Pittsburgh Current, Jan. 13, 2019, Volume 4, Issue 1

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Jan. 13, 2021 - Jan. 19, 2021

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THIS IS A TEST OF

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Climate Crisis and Corrupt Politics By: Larry J. Schweiger Free Shipping Paperback $29.95 or purchase an eBook for $19.00 (Read the first 25 pages for free)

There is only one earth and our world is undergoing dramatic changes brought on by the climate crisis and other human-induced ecological disruptions. The world's top scientists studying these threats and the forces behind them have been warning us for decades to end the use of fossil fuels or face catastrophic consequences. Their long-ignored warnings have become more dire.

Larry Schweiger has long been on the front line of efforts to enact rational clean energy and climate policies and has witnessed efforts to undermine our democratic system that has been rigged leaving America hoodwinked and held hostage to dirty fuels.

Climate Crisis and Corrupt Politics pulls back the curtain on the central role of big oil, coal, and gas interests in American politics through the flow of money to fabricated entities for independent SuperPAC expenditures for mass deception through distorted advertising. Larry wrote this urgent message aimed at parents, grandparents and young adults who care about their children forced to live on the ragged edge of an unprecedented climate crisis. This book is especially for leaders who understand that we must act now with a "Green New Deal" scale response. Together, we must confront and overcome the many toxic money influences, reverse a failing democracy and retake the reins of government to enact policies that secure our shared future and the future of life on earth.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 3

STAFF Publisher/Editor: Charlie Deitch Charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com Advisory Board Chairman: Robert Malkin Robert@pittsburghcurrent.com EDITORIAL

Managing Editor At Large: Brittany Hailer Brittany@pittsburghcurrent.com Music Editor: Margaret Welsh Margaret@pittsburghcurrent.com Visuals Editor: Jake Mysliwczyk Jake@pittsburghcurrent.com Sr. Contributing Writer: Jody DiPerna Jody@pittsburghcurrent.com Education Writer: Mary Niederberger Mary@pittsburghcurrent.com

contents Vol. IV Iss. I Jan. 13 2020

From the Editor 6 | Riot at the Capitol NEWS 9 | PPS online learning 11 | Prepping for protests OPINION 12 | Larry Schweiger Arts 14 | Act 33 EXTRA 16 | Matthew Walllenstein 18 | Parting Shot

Social Justice Columnist: Jessica Semler jessica@pittsburghcurrent.com Environmental Columnist: Larry Schweiger info@pittsburghcurrent.com Contributing Writers: Jody DiPerna, Atiya Irvin Mitchell, Dan Savage, Larry Schweiger, Brittany Hailer, Matthew Wallenstein, Caitlyn Junter, Aryanna Hunter, Nick Eustis, Jessie Sage, Mary Niederberger info@pittsburghcurrent.com Logo Design: Mark Addison TO ADVERTISE : The Fine Print

Senior Account Executive: Andrea James andrea@pittsburghcurrent.com Charlie Deitch charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com

The contents of the Pittsburgh Current are © 2021 by Pittsburgh Current, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this publication shall be duplicated or reprinted without the express-written consent of Pittsburgh Current LLC. One copy per person. The Pittsburgh Current is published twice monthly beginning August 2018.

The opinions contained in columns and letters to the editors represent the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Pittsburgh Current ownership, management and staff. The Pittsburgh Current is an independently owned and operated print and online media company produced in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, 1665 Broadway Ave., Pittsburgh, PA., 15216. 412-204-7248.

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CORO N AV I R U S C ASES A R E AT AN ALL-TIM E H I G H S O R EMEM BE R . . . . .

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FROM THE EDITOR

DONALD TRUMP'S ATTEMPT TO OVERTHROW THE REPUBLIC F

BY CHARLIE DEITCH - PITTS

A

s this issue goes to press, the United States Congress just voted to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time.

Trump is the first President in history to be impeached twice. At this point, everyone is well aware of how we got to this place.

On Jan. 6, as Congress gathered to certify Joe Biden’s win for President of the United States, Donald Trump was down the street at the Washington Mall. Trump gave a speech that continued to feed his followers several false narratives that led to the Capitol insurrection: The Election was stolen “All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by bold and radical left Democrats, which is what they are doing, and stolen by the fake news media. That is what they have done and what they are doing. We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved,” Trump said.

Vice President Mike Pence had the power to

CHARLIE@PITTSBUR

reverse the results of a fair election.

“I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. … All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify, and we become president, and you are the happiest people. And I actually, I just spoke to Mike.

I said, Mike, that doesn’t take courage, what takes courage is to do nothing.

That takes courage, and then we are stuck with a president who lost the election by a lot, and we have to live with that for four more years. We’re just not going to let that happen. Mike Pence, I hope you’re going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country. (APPLAUSE) And if you’re not, I’m going to be very disappointed in you. I will tell you right now. I’m not hearing good stories.”

Trump wouldn’t be president for much longer unless something is done quickly.

“After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be

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Photos from D.C. by Blink O'fanaye (creative commons)

there with you. We’re going to ... walk down to the Capitol and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness.”

Sadly, we all know what happened from there.

Thousands of people, a crowd filled with QAnon conspiracy theorists, white supremacists, anti-semites and, quite frankly, what you’d might consider somewhat “normal” people who have bought into Trump’s cult-inducing

FROM THE EDITOR

FAILED , BUT THE DANGER TO OUR DEMOCRACY STILL EXISTS

SBURGH CURRENT EDITOR

RGHCURRENT.COM

rhetoric, marched to the Capitol, into the Capitol and attempted to overthrow our Democracy.

Some were armed, some left bombs, others were looking to physically harm, if not assassinate, our leaders including Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nan-

cy Pelosi. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a frequent target of Trump's vitriol had a “close encounter” with the invaders and thought she was going to die, Insurrectionists murdered a Capitol Police officer with a fire extinguisher and beat and kicked others, one with an American flag

on the steps of the Capitol.

Other Capitol Police officers donned MAGA hats and took selfies with the insurgents.

And they probably weren’t alone. Reports come out daily about members of Congress and other officials may have taken an active role in the planning and execution of the plan.

This was not a protest. It was at least, an act of sedition, and at most, treason against the United States.

Jerry Dickinson, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pittsburgh says that many of the insurgents at the Capitol last week will claim they were just expressing their constitutional right to free speech. But Dickinson says the protections of the First Amendment “are not unlimited.” And those actions were of a seditious nature, an attempt to overthrow the government.

“It is likely that numerous protestors who stormed both the House and Senate floors violated federal law, as it is a federal crime to enter the floor of either House through the use of force and violence,” Dickinson

said. “This was a seditious assault on American democracy and an historic attempt at insurrection incited by the President of the United States. As a constitutional law professor, I firmly believe it will take years to repair the damage to American democracy. [These] events have left an indelible, and perhaps irreparable, scar on our nation.”

It’s not a difficult theory to get behind for two reasons.

First, the ease at which the domestic terrorists breached the Capitol is frightening. There were not enough peace-keeping forces there to prevent the insurrection, despite ample warning about the major protest and chatter discovered by law enforcement agencies about an assault on the Capitol. Additional support was sought before the event and for a long duration at the beginning of the siege before additional forces finally arrived.

No doubt, as you followed the attack on the news, on social media and in subsequent news reports, you saw someone Continued on Page 8

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FROM THE EDITOR Continued from Page 7

you know at the Capitol that day.

Maybe it was your state Senator, like Doug Mastriano who was smiling and laughing like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Or maybe it was your professor at Saint Vincent’s College, a former state representative and congressional candidate like Rick Saccone.

While there’s no evidence that either breached the Capitol, Saccone sent this video message out on Twitter: “We’re live in front of the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of thousands of people storming the Capitol.

They broke down the gates … We’re trying to run out all the evil people and the RINOs (Republican in Name Only) who betrayed our president…We’re calling on Vice President Mike Pence to support our president.”

Or maybe you saw a patrolman from your hometown wearing a a hat that said, “Trump 2020: Fuck your Feelings” in the crowd. For a lot of people, that’s the scariest thing.

Finding out that someone who is supposed to protect you is enough of a Trump supporter to travel to D.C. and wear an offensive hat. That’s the case with Zelienople Police Officer

Thomas Goldie, who was photographed there. The town’s chief told me that the city’s law department was investigating, but he also told KDKA that if Goldie was simply there and did not take part in the unrest, there wouldn’t be a problem.

But, for most people knowing their police officers support a man who has openly supported white supremacists and ordered troops to teargas a crowd of actual protesters so he could walk to a photo-op, is a frightening thing.

One Zelienople resident, who asked not to be identified, has their own questions about Goldie’s presence in D.C. The resident said they are legitimately

8 | JANUARY 13, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

worried about being pulled over by an officer who supports Trump so rabidly.

The Pittsburgh Current is looking for any information about local police officers who attended the rally. Especially in light of recent news that the Justice Department is investigating certain police officers and members of the military for any part they may have played in the planning or carrying out of the insurgency. Before everyone starts yelling about First Amendment rights and what people do on their own time, etc, etc., We’ll end on the questions/feelings sent to the Current of one person who lives in a small town where such an officer freely roams the

street.

What was his level of involvement, support and enthusiasm regarding the acts of domestic terrorism and coup attempt he traveled out of state to attend?

How is his “Fuck Your Feelings” slogan reflected in his policing?

3. Are the feelings being “fucked” those of the American voter, those who did not vote for Trump or those of the terrorized individuals in the Capitol Building yesterday?

4. Does he have plans to attend or celebrate at any coup attempts in the future?

5. Were other members of Zelienople law enforcement in attendance yesterday?

6. If so, do they also wish for any particular groups’ feelings to be “fucked”?

7. Does he wear the “Fuck Your Feelings” hat with his uniform?

8. If not, how have you ascertained his ability to separate his desire to attend a planned coup attempt and his disregard for the feelings of others from his ability to police without bias?

9. Does the Zelienople Borough or Police Department support Officer Goldie’s attendance of the coup or his visible clothing statements?

NEWS PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS SAY LARGE ONLINE CLASS WORKLOAD FOLLOWED BY HOURS OF HOMEWORK IS 'OVERWHELMING''

BY MARY NIEDERBERGER - PITTSBURGH CURRENT EDITOR

MARY@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

E

ight hours a day attending class on a computer followed by hours of homework each evening. That’s how high school students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools described their days of online learning.

And it’s become overwhelming.

“Something that has popped up a lot with my peers is that they feel swamped with work and that right now they are getting a lot more work than if we were in the building,” said Tyrique Whitson, a student at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy Tyrique and Devonnte Livingston, a student at Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12, are members of Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s student advisory council. In that capacity they were reading results of student surveys during Tuesday’s hour-long virtual student listening session on the topic of “Virtual Learning and Technology Support.”

Other students who joined the virtual session chimed in with their comments as well.

Tyrique called for pa-

tience at all levels -- between students and teachers and between teachers and the administration.

“Right now we kind of don’t know what we are doing and what’s going on.

We’ve been doing this for a whole semester and we still don’t know what’s going on,” Tyrique said.

Tyrique Whitson takes part in PPS' virtual student listening session on Jan. 12 “Teachers are starting to understand what we are going through and we are starting to understand what teachers are going through.”

Students spoke of connectivity issues created when Microsoft Teams crashes or wifi issues cause lessons to lag.

Some asked for classes to be recorded so they could later listen for what they might have missed. Recorded lessons, they said, would also be helpful for students who have to work during the pandemic or watch siblings to help their families and can’t always attend when classes are offered online.

Tyrique said he’s heard that some teachers are already recording and posting their lessons for students

to view outside of school hours.

“That would address issues such as the lag in lessons with wifi and allow students to rewatch” parts of lessons they did not understand, Tyrique said.

But the recurring issue with students was what they perceive to be an overwhelming workload.

Some suggested longer grace periods for turning in assignments and more asynchronous time during the online school day to complete classwork so their classwork doesn’t get combined with their homework.

“One thing I hear is that asynchronous time gets blended in with homework.

It starts to be this jumbled up thing and can be really hard for kids to distinguish,” said Madeline Ficca, a student at Pittsburgh CAPA. Her classmate Aiden Magley agreed: “We had a lot of students voicing concern about classes running too long and then asynchronous work and feeling overwhelmed.”

Tyrique suggested teachers focus more on quality of work than quantity. “As long as we have good quality of work that should mat-

ter more,” he said.

Students raised the issue of being allowed “mental health days.”

“I’ve talked to so many people who feel they are exhausted… I’m definitely in favor of these days,” Madeline said.

“Even teachers may want a day,” Devonnte said.

Students also are worried about how a hybrid system is going to work with teachers being forced to divide their time between some students in the classroom and some online.

Students who chose hybrid learning were originally scheduled to start phasing into in-person learning on Jan. 27 but that date has been pushed back to Feb. 8 because of high COVID counts. Hamlet has said no student will be required to attend hybrid classes.

“We don’t know what a hybrid model will look like and we haven’t been told how it will work. We have a lot of students who are feeling iffy about it. Some say they want to do it. Some say they don’t want to try it,” Tyrique said.

Student Abby Blank said she doesn’t understand how Continued on Page 10

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 9

NEWS

Westinghouse student Devonnte Livingston, takes part in PPS' virtual student listening session

Continued from Page 8

teachers will be able to pay attention to both groups of students.

Tyrique said he worries about riding public transportation to school and possibly being exposed to members of the public who could be infected with COVID. He’s’ not the only one to worry.

“Some students say they can’t wait to go back to school but worry if they will worry in class if they are going to be catching

COVID. That is going to be in the back of our minds while we are trying to learn,” Madeline said.

Students spoke of feeling uncomfortable speaking in front of the class online.

“Talking over the computer makes you feel self-conscious,” Devonnte said.

“I think a lot of kids don’t want to talk because they feel very alone in that online space instead of with a classroom of their peers,” said Madeline Ficca, a

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student at Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12.

Student Abby Blank suggested having more classroom discussions about real world issues. “I’ve been more inclined to participate in those discussions even about the pandemic...When those conversations end, I definitely wanted to participate more in class particularly because I am more comfortable in that space,” Abby said.

Students suggested class participation could be

improved if teachers have students participate in more ice-breaking activities at the start of class to help relax students and make them feel more comfortable with each other.

One student pointed out it was particularly difficult for ninth-grade students, many of whom were together for the first time in their academic years.

Devonnte said students are circulating a petition that has already garnered several thousand votes that asks for final exams to be eliminated this year and for teachers to devise other methods to gauge student learning and retention of information.

“We understand that we need some type of thing to test our knowledge but right now an exam isn’t the best way to go,” Tyrique said.

The session was also attended by members of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers executive committee members, but they declined to offer any comments.

Hamlet commended the students for participating and encouraged them to continue to do so in future sessions.

“This is not one and done.

We will continue to have sessions like this as we add in supports and changes. I would say thank you and hang in there,” Hamlet said.

“You have shown yourselves to be highly resilient.”

NEWS PITTSBURGH COULD BE THE TARGET OF PRO-TRUMP INSURGENTS. BUT IS THE CITY READY IF IT HAPPENS?

W

ith many online threats calling for armed marches on Capitol Hill and state capitals it raises one very important question: Is Pittsburgh ready in case something happens?

These threats began circulating after last week’s attack on the Capitol. Aggressive and often hateful posts dotted niche conservative sites such as TheDonald.win and Parler, as well as mainstream social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Many of these “call-to-arms” are slated to commence on Sunday, January 17, the last Sunday of the Trump presidency, and lead up to Joe Biden’s inauguration three says later.

Alethea Group analyzed social media and found that Pittsburgh was a city where armed, organized groups planned to gather on Inauguration Day, the Washington Post reports.

So, what are the city and other government entities doing to prevent another attack like the one on the Capitol?

If there are safety plans for such an event, the public, so far, is completely in the dark.

Statements made by law enforcement have not only been vague, but begs the question of how serious the threats are being taken.

In fact, a January 12 statement released by the FBI in Pittsburgh, downplays the

BY DANNYS MARERRO - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

Armed protesters in Pittsburgh in April 2020 (Current Photo: Jake Mysliwczyk

threats completely.

“At this time, we are not aware of any related threats in our region which includes Western Pennsylvania and the State of West Virginia. The FBI takes all threats seriously and fully investigates each threat that comes into either our National Threat Operations Center or an FBI Field Office,” the statement read.

“We continue to work closely with our state, local and federal law enforcement partners with maintaining public safety and focusing our efforts on identifying, investigating, and disrupting individuals who are inciting violence and engaging

in criminal activity.”

The Pittsburgh Current reached out to the FBI Public Affairs Office for additional information, but they declined to comment further.

As far as the city goes, the information being released is also vague.

“We continue to monitor, prepare, and work with our [Law Enforcement] partners at all levels to ensure Public Safety,” said Chris Togneri, a Public Information Officer with city police. Tognieri also directed the Current to another statement from Wendell Hissrich, the city’s director of public safety.

"As is always the case, Public Safety is preparing with our law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal levels for any and all events in the city," said Hissrich in the statement "While we cannot discuss specific preparations, I have personally been in regular contact with law enforcement in order to continuously monitor the situation and prepare. We will ensure Public Safety."

While it may seem reasonable that law enforcement wouldn’t publicly broadcast their plans, recent history of dealing with large gatherings raises questions.

Looking at the Capitol raid, it has been widely recognized that the crowd of mostly white

people gained entrance to the building with relative ease.

Not only did some Capitol Police officers open the gates for them, the number of officers on the scene in advance of a well-advertised, large-scale march was laughably understaffed. Especially compared to the preparations that were made for peaceful Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

The difference in preparations for a mostly white crowd and a mostly Black crowd were stark.

Pittsburgh has had its own disparities when dealing with both Black and white protesters. There were countless stories written during the BLM protests of city police showing little patience when dealing with Black protesters. Officers aggressively confronted protesters and used tear gas as well as rubber bullets and other projectiles to push back the crowd.

However, back on April 20, 2020, armed protesters gathered in front of the Pittsburgh CIty-County building to protest the COVID-19 lockdown. That day, there wasn’t a swarm of officers in riot gear, nor did anyone seem to bat an eye over the fact that masked protesters with automatic weapons were lined up in front of a government building to protest wearing a mask to fight a deadly virus.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 11

OPINION

SCHWEIGER: CONGRESS MUST CR

BY LARRY J. SCHWEIGER - PITTS

INFO@PITTSBURG

I

nspired by Trump and his Congressional acolytes, insurrectionists ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

When the mob breached the Capitol walls in a violent and deadly siege, a capitol police officer sent a text to his father, “The Capitol has fallen.” Another officer Brian Sicknick resisting terrorists was bludgeoned and was killed with a fire extinguisher.

The New York Times reported, "some 50 police officers were injured as the mob swarmed barricades, threw objects, battered doors, smashed windows and overwhelmed some of the officers who tried to resist the advancing crowd.”

In a December 19 tweet, Trump poured more gasoline on a fire he had been building for years with this tweet, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th, be there, will be wild.” (emphasis added) In a Georgia speech, Trump demanded that Pence unlawfully overthrow American voters' vote while signaling his displeasure with Pence and urged followers with see you on the 6th. Trump angered when Pence disclosed that he would follow the Constitution and confirm the elections, turned on Pence.

During his January 6 speech, Trump unleashed domestic terrorists on Pence to stop the Electoral College vote count. Trump incited insurrectionists falsely claiming that Pence and Congress could overthrow the Electoral College results and the decisions of over sixty court cases.

The coup was not a spontaneous event. Domestic terrorists plotted on social networks to bring firearms, explosives, a hanging noose, and zip-tie handcuffs to capture and possibly kill Vice President Pence, Speaker Pelosi, and perhaps others. Insurrectionists entering

Photo: Blink O'fanaye

the Capitol were chanting "Hang Mike Pence." With a hangman's structure on Capitol grounds, they were serious. Through the swift action of the security detail and capitol police, the Vice President, Majority Leader, the Speaker, and lawmakers were ensconced in secret locations. Eric Gavelek Munchel photographed in the Senate heavily outfitted in military garb, a weapon, and zip-tie handcuffs is now up on federal charges with little doubt about who he was after.

Inciting rebellion against Pence and Congress with the intent to overthrow democracy with false claims of voter fraud is an overt act of sedition. Trump was doing more than just pouring gasoline on a fire that he created. He may

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have also flattened the tires on the fire trucks. It appears deliberate.

My alarm bell first went off when Trump fired Mark Esper and appointed Christopher Miller to be Acting Secretary of the Defense Department. In the face of warnings, Miller approved a very constrained mission for the National Guard when he directed a small number of unarmed guardsmen to direct traffic and support local police with crowd control when he must have known things would get worse. The Capitol police chief, who resigned after the riot, called for assistance but was denied. The Sergeant of Arms of both the House and Senate were fired when it appeared that their failures further enabled the Capitol's storming.

Catastrophic intelligence and security failures were made possible through a complete lack of preparation by agencies under Trump’s authority. The security failures may be criminally negligent and undoubtedly inexcusable. Seeing what was happening, Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan wanted to mobilize Maryland State Police and National Guard immediately. Hogan was repeatedly denied permission until Pence authorized him to send help to our Capitol under siege.

Trump and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany falsely claimed Trump ordered the National Guard after the Capitol fell to domestic terrorists. Acting

RUSH THE TRUMP INSURRECTION

OPINION

SBURGH CURRENT COLUMNIST

GHCURRENT.COM

Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller never mentioned Trump and indicated he "spoke separately with the Vice President and with Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Senator Schumer and Representative Hoyer about the situation at the U.S. Capitol." It was widely reported that Pence, not Trump, ordered the reinforcements. Miller confirmed that he coordinated with Pence.

After enormous pressure to call off the coup, Trump issued a very late and problematic statement asking his followers to end their actions and go home, adding that he loved them. By that time, he knew the National Guard was purging insurgents and ending the takeover.

While lawmakers were forced to evacuate, we can be proud of the interns who rescued and protected the historic boxes with the electoral college votes and let’s acknowledge courageous lawmakers led by Nancy Pelosi to return to a damaged Capitol for a late-night session to count the vote and confirm the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Through election treachery, repeatedly stoking false claims of election fraud and encouraging crimes of sedition, Giuliani, Trump, and Donald Jr. caused massive damage to the hallowed halls of the historic people’s house. While Trump has repeatedly dumped on our democracy, even praising dictators, insurrectionists defecated on bathroom floors and tracked excrement in multiple capitol hallways.

Extensive damage caused by the raging mob included shattered windows, broken doors, graffiti-covered statues, and teargas burns on the walls can be erased.

The defilement to democracy may be long-lasting and very hard to repair. It is already

spawning new Jim Crow efforts to enact greater voter suppression of minority voters in Georgia, Pennsylvania and in other Republican-controlled legislatures where Biden won.

Democracy must function within the rule of law. When laws and the Constitution are broken, there must be appropriate consequences for all involved, especially the House and Senate members who are sworn to uphold the Constitution. White Supremacists, Proud Boys, and QAnon are organized domestic terrorist groups and must be declared as such. The troublemakers should be outed and arrested as the evidence is collected.

Vice President Pence should attempt to remove Trump through the use of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. Pence has sent mixed signals about the 25th Amendment action, perhaps because he has an unwilling cabinet. He refused to take a call from Speaker Pelosi and soon to be Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer of New York to talk about it. The 25th Amendment may not be a viable option given the sycophantic make-up of Trump's cabinet. Here are a few examples of what is known: Passivity and inactivity undermine the rule of law, yet Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen has not publicly called for action on the 25th Amendment to address Trump’s unhinged actions inspiring criminal violence and at least five deaths. In statements since the failed coup, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has made it clear he is with Trump.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said, “I’ve had no contact with other cabinet members in that area nor do I expect to have any…” Secretary of Education Elisabeth Prince DeVos resigned

in a coward's act rather than deal with the need for the application of the 25th Amendment. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao, wife of Mitch McConnell, also resigned even with her husband at risk. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller has been slow-walking meeting requests from the Biden-Harris transition team and early on blocked access to military intelligence agencies. What role Miller played during the coup is not entirely clear and needs to be determined.

Two cabinet members had polled the others to determine an appetite for using the 25th Amendment. The appointees who would need to vote include: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Andrew Wheeler, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Benjamin S. Carson, Sr. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Administrator of the Small Business Administration Jovita Carranza, Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

When Trump fails to resign and the cabinet fails to act, the House has to impeachment for sedition. Republicans not wanting to vote in the matter were

begging Pelosi not to impeach by suggesting that it is now time to heal. Impeaching Trump in his waning hours may not seem necessary, but as any doctor knows, an open wound must first be cleaned before it can be stitched.

Congress must address this open wound in our Nation first then begin the healing process.

Suppose the Senate fails to convict acts of sedition. In that case, our democracy will falter, ending with a divided house, which is what Putin sought all along. As the first Republican candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, on June 16th, 1858, ominously warned, "In my opinion, it (slavery) will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. A house divided against itself cannot stand."

We have witnessed a murder scene and the attempted murder of a Vice President, Speaker and others, extensive destruction and theft of Federal property, and a failed coup to overthrow democracy. In the face of these extraordinary crimes, how could the Senate just go home?

White Nationalism and hate crimes are on the rise, and systemic racism is so hard-wired into our culture that white Americans often fail to notice. We must now confront it. This is not over.

Our Nation must be prepared for more. The Senate must act now.

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PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 13

ARTS WRITTEN BY INCARCERATED JUVENILES, 'ACT 33' GIVES JUST A TASTE OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A TEEN LOCKED DOWN IN AN ADULT JAIL

BY ATIYA IRVIN-MITCHELL - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

B

efore the pandemic, through collaboration with Words Without Walls, the Alumni Theatre Company planned a performance of a play written by underaged incarcerated persons in Juvenile Creative Writing Class at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ). Nearly a year later, believing the story is too important to remain in limbo,a reading of “ACT 33: Echoes from Pod 7E Maximum Security” will premiere on Jan. 16 through streaming on Facebook Live.

Under Pennsylvania’s Act 33, teens between the ages of 15 and 17 can be automatically be tried as adults for certain felonies, without first going through a juvenile court hearing.

Once they are charged as adults, they are confined to the ACJ until the resolution of their case. Felonies include, rape; involuntary deviate sexual intercourse; aggravated assault; robbery; robbery of a motor vehicle; aggravated indecent assault; kidnapping;

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voluntary manslaughter; or an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit murder.

“It’s what all the writers have in common,” Sarah Shotland, the program director of Words Without Walls, explains. “They’ve been charged under this same law. So they wouldn’t be in jail, or in our class, if Act 33 didn’t exist.”

It was the students' choice to name the play after the law that binds them.

Words Without Walls is a local organization focused on providing creative writing classes to populations that might not ordinarily get them. Sometimes this means the Sojourner House, a recovery center, other times it means the ACJ. Shotland asserted that the reading will provide insight into the lives of teens incarcerated in adult prisons.

“These kids are incarcerated on Second Avenue in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh and hundreds of thousands of cars pass by them everyday and probably never think about the

14 | JANUARY 13, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

fact that there are children that are locked up inside that building,” Shotland said.

The reading will be directed by local artist and poet Alona Williams (an occasional contributor to the Pittsburgh Current.). As the 23-year-old has been involved in theatre for most of her life--this isn’t the first performance she’s directed, but it is the first that’s been conducted virtually due to social distancing requirements.

“It’s definitely the first play I’ve ever directed on Zoom,” Williams admitted.

“You know you still want to make it an interesting experience with the limitations you have.”

Williams herself learned about Act 33 while participating in theatre as a highschool student. She's revisiting the law from a director’s standpoint, although she hasn’t interacted with the writers, she’s pleased that the young actors are able to appreciate the gravity of the subject matter.

“I think that the actors understand the seriousness of this and understand that these are boys just like them,” Williams said.

“Their stories deserve to be told.”

The writing project is led by Mike Bennet who prior to COVID-19, would go into the ACJ to teach creative writing classes.

While Bennet was unaware of Act 33 before he started teaching at the jail, working with the students familiarized him with the law and the justice system.

Over the years Bennet’s taught creative writing classes, his students would

ARTS

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SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on February 2, 2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Service & Maintenance Contracts at Various Schools, Facilities, & Properties: Vertical Transportation Systems Preventative Maintainence and Service (REBID) Pgh. Colfax K-8 Flooring Replacement (Old Building) General Prime Various Schools: Pgh. Morrow PreK-4 and Pgh. King PreK-8 Replace PA Sound Systems Electrical Prime Pgh. Oliver Citywide Academy Oliver Bleacher Repair Project General Prime Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on Monday, January 11, 2021 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

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put on readings but there was always a limited audience.

“I was always frustrated that their voices never really made it outside of the jail because the readings were to other incarcerated people and the guards and staff,” Bennet said. “So I really wanted to start a project that would bring their voices out of the jail, and, in this case, on to the stage.”

Should audiences tunein to watch the reading and the discussion panel slated to follow, Bennet told the Pittsburgh Current they

can expect to get a glimpse into the lives of the writers and their within the system.

“They will learn a lot about the trauma of incarceration and especially what these teens are facing in the jail,” Bennet explained. “It’s anything from displacement, to separation from their families, to conflict with each other, to conflict with the staff to solitary confinement.”

The reading will be available on Saturday on the Alumni Theater Company's Facebook Live event at 7PM.

THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on January 25, 2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Various Schools Wireless and Switching Equipment / Related Services Low Voltage / Network Primes and Vendors All proposers must email David Moore at dmoore1@pghschools. org in advance of downloading the documentation in order to be added to mailing list for communication regarding this RFP. This will ensure that each proposer is notified of any changes or clarifications made with regards to the documentation.

The documentation for the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be available for download at: www.pghschools.org/Page/50 Filename: “Network Switch and Wireless Equipment RFP” Details for the proposal and submission requirements are described in the RFP. We are an equal rights and opportunity school district

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 15

ESSAY

DIRTY MONEY

BY MATTHEW WALLENSTEIN - PITTSBURGH CURRENT COLUMNIST

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Dirty was 17 and working at Wendys. In a lot of ways he was the closest thing to a responsible employee they had. So he was put on all the closing shifts. They ended at 1 a.m. He was still in high school and would have to get up every morning after he worked and make it there.

The others his age were dropouts. There were a few older guys, 20, 21, and a 26 year old named Joe who Dirty considered ancient.

It was a decent place to work sometimes. Most days they would just smoke weed and cook hamburgers.

One night there was a series of mishaps and they were late closing. Dirty was working with F and M. They didn’t get out of there until after 2 a.m. All of them felt tired and annoyed and were ready to go home. Dirty and the other two loaded into his truck.

They were going to drive over to the bank to put the night deposit in the box. The plan was for Dirty to drop the other two guys off after that.

It was the routine. Every night after they closed they would take all the money, count it, put it in a plastic bag that sealed shut and toss it in the deposit box. The bank was not very far from the Wendys. Dirty often gave the other guys rides.

He started driving. They smoked some weed. It was cold and the windows were fogged up.

Dirty pulled into the bank and rolled down the window.

Smoke unfurled into the night. Dirty grabbed the bag of money and reached out the window. F started yelling and ducked down. Dirty turned around and was looking at him and was very confused.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he said.

“Wha?” Said Dirty.

“Go.” “Shit man get the fuck out of here,” it was M in the from seat this time. He was crouched down too.

Still confused, Dirty turned and looked out the windshield. Not far in front of

16 | JANUARY 13, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

them was a man with a long hunting rifle. He was pointing it right at the truck. He was in black head to toe and wore a mask.

Dirty’s immediate reaction was to floor it. He hit the guy. He tumbled over the car and landed behind them. Dirty kept driving. He looked behind him as the guy limped, tried to steady himself and fired at them. Dirty kept going and another shot sounded.

They were high and out of it. They only drove about 200 feet before pulling into the

parking lot of a gas station.

Dirty still had the money sitting in his lap.

“For all anybody knows he got the money.”

“It was dark. No one would be able to tell even if they watched the security footage.”

“Okay, we hide the money. We call the cops and tell them the fucker stole it and when it’s all done with we split it.”

“An even three ways.”

“No, F should get 200, you and me get 600.”

“Yeah that works,” said F

ESSAY without irony or bitterness.

They boys agreed. Dirty had his truck set up so he could lift the upholstery on his seat and hide things there.

That’s just what he did with the bag of cash.

They went inside. Behind the counter there was a tiny old lady. Her eyes barely reached above the register.

“Somebody tried to rob us,” M said.

“What?” she said.

“Someone tried to rob us.”

“What do you mean?”

“This guy, ma’am, please call the police.”

After a little while a couple cops came into the store.

They ambled over to the boys slowly, casually. One grabbed a SlimJim off a shelf, peeled it open, took a bite out of it.

“Okay, he said. “Okay what’s the story?” His words came out in a long unimpressed sigh.

“Well-” “So who was it? This masked rifleman, who is this mastermind?” the cop said sarcastically.

“We don’t know we just got shot at. He-” “Yeah, you know. Come on.

You were probably in on it, huh?”

“We don’t fucking know the guy.”

The cops separated them and asked them their stories.

Each version lined up perfectly. After all they really had just gone to the bank, someone really had come out of the woods and shot at them. After the questions they all went back to standing in a group again.

“Yeah, well, hopefully for your sake this all checks out,” said the second officer.

“A little strange all that

money disappearing, that money from your restaurant,” the first one said.

“I don’t know what to tell you, there’s some guy with a gun down the street. You should probably go check into it,” Dirty said.

The second cop started to say something but was interrupted by his radio.

“We got shots fired,” someone said through the static.

“Turn the lights off, lock the doors. We will be right back,” cop #1 said.

They both left. Dirty, F, M, and the confused gas station attendant all crouched down in the dark store. Sets of blue lights sped by and lit up the packages of chips, the bottles of soda, the walls, their faces. Another set. Another.

A helicopter sounded loudly over them.

“What the hell is going on,”M said.

They were there for a long time, unsure of what was going on but thinking it was probably bad.

There was a pounding on the door. The tiny lady stood up, then stretched on her tiptoes and looked over a shelf. She shuffled over and unlocked the door. Two cops, two different cops, came in.

They looked much more official than the first pair, much more stern.

“Get in the car,” one said.

The boys followed them out and got in the police car.

They were driven down to the station where they were put in a holding cell. None of them had been searched and Dirty wondered if they would find the weed he had in his pocket or the cigarettes in his other pocket, or for that mat-

ter the bag of stolen money in the seat of his car. He was exhausted. Hours went along.

Hours in a holding cell are the slowest-moving.

Periodically different officers would walk by, look in the cell, say things to each other. The three Wendys boys got to talking. They figured the cops had it solved, knew they were the ones with the money. They got to thinking maybe they should get ahead of it and come clean.

After a little while a cop came and got M. Then another came and got F. By the time Dirty was escorted out of the cell and had a chance to see a clock it was past 7 a.m. They sat him down. The cop let him know his statement was being recorded.

Dirty told the story for maybe the fifth time that night.

This time when it got to the part about the money he said he had thought the guy had grabbed the bag but there was a chance it could have fallen on the floor or gotten stuck in the seat, something like that. It had happened fast he couldn’t be sure.

“Look, I don’t really give a fuck,” the cop said. “What do you know about a guy you work with named Joe?” “Huh? Yeah I work with him. He was off tonight.”

“Okay, did he tell you he was going to try to rob you tonight?”

“No. It was him?”

Joe was a strange and quiet guy. He mostly kept to himself. Dirty and the others got a ride back to his truck after they finished having their statements recorded. That was when Dirty, by some kind of remarkable luck, happened to find the money.

It turned out it had hid itself under the upholstery in his seat. The cop who dropped them off took it and drove away.

Dirty was excused from school that day which, in some ways, made the night worth it. When he woke up he walked over to the couch and turned on the TV. After yawning and flipping through the channels he found the news.

A little while into watching it he saw security footage of his truck smashing into a man with a rifle. He watched him violently roll over the truck and tumble behind it. It cut to footage of Joe, his coworker, limping to his arraignment.

The newscaster explained that after having been hit by the truck he limped a mile.

He followed the train tracks and ended up at a gas station.

He demanded all the money from the register. The guy handed over everything that was in the drawer. It was 80 dollars. Joe then aimed his rifle at the man’s stomach and pulled the trigger, shot him at close range. That’s where the police cars and helicopter had been going.

Dirty turned the channel.

He never found out what happened to Joe. He guessed he probably pled guilty.

Dirty did ask his bosses at Wendys if he could get paid for all those hours at the police station, he had after all recovered their money. They said no to paying him but did offer him a free meal.

They next week Dirty punched out for lunch and never went back. He turned his phone off, went home, and played some Crash Bandicoot.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 17

PA R T I N G S H OT PITTSBURGH CURRENT PHOTO BY JAKE MYSLIWCZYK PITTSBURGH CURRENT | JANUARY 13, 2020 | 18