Items

• 
  2022-06-21

  HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 142

  We perceive what we want to perceive
• 
  2020-11-08

  Celebration

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-11-04

  Election Morning

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-10-30

  Take 'em all

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-09-30

  post-debate

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  12/08/2020

  Mark Kompsie Oral History, 2020/12/08

  C19OH
• 
  2020-11-07

  You're Fired

  I worked the polls at Nevitt Forest Elementary during the 59th presidential election. The lines were crowded at 6:00 prior to the polls official opening at 7:00. The energy in the voting room was definitely mixed--some determined, some anxious, and some angry at the previous conditions of Trump administration of 2017-21. Although the energy of the election results are still mixed today still, this meme reflects one of the more amused and joyous reactions of the election turnout. Thus, using one of Trump's infamous lines of his famed tv show Celebrity Apprentice, this meme pokes fun at the importance of public ratings not only in pop culture but in politics as well.
• 
  2020-09-13

  "Plight of Holyoke Soldiers' Home residents, families becomes political flashpoint in state Senate race"

  This MassLive news article discusses how a state senate candidate was using the poor response to the pandemic at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home during his opponent's term in office to gain popularity for himself.
• 
  2021-01-19

  Essential Business Continuity Stipend – November 3, 2020 Election

  This is a letter I got in the mail from the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar, that was sent to anyone in the county who worked at the polls on "the four days prior to or on Election Day". The letter accompanied a $100 stipend that the county was able to provide to election workers for the November general election because they received a grant from The Center for Tech and Civic Life. The following is an excerpt from the letter that mentions the challenges COVID provided to election working: "I want to personally thank you for being a key part of our Election team and for helping to keep voting safe, secure, and convenient under the uncertain conditions of a global pandemic. Your service as an Election Worker ensured that every voter who showed up to the polls was helped with ease and accuracy and that our ballots were processed securely and accurately. The November 3, 2020 election included many new challenges and obstacles that we had never faced. We overcame them together and had a very successful Presidential Election. You did a great ["great" is bolded and underlined] job – from learning our new electronic poll books, to taking the necessary precautions with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and social distancing."
• 
  2021-05-24

  A Memoir of 2020-2021: How COVID-19 Affected the Lifestyle of a High school Student

  The PDF tells the story of my life over the years from 2020-2021. It explains how covid affected the lifestyle of a high school student, with many other added details.
• 
  2021-04-22

  Life During Covid

  This story just tells what the world looked like during the Covid pandemic through my eyes.
• 
  2020-11-08

  270 Electoral College Votes and a Nation Divided

  Pennsylvania became the state that helped Biden cross the winning threshold of 270 Electoral College votes to become the next President. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials in the state sorted through a historical number of mail-in votes that delayed processing. During Biden's acceptance speech he struck a conciliatory tone, but on the ground it looked like the country was staggering forward as bitterly divided as ever.
• 
  2020-11-15

  Trump Supporters and BLM Clash

  Yesterday, thousands of Donald Trump supporters rallied in Washington DC to dispute the Presidential election results. Among those attending were white nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and alt-right activists. Throughout the day, Trump supporters violently clashed with BLM and abolitionist activists. I've had Trump supporters came at me a couple of times now. My favorite shots are the moments before they decide to make a move on me. Photo #9 is seconds before a woman decided to shove her bike in my direction.
• 
  2021-01-29

  Four Wensdays in January

  This is a meme my friend shared in our discord, it recounts the absolute insanity that was January of 2021. The first image is of the failed coup attempt by enraged Trump supporters, white supremacists and fascists; who all stormed the capitol building with little to no resistance. While inside, they defaced the building, broke into offices and hunted for Vice President Mike Pence to hang for ‘betraying’ Donald Trump. The second photo came in response, depicting speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi holding the article of impeachment for Donald Trump. While it was argued that this was a pointless endeavor as Trump was virtually leaving office in a week, the main goal for impeachment was to prohibit Donald Trump from holding office ever again. The third image is the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, this event was made possible by the presence of the national guard, where 21,000 soldiers were deployed to make sure nothing as similar as January 6th could occur. The streets were empty as roadblocks and military utility trucks cordoned off the area, massive fences were erected surrounding the structure and soldiers patrolled the area. Largely, it was believed there was going to be nationwide attacks on several capitol structures throughout the nation in response – yet nothing of substance happened. The final image, and my favorite, would be the assault on Wall Street. This is an insane story, so I’m going to be a little less formal but this is an incredibly significant event, it is an instance of effective class-warfare. I’m not going to explain stocks, but essentially what happened is hedge fund investors made a bet that GameStop would fail, they took several ‘shorts’ out on this company to profit from this bet – however, redditors on r/wallstreetbets caught wind of this and thought “what would happen if their bet was wrong,” they began investing heavily into the company, raising its value, and as a result, costing the hedge fund billionaires thousands. These thousands in losses became millions, then billions, as more and more working class and middle class people threw themselves onto the market, to eat the rich. It wasn’t about profit, about making a return, it was a message. Eventually, this fiasco showed Americans that there essentially is no such thing as the ‘free-market,’ as these large hedge funds began blocking people from purchasing stock, forcibly selling peoples stock, using their own funds to facilitate an artificial ‘scare.’ People lost so much after the initial manipulation, but it proved that the market was only free for the rich, that once anyone else began to emulate the fraudulent strategies of the wealthy elite, they would be struck down. This is currently on going, but I cannot stress enough – it is not about money, it’s about sending a message that people are done. It’d be funny if the federal government intervened on behalf of wall-street by bailing them out, before sending out those measly 2k stimulus cheques. For the archive, this photo represents the pace in which everything moved in 2021, and the absolute absurdity of where we are today. To think, when this began we were planning on a few weeks at home, we’d make sour dough bread, then we began missing our friends and family’s – then we were in the streets marching for civil rights, and the ability for people not to be murdered by police because of the colour of their skin, fascists stormed the government, the ex-president is being impeached, again, now we’re trying to destroy Wall Street, this pandemic is absolutely wild.
• 2021-01-11

  What I thought (or now think) about who or what is the cause of this current virus.

  I think that COVID-19 was made in a lab. Not only do I think it was made in a lab but I think it was tied into an Election. Which caused certain things to happen which caused the result of the election. Therefore COVID-19 was made and used to corrupt America and I think it is tied into bioterrorism and biochemical warfare. That is what I think and still think COVID-19 is and was.
• 2020-04-15

  Covid-Induced Election Anxiety

  The election is today, and this is probably the most important one of my lifetime. I don’t like either candidate, but I really hope Biden wins. I want to keep my rights, I quite like marriage and healthcare. If Trump wins I will most likely lose these things. I only see Trump as a bigot who isn’t doing anything good for this country right now. If he wins this election, I will most likely move out of the country when I am 18. I don’t care if I end up in China, I just want out of here. This election is causing me to fear for my own future, and that of my partner and all of my friends. We are not completely safe in this country, and we likely never will be. 2020 has been a garbage year for me and this election is quite literally the cherry on top of all things awful. I shall update this later with my thoughts and feelings after the election. If there is truly a God, he will let Biden win. I also have my driver’s test next Monday and that’s making me feel even worse right now!
• 
  2020-11-06

  Joe Biden becomes president-elect

  These photos represent my experience of the day that Biden was declared president-elect. I happened to be near a family member during the election, so I stayed with them, so it was easy to have access to watching the news, but after four days of being glued to the results, I needed to get back on the road for my own sanity. On the morning of the 6th, I felt confident enough in the numbers in Georgia and Pennsylvania that they were going to continue to be in Biden’s favor to leave service behind and go into Yosemite national park. I wanted to be able to listen to the news while I was in the park, so I screenshot the local radio stations while I still had service, but they all ended up being either conservative stations that weren’t reporting on the results, or Spanish speaking stations. The next day I woke up to the news that the associated press had called the election for Biden, and celebrated in Giant Sequoia National Park, while I was there, I wrote Biden in the snow as a way to celebrate and feel in community with other people also on the trails. This was an important day for American history, and while my experience was not something particularly significant, It could be an interesting story to a future historian researching how people responded to the election.
• 
  2020-12-07

  Roman Wright American history final reflection paper

  This paper discusses the relationship between American history and current topics such as BLM and the 2020 election
• 
  2020-12-07

  The Long Arm of History

  I wrote this paper for my final project for HIS103 at Niagara University in 2020.
• 
  2020-10-09

  COVID-19 Having an Impact of the 2020 Presidential Debates

  Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in America and President Trump recently testing positive for the virus, the second presidential debate was canceled. It was interesting to see that during such an important election, one of the presidential debates could not happen.
• 2020-11-23

  Pandemic Poetry, Poem Titled: "Trumpty Dumpty"

  "Trumpty Dumpty built a great wall. Trumpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the Deplorables and Proud Little Men Couldn't elect Trumpty as President again..." This was a poem written by Dan Nave, who has used poetry as a means of processing his thoughts and feelings during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• 
  2020-11-19

  The Journal of a Common Man

  To show the hardships and happiness throughout the pandemic year of 2020
• 
  2020-11-18

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 78

  ELECTION CONTENTION
• 
  2020-11-10

  Keith Sweat’s “Nobody” Election 2020 Version

  A FB friend shared this spoof on Keith Sweat’s song “Nobody” talking about the 2020 election of Joe Biden. The video was shared by Jody Hawes Jr. with the hashtag #NobodyRemix.
• 
  2020-11-03

  Elizabeth Sconyers Interview with Jason LeClair

  Jason LeClair is a teacher at a theater arts teacher at a charter school in Rhode Island. In this interview, he discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected parts of his personal life and daily routine. He talks about specific effects the pandemic has had on performing arts, such as the use of Zoom and drive-ins for theatre and concert, the delays in reopening the performing arts to the public, and how the shutdown of performing arts has effected the economy. Finally, he touches on some concerns for the future of performing arts and how he believes the performing arts will be different after this pandemic.
• 2020-11-05

  Where’s Some Russian Collusion When You Need It?

  My friends and I were once again on Xbox Live, talking about the election, and I had a sudden thought. Didn’t Trump steal the election in 2016 with help from Vladimir Putin, according to the liberals? Of course he stole the election in 2016. Our voting system is totally rigged and rife with fraud. But, not when Joe Biden wins! When Joe Biden cheats his way into getting 5 states with hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots at 3AM and I point that out, I’m ‘disrespecting the electoral process’ and ‘a fascist.’ Both are hilarious because I never respected representative government in the first place and I’m an anarcho-capitalist. Naturally, I asked my friends at this point: “where’s some Russian collusion you really need some? Putin’s not coming through for the Orange Man this year.” Laughter ensued.
• 
  2020-11-04

  COVID Election Year

  The photograph shows protesting in Phoenix, AZ on the fourth of November. The protesters were majority President Trump supporters, protesting that every vote be counted. Many protests have sprung across the United States for the 2020 election due the election results being undetermined. Most have been peaceful but some turn violent. The one in Phoenix was peaceful but more importantly the election results determine America’s course through the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-10-27

  Voting During a Global Pandemic: A Student's Experience Voting in Person

  The object is an image of my family and I after voting and holding our “I voted” stickers. The eligible voters in my household are my mother, father, younger brother, and myself. After becoming very invested in politics, my youngest brother, who is eight, got a future voter sticker for coming along. Voting, in general, is a significant task, but this year, with the presidential election, mass amounts of people were expected to vote in person and with mail-in ballots. The pandemic heavily altered what an election usually looks like. Voting in person looked very different and had additional procedures to be cautious. When we entered immediately, we were given a hand sanitizer and a disposable glove to touch the voting machines and ballot. The room setup was different as areas to walk marked off, waiting in line to check-in required voters to wait for six-feet apart from each other. The floors were marked to show directions you could walk in. The voting machines were farther apart than usual to keep everyone at a distance. It was strange to experience a COVID-19 election, especially as this has been an anticipated election for a few years now. Last year I could never have imagined voting in a mask and being given a glove to keep the voting machines clean. This year is notable for the difficult circumstances of COVID-19 and a year focusing on the historic presidential election.
• 
  2020-11-04

  North Dakota state legislature candidate won election but died from COVID

  A state legislator who died still won his election. I wonder how many people knew he was dead and how many people just checked the box because it was republican. Considering he died so early I wonder why he wasn't replaced.
• 
  2020-10-30

  Over 90,000 Cases Recorded in a Single Day

  The United States is experiencing yet another surge in Covid cases, this time just days before the presidential election. "The new benchmark of 90,456 cases was hit Thursday just hours after the U.S. logged its 9 millionth coronavirus case and shattered the previous daily record of 80,662 infections, set a day earlier. Also, the 540,035 new Covid-19 cases reported from last Friday, Oct. 23, to Thursday was the most for any seven-day period since July." The Trump administration has said that the U.S. is rounding the corner on the pandemic and even cited "ending" the pandemic as one of Donald Trump's accomplishments in office, yet the growing number of cases and deaths would say otherwise.
• 
  2020-10-29

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 73

  Dems unhappy about SCOTUS
• 
  2020-10-29

  Polling Places Are Closing Due To COVID-19.

  The surge of COVID-19 cases across the United States has impacted voting across the country. Not only are some people afraid to vote in person but people are afraid of working at polls, resulting in a shortage of polls workers. Because of poll closures, people are being forced to find new polls. Low-income are being impacted by these closures due to the time it takes to find new polls and the cost of reaching them. Minorities are also impacted because they already faced longer than average wait times before COVID-19 when all polls were open.
• 
  2020-10-28

  Twitter’s Nostradamus

  This individual, The Red-Headed Libertarian, is evidently psychic, predicting that there would be a plague in 2020. Granted, their logic for guessing this is based on something that became apparent to many after COVID hit, which is that the 20th year of the past two centuries have included pandemic events.
• 
  10/19/2020

  Maria Carney Oral History, 2020/10/19

  I interview my maternal (and only living) grandmother over the phone about her experience of Covid while primarily self-isolating in her mobile home. There is not so much direct question and answer but over the course of a somewhat rambling conversation pretty much all the topics get covered. Although she remains pretty spry for her age, there are some places where she loses the thread or misunderstands the conversation.
• 
  2020-10-25

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 72

  HUNTER BIDEN laptop
• 
  2020-10-19

  Will Trump Use Covid to Pull Off A Bolivia?

  In 2019 the right-wing party in Bolivia used an excuse to pull off a coup of the government. Sighting irregular election processes. Riots ensued on the streets and within a few weeks, the right-wing power took control. The US government supported the coup before the election and supported them after the coup. 1 year later Bolivia redid their election and people lined up in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic to cast their votes and re-elect the former government. I wonder if Trump will copy Bolivia. I believe Trump would be able to garner enough people and support for intense riots. As well as make a contention to the validity of the election. Regardless, from examing Bolivia, anything is possible.
• 
  2020-10-16

  Trump Rally Amid High Covid-19 Numbers in Iowa

  Iowa is one of the states with the highest coronavirus numbers as of October 16, 2020. President Trump plans to hold a rally for his campaign right after he recovered from the virus. This photograph talks about the measures they plan to take during the rally. There is a chance that even though they are taking these measures; it does not mean that it will prevent the numbers from going up, especially since President Trump just recovered. In many local newspapers, there is a lot of concern over this rally.
• 
  2020-10-05T15

  Stocks Fall after Trump Announces Deferral of Stimulus Talks

  President Donald Trump announces that he will not discuss the issue of stimulus talks to boost the economy during the pandemic. After this announcements, the DOW was down by 400+ points.
• 
  2020-08-21

  Life and Politics by Zoom

  In February of 2020, I was a high school senior trying to finish up high school and think about what I was trying to be doing the next school year. By March, the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker declared a stay-at-home order and I was finishing high school by doing assignments and emailing them to teachers. Then the shut-down really evolved as my high school prom and graduation were both canceled. Well, our graduation was only partially canceled. Six students receiving diplomas were allowed to show up every 30 minutes, with no more than five family members present, and everyone remained socially distant throughout the process. My parents both started working from home and always seemed to be doing something I had not previously heard of, Zoom calls. To get a head start on college, I had signed up for a Summer class at Suffolk University. Amongst other reasons, I had chosen Suffolk for its proximate location to my home, its outstanding science facilities (a brand-new sciences and lab building), urban feel and connections to local businesses, hospitals, and research facilities. Then the class went remote and Zoom meetings became the norm for me. The Politics of a Global Pandemic class involved a weekly Zoom forum with panelists from around the world. Topics varied weekly, but the theme always involved global politics around this pandemic. At first, I figured it would be mainly US politics, since it is a presidential election year. Then we talked about a variety of pandemic's global impacts, economic effects, cultural changes, and how society and political leaders view these challenges. We didn't use Zoom calls in those last few months of my senior year of high school. Then two months later, Zoom became so mainstream that the biggest political convention of my lifetime (to date) was actually held virtually. The title of the article, "The DNC Is the Best Zoom Meeting of 2020—So Far" resonates as it seems like this could be just the beginning. I turned 18 just prior to the pandemic and registered to vote. From what I've seen in online videos of past conventions, were speeches, political endorsements, and balloons cascading from the ceiling of a stadium as a candidate accepts his or her party nomination. This pandemic changed things for me, for global politics, and society so drastically, I wonder when or if in-person schooling and politics will ever be what I saw and experienced over the course of my life. I’m now registered for all virtual classes this fall; and probably more Zoom calls.
• 
  2020-08-04

  Kansas Primary, August 4, 2020

  A scene taken on the day of the Kansas primaries for the US Senate and House of Representatives. With the state caught in COVID's grip, many voters availed themselves of mail-in-ballots, but some voters still preferred to show up to the polls in person, as they did here in southwest Wichita. Nevertheless, this image captures but a small segment of the various challenges that the United States faced in holding federal, state, and municipal elections in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-16

  Judge rejects request to stop Tulsa Trump rally over coronavirus concerns

  Reopening has proved to be a double edged sword, as the economy slowly begins to recover while infection rates seem to rise congruently. President Trump had planned a rally in Tulsa, OK that has drawn backlash because of the current racial/policing issues present in the country, in addition to the health concerns that are present with a packed arena. The tweet summarizes the Politico article, which mentions the following: injunction to stop the rally until safety guidelines are put in place, rejection of the injunction, and the reassurance that all proper safety precautions will be taken into account for the proposed rally.
• 
  2020-06-09

  Voter Rights in a Pandemic

  The image on the left shows the voting line in predominantly African American and Democratic portion of Fulton County, GA where complications with electronic ballots created a 4 hour line to vote; the left shows the predominantly white and conservative portion of that county. This is an example of the pandemic's impact on the upcoming elections.
• 
  2020-04-08

  COVID 19 Journal: 04/08/2020

  COVID 19 Journal by Kaitlin Whalen written 04/08/2020
• 
  2020-03-16

  Voting in the Democratic Primary

  I dropped off my early ballot at one of a very few polling places open on Monday, the 15th, prior to Tuesday voting. Many of the polling places are located at schools or community centers, which were closed because of the virus. Hand sanitizer sits on the box where you deposit your ballots.