Money and Computing
Jo Freeman: There’s Plenty To Do at the RNC – If You Have the Right Credentials
by Jo Freeman
Every national nominating convention has plenty of auxiliary events, some authorized, some not. Getting space can be a challenge; getting the word out even more so. But they do it nonetheless. Press were given a RNC 2024 Master Event Calendar, which was updated a few days later. Events began on Sunday and ended on Thursday. The actual convention sessions were just one item on the list. The calendar said if an event was Open or Closed to press, and also whom to contact to register. I’m going to describe some of the events, including a couple I went to, and a couple I was turned away from.
Since my focus is on women, I obviously wanted to go to those events – if I could.
The National Federation of Republican Women is the largest grassroots Republican women's organization in the country with hundreds of clubs. Founded in 1938, its members made the phone calls and knocked on the doors that elected Republican candidates for decades. It’s Tuesday luncheon featured Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders. The Master Calendar said it was SOLD OUT and they wouldn’t let me in. I was able to get into their lounge at the Fiserv Forum Wednesday evening, where I was repeatedly asked if I was a member, and if not, would I join. “I’m press,” I said. “I can’t join anything partisan.” I then said: “What brings you here?” On hearing that, finding anyone willing to chat with me was like pulling teeth.
Moms for Liberty met in a concert hall that afternoon. I had pre-registered, and I got in. From high in a balcony seat I listened to several people talk about the evils of transgenderism. It’s webpage says WE BELIEVE Power Belongs to the People. Sound Familiar? With a focus is on parental rights, it wants to “STOP WOKE indoctrination.”
Tuesday I went to “The New Mavericks” reception co-hosted by the Black Republican Mayors Association and the Georgia Republican Party. They honored Sen. Tim Scott, four Congressmen and two Georgia delegates – all male. There was only one mayor on stage, from Aurora, IL. The chair of the Georgia Republican Party was the one white man on the stage. At that event, women served; they didn’t speak. The RNC reported that 55 delegates to the 2024 convention are Black, up from 18 in 2016.
I missed the Independent Women’s Forum toast to “Women Who Make Our Country Great” because I went to Convention Fest: The Official Delegate Experience, which was held in the streets outside the Fiserve Forum and Baird Hall as well as some space inside Baird. To get to that one you not only needed a credential of some sort, but a USSS pass (which I have).
Concerned Women for America parked its pink bus across from the Baird Center the week before the RNC. No one was home. When Convention Fest opened on Tuesday afternoon, they set up a pink tent, from which its leaders preached to whomever passed by. It calls itself “the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization” but its focus is evangelical Christian. The slogan on the side of its pink bus captures this emphasis: “She Prays, She Votes.” A prayer precedes each sermon.
Testimony of Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: "The debt ceiling has been raised or suspended 78 times since 1960"
"I’ll end my remarks there except to say this: It is imperative that Congress address the debt limit. If not, our current estimate is that Treasury will likely exhaust its extraordinary measures by October 18. At that point, we expect Treasury would be left with very limited resources that would be depleted quickly. America would default for the first time in history. The full faith and credit of the United States would be impaired, and our country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession as a result. We must address this issue to honor commitments made by this – and prior – Congresses, including those made to address the health and economic impact of the pandemic. It’s necessary to avert a catastrophic event for our economy." more »
Federal Reserve Issues A Federal Open Market Committee Statement: Committee Will Aim to Achieve Inflation Moderately Above 2% For Some Time
"With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. The sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have improved in recent months, but the rise in COVID-19 cases has slowed their recovery. Inflation is elevated, largely reflecting transitory factors. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses... The path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus. Progress on vaccinations will likely continue to reduce the effects of the public health crisis on the economy, but risks to the economic outlook remain." more »
Immediate Release: Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the 10th Anniversary of the Repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don’t Tell'' SEPT. 20, 2021
"So, for those who believe they were unjustly discharged or retain an error in a service record, please contact your military department's Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records or Discharge Review Board. As Secretary of Defense, I am committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion across the force. It makes us more representative of the nation we defend. It makes us wiser. And, without question, it makes us stronger. On behalf of the entire Department, I thank our LGBTQ+ service members -- and your families -- for the service you render each and every day." more »
The Scout Report; September 17, 2021: Extreme Weather, General Interest Explore: Pearls of the Planet CosmoQuest British Library: Digital Scholarship Blog Wheelmap On Being: Starting Points & Care Packages
There are more than 60 live cam themes to check out, arranged in alphabetical order for easy browsing. Highlights include "Project Puffin," "Owl Research Institute," "International Wolf Center," and "Aquarium of the Pacific," among others. Once users have selected a theme to visit, they will be taken to a page with live camera footage. Astronomy buffs, stargazers, and students of all ages will want to check out CosmoQuest, an online community space where citizen scientists can participate in expanding our knowledge of the universe through collaboration with scientists from NASA, OSIRIS-REx, Dawn, and other organizations. Librarians, archivists, and researchers should check out the Digital Scholarship Blog from the British Library (previously featured in the 02-09-2018 Scout Report), which won the 2018 Digital Humanities Award for Best Blog Post or Series of Posts. Wheelmap is a free online map of wheelchair accessible places around the world. On the map, the accessibility of locations is designed through a traffic light system: green for full accessibility, orange for partial accessibility, and red for inaccessibility. Visitors can use the Search bar to find and check the accessibility of nearby locations or filter the search for specific kinds of places (e.g., Transport, Education, Toilets) and degree of accessibility.
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