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"You have been identified as a valued member of the community who may have interest in participating in the inaugural class of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago Citizens Academy,” read a letter from ICE Chicago Field Office Director Robert Guadian.

At last, the rollout of a government sponsored program designed to recruit and cultivate the Trump version of the Sturmabteilung, (Nazi Brown Shirts). I knew in my gut, from the very beginning, that this would happen, and now it has. This is a step into dangerous territory; there are way too many heavily armed, right and ultra-right wing people who will take great pleasure in having a government agency validate their racist behaviors. This is incredibly frightening. And sad.

Thanks, Heather, for your tireless research and writing. I cannot imagine how you keep up with it all!

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This one made my blood run cold. To whom were these invitations addressed?

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HCR’s Newsweek article: The St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA) and, "ICE is inviting interested participants from a variety of stakeholder backgrounds including: Community groups, state/local elected leaders, Congressional staff, consular officials and business and religious leaders.” Good question about the selection criteria..

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This statement is currently on the IFCLA website:

Stop ICE’s Racist Citizens Academy Now!

Yet again, the Chicago Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is leading the way in building a racist community based on hatred and violence. In July 2020, they announced an “inaugural” pilot program that will kick-off in September 2020: the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Citizens Academy. Another division of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has been running similar “citizens academies” in recent years.

In the invitation letter from Field Office Director Robert Guadian, he specifically states that "attendees will participate in scenario-based training and exercises ... including, but not limited to defensive tactics, firearms familiarization, and targeted arrests." This program trains citizens to perpetuate race-based violence and further normalizes hate crimes that already devastate our communities.

Our tax dollars should not be spent on this hatred - especially not when a global pandemic continues to devastate our communities. Immigrants are our neighbors, friends, family, coworkers, and classmates. This blatant endorsement of white supremacy coded in a false display of patriotism seeks to excuse racial profiling and will only lead to increased violence, hatred and xenophobia in our communities.

Join us in demanding that ICE stop accepting applications and cancel this program immediately! Use the forms below to email the Chicago Field Office and send a Tweet to ICE. Don’t forget to share this on your social media, too!

https://stl-ifcla.org/blog/2020/7/6/stop-ices-racist-citizens-academy-now

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Thanks for this link...

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Thanks for the link

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The IFCLA used an extremely unfortunate format to protest ERO on their facebook page. When that particular IFCLA protest post is shared to a general population who have no context or prior knowledge of the subject the viewer might get the idea that IFCLA supports the REO training.

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I don't know what they had up earlier - but right now they have the post noted above.

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I'll check it out.

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One guess!

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Yes, those were my thoughts as well (re the ICE "Academy"). Let's train people to report on their black and brown neighbors' "suspicious" activities, and encourage them to take the law into their own hands. :-( Very tough times...

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I had the same feeling about the 6 day, 5 night Brown-shirt Academy. Paramilitary units just don't grow on trees.

We are in the middle of a recession and a pandemic and suddenly a federal agency is prioritizing this type of training?

Given Trump's demonize and attack on the liberal elite this move to train selected civilians for tactical response is sobering.

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This scares me and makes me angry. However, don't assume that the left are unarmed. And there is nothing stopping "the liberal elite" from taking this training.

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At the end of Heather's long and already horror-filled post, this brought more fear into me than anything else.

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The House Committee on Homeland Security needs to investigate this program immediately. Also, I hope other media outlets dig into the story.

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I sent the Newsweek article that Heather flagged to @MaddowBlog on Twitter. Story is right up her alley.

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I am right there with you on this point. Trump is doing everything Hitler did to "normalize" how things have been dismantled to support his version of America and disenfranchise people of color and dissenters all the while encouraging his base to follow him and pay off his loyalists.

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This is exactly what I thought when I read it. Chilling beyond words.

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Did you just receive that letter in the mail apropos of nothing? When I read that this plan was going into effect, I immediately thought of Nazi Brown Shirts and further abuse of minorities and illegals in our country, and this time at the hands of untrained ICE wannabe-police who aren't police. I can't even imagine the amount of violence that will begin when one of these trained citizens goes up to someone he/she deems "illegal" and questions them. That won't end well. Recall what happened when wannabe cop Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, who was doing absolutely nothing wrong. I can see that scenario playing over and over if this new ICE disaster goes through.

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Yes, exactly what I saw when reading that.

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Or sleep when you’re finished writing!

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This ICE story scares me. More than the rest of it, if possible.

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Mel, it all scares me. Again, November can't come soon enough ☹️

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This scares me, too. It is following the same path dictators take (which is the path Trump has taken from Day 1): turn the people against each other; reward those who show loyalty to Trump and his agenda, and do it under the guise of a “necessary action” because there are enemies of our (his) great plan to MAGA and they need to be eliminated!

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Me too. It is horrifying.

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It sounds more like cadet recruiting and ride-alongs, doesn't it?

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From a strategic standpoint, I think it's important to view Trump's actions (e.g., ICE's Citizens Academy) not through the lens of consolidating power, but rather in terms of destabilizing our country on Russia's behalf. Because then a whole lot more makes sense -- for example, why promote the spread of COVID-19 as part of a power consolidation play? It's much more easily explained as part of a program to weaken and destabilize the US.

On a separate note, we clearly haven't seen the last of the Boogaloo Boys, III%ers, and their ilk. I suspect they will be out in force on Election Day to intimidate voters, and it's one of many reasons why Trump is opposing mail-in voting -- he can't create the necessary chaos if people aren't forced to go to the polls in person. Again, I see this being as much about destabilization (in the form of disputed elections) as it is about consolidation of power.

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Where to start? Nov 9, 2016, when I awoke to discover that this unqualified, disgusting psychotic had actually been elected president by the ignorant bigoted masses of this nation. For every day since then I have watched his rise in popularity among this ignorant, bigoted cult base and saw how Hitler actually took over Germany in the early 20th Century.

Now, it is becoming more dire as I see his original boast that he can "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and not "lose any voters," was actually true. Worse, I see the ABSOLUTE CORRUPTION OF THE POTUS & REPUGNANT PARTY. I daily watch the lackeys with which he has surrounded himself, as dictators are wont to do, destroying the core of this nation’s government functioning. The Attorney General is destroying any oversight of this demagogue and the complicit Repugnant Senate is silently letting it happen. It is like being in a car wreck in progress, where you are powerless to do anything about it and time seems to have slowed so you can see all the rolling & sliding out of control to the end.

Besides experiencing a deadly viral pandemic, which should have been the most calamitous occurrence in my lifetime, I am also experiencing the demise of our nation.

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Rob, you have captured in words all of the emotions I am wrestling with every day. My soul feels defeated, and I feel helpless to stop this slow motion disaster. What can we do?!?! How do we fix this before our system of government and our way of life implodes?!?!? 😩😢🙏🏻

Every moral fiber is fraying, and will soon snap.

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Yes, we can feel helpless, and then is the time to connect with like minds who are raising awareness and building movements of change on many different levels. HCR is raising awareness with her Letters and videos, and she has 560,000 followers on Facebook. The posts of fellow readers here bring relief. Support responsible media and reporters who are calling out and publicizing misdeeds that threaten democracy. Black Lives Matter was founded 7 years ago on July 13 and is effecting change by defunding police departments. Learn how to succinctly articulate the fundamentals of democracy and how they are being threatened so as to engage in conversations with family, friends, coworkers, and/or on social media. Support young people working on gun violence and antiracism. Each and every one of us can work in some way to get out the vote. Donate to a responsible candidate running for an office. Change starts with identifying the problem and then the solutions. Stay grounded in love. Feed your spirit. Uplift people doing good work. Hang in there. We need each other!

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Thank you...🖤

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You won’t believe that some uplifting reading is to be found in the July 9 Supreme Court opinion on Trump v. Vance:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-635_o7jq.pdf

First, Roberts tells a story that starts with, “In the summer of 1807, all eyes were on Richmond, Virginia. Aaron Burr, the former Vice President, was on trial for treason.” As Roberts writes about President Jefferson, you’d think you were reading Heather Cox Richardson writing on U.S. history with invitation to substitute “Trump” for “Jefferson.” Which gives us a peak into what Roberts was thinking while presiding over Trump’s impeachment proceeding.

Second, reading the dissent opinions of Thomas and Alito is to read rational reasoned argument, which stands in refreshing contrast to Trump’s Twitter rants.

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By the way, Alito outlined how he thought the criminal subpoena against Trump would need to be rewritten to his satisfaction—a task that is very doable and most certainly being urgently attended to as we speak!

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Yep ...you left out those who fought in WWII are now in the most vulnerable population 💙

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The next time a Republican claims to be "pro life," the appropriate response is to laugh in their face.

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I agree that today’s news feels different - to me it feels scarier, with outright in-our-face disregard for the values and rule of law that so many of us believe in, count on and stand for. Commutation of sentence for a convicted traitor? Citizens encouraged to train to bear arms and turn onto immigrants? Gosh, I’m an immigrant from France, by choice, American for 30 years; to me the smell of civil unrest is getting sharper. The commemoration of the French Revolution is next Tuesday. Let’s not forget that it was followed by years of a period that for good reason is called the Terror. We don’t want *that* history to repeat itself.

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Just another day of corruption and cronyism, and sadly because he has been able to reward personal loyalty and install so many of his friends in positions of power, in the years ahead we will be reeling from the damage he has inflicted on this country. This, in addition to all the rollbacks of legislation that protected the environment and our national parks, is an American horror story and a tragedy indeed. So sad.

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The most frightening thing about the last four years remains the people who voted for this guy and who continue to fly the Trump/Pence flag. As a liberal living in a predominantly GOP county in SE Ohio, I worry what will happen after T loses in the fall? Where will all of these irrational, trigger-happy nut jobs take out their aggression?

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This really disturbs me also, and is very much on my mind. Even if Trump is run out on a rail, his supporters remain. They are a significant, self-reinforcing bloc. Their perception of the problems we face, and solutions for them, are so different from my sense of right, it seems impossible to find common ground. The really scary part is how Trump, and Republicans generally in my opinion, are systematically dismantling the mechanisms within government to resolve honest differences. People have always disagreed. Effective institutions can handle that. I feel we are in a march toward autocracy that is destroying our ability to have civil, rational discussions on how to steer our country. Truly scary.

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I heard a young Dem rep from PA interviewed last week. He was asked who was his best friend “in the other side” and he quickly talked about (someone) with whom he’d collaborated. What stuck with me was his comment that he was just “ordinary,” like his community, but especially his comment that younger MOC want to DO something (I.e., legislate) but the old leaders wouldn’t let them. Until they were gone, everyone was stuck. If you haven’t heard of The Lincoln Project and/or Indivisible, look them up. This is precisely what they are working for—getting rid of Trump of course but also of his enablers (Indivisible’s Payback Project—I working on that).

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And Tom Cotton has indicated he might run for President in 2024.

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He scares me. He is a true believer (at least acts like one) and has been consistently raising his profile. I really hope he takes a fall before he gets any higher on the national stage.

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That would be hell on Earth. Trump would look tame in comparison.

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I worry about that as well. I worried in 2008 about what would happen if the press and polls leading up to Election Day had been wrong. The media awarded Obama the victory weeks before the election. I was afraid of what would happen if McCain pulled off an upset. Fortunately that didn’t happen. But this is different. I hope Trump continues to slip in the polls so that his radical base has plenty of time to understand that he is done. If Biden’s lead shrinks to near even, and Biden wins, the base will be energized and it could get ugly.

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Gobsmacked, yet again. You are my light inside the storm. Please get some rest and take care of yourself.

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My daily highlight. Morning coffee. Quiet house. TV not turned on yet.

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I don't turn on anything until I read my daily HCR

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I don’t READ anything until I’ve read HCR’s daily letter.

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If I wake up in the wee hours I read HCR's letter if she's posted. That's not the greatest idea because I then read the citations I haven't already read in the course of my day. This practice is definitely not conducive to a good, peaceful night's rest.

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I learned that the hard way, so now I save it for the morning, like a kid a Christmas! 🙃

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❤️❤️❤️

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I do the same, at the expense of a restful night's sleep. #worthit

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❤️❤️❤️

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Dana Wilbert, I agree that is not a good practice, but I do plan to be up early on Tuesday when Mary Trump's book drops.😊

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Meeting all the above criteria as well. 😔

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Same here.

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Same here!

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My daily quest for understanding and sanity begins with HCR every day. No TV ever.

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I do watch ONE Newshour a couple nights a week, usually Monday & Friday. Otherwise no tv news. Period. I mostly read it.

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I do watch PBS Newshour

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Ditto, and Washington Week on PBS.

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Mary Pat Soon, I agree! I don't know what I would do without my daily HCR

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Regarding the ICE training program. Will they be wearing brown shirts?

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I continue to be stunned by politicizing COVID. With hospitals at capacity no less! Truly stunning. And Desantis refuses to release hospitalizations? That tells us all we need to know. I have no faith in a fair election...anyone else?

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Available ICU beds in the state is at 15%. I think I remember something he said when starting to open (not that things were actually closed down to begin with) that dropping below 20-30% availability would be a critical point. Seems to be ignoring that now. At what point does the governor think we should start doing something that will have an impact?

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Hes really scrambling now with his state in dire need due to his prioritizing politics over health experts.

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But, hey, let’s all go to Disney World!!! SMFH.....

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How is it legal for DeSantis to not release the numbers of hospitalizations?

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I believe he started yesterday. Just under 7000 people hospitalized currently, I believe. Some hospitals have been reporting their numbers on their own as well.

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I have to believe hospital administrators will find a way around that. Only a matter of time because things will be getting worse.

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Why, Floridians don't need to fret! They can go to Disneyworld! (SMH. I am sure that is going to end up being the Covid Cluster You Know What of all time.)

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Everywhere you look the stories come to the same point: Trump trying ineptly to save his a...! He "saves" brother Stone from his just desserts in a way that ensures he'll still not spill all.....untill someone offers him a lucrative book contract, of course. Barr plays musical chairs with appointments to try to stifle on-going investigations that are getting too close to the Trump-bone...but judicial time is not political time and the dirt will come out in the wash anyway. Ice's Chicago office starts to recruit and train a private army.....who's membership Trump will strictly control....to either forestall electoral defeat by creating vigilante chaos or by generating street resistance to overtly racist immigration control...and which he can link to existing armed, white supremacist or survivalist militia.....but the army is not with him and without that there is no coup!

In some ways the ineptness of his manoeuvres and manipulations, the absence of any vision or strategic sense and the translucence of the intent behind his communicated propaganda and diversions are more shocking than the facts of what he does. He can't even weave his nasty web intelligently, coherently and persistently and can't find competent "helpers" to further his designs and compensate for his inadequacies.

The real problem in all this is that it was obvious before his election and known to all and sundry....should they care to open their eyes! Do the core voters who Trump is constantly appealing to care for him personaly or will they see him as a failure, stay at home and reserve their ammunition to fight another day.... while McConnell and his ilk try to save the furniture.

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If I believed that even half of what the president's people are doing was visible, I would agree. But I believe that a good part of what is going on is not visible. What do they know that we don't know?

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At this point there is no pretense of trying to be a president, now he is straight up pandering to his loyal followers baser instincts in a power grab. Chilling. I hope you get a couple quiet news days so you get some down time. Thank you for your dedication and passion.

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Biden's adoption of the progressive agenda in a way that can consolidate D's and steal some of dt's populist thunder, is canny and shrewd. But I think it's also important to note that dt and Barr represent a coalition between different kinds of fascist "tendencies." Dt is in it for self-glorification, raw power and darker ideals than we care to dwell on, while Barr is a religious moralist and would-be reformer who believes that all the ills of society derive from secularism; in that sense he represents is a more sophisticated version of the religious right. Each believes he is using the other as a means to an end. We could do worse than to stress that dt is "godless," and there's plenty of ammunition to support it. Morality is not exactly his strong point

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I did not know the difference between commuting a sentence and a pardon. I guess because I don’t need that knowledge in my everyday walk about life. Wow!

ICE has followed children home from school to find immigrants around Ft. Worth/Dallas area. Guess they need to go full gestapo since kids aren’t in school. Imagine a little child, being followed by someone with a gun to their home any random day. Churches use to hand out cards “What to do when ICE comes to your door.” Many parents shipped away leaving small children abandoned.

Indoctrination. That’s rich! As a teacher that makes me so angry! Believe me the that process doesn’t happen at school! But you can see it where people refuse to wear a mask! I walked out of a garden nursery because no one had on a mask. Enough t-shirts of confederate flags, Christian slogans, and hate slogans to make you puke!

Thank you! For enlightenment and for my rant. I knew it was all going to happen right down to the brown shirts. Just took a little longer than I expected.

Hope you take time to rest! How is your garden? Get outside!!!

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Here in South Carolina, where Covid-19 numbers are among the worst in the country, the governor has decided to fight the spread of the virus by ordering bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. nightly.

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Oh, yep, that oughta do it.

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Florida here where all bars are closed (can serve take out alcohol still), which clearly hasn’t helped at all.

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I know someone who was on vacation in FL last week! Clearly this is all about economics. How many will die to maintain economic stability?

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A lot will die. People inside the state are doing things as well. I know a family who’s in Orlando now at the them parks, and will go to work Monday like it’s no big deal. Complete disregard for the consequences others will face due to their selfish actions.

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Wow...one has to work hard to be that dense.

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I don’t think it’s that hard ...

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It's not for stability, which is the opposite of what it clearly will create. It's a mix of reality-denial to help rump's election, and country-destroying on behalf of his master Putin.

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I agree..horribly short sighted strategy.

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Wow! That should make the virus—what?—“just disappear” in the words of Trump!🤪

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I saw that yesterday. I am worried sick about family there.

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I am too. My in-laws are in Sarasota. My MIL has been going to water aerobics, my FIL (93 tomorrow) is mostly staying home except to go to his favorite waterside restaurant and dine out of doors. I am petrified that they will become ill.

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All my family as well. They are terrified and in quarantine.

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Quoting my husband here. "That's a bold step!" LOL!

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