for 75 years for people's retirirement. dejoy was selected to furtherer the effort of privatizazation. but i think this is the great debate in our nation, the erosion of any sense of public comments, the erosion of public schools, of the post o office, e town square with private funding. what the republican vision for this country is, free market here privatewe money should dictate. that is not goodness it well in rural communities and committed his across this country that believe we should have some social fabric. amy: the dnc, democratic national convention, officially
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kicks off tonight withth a focus on the coronavirus p pandemic,ce economic downturn, and the national uprising to demand racial justice. the lineup includes speeches from former first lady michelle obama and senator bernie sanders as well a as new york governor andrew cuomo and michigan governor gretchen whitmer, and washington, d.c., mayor muriel bowser. joe biden will also speak in short video about racial justice. this comes as "the daily beast" reports there are no muslim speakers in the dnc's s primetie lineup -- and only a handful of latinx voices. there are a number of republicans, john kasich will be speaking tonight. congressman khanna, you published a column on common dreams titled "why i am voting no on the democratic party platform." you write -- "history teaches us that the democratic party has sometimes faced an issue so great that it alone should be the yardstick for measuring the wisdom of voting for or against the platform. this is one of those times. i believe that moving away from a profit-based healthcare system is the moral issue of our time. and in the final analysis,
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because of that belief, i could not vote for a platform that lacks a clear statement supporting medicare for all." explain. aboutm veryry enthusiastic supporting joe bididen and kamaa harris to defeat donald trump, but i cannot vote for this platform that does not have universal health care as a right. we have seen millions of people lolose their jobs. they s should not lose t their healthth care. this to me is about basic dignity. how can you say that a person's health care should be tied to whether they have a job or employment? this is part of our platform until 1980. it was stripped during the reagan revolution. if we can't come around and say we are for medicare for all at a time of the pandemic, i don't know when we will. i am very proud that hundreds of delegates are going to vote against this platform, while supporting joe biden. i think that is the great
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strength of the democratatic party. but h have adissent commmmon goal. amy: there is interesting language on medicare for all. it's as up ago we are proud our party welcome advocates want to build on and strengthen the affordable care act and those who supported medicare for all approach. all are critical to ensuring that carare is a human right." toyou think if biden were win, although he it has adamantly said he is supposed to medicare for all, the movements for medicare for all, the polls show most people support this, could change him? kamala harris has gone back and forth. she cosponsored the medicare for all bill. loucks i do think it can change. especially people who look at bernie sanders and realize it is a for your transition. bernie sananders is not sayiyino to medicare for all in one year, is saying let's extended to 55 to 45 and 35. there's a carveout for unions. i think it is possible if we continue to advocate that we can
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get the president biden on year one e to extended to at least 5, 50 and then make progresess from there. is that is why this activism so important. amy: let me ask you about the dnc platform committee members overwhelmingly voting against proposed language that would oppose illegal israeli settlements in the west bank and support conditioning u.s. aid if israel moves toward annexation of the west bank. your thohoughts on t this? >> i think we need to make it very clear that those settlements are illegal, that any annexation is illegal. in the past, again, there has been alwayss amerirican presence ability to say that we aren't going to provide aid to israeael when it contradicts our policy interest for humum rights. reagan did this when israel bombed iraqi. there was other presidents have
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done it, g george bush senior dd it on loan guararantees. this i is not something far out from our parties tradition. i do think there needs to be a clear statement on palestinian rights. i think we need to speak up more clearly with the uae-israel agreement. it is good countries are aps but that cannot be -- uae has been responsible in part for the yemen b bombing. there has to b b clarity that there is no annexation and clarity that both countries are going to be recognizing palestinian rights. palestinians can't be the collateral damage e of great por policieses in the middle east. amy: you are calling for a bill that would make free masks available to all. we also have written a letter along with congressman adam schiff to the leadership to requesting mask-related
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provisions in any relief package. explain. clear, maskis so usage will help prevent as a spread of coronavirus, and we've seen in other countries where they have been universal masasks in t taiwan and south korea, they''ve done well in dealing with this pandememic. what we're saying is we should be giving every person who wants them, masks. this is our responsibility. when i vote in the united states congress, they give me a mask. why can every worker have that option? it is a reminder about the importance and make sure they have these masks that they're doing jobs that are putting them at risk. harris,ally, senator the new vp, the presumptive vp nominee from your state, california, she is also like you come indian american,n, as wells african-american, caribbean
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american. your thoughts? >> it is a matter of great pride. her r story is inspiring. her mother, an immigrant from india. my parents were immigrants. the fact that through hard work and public s service could risep and today be hopefully the next vice president of the united states is inspirational. and it is s a glimpse into our multiracial, multiethnic future. i will say one thing on n the total obliviousness to history that donald trump and people that her son, i mean, trump's favorite president is andrew jackson who is a very checkered history and record. but jackson, the son of two immigrants, his brothers werere born in foreign countries. so to be attacking kamala harris is not just a racist, it actuallyly displays ignorance about american history. amy: ro khanna, thank you for being with us, democratic congressmember from california. member of the house committee on oversight and reform.
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amy: "stealing people's mail." we are breaking with conventnti. i am amy goodman. as we turn to one of the growing number of young black progressives likely headed to congress this november. cori bush won a stunning primary upset earlier this month over 10-term incumbent congressmember william lacy clay, whose family has represented the st. louis-area congressional district for more than 50 years. cori bush is a single mother and a nurse. she was formerly homeless and was a leader in the 2014 ferguson uprising over the police killing of 18-year-old michael brown. just two months before michael brown's death, her primary
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opponent, congressman lacy clay, then missouri's representative, voted against a democratic amendment that would stop the military from providing police forces with heavy weapons and vehicles. she was endorsed by the justice democrats and the sunrise movement. senator bernie sanders was the only member of congress to endorse her ahead of the election, and her grassroots campaign shunned corporate pac money in favor of individual donations. but she had an army of supporters who made half a million calls and knocked on 25,000 doors. this is cori bush addressing supporters after her primary victory on august 5. >> almost six years ago to this day michael brown was murdered. murdered by the police in the streets of ferguson, missouri. maced and beaten by those they police officers. six months from now, as the first black congress woman and the entire history --
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[cheers] this summer after george floyd, breonna taylor, and so many more were taken from us, millions of people taken at the streets around the world to join us come to join those who have said for years starting in this place that black lives matter. bushyes, that is cori speakingng to heher purplele fak -- he is a nurse come after all -- on primary night and joining us now from st. louis. welcome to democracy now! it is great to have you with us. can you talk about this incredible upset? you a challenge congressmember clay in 2018. he narrowly lost but you were back at it again and you one.
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>> thank you for having me on. w was an effort from people all across our district, across t the state of missouri, and across the country. we believed that it was timime r a change, time for an active leader, someone who knows the streets, who knows the struggle of what is happening in our country, especially with covid-19 and how this devastated communities. and with the protests, leaving a nurse and someone who has come out o of the protest movement, t is time for that voice. amy: are you for defunding the police and what does that mean to you? >> i am. for me it is a reallocation of funds. it doesn't mean the police won't have money to pay their bills and pay their salaries. itit doesn't mean they won't be funded. what it means is there won't bee areas of over funding while we have areas o of underfunding in
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other places. such as making suree there is money for humaman services in or communities, many prosocial programs, many for health and hohospitals when covid-19 9 hitr community, our unhousesed population -- they weren't in a position to be able to really be cared fofor properly. and also what about why do our police officers have to be social workers instead of pink shows her workers? -- social workers? we don't need money for tear gas, for rubber bullets and mace and all of that. we need to make surure that peoe have their needs met so that is one way of doing it. amy: you talk about the militarization of the police. we certainly saw that in ferguson, which was seminal in your rights as an activist stuff can you talk about that? you live right near where michael brown w was gunned down. >> the thing is, i grew up
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watching civil-rightss footage and it was kinda like this thing was over with, like you are free now, do whatever you want. but the reality was, that wasn't true. when we saw this 18-year-old -- my son is 20. when we saw this 18-year-old baby lying in the streets for 4.5 hours in the hot st. louis son uncovered, just the idea he deserved justice and we could not get it? yes, we took to the streets. there was no playbook before this that said, hey, this is what you do. we showed up and we reacted. we wanted -- we kept it going. we protest more than 400 days. people were beaten. tear gas mace, rubber bullets, real bullets were flying. but we kept coming back. i was assaulted by police during that time. not being a violent person -- i am nonviolent. i'm not peaceful, but i'm not
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violent. violence came back at me. but we stood and wasted stood in 2017 after the verdict of jason stokley after the murder of anthony lamar smith in st. louis and also again for george floyd, breonna taylor, so many others. we continue to stand because black lives have to matter in this country. the only way that shows -- one way that shows is when we have equity and we have our police treating black people the same way that other people in this country are treated. we deserve respect. amy: i would ask about the democratic ticket. t tweetedahna joy graray last week -- "we are in the midst of the largest protest movement in american history, the subject of which is excessive policing, and the democratic party chose a 'top cop' and the author of the joe biden crime bill to save us from trump. the contempt for the base is, wow." your thoughts both on senator harris being chosen to be the vp nominee and joe biden himself,
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cori bush? biden come it was his pick and he chose her. i've said before i'm not going to tear down another woman of color. i won't be party to that. past.can't overlook her she has evolved in some ways, so i applaud her for that. but we can't forget about the people that were heard alolong e way. thele that are still in incarcerated community, latinx community, single parents, and house communities that have gone through so many things because of decisions that she has made. i can't overlook that because i am one of those people. i'm a not have been living in california, but i've gone through 70 of those things myself so you can't just leave us bleeding in the streets a and everything is great because somebody else has figured it out. so what we do for those people? so i am standing with us people.
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i do applaud her for her success. all of the young girls and the elder women that are saying, finally, we have somebody that could possibly be going into the vp spot. we honor thahat, but we won't need behind people that that voice at t that time s so i will be here e r them. as far as joe biden, that is the person who became the democratic nominee. the presumptive nominee. that is who we are going to rock with. i'm saying, rocked with it. we have to get donald trump out. all of those people come those different groups i just named, also groups that will be hurt under a trump administration another four years because he is been doing whatever he wanted to do basically for the last four years, so what can n we expect with four more? it will be worse. amy: you mentioned the unhoused population.
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you yourself are homeless. you also came down with covid-19 not once, but twice. quickly tell us about what brought you here, how you gotot hehere, yourur history. >> yeah,h, so i grew up in a household -- i've been inin politics for most t my life. i saw so much corruption and things coming at my father as he was trying to serve the community. so i said i would never do politics. when into ministry. would through 70 things personally. sexual assault, domestic viviolence, the low-wage worker. i was also uninsured, had times when i was unhoused. at 1.i was unhoused with two babies, mixing babies and a fast food restaurant babathroom. but i cap going. somebody said, this is a way to help. what can i do? of somele to come out of the situation so i wanted to give back to others because there was somebody who helped
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me. but it was not our congressperson. it was not the work necessarily being done that i felt could have been done through legislation. it was just people reaching out. so now i'm here to say, look, somebody helped me so let me be the someone to help someone else. i will not sit by and be quiet while we have the systems of injustice going on in our communities. if people want me to enter something down, i will tear down corruption and greed and injustice and racial -- racist systems. amy: what you want to hear, cori bush, from your parties convention this week that begins tonight? >> first o of all, i wish i was hearing that mededicare for all was on the platform. amy: you have been wiwithout health insurance when you are running fofor congress? >> i am wiwithout health i insue right now,, even when i went for my covid-19 situation. that lasted m me two months. i was hospitalized twice. my deals are stacking up right
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now. we have to do better for our people. get the of people can't resources they need for health care, we know 60,000 people could die a year not having health care, that is important. it is important to me and how we build equity, racial equity without addressing that in addressing it properly? i would love to hear that. i would also love to hear, know what? we may not have it altogether right now, but let us get into the seat and we will start having these conversations and doing some things differently. we hear you. that is what i want to hear. we have made changes as farce the climate crisis and that platform, changes in other places. yes, we want to make sure that we stay withth the voting rights act. absolutely, i do stand with those things but we cannot allow people to die. amy: cori bush, thank you so much for being with us, nurse, black lives matter activist who
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defeated 10-term congressmember lacy clay in the democratic primary earlier this month in missouri's first congressional district. clclay and his father bill clay have been congress membebers representing the area since 1969. cori bush is a formerly unhoused woman who helped lelead protests in ferguson after the police shootiting of 18-year-old michal brown. her story featured in the award-winning netflix documentary "knocks down the house" with aoc. coriri bush, you said you wanted to expand the squad? the squad being rashida tlaib and ilhan omar, both of them just reelected in their primaries, aoc of course, alexandria ocasio-cortez, and ayana pressley. >> yes, we have to expand the squad.
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we are bringing a different flavor. we are bringing progressive values. we are standing on what we believe ande are bringining our experiences. we are not so far removed from the people in our districts are facing, and it is happening all around the country. i remember what it was like to have a shuttle just a year ago, utilities shut off. i remember what it was like to be evicted. those things are close to me so i will fight and that is why we have to ask and the squad stop we have been in the situation in so many people have faced recently. amy: cori bush, thanknk you. we will check back with you. next, we go to honduras were five affluent landnd defenders were kidnapped last month and have not been seen since. honduras is one of the mostt dadangerous countries in the wod for land and environmental defenders. stay with us. ♪ [music break]
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amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. wewe are breaking with conventi. we turn now to honduras, w where preliminary hearings are set to begin today for one of the men accused of murdering indigenous environmental activist berta caceres, who was shot dead inside her home in honduras by hired hitmen in 2016. the judge will decide whether the case against david castillo gets sent to trial. at least 212 land and
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environmental defenders were murdered last year. that's the highest number since the group global witness began gathering data eight years ago. around 40% of those killed were indigenous people. colombia was the deadliest country, with 64 land and environmental defenders killed. honduras was also high on the list. the berta caceres hearing comes as afro-indigenous garifuna community in honduras demands the safe return of five garifuna land defenders and a member who was kidnapped last month in the caribbean coastal town of triunfo de la cruz. witnesses say the abductors wore police uniforms and forced them into three unmarked vehicles at gunpoint. among the abducted men was 27-year-old alberth snider centeno, president of the triunfo de la cruz community board member of the group black , a fraternal organization of honduras. this is centeno in a recent video testimony prior r to his forced d disappearan.
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we have witnessed people bebeing killed. we are being criminalized having rightful owners of this rich territory. amy: and this is garifuna leader miriam miranda, the executive director of the black fraternal organization of honduras, speaking to democracy now! from her home in honduras last month. > what happened is a a reflen of systemic persecution. systemic repression but t also a well-crafted b blend to extetene garifuna commumunity. it i is important underststand s pressure i is suppressioion and evererything we are e facing is because we are community in constant fight for social rights. amy: that was garifuna leader miriam miranda. this is the latest attack against the garifuna community as they defend their territory from destructive projects fueled by foreign investors and the government. honduras became one of the most dangerous countries in the world for black and indigenous water
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and land defenders after the 2009 u.s.-backed coup. for more, we're joined by carla garciaia, international lalation coorordinator wiwith the black fraternal organization of honduras. welcome to democracy now! explain the horror of what has taken place. explain who these five black indigenous environmental leaders are. >> good morning and thank youou. thank you very m much for being of ofraneh. we a are expxperimenting t the t days in 20 years. danger daily. all of the defenders of the land in honduras. it doesn't matter if they are garifuna, indigenous, everybody
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is in danger to be killed or kidnapped. we are holding responsible the government of honduras. context, alberth snider centeno is the most young leader of being achieved in one of our communities. and nobody believes this young man was able to do what he do. the international court, the human rights court. sorry. ---international court is huhundreds ndsds to obeyey the
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international court rule and get back this land to triunfnfoe la cruz and they're t trying too don't do thatat. that is why they kidnapapped albertrth snider centeno to make this community walk back or step baback. dying stepany people too many people in danger. -- next generation amy: i wanted to turn to another clip of garifunana leader r mirm miranda speaking to democracy now! from her home in honduras lalast month. > whahat we feel as an organizationon is somethining similar r that berta c caceres , where e the government t is goio prorate a group of peoplple or y this person n was the onone who mmititted e crime or this peperson was the o one who did , but the intellectuaual authors
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wiwill r remain withth impunity. anand t ts is one o of thehe res why i feel like it is important toto tell y y i'm not told anyoe and going g to speak witith you honestly. today y more than ever, my lifes in danger. amy: carla gararcia, c can you l usus what you know ifif the peoe who a abductor these five indigenous lders? a arriveduation, they addreressing official police. they went insidede every house d they asked foror those guys, the kids, anand removed them from their houses, frorom their community. soso if this is happenining with five indigigenous m men insidoff the communinity, why can it not happen with thee peoeoe who aree onhe front lines as happpped with berta caceres?? there going ininside the h houss
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and treating everyonone with impunity. that is what we're saying today more than ever, my life is in danger. because a month before this happened, one of our garifuna members whwho came to the international court also for the -- he d disappeared. he was kidnapped. six days later, we found him in a river killed. amy: can you talk about the years of violence that this black k indigenous community, te garifuna, have faced in hundreds? and talk about the president jua n orlando hernandez. he is tryiying to smear the grop ththat were disappeared, who we know is involved in drug an orlandog, joh, ju hernandez's brother, he has been
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imimplicateded, the president himself, was s supported by thee democrats as well as by prpresident t trump. >> it is very important t to undederstand that right now garifuna community's face the worspapart othee violence. [indiscernible] we cryor the dth of 19 of r leaders in different garifuna communities -- if it isponse a woman, it is a passion o crime. if it is aanan, hes ininvoed in drug trafficking or maybe is part t of a gang. this is our current siatation. world, let ng the tellouou something, i became a
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u.s. citizen and my heart is in twpaparts because i have my hearn wondro and my art t united ates. lolove bh h countrs. but nce 2019, hduras is living in hell. u.s..u.s., e governmement of says nothing about us. the brother ofut the president, the actual presidident. he is here in jail. the president of honduras is involved in narco traffic activities. why nobody is doing nothing? we are fighting against a thief right n now. i know that the u.u.s. has the best peoeople in the world as honduras. i claim m to open the eyes. open your eyes.
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they have the e same blood that you have. amy: minnesota congressmember hern omar, who just won primary, several other congressmen was s are denouncing plans by the trump administration to invest $1 billion over the next three years and a hydydropower project in honduras plagued by accusations of corruption and human rights violations. and this goes to president trump's support for the president right now, who is attacking the five garifuna leaders whwho have been a abduc, carla garcia. cacan you talk aboutut the connectitions you see? >> t the land. is laland that we preserve ririch. it is rich. and this is the same as the ldd the indigenous communities in hondurasas or across america -- because if you think of f what s happenining-- it iss
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across americaca, too. all indigenenous and black communities. y? bebecause live in comommon unin with mototr natuture. we take e care of mother natatu. mothert take away from nature what we don't need. so nowow everybody needs our rivers.. everybody ededs our laland, ourr everything we have to live is supposeded to go to othr people. p paynt to -- i want you to close atattention to thihis letr the congressman said. because the u.s.s. i is facing e immigratation situation. why do you thihink the peoeoplee emigigrating from honduraras? communityhe garifuna coming in caravans to the united states? because the government off hohouras has t taking everytythg away that ththey have. t money goeoes from the uned s states toto honduras t to
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invest in continue taking away what this community needs to we need toliving -- cut. if not, our people will come to this country to suffer, to wait, to be treated as criminals as they are being treated in their own country. amy: carla garcia, thank you so much for being with us. we will continue to follow this very grave issue in honduras. carla garcia, , international relationons coordinator r at the black fraternal organization of honduras. all week democracy now! we'll be breaking with convention as we coverr the democratic national convention, which virtually begins this evening. we will bring highlights of the speeches of everyone from bernie sanders tonight and michelle obama and others. that does it for today show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who
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