I thought I was tuning in for night one of #RNCConvention2020 and apparently it already happened? Roll call, acceptance speech, everything?
Wow, not 15 mins in and we already got to "spawn of satan." Buckle up, I guess. #RNCConvention2020
Gotta say this Matt Gaetz #FloridaMan speech is one for the books. Emptying prisons, locking you at home, MS-13 moving in next door, to his history in aerospace? A lot to follow there. #RNCConvention2020
Sincerely grateful for Amy Ford, this RN who deployed to NY & elsewhere to help during our worst time of #COVID19. #RNCConvention2020
"Victory" over #COVID19? Pretty astonishing that 177,000+ deaths not only normalized, but a mark of success. #RNCConvention2020
Every child lost at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas HS is a devastating story. The loss this father describes is crushing. But a script blaming "restorative justice" & the media for student deaths is really unhelpful. #RNCConvention2020
I guess we could count on St. Louis gun people to decry unarmed Black protesters not being charged w/crime & their pointing guns at unarmed ppl & each other being a felony. Plus desegregation zoning. "Coming to a neighborhood near you" isn't even dog-whistle. #RNCConvention2020
What did I miss? MSNBC keeps taking fact-check breaks, which are getting longer and longer. Just switched over to @cspan. #RNCConvention2020
Hadn't heard of Sean Parnell until just now. I was on same 10th Mountain Div tour in Afghanistan in 2006-2007 -- glad to hear him telling stories of 2-87 & other units like 3-71 who were isolated in the eastern mountains. #RNCConvention2020
So many clips of the USS Comfort in these videos - just noting here that the ship treated fewer than 200 patients in NYC. We had more than 23,000 NYers die during a time of chaos & lack of resources. #COVID19#RNCConvention2020
It's hard to follow narrative thread of historic highs of American salvation... as terror burns our cities down.. but we should stand with Rand Paul to rebuild here instead of Afghanistan... but rebuilding has already happened.. #confused#RNCConvention2020
Now coded language talking about how basic rights of LGBTQ ppl "violate" religious freedom from granddaughter of Billy Graham. #RNCConvention2020 may not have a platform, but hate is here for a new generation.
For anyone who didn't grow up evangelical, please know that tonight is 100% what it is like to be part of those communities. #RNCConvention2020
Fact: Pam Bondi shouldn't be lecturing anyone on scandals. #RNCConvention2020
Tiffany Trump: we are "mentally enslaved" by media and tech giants. This is quite a message for millennials & gen z. #RNCConvention2020
I love naturalization ceremonies. Worth noting, however:
"Politicians, professors, and protesters" apparently what's wrong with America according to Lou Holtz. Following the pro-life retired Army colonel and doc who is now a nun. #RNCConvention2020 stays interesting.
Good shout out to 10th Mountain Division as most deployed since 9/11 by Rep. Elise Stefanik. Also some love for upstate NY, a huge geographic district. #RNCConvention2020
Big night for 18th Airborne Corps division shout outs: Rep. Lee Zeldin talks about his 82nd Airborne deployment from a Long Island VFW post. #RNCConvention2020
VA Choice was an Obama administration policy. Wait times at VA dramatically decreased under Obama also. #RNCConvention2020
VP says acknowledging racism & implicit bias makes America less safe.. and entirely ignores the urgent need to hold police accountable for atrocities against Black people like #JacobBlake. Justice and accountability are patriotic, too. #BlackLivesMatter
Also I do not see how a background of working as a bartender for a living is somehow less American or dignified than being a radio show host. A lot of folks in coastal cities work hard for a living, too. #RNCConvention2020
Looking back on the olden days, so many years ago, when people--Americans!--were concerned about the White House or federal property being used for political campaigning: politi.co/3hB2x01#RNCConvention2020
These videos are like evangelical gay or "lifestyle" conversion narratives. This is really something to watch in a national election. #RNCConvention2020
USMC veteran Stacia Brightmon may be the best #RNCConvention2020 spokesperson yet. Really inspirational story about going from homelessness to a lifechanging apprenticeship. White House jobs initiatives are so important, regardless of party.
Just going to note here that forming a taskforce of business leaders a month into a pandemic isn't how emergency management works. No matter how loud you shout it. #RNCConvention2020
After being left out of the DNC last week, Bill de Blasio is featured tonight in #RNCConvention2020 reel about how badly neglected the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) has been under his administration. Fact check: true.
There's been no significant reduction in NYPD staffing or funding. NYC needs to solve this rise in shootings, but Pat Lynch presents a skewed story of what's happening. Police accountability isn't anti law & order - it is demanding NYPD abide by laws too. #RNCConvention2020
Pat Lynch speaking on behalf of NYPD--more than half of whom choose to live outside NYC--at #RNCConvention2020 is deeply troubling to those of us who feel a profound divide between civilians and the geared-up police on our streets. This isn't a call for peace. It's division.
Rudy Giuliani is a fearmonger. Protests have been happening in my city & neighborhood for months. Protests are not riots. Protests do not make cities or America unsafe. Racism, injustice, and police who are not held accountable for wrongdoing make us unsafe. #RNCConvention2020
America deserves to hear the story of Kayla Mueller. What happened to her was atrocious. #RNCConvention2020
A huge crowd, very few masks. The sounds of protesters outside this explicitly partisan event at the White House. Astonishing on so many levels. #RNCConvention2020
Can we please let this Lee Greenwood song at long last sink into the ocean. I'm proud to be an American and a veteran but this is a terrible song. #RNCConvention2020
The Hatch Act applies to all federal employees other than the President & VP. Maybe tonight's a good time to read up on this. osc.gov/Services/Pages…
Citizens concerned about law and order related to the Hatch Act can file complaints here: osc.gov/Services/Pages…
"91% approval rate at VA" is a point of much discussion among actual veterans. It's true much has been reformed at VA since Obama first signed major reforms in 2014 (including "Choice," which preceded Trump) but it is unclear how VA is surveying for approval. #RNCConvention2020
Pay raises for the military generally happen every year. #RNCConvention2020
More than 23,000 people died in my city from a pandemic our federal govt should've been prepared for. They died in overcrowded hospitals lacking PPE & sufficient staffing. More than 180,000 Americans have died. All statistics point toward tragedy & failure. #RNCConvention2020
NYPD Officer Miosotis Familia should be alive today. Her death was a tragedy. Her death should also not be confused with protests against police brutality. She was murdered by a man with a history of violence against police & severe mental illness. #RNCConvention2020
I read this yesterday. I keep wanting to scream. This is an important piece. But it is nowhere damning enough. A few thoughts: 1/ theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
First, it is surprising to notice someone who ran relentless cover for the Biden withdrawal last August seems to feel bad about it now & is made out to be someone of conscience here. It's puzzling, but not the point of the piece. 2/
Also, let it be known that Mission Essential Personnel has told more lies about our #AfghanAllies than the Taliban. This was systemic betrayal of loyal Afghans. They fired our friends for "security reasons" time & again. It seems directed at SIV denial.
Rush Limbaugh's legacy of stoking hate, bigotry, insults & lies will sadly live on. Remembering today the bile he spewed at veterans. Like when he called veterans wounded in Iraq "phony soldiers" for speaking up about the lies that started the war: abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2…
On transgender military service, Rush Limbaugh offered this "support" for the troops: "So the Trannies Could Now Get Into The Military Along With Everybody Else. Of Course, What Could Go Wrong?" mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/…
At one point, women veterans demanded Rush Limbaugh be taken off of Armed Forces Network because of the misogynist hatred he spewed. He was never taken off the programming. stripes.com/blogs/stripes-…
A few years ago @CapitolPolice arrested more than 150 peaceful protesters, many of them sexual assault survivors, using their 1st amendment right to protest the Kavanaugh nomination. I haven't been able to find one report or photo of any marauders or looters arrested today.
When disability rights protesters peacefully objected to cuts in Medicaid, more than 180 were arrested. @CapitolPolice took down people with physical disabilities. I have not yet found even one marauder or looter handled like these disabled heroes were.
When disabled people peacefully protested the harm legislators wanted to inflict upon them - @CapitolPolice literally flipped people out of their wheelchairs. I've seen no such aggression toward those who looted our Capitol today.
I don't wish COVID-19 or any illness on anyone. But like countless others, I'm enraged it took this long for the WH to put on masks. To treat this as the crisis it is. 210k dead. Mourning families. Unpayable medical debts. Lost jobs & businesses. This global tragedy is unending.
Seeing discussions of helicopter vs. ground travel from WH to Walter Reed - which is well and interesting - got me thinking of March-May in NYC when ambulances were constant, EMS & ER staff were overwhelmed & hospitals had morgue trailers filling with our neighbors & loved ones.
Wishing New Yorkers had options then - or that other Americans have options now. In early months, folks were told to stay home unless they couldn't breathe. Hospital hall space was taken up with critical patients, many of whom died from lack of staffing & equipment.
That "308,000 deaths in the military" number is very specific, so I did a simple search. Appears that 308,000 is the number of civilian casualties in Iraq. Real numbers, real lives - zero context here in #Debates2020. statista.com/chart/20699/es…
More than 20k people died of COVID-19 in my city. Healthcare workers had no PPE. NYC begged for supplies & equipment as morgue trailers filled. Deceased people were carried away in rental vans. We were failed by our federal govt profoundly. politico.com/news/2020/03/2…
NYC saved lives by limiting social contact and mandating masks. We do not want to go back to the mass-death we experienced in terrifying early months of this pandemic. This isn't a game, this isn't a political football. Americans are dying. #Debates2020