Pittsburgh Current Volume 3, Issue 37. October 28, 2020

INSIDE:

A SECOND TRUMP TERM WOULD HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON FEDERAL COURTS VOL. 3 ISSUE 37

Oct. 28, 2020 - Nov. 3, 2020

PGHCURRENT

PGHCURRENT

PGHCURRENT

CH EC K MATE? Democrats have Donald Trump cornered. So, why is it still hard to tell who's going to win?

SUPPORT THE PITTSBURGH CURRENT AND THE FUTURE OF INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM

We are an influence-free, Independent alternative print and online news company in Pittsburgh Pa. As we’ve been reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve seen firsthand the dramatic effect it’s having on businesses around southwestern Pennsylvania. This is especially true for small businesses like ours. While we remain steadfastly committed to reporting on the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak through the latest information and features, we need your help. Support independent journalism through a sustaining or one-time donation to the Pittsburgh Current. 80% of all donations go toward paying our staff and content creators, 20% will help keep the lights on. And 100 percent of it will ensure this city continues to have an alternative, independent voice.

Even before canceling events and staying at home became the new normal, media companies like ours were struggling to keep things going. But we, like others, have found a way because people depend on our product, they like what they do and we feel that appreciation every day. We announced last week that we were temporarily halting our twice-monthly print publication and focusing on our online digital edition because people aren’t going outside, and the businesses where we distribute are all closed. The good news in all of this is that our digital edition will now be coming out weekly instead of bi-monthly. So beginning March 24, you’ll be able to get the Current every Tuesday (to make sure you get it delivered to your inbox, fill out our email signup on our homepage). We are a small team with a big mission and we’re stubborn enough to know that with your help we will get through this.

The Current, like many small businesses, is at a crossroads. We plan on doing our part to get you the information you need to make it through this crisis, but we need your support to make sure we’re also able to report on the next one. You can donate by clicking the popup on our homepage or clicking donate below.

Donate to the Pittsburgh Current and the future of Independent Journalism Thank You,

Charlie Deitch

Publisher, Pittsburgh Current charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com

2 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

Salena Zito

Oct. 29, 7:00 p.m.

Just days before the election, join us for a dynamic virtual discussion with national political columnist, Salena Zito, author of The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics, and commentator for CNN, Washington Examiner, NY Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Buy tickets at pittsburghplayhouse.com

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 3

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

contents

Vol. III Iss. XXXVII Oct. 28, 2020

EDITORIAL

Music Editor: Margaret Welsh Margaret@pittsburghcurrent.com Visuals Editor: Jake Mysliwczyk Jake@pittsburghcurrent.com Sr. Contributing Writer: Jody DiPerna Jody@pittsburghcurrent.com

NEWS 6 | What's at Stake?

8 | Tale of Two Visits 12 | Courting the Futurw OPINION 18 | Larry Schweiger 20 | Jessica Semler 22 | Electorally Speaking EXTRA 23 | Matthew Wallenstein

Social Justice Columnist: Jessica Semler jessica@pittsburghcurrent.com Contributing Photographer: Ed Thompson 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

COVER BY JAKE MYSLIWCZZYK

Logo Design: Mark Addison TO ADVERTISE :

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

The Fine Print The contents of the Pittsburgh Current are © 2020 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.

Email us or don’t: info@pittsburghcurrent.com.

4 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH A DV E R T I S E M E N T F O R B I D S Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on November 10, 2020, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Allderdice HS Domestic Hot Water – PE Wing Plumbing Prime

Pgh. Crescent ECC Boiler Replacement Mechanical, Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Primes

Pgh. Montessori PreK-5 Domestic Water Booster System Plumbing Prime

Pgh. Sterrett 6-8 Entrance Doors General Prime

Various Schools: Pgh. Classical, Pgh Perry, Pgh. Colfax Replace Electrical Distribution Systems Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Primes

Service & Maintenance Contracts at Various Schools, Facilities, Facilities & Properties: • Concrete Maintenance • Extraordinary General Maintenance and Repairs • Extraordinary Masonry Maintenance and Repairs • Extraordinary Electrical Service, Maintenance and Repairs • Extraordinary Roofing Maintenance and Repairs • Fire Extinguisher and Fire Hoses Service and Maintenance • Gas and Oil Burners, Boilers and Furnaces Inspection, Service, and Repairs • Integrated Access Control, Intrusion Detection, and CCTV Surveillance Systems Service, Maintenance, Repairs, and Programming • Plumbing Maintenance and Repairs • Chillers and Refrigeration Systems Service, Maintenance and Repairs • Vertical Transportation Systems Preventative Maintenance and Service Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on October 12, 2020 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.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR GUARANTEED ENERGY SAVINGS ACT (GESA) PROPOSALS INCLUSIVE OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUILDING UPGRADES Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Facilities Design and Construction Offices, School District of Pittsburgh, Service Center, 1305 Muriel Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 on December 7, 2020, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: IMPLEMENTATION OF ENERGY CONSERVATION MEASURES ON A PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING BASIS AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Requests for a copy of the RFP and all communications including questions to District relating to this RFP shall be in writing to Aldo Mazzaferro, Director of Technical Services, by email at Aldo@theECGgroup.com copying Michael Carlson (Michael@theECGgroup. com). Project details and submission requirements are described in the RFP. PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 5

6 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

ELECTION 2020 WHAT'S AT STAKE IF DONALD TRUMP WINS A SECOND TERM? NOTHING MUCH, JUST CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT

BY CHARLIE DEITCH - PITTSBURGH CURRENT EDITOR

As this issue comes out, the country is a mere six days away from the General Election.

At this point you can throw a rock and hit a poll that says Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a commanding lead on President Donald Trump nationally and in many key battleground states.

He has a nine-point lead over Trump nationally, and roughly seven-points in Pennsylvania.

Add into that the many forecasts that say Democrats are poised to win control of the Senate and win even more seats to easily maintain control of the House, and one would think that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are letting out a big sigh of relief. But we all know that’s not the case. Why? One word.

Hillary.

Hilary Clinton dominated Trump in the polls in 2016.

She was intellectually, politically and in all ways the superior candidate to Donald Trump. Candidate Trump was a crass, crude charlatan yet he still managed to get elected. President Trump is all of those things times 1,000.

Yet, it’s impossible for anyone to definitively say he won’t win on Nov. 3. If the Guiness Book of World Re-

CHARLIE@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

cords had a record for lying to the public, it would be hard to beat Trump. In a recent speech in Michigan, he lied a documented 131 times.

But the number of false and/ or inaccurate statements told since he took office in 2016.

How do we know? Because the Washington Post has been counting. In 1,316 days, Trump has made more than 22,200 false or misleading statements. That’s an average of nearly 17 lies per day.

He has refused to take any meaningful action to stem the threat of Coronavirus and he has lied about his response and the ferocity of the virus since it took hold in this country nearly 10 months ago. Most recently he has declared victory over the virus, he has called it a hoax, he has belittled and demeaned any scientist or doctor who disputes his unfounded claims. He has lied about Russia. He has lied about Ukraine. He has lied about ongoing business deals with other countries. He has lied about his political adversaries. He lied about Stormy Daniels. He spreads lies and conspiracies started by fringe groups like QANON. Since Day 1, he has used the office of the President to his own

WHAT'S AT STAKE? advantage in an effort to gain a second term in the White House.

The problem is, and the reason why so many of us fear a second-term of Donald Trump could happen is that there are a lot of voters out there that either believe him or don’t believe him but are supporting him because of what he represents. Donald Trump has emboldened the worst of our society to act in the worst possible ways. He supports crazy QANON theories. He has given a loud, public voice to the racists and xenophobes who have mainly kept their hate confined to their own homes because the whole of society made it clear that behavior like that would not be tolerated. But Donald Trump not only tolerates it, he welcomes it because

these people are desperately needed to keep him in office. He refuses to denounce hate groups, he refuses to denounce white nationalists who kill protesters. This is his base and they don’t want him to go anywhere.

That’s why I’m worried and why many others are too. The only way to make sure Trump leaves office in January is to make a plan and vote. In my lifetime, I have voted in six Presidential elections. In both 2000 and 2004, I felt that if we didn’t vote George W. Bush out of office, that we were destined to see the end of the world.

We lost those two battles, but thankfully, the world went on. But looking at the devastation caused in Trump’s first term, I’m not completely sure that will be the case if he wins.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 7

NEWS

PA G E 7

A TALE OF T

BY DANNYS MARRERO - PITTSBURG INFO@PITTSBURG

PENCE PEDALS FEAR IN LOCAL VISIT

O

n Friday Oct. 23, Vice President Mike Pence arrived at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin to lock down support for him and his boss, President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 General Election.

Even with Coronavirus numbers once again surging, a crowd of 100 supporters were in attendance, some wearing masks, some not. This stop in Pittsburgh came less than 24-hours after the last presidential debate, which President Donald Trump, by most credible reports, lost. That left the Vice President to conduct “damage control” in the key battleground state.

Edina Hess, who came to the event, said Pence was dispatched to Pennsylvania on such a short-noticed because some previously locked-down voters might be wavering in their support for the President.

“He’s visiting Pennsylvania because they’re not sure about some voters out here” said Hess “He’s coming here today to confirm that the support is still here.”

Attendees started the event with a prayer at 2:45 p.m. Air Force 2, delivered the VP at 3 p.m. and Pence wasted no time going on the attack, trying to

paint a bleak picture of the future under Joe Biden’s leadership.

“I’m here for one thing, and one thing only,” said Pence “to give this president 4-more years. “The choice is clear folks, a Trump economy or a Biden depression” In both 2016 and 2020, the Trump campaign has utilized fearmongering, and Friday’s event was no different. Pence referred to the Affordable Care Act as “socialist medicine:” (“They want to give you socialized medicine. They’re calling it the public option. Only radicals like Bernie Sanders support such a thing” said Pence.), talking about a Democratic threat to pack the Supreme Court and also played a heavily edited video calling out Biden’s so-called promise to end Fracking.

Brad Gram, a Trump supporter and West Mifflin resident was one of the most outspoken attendees after watching the video.

“That’s Biden for you, what’s he going to do if he gets elected? We don’t know,” said Gram “Is he getting rid of fracking or keeping it? You got to keep people making money in Western Pennsylvania, Fracking brings a lot of money here” To be sure, Biden has made

8 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

Left: Vice President Mike Pence. Right: Sen. Bernie Sanders. (Current Photos by Dannys Marerro)

some confusing comments about his own stance on Fracking. But several fact check sites have found that Biden didn’t call for a total ban on fracking, but rather an end to oil and gas production on federal land. Also, according to state and multiple federal departments, less than 1 percent of all jobs in the state are in the oil and gas sector.

Pence then shifted to the

economy.

“During the Obama administration, America lost 2-million jobs” stated Pence “the Biden Plan will raise taxes by four million dollars. They are trying to implement a two trillion-dollar Green New Deal. This would also abolish fossil fuels and fracking.

Meanwhile, we cut taxes, and

Continued on Page 10

NEWS

TWO VISITS

GH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER GHCURRENT.COM

SANDERS STUMPS IN RANKIN FOR BIDEN

O

n Saturday afternoon, Bernie Sanders rallied Democrats in Rankin to secure support for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania.

With nine days before the polls open on election-day, the Vermont Senator and former Democratic Presidential candidate was joined by Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, along with Pennsylvania Reps Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato at the Rivers of Steel: Carrie Blast Furnaces.

“We cannot win democracy in our workplace, if we lose it

in our civil life” said Innamorato during her remarks in support of Biden.

Throughout the 2020 campaign cycle, the Biden campaign has not conducted rallies that are open to the public with the objective of mitigating the dangers of COVID-19. So, this drivein rally was the first major Democratic campaign rally in the city with more than 120 cars in the premises.

This campaign stop also comes a day after Mike Pence visited West Mifflin..

Sara Goodkind, a college professor, attended the rally because she still is not certain that Biden will win Pennsylvania. “[The state] is a battleground this election because it was such a battleground in the last election too,” said Goodkind. “Last election, Hillary was expected to win Pennsylvania, but then she lost. So, Pennsylvania is a very much a swing-state that could still go either way.”

At this point in the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton was beating Donald Trump in all major polls. This year, history seems to be repeating itself as Joe Biden is ahead of Donald Trump

in all major polls since the conclusion of the last presidential debate on Oct. 22.

However, the only common ground these two campaigns have found is that neither of them trusts the polls; and even though Democrats are winning they are using this as an opportunity to reach more voters in hopes to tip the scales in this key state for the presidency.

“Last time, I know people who voted for Trump as a joke, they really thought he didn’t have a chance at winning,” said Goodkind.

“Things are different this election, because we really know what is at stake. We need to work hard and get out to vote for Biden.”

All of the event’s speakers expressed disdain for the current administration, voiced support for the union strikes occurring around the city, the raising of the minimum wage, Medicarefor-all, closing the gender gap, and other progressive ideas of the Biden agenda.

The speakers repeatedly mentioned however, that Joe Biden was not the solution to all the country’s problems Continued on Page 11

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 9

NEWS

PA G E 7 Continued From Page 8 gave the money back to the people. Our administration has also seen the lowest unemployment rate for African Americans.”

But That statement was not entirely true as a federal tax rate of 12 percent would remain the same for families that make up to $80,250 or individuals who make up to $40,125, according to the Internal Revenue Service. In 2019, a little more than 53 percent of Americans had an annual household income that was less than $75,000 dollars, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. When it comes to Black employment rates, however, both Pence and Trump have inflated those numbers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate for black workers did fall to 5.5 percent from 6 percent, according to the Labor Department data. But an Associated Press fact check found: “It’s true that black unemployment did reach a record low during the Trump administration: 5.9 percent in May 2018. It currently stands at 6 percent.

“But many economists view the continued economic growth since the middle of 2009, when Democratic President Barack Obama was in office, as the primary explanation for hiring.

More important, there are multiple signs that the racial wealth gap is now worsening and the administration appears to have done little, if anything, to specifically address this challenge.

“African Americans also had higher income prior to the Trump administration. A black household earned median income of $40,258 in 2017, the latest data

Current Photo by Dannys Marrero

available. That’s below a 2000 peak of $42,348, according to the Census Bureau.

“The most dramatic drop in black unemployment came under Obama, when it fell from a recession high of 16.8 percent in March 2010 to 7.8 percent in January 2017.”

Pence’s falsehoods didn’t stop there, however. He told attendees the crime and murder rate in

10 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

the City of Pittsburgh had risen drastically.

“In the City of Pittsburgh, the murder rate has risen 53-percent” said Pence “Joe Biden would contribute to that number” Even though the City has experienced an overall 1.3 percent increase in incidences of crime compared with the previous month, according to the Pittsburgh Police Release Uniform

Crime Report Numbers, the city has experienced a 17.6 percent decrease in incidences compared with the same time frame in 2019, and a 25.9 percent decrease when compared with the five-year average. According to the report, it should also be noted that murder crimes have decreased by 22.6 percent from August of 2019 and by 40.1 percent measured against the five-year average.

“We need to protect your second amendment” Pence continued “Donald Trump is the law enforcement president.

We’re gonna back the blue and we’re gonna back the blue for four more years.”

While Republicans, led by Trump have spouted rhetoric about “backing the blue,” and being the “law-and-order President,” have been nothing short of dog whistles to rally support for his actions that have included using federal troops against protesters and even advocating violence against them.

Even with President Trump losing in all national polls, anywhere from three- to 11 percent, Pence concluded his remarks dismissing such polls “You know, in 2016, I always said there were two types of polls; the ones we were losing a little and the ones we were losing a lot” said Pence “But the polls were wrong.

“I don’t believe a lot of the polls,” said Hess “They’re all liberal and just making it seem like he’s always losing just like in 2016 with Hillary. But whatever, they can keep doing that because it’ll motivate us to vote even more.”

NEWS Continued From Page 9

but rather the best steppingstone to achieve them.

“No union member should be voting for Donald Trump.

Period.” said Brian P. after delivering remarks about the struggles unions are facing around the country.

Sanders took the stage at 4 p.m. and all supporters proceeded to get out of their cars and gather around the podium to hear the former democratic candidate.

“For all of those that have put lives on the line to defend American democracy, I say, that we cannot sustain another four years of Donald Trump” said Sanders “We have got to come together, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Native American, Asian Americans, gay and straight, those of us born in America, those of us who immigrated to America, we have got to come together as one people to show our strength and evict Donald trump from the White House.”

The multi-racial crowd also had representatives from many local union workers like Jean Neiderberger & Kathy Tarka, Giant Eagle workers and members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).

“We can’t have people voting for [Trump] this election.

He now has a track record, he’s not electable” said Neiderberger.

An attendee at the Bernie Sanders rally on Oct. 24. (Current Photo by Dannys Marrero

Sanders told the crowd about how COVID-19 has affected the middle class as millions have lost their jobs, and health insurance, along with food insecurity and the millions of evictions Americans are now facing.

12.6 million households are still unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. One in 9 Americans face food insecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau House-

hold Pulse Survey, 40 million people in more than 17 million households may be at risk of eviction through the end of the year.

Sanders then scolded the President on his Coronavirus response and his statement about “rounding the corner of this pandemic”.

“We cannot continue to have a president who rejects science. Not now,” said Sanders “Not as we face the worst pandemic in 100 years, which has already taken the lives of some two

hundred and twenty thousand.

According to the Center for Disease Control, over 228,000 deaths have occurred in the U.S. Pennsylvania has seen an increase of 1,700 confirmed cases in just the past few days, and in Allegheny County 421 deaths have been reported.

“America cannot be the model for the world if we have a president who is a pathological liar” said Sanders.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 11

NEWS

PA G E 7

COURTING THE FUTURE

A SECOND TRUMP TERM WOULD FURTHER THE RIGHT'S ASSAULT ON OUR FEDERAL COURTS

BY JODY DIPERNA - SPECIAL TO THE PITTSBURGH CURRENT INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

"When we're looking at elections, we're often thinking more about the Supreme Court and not thinking about the multitude of other benches that are filled regularly.

As a general population, we don't necessarily hear about those, yet often those courts have a direct impact on each of us and set precedents for other cases that are heard," according to Dr. Josie Badger, DHCE, CRC. Badger is a disability rights activist and the co-director of RAISE, as well as a UWSWPA #IWantToWork Campaign Manager, and she keeps a close watch on the federal courts system.

Badger was pointing to the lower federal district courts, which are as vital an element in the architecture of American jurisprudence as the Supreme Court, even if they receive much less attention.

And, in fact, being appointed to the federal district court is the exact same process.

"A lot of people don't know that all 100 senators vote to confirm a judge that sits on the bench in Pittsburgh -- Susan Collins in Maine votes on the judge that sits in Pittsburgh," Kadida Kenner, the director for campaigns for

US Supreme Court

the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, pointed out.

Like those Supreme Court Justices confirmed by the Senate, all federal judgeships are lifetime appointments, which means those judges will be hearing cases for a very long time.

"Most of these confirmations from the Trump administration is that these guys -and I'm saying guys because

12 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

seventy-six percent of them have been men -- they are mostly in their forties. They'll be on the bench for 30 or 35 years," Kenner added.

WHAT THE FEDERAL COURTS DO The federal courts are different from the state courts.

In Pennsylvania, these are the Court of Common Pleas

which adjudicate matters in each respective county.

If you get in a car accident, or you get a divorce, or you get arrested for a DUI, your case will go to the Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County. Also, state judges (in the Court of Common Pleas, but other state courts like Superior and Commonwealth Courts) are elected, not appointed, so their terms are

NEWS OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH

WHAT'S AT STAKE? much, much shorter.

They differ in another way, too. Federal courts also tend to hear different kinds of cases than the state courts, cases which protect the rights of people in a distinct way.

"Basically, federal courts are courts of both general and limited jurisdiction. General in the sense that they cover all the people, but limited in the sense that they are there to cover federal matters," David Harris explained with regard to both the scope and purpose of the federal courts system.

Harris is the Sally Ann Semenko Chair at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and has many years of experience working as a lawyer in these courts.

"Saying it's limited doesn't mean it's unimportant. Federal government and federal law tends to be a guarantor of certain kinds of rights -- the rights of workers, or the rights of differently abled people, or the rights of people against racial, ethnic and gender discrimination," he said.

Some states have protections for some of those things under individual state laws but most often anything that is a constitutional right is adjudicated in the federal courts. These are the places that citizens go to get redress or relief, often when the state itself has infringed upon their rights.

"This affects regular people who have no other recourse.

This is supposed to be how people resolve their disputes.

You know how people say, 'don't make it a federal case?'

Well, this is how people resolve their major disputes," according to Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, MA, JD, Associate Professor at Duquesne School of Law. "This is supposed to be a place that is accessible to all of us -- rich people, poor people, whomever -- we're supposed to be able to go and have our disputes and have our grievances aired in federal court."

Sealed bids will be received in the Bellefield Avenue Lobby, Administration Building, 341 South Bellefield Avenue until 11:00 A.M. prevailing time November 4, 2020 and will be opened at the same hour in the administration building cafeteria:

Refuse Removal/Recycling ServicesVarious Locations General Information regarding bids may be obtained at the Purchasing Office, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, RM 349 Pittsburgh, PA 15213. The bid documents are available on the School District’s Purchasing web site at: www.pghschools.org: Click on Our Community; Bid Opportunities; Purchasing - under Quick Links.

The Board of Public Education reserves the right to reject any and all bids, or select a single item from any bid.

We are an equal rights and opportunity school district

Continued on Page 14 PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 13

NEWS Continued From Page 14

There are three levels of federal court: Supreme Court, Circuit Courts (also referred to as Federal Court of Appeals) and District Courts, with Pennsylvania being divided into three judicial districts: Eastern, Middle and Western. The Western District Court covers Allegheny County and 24 other counties as far flung as Elk and Bedford.

The judges who sit in these federal district courts have a tremendous and very direct impact on our lives, despite the fact that their appointments receive very little spotlight. It's important to remember the role these judges play in our justice system, according to professor Jefferson-Bullock.

"What federal judges do, they manage jury selections and instructions. They are the sentencers. They take criminal pleas. They rule on the admissibility of evidence. All of this is very, very important to a fair administration of justice," she said. Allowing, or not allowing, a single key piece of evidence can completely turn a case, as the judge's decisions during jury selection.

WHAT CASES END UP IN FEDERAL COURT? 2020 Pandemic The response to the pandemic has found its way to the local federal courts. On

September 14th, Judge William Stickman, IV, a District Judge in Pennsylvania's Western District, ruled that Governor Tom Wolf's shutdown order intended to flatten the curve and stop the spread of coronavirus was unconstitutional. In a 66-page opinion, Judge Stickman wrote that it violated the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly, and the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

14 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

The plaintiffs in the case of Butler v Wolf included four counties (Butler, Fayette, Greene and Washington), US Congressman Mike Kelly (R-16th District), and state Representatives Daryl Metcalfe (R-Pa 12th), Marci Mustello (R-Pa 11th) and Tim Bonner (R-Pa 8th), as well as several businesses.

Wolf requested a stay and said he would appeal the case to the Federal Court of Appeals (or the Circuit Courts.)

The request for stay was also heard by Judge Stickman. He denied the request.

In the meantime, the number of COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County has risen again to the highest levels they have been since May. The ruling limits the steps the Governor can take to slow the spread of the virus as we head into winter. "[W]ith regard to Governor Wolf's coronavirus restrictions, the approach

NEWS he [Stickman] took was so different from other federal judges because he didn't say that Governor Wolf's orders violated the state constitution.

No. He said they violated the United States Constitution," according to Jefferson-Bullock. "Which means that he was hoping that his decision would have a nationwide impact. That's a very different way of looking at these coronavirus restrictions from the federal judiciary standpoint."

Americans with Disabilities Act

When thinking about other decisions that might be made in the Western District, cases that fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a good place to look. The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in a variety of areas -employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, housing, and access to state and local government programs and services.

In 2020, things like curbcuts and wheelchair accessible ramps and doors are normal, expected, and ordinary, but it wasn't always so. Providing and protecting access for people with disabilities seems like it would have been a slam dunk agenda with bipartisan support, but it was a battle to get the legislation passed. It would be too bur-

densome, said some. It would cost too much for companies to retrofit spaces, said others.

Disabled people fought for decades to demand their rights and full inclusion in American society. In March of 1990, disability advocates marched to the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. About 60 of them, many of whom needed aids like braces, walkers or wheelchairs to get around, tossed aside their mobility aids and literally crawled up the Capitol steps.

It was a shocking visual. It was meant to embarrass legislators into action.

It worked. In July of 1990, the ADA was signed into law

by President George H.W. Bush.

"It's almost hard to explain, because it was so ridiculous," recalled Paul O'Hanlon of the inaccessibility of simple things before the ADA. A retired lawyer and disability rights advocate, O'Hanlon says that everything was hard and some things were nearly impossible. Before the summer of 1990, some cities and towns made accessibility a priority and some businesses did, too. But it was catch as catch can, and a disabled person never knew what they were going to find when they went someplace new.

"I was going to Pitt as an undergrad and there weren't curb cuts in those days. One of the things I depended on was a driveway -- it was a

way for me to get from the street up onto the sidewalk," he said. "They paved it over and put a curb there. I complained to Pitt and the guy I talked to said he was determined to never put a curb cut in that intersection because it's too dangerous for wheelchairs to cross there. I said, you realize that not having curb cuts there doesn't mean I don't have to cross there?

You're just making it harder and more dangerous. It was nonsense," O'Hanlon said.

It made the straightforward task of going to the library into something which required forethought and planning and sometimes assistance. That's just how just things were -- people with disabilities had to make Herculean adjustments and sometimes the path of least resistance was just staying home.

But the ADA covers much more than curb cuts and, because it is a federal law, most cases are heard in federal court. When O'Hanlon was still practicing law, he worked a big case in the Western District of Pennsylvania against the City Housing Authority because they didn't have as many wheelchair accessible units as they were required to under the Act. The fight to fulfill the promise of the ADA continues and those actions will take place in district courts first. Housing remains a battleground,

according to Badger.

"There have been pieces that have been touched on with housing -- accessible housing, retrofitting for accessible apartments, stuff like that. That has been a difficult one, especially in the northeast of the country because of the older structures. That will continue to come up," she said.

Both Badger and O'Hanlon also identify accessible transportation as an area that will hit the courts in the near future. O'Hanlon is himself a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Uber, "over the fact that Uber doesn't provide wheelchair accessible vehicles. So it's not really an accessible service for people who use wheelchairs like I do," he said.

Other transportation cases may come down the pipeline, too.

"They [Google and Uber] were both trying to get some self-driven vehicles. People with disabilities were being left out of those discussions," according to Badger. "That will be a case that can determine how the future of self-driving vehicles happens and whether we're in the equation at all. Because we know that public transportation and Uber and taxi services have not always been the friendliest to people with disabilities. Yet we are the Continued to Page 16

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 15

NEWS ones that could potentially benefit the most from the availability of these services.

When you look at going to doctor's appointments, independent living, working -- the chance of using those automated vehicles could be the key to empower people with disabilities. But if we're not involved in that discussion, it doesn't matter."

According to the CDC, there are 61 million adult Americans, more than a quarter of the population, with some type of disability.

The outcomes of these cases will have an enormous impact on everybody's lives and the arguments may happen right in our backyard.

Civil Rights, Protection from the State, Prisoner Rights and Criminal Cases If you have been injured or been denied your Constitutional Rights by the police, you may end up filing a civil lawsuit against them and that will likely land in federal court.

"The preferred venue for bringing civil cases against police officers is federal court," David Harris explained, "because of the existing federal statute."

Two local civil cases of note have gone through the Federal Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

After he was beaten following an arrest without probable

cause, Jordan Miles pursued a civil case against the City of Pittsburgh Police. A few years later, Leon Ford also filed a civil case in federal court after the police wrongly identified him as a suspect and shot him, leaving him paralyzed.

Harris said that it is not that friendly a venue, because of things like qualified immunity, "but at the very least, you have a court that is set up to vindicate federal rights and that's generally what we're talking about in these cases.

16 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

The right to be free from unreasonable search and seizures, which is false arrest. And excessive force and things like that. It's the right venue; it's not the easy venue, necessarily."

Right now, the Heritage Foundation and other rightwing advocacy groups are targeting Obergfell v Hodges, the 2015 landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry

was guaranteed to same-sex couples under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The challenges to marriage equality will hit the district courts first.

"There is a definite opportunity for the courts to overturn protection that grants members of the LGBTQ community their human and basic civil rights here in this country. That will happen in the federal courts, particu-

NEWS larly with the federal judges that the Trump administration is putting in," Kenner pointed out.

Some immigration and DACA cases land in federal courts, as well as a number of financial cases.

Imprisoned people often look to the federal courts to seek redress, too. This is the venue where prisoners go for help over deleterious prison conditions, overcrowding, and lengthy stretches in solitary confinement.

"Access to healthcare is one that comes up a lot," according to Jefferson-Bullock. "Prisoners do have the right to adequate health care, maybe not the same type of care that some of us receive on the outside, but they do have a right to adequate healthcare."

Of course, prosecutions of federal crimes land in the federal district courts.

There are RICO, or racketeering cases. For both gun rights advocates and those advocating for limited regulations on guns, all the federal firearms statutes are adjudicated here as well.

"There have always been federal narcotics statutes dating back to the 1920's and 30s, but the Feds didn't really get into drug prosecution until the 1970's," Harris explained about federal drug prosecutions.

"Then with the drug war

and the creation of the DEA, you got these new laws passed in the 70s and 80s really upping federal penalties. So you have a fairly robust number of federal drug cases under federal law. We could have a lively discussion over whether that's good or necessary ‌ but the federal drug cases are a huge number of federal criminal cases," he said.

COURT PACKING Court packing has been a trend since before Donald Trump entered the White House, but is now in fullcourt press mode, according to Kadida Kenner. "What you see now is that this is of major importance to the Republican party. They would rather sail through judges than have some COVID legislation go through. So this is the priority of this administration -- to pack and stack the courts in their favor," she said.

Here in the Western Pennsylvania the data bears that out. There are sixteen District Judges in this district.

Seven of those (including Judge Stickman, above) were appointed by President Trump. By contrast, five judges in this district were appointed by George W. Bush and two were appoint-

ed by Barack Obama -- but both of those presidents served two full terms, compared to a bit less than oneterm for Trump.

"This is the last grasp, a power grab," Kenner said.

"If you feel as though you're about to lose power and influence, then you take over the final independent branch, co-equal branch of government that should remain independent. This is where we are."

Nationally, in less than four years, the Trump Administration has appointed 194 Federal Judges, including two Supreme Court Justices (Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch), with the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett pending. According to the Pew Research Center, that is 24% of all the federal judges in the land and all appointed by a single, oneterm president.

But why has he been able to fill so many vacancies?

According to Brookings, the reason was the antagonistic confirmation record in the Mitch McConnell-led Senate in 2015 and 2016. McConnell refused to consider Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination by President Obama and just as importantly, McConnell basically shut down the lower court confirmation process,

as well. He even laughed about blocking Obama appointments on Sean Hannity's show. The end result was that the Trump Administration inherited 105 court vacancies (88 district and 17 circuit.)

"The lawyerly answer is, just because a person was appointed by a conservative president doesn't mean that they will only always espouse what we view as traditional conservative views," Jefferson-Bullock was quick to point out. Still, these are different times and these appointments feel more ideological than in previous administrations. "[I]n many ways, he's so far to the right, and the ideals and principles that he has decided are important to his agenda are so different than what we think of as traditional Republican values, I think people are going to have a difficult time really accessing the courts and receiving a fair administration of justice," she said.

"Which means that our democracy is askew. We have three branches of government that are supposed to check and balance one another. If the judiciary is off balance, the whole democracy is off balance. That's a major problem."

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 17

OPINION

CRISIS IN THE SUPREME COURT

T

he U. S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has taken on enormous and disturbing super-legislative powers undercutting voter rights, crushing labor protections, and undermining much needed environmental safeguards. Soon they will decide our health care. In the face of a climate crisis and our failing democracy, shifting legislative functions to an unelected, unaccountable body is a perilous step.

During the sham confirmation hearing, Senator Kamala Harris asked Judge Barrett, the daughter of a Shell Oil attorney, "Do you believe that climate change is happening and threatening the air we breathe and the water that we drink?"

Barrett responded, "You asked me uncontroversial questions, like Covid-19 being infectious or if smoking causes cancer to solicit an opinion from me on a very contentious matter of public debate, I will not do that, I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial." Judge Barrett stonewalled and refused to answer even basic questions knowing that she already has the Republican votes locked down.

Stacking the Federal courts and the SCOTUS with ideological "corporatist" justices screened by the dark-money-funded Federalists Society profoundly impacts our government's functioning. Six of the Supreme Court's members are current or former members of the extreme right-wing Fed-

BY LARRY J. SCHWEIGER - PITTSBURGH CURRENT COLUMNIST

INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

Amy Coney Barrett

eralist Society. They include Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito. In 1982, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies was established to create a reactionary counterrevolution in the Court system. Dark money funders and other special interests underpinning the Federalist Society now have the Court they conspired to make many years ago.

Senators Debbie Stabenow,

18 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

Chuck Schumer, and Sheldon Whitehouse detailed how our court system has been taken over by Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the GOP. A May 2020 report entitled: "Captured Courts-The GOP's Big Money Assault on The Constitution, Our Independent Judiciary, And the Rule of Law," shows how special interests working through the Federalist Society plotted to use the Supreme Court as an unelected arm of our government to advance unpopular partisan outcomes by legislating from

the bench. “During John Roberts’s tenure as Chief Justice, the Court’s five-justice Republican-appointed majority has handed down more than 80 partisan 5-4 decisions—joined by no Democratic appointee—that delivered wins to the Republican Party and the big corporate interests behind it.”

The Captured Courts report makes it clear "(f)or McConnell-led Senate Republicans, confirming Trump judges has become the primary purpose of the Senate. The Democratic majority in the House has

OPINION passed over 350 bills that have yet to even be considered by the Senate. Nearly 90% of these bills received bipartisan support and provide solutions that the voting public overwhelmingly approves of, such as lowering health care costs, combating the climate crisis, and reducing corruption in politics. Instead of passing legislation to help the American people, Mitch McConnell has chosen to bury those bills in his legislative graveyard.”

At the same time, we have witnessed several profound court decisions that would never pass in Congress.

The U.S. Supreme Court has created the golden age of money in American politics.

In an incredulous stretch of the Constitution in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to gut the McCain-Feingold Act. With a constitutionally flawed theory, "money" equals "free speech" under the 1st Amendment, the Court also declared in the January 2010 decision that "corporations" have “personhood” under the Constitution. This profoundly flawed ruling gave corporations broad and dangerous status that influences elections unduly. This decision and the subsequent SCOTUS decisions allow individuals to invest unlimited and undisclosed amounts of money to influence elections, severely undercutting American democracy.

In Shelby County v. Holder, the SCOTUS arbitrarily declared the end of racism in America, justifying the gutting of the 1965 Voting Rights Act's critical provisions. Since that decision, blatant voter

suppression has occurred in numerous states aimed at people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities to distort the outcome of elections in favor of the GOP. Suppression efforts include harsh voter ID laws, mass purges of voter rolls, cuts to voting hours and locations, and systemic voter disenfranchisement and intimidation.

The weaponization of voter suppression certainly contributed to the decline of black voters in 2016. According to a Pew Research study, black voter turnout declined for the first time in 20 years in a presidential election, falling to 59.6% in 2016 after reaching a record-high 66.6% in 2012.

Systematic racism in voter restrictions belies the Court’s perverse decision.

In the District of Columbia v. Heller case, the SCOTUS held on a partisan 5–4 decision ignoring the constitutional language in the Second Amendment connecting gun ownership to state militias and guaranteed the right to possess firearms independent of governmental service for hunting and other purposes, including self-defense within the home.

The Heller decision makes it harder for governments hard hit by crimes and school shootings to regulate the spread of military-style weapons to those who should not possess them.

With a 6-3 makeup, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Affordable Care Act one week after the November 3rd presidential election.

This landmark case will determine the fate of the Obamaera law. The timing of the argument was purely political to avoid tramping on Trump's reelection. With six Supreme

Court members with Federalist Society ties, the future of the ACA is clearly on the line.

A noted British historian Lord Thomas Macaulay in 1857 issued a warning to America about the survival of our Republic. "Your Constitution is all sail, and no anchor. As I said before, when a society has entered on this downward progress, either civilization or liberty must perish. Either some Caesar or Napoleon will seize the reins of government with a strong hand; or your Republic will be as fearfully plundered, and laid waste by barbarians in the twentieth century as the Roman Empire was in the fifth; with this difference, that the Huns, and Vandals, who ravaged the Roman Empire, came from without, and that your Huns and Vandals In recent years, will have been engendered within your country by your own institutions.”

Institutional vandals are now threatening our democracy.

They controlled the makeup of the Senate and the Supreme Court. They have driven Trump's many court appointments. The Republican-appointed majority in SCOTUS will continue issuing landmark rulings securing an anti-majoritarian hold on power at state and federal levels through adverse decisions involving political money, gerrymandering, voter rights, and other election matters. They will determine the outcome of health care and climate change.

Lord Macaulay's warning is proving to be prescient as recent Supreme Court interpretations of our Constitution prove to be "all sail, and no anchor" as there are few restraints

today. Trump is our Caesar, and the Courts and the Federalist Society are becoming the Huns and Vandals. For years, Republicans claimed they wanted to end liberal justices "legislating from the bench." Still, they remain silent when the conservative Supreme Court has acted as a super-legislative body unleashing a massive and destabilizing flood of toxic money, gutting the Voting Rights Act and now looking to end The Affordable Care Act. People who care for the viability of the biosphere and desire a viable democracy need to understand the Court's role in several bad decisions that tilt toward moneyed interests while thwarting progress on several critical fronts including climate change. If our democracy is corrupted and our planet laid waste, it will be facilitated by the Supreme Court and the greedy people who pumped dark money into the Federalist Society. They are the twenty-first-century barbarians who are actively rigging the system.

In a recent interview with Politico, Senator Whitehouse reflected on the state of our court system: "What the Republicans have done to the reputation and integrity of the Court through these last three nominations leaves a tarnish on the Court that I don't think the Court can bear. That means it’s going to be on us to figure out how to clean up that mess and restore a court that is demonstrably not the organ of big special interests.” On November 3rd, Americans will decide who they want to lead. If Biden and Harris win, they will need to figure out how to address a court system that has veered dangerously off course.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 19

OPINION

SELFISH BEHAVIOR IS ONLY GOING TO PROLONG THE PANDEMIC

I

was supposed to get married on October 10, 2020. We had our venue and caterer all set, and I was prepared with the most Jessica-ish bridal look y’all have ever seen. But Mike and I postponed our wedding indefinitely because of the pandemic. The last thing I want is to celebrate my undying love for my partner by shouldering the risk of our loved ones, you know, dying.

Was that likely to happen?

No. But as my wise friend Grace explained, large events right now seem about as safe as drunk driving. Is it likely your event will be a superspreader? No, but the chance is there, infinitely more so than during non-pandemic times. Is it likely if someone drives drunk that they’ll hit another car, injuring themselves and killing other folks on the road? No, but the chance is obviously infinitely greater than driving sober. In both of these cases, the results of taking these risks can be disastrous. Not just for folks who consented to be at risk, but for other folks who are just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

For example, a couple had a 65-person wedding in rural Maine in August. Other folks not affiliated made the number of attendees over 100.

Since then, 170 cases of coronavirus have been linked back to the wedding. Eight folks

BY JESSICA SEMLER - PITTSBURGH CURRENT COLUMNIST

JESSICA@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

died. The kicker about the eight folks who died from this superspreader event: none of them attended the wedding!

They just contracted the virus from someone who did! Much like when someone makes the individual decision to get behind the wheel drunk, attending a large event because you feel comfortable is not a decision that lives in a vacuum.

Whatever we tell ourselves to relinquish accountability, our

20 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

individual choices are not just about us. Our choices impact whomever’s paths we cross.

My dad’s 80th birthday would have been September 10. It’s been over six months since he passed, and I’m still deeply rolling in grief. As I wrote in an earlier piece, “Of Love, Loss, and Pandemics,” my dad died early on the morning of March 14.

I’d spent hours with him the night before and was able to

say goodbye. He died next to my mom early the next morning.

That Monday, the state went into lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. I’m devastated to have lost my dad, and the pain is ever-present and still hurts like a bruise that won’t go away. One morning in August, I saw an article about my dad’s nursing home. There was a Covid-19 outbreak. Over 70 people had

OPINION contracted the virus. I felt sick to my stomach and filled with guilt because I was so grateful my dad was already gone.

I can’t imagine not having been able to see him in those final moments. I’ve caught myself multiple times losing my breath as I ponder just how damned good at timing my dad was. If he had lived any longer, we would have missed our beautiful goodbye.

So, over six months later, here we are still in a fullblown pandemic that has taken 223,000 lives in the United States. My mom and I haven’t had a funeral for my dad yet, unless you count us getting breakfast the morning that he died, holding hands, crying into our omelets, and retelling our favorite memories.

Come to think of it, that was a pretty nice little ceremony.

We haven’t had a “real” funeral because most of the attendees would be elderly, and therefore especially susceptible to COVID. All of this is to say that I have had some HEAVY personal shit happen in 2020, and I’m making very intentional decisions to hold off on milestones because it seems like a lot of folks have forgotten WE’RE STILL IN A DAMN PANDEMIC. My long stiletto manicured nails? Gone.

My hair? Cut by my partner (it looks GREAT).

Was letting my partner, whose only knowledge of hair trimming was from watching a five minute YouTube

video, trim my immaculate navy tresses a risk? Oh yes, but not one that could result in me getting a communicable disease, possibly having irreparable lung damage, or you know, giving COVID to my mom and killing her.

When I see folks I care about still going out to parties, mingling with many different people, posting pictures of get-togethers with no distancing, it feels like I’m living in a parallel universe.

We have access to the same news. What is this disconnect? I talk to folks who say they’re “safe,” but their actions aren’t congruent with recommended precautions.

In my heart of hearts, I believe most folks will protect their fellow humans as much as they’re willing to protect themselves, but unfortunately, for many people, that means not very much.

This past week, both PA and the US had the highest numbers of new cases since the pandemic began. Folks are tired of the virus, but it is not tired of us.

When people downplay COVID by bringing up comorbidities or talk about herd immunity, I am angered and hurt. Folks are parroting misused medical statistics like “the survival rate is 95%.” So older folks, disabled folks, those immunocompromised or with preexisting conditions, their lives are worth going to happy hour? Tell that to my friend who lost both of their grandparents to COVID within a month. Is feign-

ing normalcy worth losing 223,000 folks and counting?

Will it only matter when this hits you directly? The Trump administration has utterly failed us in addressing the coronavirus as both a public health and economic crisis. If you’re not a billionaire, they do not give a damn. Since our government is doing nothing to protect us from this pandemic, it is on us to protect each other. Pittsburgh activist Maria Montano recently summed it up when she said, “Honestly, I just don't get it.

We are just so unwilling to make small sacrifices now to care for each other in the face of a government that is unwilling to do what it takes to keep us safe.” We have an empathy deficit in this country when issues only become pressing when they affect us directly.

On July 14, 2020, at twenty-eight years old, my friend Tori was diagnosed with Stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer. Chemotherapy means few white blood cells to fight infections, so they currently have no immune system.

Getting COVID would be life-threatening. They recently posted, “If you’ve ever wondered how I feel when I see people talking about going out to eat indoors or to party or not wearing masks, it’s like this. People talking about how their right to go out to eat is more important than my life.” Responses included, “Sorry you have cancer, but we can’t survive on closing America.” Ironically,

the woman who said that had a breast cancer awareness logo as her profile picture. I want to strangle this broad with a pink ribbon myself.

To folks continuing to have parties, weddings, etc. as if none of this is happening: you are not making a choice just for yourself. For better or worse, we are all interconnected. The simplicity of framing whether to go out to eat, go to parties, etc. as a personal choice is a lie. I spoke with a friend about this a couple of months ago, and he said that I shouldn’t judge him for still going out and doing things because he didn’t judge me for quarantining. But that falsely frames these choices as having equal value. One puts more people at risk, and one does not.

When I chatted with Tori about their experience fighting cancer during a pandemic, they noted, “It is so telling that I went to Black Lives Matter protests pre-cancer diagnosis, and didn’t get sick.”

While many people attended, folks were outside, socially distant, and wearing masks.

The connective tissue here is understanding basic empathy.

To my fellow humans who have been quarantined, only going out for essentials, and limited social interactions to those outside: the hard choices we’ve made were not in vain. They were not a waste.

You have saved lives, maybe your own, but probably someone you don’t know. That should be enough.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 21

OPINION ELECTORALLY SPEAKING

BY ERIN MCCLELLAND - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

I

f you have a mail-in ballot that you have not yet mailed: BRING IT TO YOUR COUNTY ELECTION DEPARTMENT OR YOUR POLL. That’s what we have learned from this past week in PA election law. With only 5 days until election day, PA’s ability to count ballots received after election day remain in dispute.

Last week, SCOTUS ruled to allow the counting of Pennsylvania ballots up to 3 days after the election, essentially upholding the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling. Then this week, SCOTUS ruled to bar the counting of mail-in ballots received after election day in Wisconsin. The swing vote between these rulings was Chief Justice Roberts. In his opinion, Roberts specifically cited why he voted to maintain the 3-day extension in PA and bar it in Wisconsin, “I write separately to note that this case presents different issues,” Roberts wrote referencing the PA cases. “While the Pennsylvania applications implicated the authority of state courts to apply their own constitutions to election regulations, this case involves federal intrusion on state law-making processes.”

Simply put, Roberts was the deciding vote in each case, opining to uphold each state’s authority to regulate their own elections, refusing to intrude during what he referred to as, “the thick of election season.”

Then, last Friday, 2 key actions occurred. First, the PA Republican Party asked the court to fast-track a formal review of the merits of the case, therefore setting precedent and once again deciding the fate of mail-in ballots received after election day. And by Monday night, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the US Senate and replaced Ruth Bader Ginsberg on the US Supreme Court.

This decision will put Justice Barrett under intense scrutiny, should she not recuse herself from the ruling. If the court chooses to overturn the state court, barring the counting of the ballots, it will unquestionably cause serious systemic disruption to County Elections Departments already burdened by a massive influx of mail-in ballots. If the court upholds the state’s ruling with any conservative support, it would be a win for state’s rights and precedent on a long-standing debate in national elections: Are we holding 50 state elections or one national election?

Also on Friday, the PA Supreme Court voted unanimously that a mail-in or absentee ballot cannot be rejected on the basis of signature challenge by the County Elections Department or third-party challenge, citing no such requirement in the election code. In her opinion Justice Todd wrote, “We conclude that the Election Code does not authorize or require county election boards to reject absentee or mail-in ballots during the canvassing process based on an analysis of a voter’s signature on the ‘declaration’ contained on the official ballot return envelope for the absentee or mail-in ballot. We, therefore, grant the Secretary’s petition for declarative relief, and direct the county boards of elections not to reject absentee or mail-in ballots for counting, computing, and tallying based on signature comparisons conducted by county election officials or employees, or as the result of third-party challenges based on such comparisons.”

22 | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

The opinion went on to cite the lower court’s ruling, decided against the Trump campaign by Trump appointee Judge Ranjan as, “Relevant to the present dispute, in his scholarly and comprehensive supporting opinion, Judge Ranjan concluded that ‘the plain language of the Election Code imposes no requirement for signature comparison for mail-in and absentee ballots and applications.’”

The long-term effects of this ruling require at least one immediate response from the legislature. They must write a clear articulation of criteria for challenging the validity of a mail-in or absentee ballot into the election code if we are to mitigate concerns of fraud with our newly established mail-in ballot process.

The only thing decided in PA election law this week, is there is more to be decided in the aftermath of Act 77 as it continues to be litigated and mitigated in the courts. In the meantime, the safest choice for PA voters still in possession of their mail-in ballot is to take the ENTIRE BALLOT PACKET to their County Elections Department for submission or bring it directly to the polls where you can spoil it and vote in-person.

Electorally Speaking is a series on the extensive impact and complications ACT 77 has affected on Pennsylvania’s election processes, scheduled to run now through election day.

ESSAY 3 STORIES IN 3 PARAGRAPHS

BY MATTHEW WALLENSTEIN - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

One

The first person my own age I knew that died was T. A heart attack got him at 16. He was overweight, comedic, he played in bands and did drugs with my friends. His body was found in the living room of his house. He died shortly after he left New Hampshire and moved down to Florida. Once when D was driving he pulled into a station to refuel. T got out and pumped the gas. Not paying much attention he left the nozzle in the tank. He just forgot the thing in there. D drove off and they found it when they stopped again a few miles down the road, ripped off, sticking out from the car like an appendage. D told that story at his memorial.

Two

J had a lot of hustles. One was buying and selling, which sometimes meant stealing and selling, sometimes meant picking up trash and selling, sometimes meant some complicated scams, and sometimes actually meant buying and selling. Most of his findings were kept in his basement, stacked high, filling the place up. I lived in a small room down there in that basement with the girl I was with at the time. The walls were always sweating and large bugs would run across our bodies at night. We would turn the lights on and try to kill them before they could disappear into a crack. J’s lady was always throwing things around upstairs and yelling at all hours. J had this microwave that he gave it to B and me because he couldn’t sell it. B was a friend of mine who lived at his parents house on the edge of town. The house was out in the woods, down a dirt road that was so skinny that if you wanted to you could walk down the middle of it and almost touch the branches coming off the trees on either side. That night was very dark. There weren’t streetlights for miles. The moon wasn’t even out. B started drinking. He went inside and brought out an extension cord which he attached to the microwave. We popped it open and put the empty cans inside along with some rocks and spent shell casings. I set it for 30 minutes and we stood behind a truck to watch. Sounds started coming from it. There were flashes of green and blue, like a scrambled channel on tv. After a while B went and got his handgun and we shot at some trees, shot at the microwave. B kept on drinking. He would disappear into the house for a while, then come back out with a different gun. He was pretty drunk so I kept taking them from him and telling him to lay down. This happened a few times before he decided that instead he would chase me around and try to grab my penis. He was hell-bent on it. Kept saying, “Matt, I am going to grab your penis.” I did manage to outrun him. After he fell over enough times, he finally gave up.

Three

It was my last year in high school. Her grandmother died and I was supposed to help carry the casket along with her father and uncle. I was standing next to her with my arm around her, waiting for everything to start. She leaned over to me and said, “It’s so weird being here, I used to fuck the grounds-keeper who worked here. We had sex on the hood of his car right over there.” She pointed. “Uh huh.” I couldn’t say much in the way of being jealous or not wanting to listen, after all her grandmother had just died. “I don’t know if he still works here. He had a huge dick, it was like 9 inches.” “Uh huh.” “There was hair that ran half way up it.” “Weird.” “He loved David Bowie.” “Uh huh.” Then they called me over. I carried a corner of the box with her dead grandmother in it over to a hole in the ground.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 23

PA R T I N G S H OT

PITTSBURGH CURRENT PHOTO BY JAKE MYSLIWCZYK PITTSBURGH CURRENT | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 24