08/12/2020

One. More. Day.

Jaswin here for my last “What’s Going On” post of summer break 2020, and boy am I anxious. I think beyond anything else, I am just looking forward to whatever it is the future holds, and I am keen to see how everything will pan out for the rest of the year. You have probably heard this quite a lot lately, but I am going to reiterate: This school year is not going to same. It just can’t. Personally, I think Frisco ISD has the right idea with starting off the year with virtual learning, but as far as the September 3rd in-person starting date, I don’t really see how that would scientifically help anything in relation to Covid-19. Anyhow, I’m looking forward to getting my schedule soon, and seeing what classes I have with my friends as this last high school chapter begins.

At Countdown 2 Escape, things will be slowing down for me, even though school will be taking place virtually. The public will get busier as well, so I don’t know how our customer inflow will be affected. I am still looking forward to working as much as I can, and opening up our new room at C2E!

Cross Country practice began bright and early on Monday, and it was awesome to see friends that I had not seen for many months. With XC in full swing, I am considering playing soccer again this year. It’s my last year in high school, and I’ve always wanted to play a game of high school soccer(which I was unable to do in 9th grade due to an injury). Time will tell if I will be able to try out for the team.

Anyways, that’s all I have for right now. Things are going to get busy very soon, and we all will be involved in the regular 9-5 student life that we missed for 6 months. Catch y’all later!

Fundamental Analysis Essentials

Hello, hello, hello! Welcome back to the Money Talk blog page. Today’s blog post will cover the basic concepts you need to keep in mind when you conduct fundamental analysis of companies to make an investment decision on whether you should buy a certain stock or not. I know in my What’s Going On blog post last week I hinted at a potential Billionaire Success Story series, but once I began my research and information compilation, I found it was taking a lot of time. I’m not shutting down the idea entirely, but I plan to postpone that series to a later time when I actually have some time to sit down and conduct research. The series that I will be starting for the next few weeks will be about stocks and how to choose the right stock investments that will potentially make you a lot of money. Let’s get started by talking about fundamental analysis, which is one of the two most used stock analysis techniques by investors.

Financial Reports

One of the main components to conduct thorough fundamental analysis of a company is by reading the company financial reports. Many companies release their financial reports on a quarterly and annual basis, which allow investors to evaluate the company’s financial health and whether it is making enough sales, revenue, and incomes. There are primarily 3 financial reports investors look at: income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Let’s take a look at each financial report and see how these 3 financial reports will give you a full picture at a company’s financial health and stability.

Income Statement: The income statement shows you how profitable your business was over an accounting period, such as a month, quarter, or year. Investors read the income statement to understand how much revenue the company made, and how much they spent with their expenses. The income statement reports change in retained earnings that occurred during the period as a result of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses. Investors primarily look at the net income to see if the company income is increasing or decreasing. Additionally, investors look at the operating expenses to determine whether the company is paying too much to produce their products or conduct their business operations. Lastly, investors look at the revenue to see if the business is effectively able to sell their products and evaluate whether the revenue is consistently increasing or decreasing.

Balance Sheet: The balance sheet presents the financial position of a company with organized list of assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity at a point in time. As I explained in the Assets vs Liabilities article, assets add value to a business, while liabilities subtract from it. It is important to identify whether the company of interest that you are analyzing is accumulating assets which generate value for the company or is accumulating liabilities, which is problematic for the company. There is one main formula used in the balance sheet, known as the Accounting Equation or Balance Sheet Equation, which is one of the most important accounting formulas. This equation states that Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Equity refers to the owner’s value in an asset or group of assets. Let’s take an example. Let’s say, Company X has a total asset value of $1,000, with a debt of $900. In this example, the owner’s value in the assets is $100, representing the company’s equity.

Cash Flow Statement: The last major financial statement or report is the cash flow statement. The cash flow statement tells you how much cash entered and left your business over a particular time period. The cash flow statement has 3 parts: cash flow from operations, cash flow from investing, and cash flow from financing.

• Cash Flow from Operation Activities: This is what you make and spend in the normal course of doing business. It essentially reflects how much cash is generated from a company’s products or services
• Cash Flow from Investing Activities: this is the money the company invests into the company, such as purchasing equipment, machinery, plants, or factories.
• Cash Flow from Financing Activities: This section of the cash flow statement focuses on how a company raises money and pays it back to investors through capital markets. These activities include paying cash dividends, adding or changing loans, or issuing and selling more stock. The cash flow from financing activities section measures the flow of cash between a firm and its owners and creditors.

Now the question you may be wondering is where can you find these financial reports for a specific company? Great question! I will be talking about SEC Filings next.

SEC Filings

The SEC filing is a financial statement or other formal document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. So let’s say you are trying to find the financial reports for Tesla, for example. All you have to do is search up “Tesla SEC Filings” and click on the first link, which will take you to the SEC filings for Tesla. Do this same Google search for any other company of your choice. Once you get here, you may see a ton of financial from different years and quarters. I recommend looking at the most latest date of filing. So if you are analyzing a company’s reports on July, then look at the SEC filings for the most latest month, like April, May, or June. Now let’s talk about the different types of reports you will see.

10K: gives you a detailed overview of the company’s performance for the year; you will be able to find the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, any company acquisition information, risk factors, and anything the company went through for that specific year.

10Q: gives you a detailed overview of the company’s performance for a specific quarter; you will be able to find the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, any company acquisition information, risk factors, and anything the company went through for that specific quarter; basically gives you the same information as the 10K

8K: gives you any updates or recent events that occured to the company, such as a board of directors election, bankruptcy filings, or changes in the fiscal year.

Proxy Statements: includes the company management information, overall business health, senior-level loan information, stock compensation information, and other relevant details that investors consider.

That’s all for today’s blog post. I know that this was a long blog post, and I apologize for that. But I hope that this post allowed you to learn more about the different types of financial reports and where you can find them. I’ll probably be making another blog post in addition to this one next week or in the coming weeks, because I wasn’t able to cover another important component of fundamental analysis. Stay tuned! Thanks again for reading, and hope you tune in for next week’s Money Talk blog post.

President Trump’s Executive Actions On Coronavirus Relief

On August 8th, in response to the failure of Congress to pass a bill for COVID-19 relief, President Trump signed an executive order and three presidential memorandums to supply aid to those affected by the pandemic.

Aid to Renters and Homeowners

The purpose of the executive order enacted by President Trump, is to stop the spread of COVID-19 by providing assistance to renters and homeowners.

The executive order gives power to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of CDC to decide if any measures temporarily delaying residential evictions are necessary to stop the additional spread of COVID-19. The order also requires the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to identify Federal funds available to provide temporary financial assistance. Finally, the order calls upon the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to help renters and homeowners avoid eviction or foreclosure, and asks the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of FHFA to review all existing measures that may prevent evictions and foreclosures.

This executive order has been criticized for not providing financial aid to those in danger of being evicted. Additionally, the order is incredibly vague, and leaves much of the power to halt evictions to the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield.

Extension of Student Loan Payment Relief

In President Trump’s memorandum on the student loan crisis, he asks the Secretary of Education to make modifications to, and enact deferments for those who hold student loans. This memorandum was put in place to continue the temporary stopping of payments and interest on student loans held by the Department of Education until December 31, 2020.

This memorandum extends to student loan relief until the end of the year, however, it only applies to students with loans to the Department of Education, not those with privately held loans.

Postponement  of Tax Obligations

President Trump’s memorandum on payroll taxes defers the due date of said taxes from September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. The memorandum applies to employees who are paid less than $4,000 on a bi-weekly basis. In addition the memorandum requires the Secretary of the Treasury to review ways to eliminate the requirement to pay the deferred taxes. 

Many have criticized this memorandum, as it only delays the payment of payroll taxes, rather than forgives it. Deferring the taxes does not help those unemployed, who will still need to pay their taxes at the end of the deferment period.

Financial Assistance

President Trump’s third memorandum serves to provide financial assistance for the needs of those who have lost employment as a result of the pandemic.

In the memorandum, the president calls for the directing of “$44 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund at the statutorily mandated 75 percent Federal cost share” to help provide payments to those unemployed. The memorandum requires the federal government to pay $300 out of the $400 check for all those unemployed, and requires states to cover the other 25% of the cost.

Under this memorandum, already cash-strapped states will be required to pay for 25% of the unemployment checks. Many states do not have the financial means necessary to aid in this unemployment memorandum, and have previously asked the federal government for their own financial aid.

Sources

Brown, S. (2020, August 09). 4 new executive orders for COVID relief: These are the details you need to know. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/4-new-executive-orders-for-covid-relief-these-are-the-details-you-need-to-know/

Segers, G. (2020, August 09). Trump signs measures to boost economic aid but could face challenges. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-signs-executive-orders-unemployment-benefits-economy/

Holmes, K., Wolf, Z., Luhby, T., Lobosco, K., & Bohn, K. (2020, August 09). Breaking down the executive actions Trump signed on coronavirus relief. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/politics/trump-executive-actions-coronavirus-explainer/index.html

Image Credit

Craighead, S. (2020, May 15). President Trump signs an Executive Order. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/49898011267

An American Pickle – Movie Review

Rating – ★★★☆☆

Director – Brandon Trost

Main Cast – Seth Rogen, Seth Rogen, Seth , Sarah Snook

For today’s second review, I’ll be reviewing the newest film of 2020, An American Pickle. Released August 6 on HBO Max, the movie stars Seth Rogen in a double role. Got carried away with the number of Seth Rogens up there…

This movie is not at all a serious film. Herschell Greenbaum is a poor immigrant, working his way up. He moves from his poor country plagued by attacks from the Cossacks to the United States of America, where he becomes a pickle factory worker. He falls into brine and becomes preserved for 100 years, and to quote the filim, “The science there is very good and makes a lot of sense.” He goes on to meet his great-great-grandson, Ben Greenbaum, and the rest of the movie is about their interactions and differing lifestyles.

If you didn’t believe me the first time, you can clearly see, this film is not at all meant to be serious or realistic. It is merely just a funny and, surprisingly, wholesome movie. I thought this film’s strongest points were the interactions between the two Seth Rogens, who I thought did a fantastic job of expanding his acting range. The second half of this film goes a bit far and whimsical with a lot of commentary about various societal issues today. It jumps between that commentary pretty quickly, but for the most part, it works well enough to get a quick laugh.

Overall, this movie works if you don’t expect too much. If you go in looking for a laugh and a way to spend 90 minutes, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t set your expectations too high, and you’ll have a good time.

Image Source: https://posterspy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CHRISDASHROB_ANAMERICANPICKLE-1500×2121.jpg

The Nice Guys – Movie Review

Rating – ★★★★★

Director – Shane Black

Main Cast – Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Angourie Rice, Margaret Qualley

Today, I’ll be posting two reviews, so they’ll both be pretty short in comparison to that Midway Review. The first review will be an overlooked film from 2016, The Nice Guys, and the second will be the latest film of 2020, An American Pickle.

“World’s worst detective, huh?”

This movie is set in 1977, and it is a buddy cop comedy/ mystery thriller. I actually liked the plot of this film; I thought it was a good enough mystery to stand on its own, but the film’s strongest point has to be the chemistry of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. These two are perfect together, and they make this film one of my favorite movies in recent memory. Pretty much every joke lands perfectly in this film, and Gosling shines with his comedic timing. I loved his performance and every minor detail: one that stood out to me the second time I watched would be the elevator sequence. When you get there, just stare at Gosling and you’ll see what I mean. Additionally, the hallucination sequence is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

The movie also takes advantage of its setting, and it uses some words and makes some jokes that are considered taboo today. Both instances that I can remember, the joke is exaggerated and the writers emphasize that they know what they’re doing. Credit must also be given to the director Shane Black because this movie looks pretty nice, and his skill of writing buddy comedies from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang certainly helped as well.

If you’re looking for a movie to watch this weekend, make sure to check out The Nice Guys, one of 2016’s best films and certainly the most overlooked one.

Image source: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODNlNmU4MGItMzQwZi00NGQyLWEyZWItYjFkNmI0NWI4NjBhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_.jpg

The Terzo Millennio

The Terzo Millennio: the future of automobiles and mechanical appliances. This astonishing new Lamborghini has opened up a gateway of possibilities for what it means for something to be “smart”. The Terzo Millenio is especially interesting because it has the ability to self-heal and is fully electric.

The Terzo Millenio uses super capacitors rather than the usual Lithium Ion batteries. This allows the car to be charged much quicker. And unlike most batteries, super capacitors have a high power density (meaning they can store more energy) and don’t lose storage capacity over time (meaning much longer battery life).

You must be thinking “if super capacitors are more powerful, why don’t we see them everywhere?” Super capacitors are more efficient if used in large numbers. So to overcome this obstacle, Lamborghini and MIT used carbon fiber nanotubes an exceptionally strong and lightweight material, which has amazing electrical properties. As a result, the car draws power from its own body.

The supercar’s extraordinary ability to self-heal is also due to the carbon fiber nanotubes. By continuously sending tiny electrical charges throughout the vehicle’s body, the car can monitor for any cracks or imperfections. Then the body fills the cracks with more nanotubes.

Sources:

Bright Side. (2020, Aug 6). The Only Car That Can Repair Itself [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilaaqLg15bI

Men and Motors. (2019, Jun 28). The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is a Self-Healing Electric Supercar [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsZ8nGYBBFg

Lamborghini Terzo Millennio. (2020). Retrieved 9 August 2020, from https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/models/concept/terzo-millennio#images-sx-texts-dx

Krok, Andrew. “Lamborghini Terzo Millennio Is a Self-Healing Supercar from the Future.” Roadshow, CNET, 6 Nov. 2017, http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/lamborghini-mit-terzo-millennio-self-healing-supercar/.

08/06/2020

Help out the Lebanese Red Cross: https://www.supportlrc.app/donate/

Hey yall! This will be a bit more topical of a what’s going on post for both our authors and a lot of our readers. I’ll quickly get out my personal life events that have happened in the past week. Monday was Raksha Bandhan, an important Hindu holiday celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, appreciating the symbol of an amulet protecting the brother, while the brother gifts her and gives potential care. It is quite traditional and while I have no biological sister I share a strong bond with my cousin in India who gives the cutest and most creative rakhis.

Unfortunately on Tuesday, an explosion with estimates reaching 2.75kT (1000 tons) of ammonium nitrate occurred in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. It was absolutely horrific to see on video, which is something that has been prevalent in such disasters due to the advent of recording technology, and further spread through the internet with immediate speculation (which is sad to see but that is how people work) on different groups. I would rather wait than start accusing people, I see where they are coming from but the figures in the public pointing fingers isn’t helping.

The more topical subject for myself and others is the reopening of schools. I don’t want to replay the same stuff people have heard, rather I can only express my sadness for those that are to go to school. We are starting in-school learning in four weeks and it seems that it will be a mess. This especially hurts teachers and staff that do an honorable job that is not treated well by our society. If social distancing cannot be enforced which seems to be quite the case stemming from an email our school sent stating that we will have 28-29 people in classes. And those who are choosing to go in-school – at least a percentage – don’t have a choice and are forced to go to attain an education.

It is an unfortunate situation and while I label that as the current situation in many places across the nation, it is an understatement to what is happening and what is about to occur on a much larger scale. I feel helpless and pathetic while I write this on an online blog post. I can only wish those students going back and all staff well.

Even worse is our election and a poor infrastructure further tattered with suppression bullets by the current administration who can’t accept that this is not a normal election and they are not helping our democracy at all.

Very gloomy What’s Going On but depressing is the most accurate descriptor of the time and place in the country.

Thanks for reading.

Cars 101: The Electric Vehicle

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back. Today, we’ll be taking a look at one of the quickest growing areas in the automotive industry: the electric vehicle. Strap in, because this one’s going to be interesting…

For me personally, the first thing I think of when I hear the word “car”, is your typical gasoline powered engine, be it a 4 cylinder, 6, or 8. I’m sure most other kids from my generation thought the same, and always associated a “vroom” with a car, or vice versa. That very reality may be changing however, and today, we’re going to look into the art of a new type of car, one powered a battery and no more.

Tesla Supercharger

HOW?

Sure, we are all starting to see more and more electric vehicles on the road everyday (namely Tesla), and we can’t help but admire their simplistic styling, yet be attracted by their bold performance. We always talk about one day having our own Tesla, and becoming a part of a greener automotive community. One thing we don’t think about as much though, is how these vehicles even function.

The art of the electric vehicle is demonstrated by the simple design of the propulsion system: by powering the car using only a large battery, the electric vehicle is able to completely eliminate the need for a multi-cylinder, gasoline-powered engine. Without all the moving parts found in a traditional engine, the electric vehicle is essentially a very simple machine.

So if there’s no engine, and no gas to go in said engine, how does the EV even work? Well, it’s basically a 3-step process. Let’s lay out our parts first though: there’s the battery, one large motor (or 2, or possibly even 3), and there are the wheels. The battery sends power to the motor, which turns the wheels, causing the car to propel forward. Yeah, it’s that simple. Of course, there is no need for a transmission system (besides D, N, R, and P), because the motor provides a continuous power supply, and there is no need to change from one gear to another.

Tesla Motor

The lithium-ion battery takes stored chemical energy, and through its terminals, it turns it into useful electrical energy. This electrical energy is taken to the motor via an AC current, where some magical magnetic process takes places, and generates what’s known as RMF. So, when you’re pressing down the accelerator, you’re sending a greater current to the rotor in the motor, which the inverter is able to transform into rotation of the motor.

I said there’s no transmission, which is correct, but there is still a rotation taking place. A rotation which can spin up to 18,000 RPM! When the motor is moving at high speeds like this, the liquid-cooling system comes into play, and acts as a cooler for the few parts involved in this “engine”.

One big discussion when it comes to electric vehicles is how they charge, and the disapproval of some when it comes to the time it takes for a full recharge. Since the main battery provides power for the motor(s), it requires a charging ever so often. Depending on the model of the car, this charging time may vary, as all EVs have different EPA traveling ranges.

The battery in a Tesla can be found at its base, contributing to its low center of gravity

BENEFITS

The growing demand of the electric vehicle is supported by the green movement, as well as it’s high performance. Obviously, without an engine, the EV has completely eliminated emissions as well, which is one of the greatest reasons for the demand in EVs. Due to the nature of the motor of an EV, the car is nearly silent, which can be seen as either an advantage or disadvantage.

The EV sees many performance benefits. First, without as many moving parts, and the need to time cylinder valve openings/closings perfectly, the EV is able to gain instant torque from the motor, which is why they have an extremely quick acceleration. In fact, all of Tesla’s entry level vehicles are able to reach 60 mph from a start in less than 5 seconds, save the Model 3. An instant torque means you are able to get off the line instantly, which is a whole new level of performance.

Another interesting aspect which may be unfamiliar is the rolling/braking recharge feature. When you let off the gas pedal, the wheels spin and if you hit the brakes, current will actually run back to the lithium-ion battery, recharging it!

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk

FUTURE

As of now, Tesla is the largest competitor when it comes to the EV market, though they don’t like to call themself a competitor. Instead, they are actually willing to make deals with other manufacturers who are looking to get into the EV market, and supply them with Tesla motors and batteries. As they claimed, they are only looking to speed up the green revolution of the automotive industry, not make it a competition. 

Who knows, maybe kids in the future will grow up with the idea that the electric vehicle is a “typical” car. Maybe one day, electric vehicles will easily outnumber gasoline powered engines. Maybe electric vehicles will fail. Maybe they will take over the world. All we can do is wait and see what auto manufacturers decide to do next… 

08/05/2020

Jaswin here. Another week gone, with some pretty eventful days. First and foremost, I would like to point out the tragic occurrence which took place in Beirut, Lebanon early yesterday morning. Blasts are a common thing, but one of this magnitude was last seen in China in 2015. I usually don’t find myself overly involved in natural disasters, but this one simply caught my attention because of a video I saw. The clip was from the point of view of a citizen who was standing, quite literally, right next to the factory where the blast took place. It showed the gruesome fire erupt into a mad cloud of smoke, and captured the aftermath of the explosion as well, displaying the remains of buildings, and the scattered debris across the city. My thoughts go out to everyone affected.

As for myself, well, I have been worrying about the tedious college application, and wishing that I could just be relaxing on a beach some place far, far away. The escape room hasn’t been too busy lately either, so business isn’t exactly booming. Without anything else to say, I would state that it seems like the world is at an all time low, just because everything seems dull right now. Not to worry though, because good times are ahead for sure. School starts next week (WHAT), so I’m looking forward to (virtually) meeting my teachers and starting off my final year of high school. I’ll catch you guys next week, on the last official day of summer break…

What Happened in Portland

Early last month, racial tensions in Portland, Oregon reached an all-time high with the entry of federal agents into the city. Civil unrest continued to grow until the beginning of this month, where federal agents began being phased out of the city, after a month of violent clashes with protestors.

With Portland moving into its 68th day of Black Lives Matter protests, it’s important to look back and see how we got to this point.

How Did it Start?

Like many other cities across the United States, the protests in Portland began in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in late May. Hundreds of people took to the street to protest for police reform and racial justice.

Portland houses a diverse population, filled with people on both sides of the political spectrum, making it a hotbed for riots and protests. George Floyd’s murder sparked outrage in the already politically charged city, and protests have continued long after his murder gained nationwide attention.

Calm Before the Storm

In early June, protests in Portland largely died down. On June 9th, Marco A. Hernandez, a district judge ordered the use of tear gas to be limited only to riots. Furthermore, the restriction was extended to include other forms of munitions, such as rubber bullets, on June 26.

In Portland, crowds mostly diminished, and major protests and demonstrations largely faded out.

Entry of Federal Agents

On June 26, President Trump released an executive order calling for the protection of national monuments, memorials, and statues. Following the president’s executive order, the Department of Homeland Security sent officers to Portland, Seattle, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, a memo released on July 1st cited the president’s executive order in the creation of the  Protecting American Communities Task Force by Homeland Security in order to act on the civil unrest in various cities.

The federal officers deployed in Portland are from various federal law enforcement agencies, including the US Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations, sent to protect federal personnel and property, such as courthouses, statues, and other federal monuments.

July 1st marked the first night of federal officers being active in the Portland protests. Federal forces stood at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, shooting pepper balls at protestors who came to close.

July 4th 

On July 4th, hundreds of protestors gathered outside the Multnomah County Justice Center and the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse. The protests began peacefully, however as the night went on the demonstrations became riotous. Fireworks were thrown onto the street and federal buildings, protestors blocked traffic, and an American flag hung outside the Multnomah Justice Center was burned.

After projectiles thrown by protestors broke into the windows of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, the protest was officially declared a riot. Portland police began the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and other munitions in an attempt to control the crowd, and protestors retaliated with their own projectiles.

Federal agents sent to Portland were also dispatched during the riot to aid police in protecting federal buildings.

Tensions Rise

After the arrival of federal forces in early July, protests in Portland became far more violent. Protests were soon plagued by violence, property damage, and arson. Federal officers deployed the use of tear gas, rubber and pepper bullets, and other crowd dispersing munitions against protesters. 

Over a dozen arrests were made in the month of July, and violent clashes between protestors and federal officers resulted in the injury of both protestors and agents. Certain groups of protestors were reported destroying buildings, and setting fires. Additionally, reports of people being pulled into unmarked vehicles by federal officers in camouflage gear surfaced as tensions in Portland continued to rise. 

Withdrawal

Late July, federal troops began a phased withdrawal from Portland, after national backlash to their occupancy in the city. As the federal agents began reducing their presence in the city, protests became far more peaceful.

My Opinion

I believe the situation in Portland was greatly mishandled by both the federal government, and the local government. The situation in Portland was not entirely different with what was happening in other cities across the nation, however it was greatly escalated with the entry of the federal agents. 

I think there was a lot that went wrong with how the situation progressed, and how it was dealt with. While I do think that violent protesting is not always the answer, the response by the federal government was greatly out of proportion, and many of the protests had largely died down before the officers’ arrival. The response to a protest against police violence and racial oppression should never be more violence. It’s easy to see when looking at how protests died down as soon as federal agents began phasing out of the city.

I hope moving forward Portland serves as an example as how to not respond to future protests and demonstrations. 

Sources

Conrad Wilson | Jonathan Levinson. “Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Deployed To Portland Protests.” Opb, Content Migration, 16 July 2020, www.opb.org/news/article/federal-law-enforcement-agencies-deployed-to-portland-protests-federal-buildings-personnel/.

Levenson, Eric, and Artemis Moshtaghian. “Hundreds of Demonstrators March in Portland on 66th Night of Protests.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/us/portland-protests/index.html.

“Portland Protests: All You Need to Know about Trump’s Crackdown.” BBC News, BBC, 20 July 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53473732.

Iboshi, Kyle. “Who Are These Federal Officers Sent to Portland to Deal with Protesters?” Kgw.com, 14 July 2020, www.kgw.com/article/news/investigations/who-are-these-federal-officers-sent-to-portland-to-deal-with-protesters/283-b2c3b375-cd6a-4e8a-b2c3-25cbbb911335.

Shepherd, Katie. “Violent Protest Clashes Turned Portland into a ‘Right-Wing Boogeyman.’ Here’s How It Happened.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 July 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/21/portland-feds-protests/.

Jonathan Levinson | Conrad Wilson | Ryan Haas. “50 Days of Protest in Portland. A Violent Police Response. This Is How We Got Here.” Opb, Content Migration, 28 July 2020, www.opb.org/news/article/police-violence-portland-protest-federal-officers/.

Moshtaghian, Artemis, and Eliott C. McLaughlin. “Portland Demonstration Declared a Riot after Protesters Launch Fireworks at Federal Courthouse.” CNN, Cable News Network, 5 July 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html.

Lozano, Alicia Victoria. “Portland Protests Peaceful after Federal Officers Scale Back Presence.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 2 Aug. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/portland-protests-peaceful-after-federal-officers-scale-back-presence-n1235590.

Image Credit

Tedder. “George Floyd Police Brutality Protests Portland Oregon.” George Floyd Police Brutality Protests Portland Oregon July 22, Wikimedia Commons, 22 July 2020, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Floyd_police_brutality_protests_-_Portland_Oregon_-_July_22_-_tedder_-_04.jpg