Joe Biden Names Haitian-American Karen Andre As His Florida Senior Advisor and Senior Advisor to National Faith Outreach
Dozens of Florida hospitals out of available ICU beds, state data shows
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Monday announced the members of his senior leadership team in Florida, Haitian-American attorney Karen Andre is among the selected few to serve as Senior Advisor and Senior Advisor to National Faith Outreach to the campaign.
President Donald Trump’s campaign has emphasized the importance of the state as a must-win to retain the White House, but recent polls have consistently shown Biden in the lead in the swing state.
Karen Andre is a highly sought after and respected political consultant who has advised and directed strategy for elected officials, campaigns, and candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. Most recently, she served as Political Director of Organizing Together 2020 in Florida where she helped build a state-wide partnership coalition.
Previously, she served as Senior Advisor for Gillum for Governor during his triumphant primary win as Democratic nominee for governor of Florida in 2018. In 2014, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as White House Liaison to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Karen is president of People First Strategies utilizing her extensive experience in establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships in the private, philanthropic, and public sectors. She is also an attorney, author, and professional speaker.
In addition to Andre, Biden named Jackie Lee, veteran Orlando-based consultant who has been working for the campaign since October 2019, as his state director. Brandon Thompson will work as the Biden campaigns coordinated director and Florida Democratic Party executive director Juan Peñalosa was named a Biden senior adviser.
“We are thrilled to bring together some of the most talented and experienced minds in Florida Democratic politics to oversee a Florida operation that will reflect the state’s diversity and prioritize the issues Floridians care about,” Biden’s national states director Jenn Ridder said in a statement. “We look forward to competing aggressively in the Sunshine State, and Jackie, Juan, Brandon, and Karen will lead the team that will turn Florida blue and help send Joe Biden to the White House.”
More than four dozen hospitals in Florida reported that their intensive care units (ICUs) have reached full capacity on Tuesday as COVID-19 cases surge in the state and throughout the country.
Hospital ICUs were full at 54 hospitals across 25 of Florida's 67 counties, according to data published on Tuesday morning by the state's Agency for Health Care Administration. More than 300 hospitals were included in the report, but not all had adult ICUs.
Thirty hospitals reported that their ICUs were more than 90% full. Statewide, only 17% of the total 6,010 adult ICU beds were available on Tuesday, down from 20% three days ago, according to the agency's website.
REMEMBER SAVANNAH !
While the nation celebrates Independence Day, let’s remember to celebrate the Haitian soldiers who assisted the United States in their fight for freedom.
On October 9, 1779, a force of more than 500 Haitian soldiers joined American colonists and French troops in an unsuccessful push to drive the British from Savannah in coastal Georgia.
The men were organized into a regiment called Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue. These soldiers were des gens de couleurs libres (free men of color) who voluntarily joined the French colonial forces. Though not well known in the U.S., Haiti's role in the American Revolution is a point of national pride for Haitians. After returning home from the war, Haitian veterans soon led their own rebellion that won Haiti's independence from France in 1804.
On October 8, 2007, a memorial statue was unveiled in Savannah dedicated to the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue during the Battle of Savannah. The memorial pays tribute to the significant role these soldiers had during the Revolutionary War and recognizes the support they gave to the founding of the United States.
Source : Black Past / Haitian American Historical Society .
Haitian Voodoo Priest arrested by FBI for buying Trump's hair.
July 7, 2020|HAITI, US POLITICS
Haitian Voodoo priest from New Orleans was arrested this morning by the FBI after paying an impressive $25,000 for a few strands of President Trump’s hair in order to inflict physical harm on him and control him through a voodoo doll.
31-year Old Moses Philossaint, an important religious leader of the Louisiana Voodoo community, was arrested in possession of eight grams of what is believed to be Donald Trump’s hair.
The provenance of the lock of hair is yet to be clarified, and it has been sent to an FBI lab for DNA analysis, but investigators claim they have strong evidence suggesting it’s authentic.
According to FBI spokesman Bobby Miller, the accused paid $25,000 on Craigslist for the hair, which he intended to use to create a type of magical effigy.
“He openly professed to worshippers that he intended to use magic to influence American policy and force the American president to do as he wishes. The method used may be unusual, but the intent makes it a federal crime.”
Mr. Miller insisted that the FBI doesn’t believe in magic or voodoo, but acted to condemn the accused’s criminal intent and qualm rumors before they started.
“We know these dolls are probably powerless. But there are enough rumors already about the President being controlled by the Russians, Freemasons or even Reptilians. We don’t want new ones about him being a voodoo puppet.” THE GUARDIAN
Little Haiti Brooklyn leaders share progress, plans, amid affordability challenges
By Sam Bojarski
For Aliette Beldor, who owned the former Alouette Beauty Salon on Nostrand Avenue, the creation of the Little Haiti Cultural and Business District brought recognition to Haitian community members like her.
But while she supports the initiative for this reason, the cost of doing business in the neighborhood continues to increase.
“All the business owners in this neighborhood suffer because of the rent,” she said.
It’s been just over two years since New York City council passed a resolution designating a portion of central Brooklyn in Flatbush as Little Haiti. Multiple Haitian-American elected officials and community leaders have supported the initiative, designed to promote a sense of belonging, facilitate economic development and tourism, as well as to preserve and celebrate the numerous Haitian institutions in the area. But plans for Little Haiti have been slow to get off the ground, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic trends also continue to threaten the affordability of the neighborhood, for some Haitian residents and business owners.
District 42 Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte and then-Councilmember Jumaane Williams were key early supporters who led the effort to designate Little Haiti in 2018. Farah Louis, who now represents Council District 45, currently supports Little Haiti BK.
The Little Haiti district extends roughly from Parkside Avenue to Avenue H, and from East 16th Street to Brooklyn Avenue.