Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Read former Defense Secretary Mattis' statement on Trump's handling of nationwide protests
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/03/read-mattis-statement-on-trumps-handling-of-nationwide-protests.html
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to
support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops
taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate
the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide
a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military
leadership standing alongside.
James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/
“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,”
Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the
pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what
protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying
demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be
distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by
tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we
live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.”
He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who
would make a mockery of our Constitution.”
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Fear at the root of America's race problem
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1929128/fear-at-the-root-of-americas-race-problem
More to the point, in this context, is the fact that about 30% of American civilians killed by the police are African-Americans, although they are only 13% of the US population.
More to the point, in this context, is the fact that about 30% of American civilians killed by the police are African-Americans, although they are only 13% of the US population.
When It Comes to Police Brutality, Fear is Also a Factor
https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2014/12/05/when-it-comes-to-police-brutality-fear-is-also-a-factor
Cops can get into a state of mind where they're scared to death. When
they're in that really, really frightened place they panic and they act
out on that panic. I have known cops who haven't had a racist bone in
their bodies and in fact had adopted black children, they went to black
churches on the weekend, and these are the white cops. But you know what
they had in their minds that made them act out and beat a black suspect
unwarrentedly? They had fear. They were afraid of black men. I know a
lot of white cops who have told me. And I interviewed over 900 police
officers in 18 months and they started talking to me. It was almost like
a therapy session for them.
They would say things like, "Ms. Rice I'm scared of black men.
Black men terrify me. I'm really scared of them. Ms. Rice, you know
black men who come out of prison, they've got great hulk strength and
I'm afraid they're going to kill me. Ms. Rice, can you teach me how not
to be afraid of black men." I mean these [are] cops who are 6'4". You
know, the cop in Ferguson was 6'4" talking about he was terrified. But
when cops are scared, they kill and they do things that don't make sense
to you and me.
Twitter says fake "Antifa" account was run by white supremacists
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-fake-antifa-acount-white-supremacists-removal/
Twitter has shut down multiple accounts that it says were operated by
a white supremacist group posing as liberal groups encouraging
violence.Twitter said the white supremacist group Identity Evropa used one
fake account, @Antifa_US, to call for violence in majority white
suburbs, in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement. The account's
removal was first reported by NBC News.
Arlington’s Decision to Withdraw its Police Officers from the District of Columbia
https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/arlingtons-decision-to-withdraw-its-police-officers-from-the-district-of-columbia/
As has been widely reported, for the sake of a photoshoot for the
President, peaceful protesters were forcefully dispersed without being
given enough time to comply with orders to move back. Our officers had
no idea that the effort to move protesters was for any reason other than
to construct a temporary barrier.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
'We the People' trumps 'commander-in-chief'
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/opinions/trump-military-force-insurrection-act-resistance-suri/index.html
For almost 100 years, this restriction
on presidential power gave cover to flagrant violations of federal
authority in the South -- including voter suppression, Jim Crow
segregation and, worst of all, repeated extrajudicial lynchings, which
continued until 1960s. Even as the power of the president grew in the
shadow of the Second World War, he had little military reach within the
states. Governors and mayors were the heavies; the Constitution set it
up that way.
President Trump's threats to deploy the
US military to states, despite resistance from governors, are claims of
direct authority he does not possess. He is making a political judgment
about the protests, and forcing his preferred response on local law
enforcement institutions operating in their constitutionally defined
spaces.
Citizens should continue to protest
peacefully. We have a right to demand justice in our communities, and
the US military that we support with taxpayer dollars should stay free
of these issues. Our soldiers have plenty of work to do abroad, and this
president has nothing to offer our communities but more suffering and
hate.
Democracy requires justice and healing in our neighborhoods, not military domination on our streets.
Trump Jr. Directs His Followers to White Supremacist's Fake 'Antifa' Account
https://knx1070.radio.com/articles/trump-jr-directs-followers-to-fake-antifa-account
A Twitter account claiming to be 'Antifa' and calling for violence
during the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, is found out
to be a white supremacist group in disguise.
The fake account,
@ANTIFA_US, tweeted Sunday, “ALERT Tonight’s the night, Comrades Tonight
we say “F**k The City” and we move into the residential areas… the
white hoods…. and we take what’s ours #BlacklivesMaters #F**kAmerica.”
Twitter
has since removed the account, but not before Donald Trump Jr.
unknowingly directed his 2.8 million Instagram followers to the account
to prove how dangerous ANTIFA is.
“Absolutely insane,” Trump Jr.
wrote on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of the tweet, “Just remember
what ANTIFA really is. A Terrorist Organization! They’re not even
pretending anymore.”
Ex-police chief: What's the plan now, America?
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/opinions/whats-the-plan-now-america-alexander/index.html
I
am a black American man who has been privileged to serve in law
enforcement for 40 years. Today, if a young person of color asks me what
they should do if a police officer stops them, I answer: Put your hands on the steering wheel where they can be seen, cooperate and comply. And should they answer me back, as they likely would today -- Even if I did all that, we are still getting murdered -- I would have nothing to tell him or her. With my decades of experience, I would have nothing to say.
The problems we face at this moment are
part of our long history. But the complete absence of leadership --
political, moral, policy, strategic -- strikes me as genuinely
unprecedented. What's the plan now, America?
Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/
Fear pervades Americans’ lives—and American politics. Trump is a
master of fear, invoking it in concrete and abstract ways, summoning and
validating it. More than most politicians, he grasps and channels the
fear coursing through the electorate. And if Trump still stands a chance
to win in November, fear could be the key.
Trump is the frighened little man behind the curtain
Do I need to state the obvious - frightened people issuing threats can not discipline or control those that they are afraid of.
As mamy people have noted Trump ascribes to others his own weaknesses and fears.
I once had a Hebrew school teacher who had no clue as to how to control the class screaming one day that was worse than average "I used to be an Israeli policeman" Things got worse
Similarly Trumps declaration I am going to use soldiers to dominate the rioters - doesn't work
Once the victim of bullying realizes the bully is afraid of him - it is all over
The only others that are impressed are all the scared white men at Fox News. Lynching generally resulted from fear of black men
The Holacaust resulted from Nazis fears of Jews. Excessive use of force by policemen is simply because the police are afraid of Blacks.
Don't remember anyone claiming our draft dodger President is endowed with personal courage
He is simply a frightened little man who is afraid of everything he can't buy or corrupt ranging from germs Moslems immigrants, women and black people in general
Watch: Trudeau asked about Trump, pauses for 20 seconds
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/281245
The Canadian leader, however, did not offer an immediate answer and chose to be silent for more than 20 seconds.
Finally, he said, "We all watch in horror and consternation what’s
going on in the United States. It is a time to pull people together, but
it is a time to listen, it is a time to learn what injustices continue
despite progress over years and decades. But it is a time for us as
Canadians to recognize that we too have our challenges, that black
Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived
reality every single day."
Trudeau continued by speaking about the systemic discrimination
racialized Canadians face within Canada, but did not directly speak
about Trump’s position on the issue of the violent protests or even
mention him by name.
Dana Perino says Trump's visit to St. John's Church was a good idea, but 'not executed well'
https://www.foxnews.com/media/dana-perino-trump-visit-st-johns-church
fox says peaceful demonstrators can not be trusted but trump has done another "perfect" job
Co-host Dana Perino called Trump's visit to the church a great idea that was "not executed well."
"I
don't think that people intended to use it as a photo op. I believe
that the president was trying to show resilience, that America is not
going to be taken over by people who would actually set fire to St.
John's," Perino said. " ... The execution of all of that became the
story today when we should really ... talk about the actual horrible
destruction of America's great cities, especially New York City."
During the brief visit to the boarded-up church -- part of which was
set on fire the night before -- Trump posed for the cameras while
holding up a Bible.
Before Trump left the White House, authorities used smoke canisters and pepper balls to clear the park of protesters.
Co-host
Jesse Watters dismissed the criticism that peaceful protesters were
attacked, claiming that they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt
after many American cities have been ravaged by riots and looting.
"They've shown no ability to be trusted at this point, killing cops
now, punching people in the face for no reason. They're trying to
protest violence against an innocent man, and yet they're committing
violence on innocent men and women. It's disgusting. This country has
had enough of it," Watters said. "And this fake scandal is just another
frame job of the president while the rest of the country agrees with
everything he did."
Police brutality prompted the protests. In some cities, the police response only proved the protesters' point
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/police-protests-use-of-force/index.html
In some cases, police leaders say violence in the streets leaves them with no other choice. And President Trump has pushed for local officials to ramp up their show of force. But protesters and police critics argue that some officers are escalating tensions with their actions.
"They're
making the argument for the demonstrators, that American policing
remains unreformed and out of control," says Alex Vitale, a professor of
sociology at Brooklyn College who studies police response to protest.
He says the firing of tear gas is one
telling example of the ways police are not only inflaming tensions in
the streets, but bolstering the case he and other critics have been
making.
"This is a gross overreaction," he says.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Republicans chastise Trump for ousting protesters, church photo-op
"It was painful to watch peaceful
protesters be subjected to tear gas in order for the president to go
across the street to a church that I believe he’s attended only once,"
said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). "I thought that the president came
across as unsympathetic and as insensitive to the rights of people to
peaceful protest."
George Floyd death: Trump's church visit shocks religious leaders
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52890650
Last night he held a Bible in front
of St John's Episcopal Church, just across the road from the White
House. Today, he'll visit the Shrine to St John Paul II, also in
Washington DC.
James Martin, a Jesuit priest and consultant to the Vatican's
communications department, tweeted: "Let me be clear. This is revolting.
The Bible is not a prop. A church is not a photo op. Religion is not a
political tool. God is not your plaything."
Will Americans ever forgive Trump for his heartless lack of compassion?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/05/will-americans-forgive-trump
One’s heart goes out to the reporters who have sifted through the
Donald Trump’s press briefings on the current pandemic – hour after hour
of bombast, self-promotion, vitriol, lies and recklessly unscientific
speculation – for any evidence of sympathy for those who are in pain.
It’s hardly a shock to learn that our president’s expressions of care
and compassion have occupied a total of less than five minutes, out of
all that time.
Reporter's Notebook 2020 Time Capsule Carlos Barria / Reuters Sort Notes Newest First Oldest First Show 1 Newer Notes James Fallows 11:24 AM / May 4, 2020 2020 Time Capsule #17: ‘Empathy and Simple Kindness’
https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2020/05/2020-time-capsule-17-empathy-and-simple-kindness/611092/
1) “Empathy and Simple Kindness.” This past Saturday, former President George W. Bush released a brief video
whose subtweeted message was unmistakable. It recognized the suffering
of those who had lost family members, or economic prospects, or hope
itself; it emphasized the all of us rather than the us and them response to national crisis; and it appealed to the generous rather than the resentful in human nature.
President Trump’s Big Moment in Front of a Church Shows He Has Missed the Point of the Protests
https://time.com/5846449/trump-church-protests/
As Trump began to speak in the Rose Garden, tear gas canisters could
be heard being launched into the crowd across the park, and the sounds
of bangs and screams carried over the treetops and punctuated his
remarks. Trump began with three sentences about Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis
on May 25 after a white police officer kept his knee on his neck for
eight minutes and 46 seconds. “All Americans were rightly sickened and
revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd,” Trump said, adding that
his Administration “is fully committed that for George and his family
justice will be served. He will not have died in vain.”
For the rest of Trump’s six minute and forty-two second speech,
the President did not mention or commit to solve the main grievance of
the protestors being noisily gassed outside: the frequency of killings
of unarmed black men and women by police officers across the country.
Instead, he pivoted to his central point of the night projecting himself
as the defender of order. “We cannot allow the righteous cries of
peaceful protestors to be drowned out by an angry mob,” he said. “I will
fight to protect you. I am your president of law and order and an ally
of all peaceful protestors.”
Trump responds to protests with a strongman act
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/politics/donald-trump-george-floyd-protest-military/index.html
While he mentioned Floyd -- who died a
week ago in the latest example of police brutality against black
Americans -- in his address, it was only in passing in a speech
dedicated to fostering the impression of tough guy leadership. He made
no attempt to soothe the anger, fear and alienation stalking the nation.
Trump, who has a record of racist rhetoric in and out of office, gave
little sign he appreciates that black men and women believe that their
country, amid some instances of brutal policing, sees their lives as
cheap.
Trump Can’t Designate Antifa — or Any Movement — Domestic Terrorist Organization
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/trump-cant-designate-antifa-or-any-movement-domestic-terrorist-organization/
“There’s no legal process or meaning” for what the president said,
Patel told us. “He’s reflecting on the process that we use for foreign
terrorist organizations.”
The secretary of state has the legal authority to designate groups as foreign terrorist organizations under federal law.
The federal government makes those FTO designations through a six-step
process involving the State Department and other agencies. The
designations enable the federal government to freeze assets, prosecute
individuals for aiding those groups and restrict immigration for members
of those groups, as the Government Accountability Office explains.
Ann Coulter Turns on ‘Disloyal Actual Retard’ Trump in Twitter Rant
https://www.thewrap.com/ann-coulter-turns-on-disloyal-actual-retard-trump-in-twitter-rant/
Ann Coulter went on an early Sunday morning Twitter tear, calling
President Donald Trump “the most disloyal actual retard that has ever
set foot in the Oval Office.”
The far-right media pundit and former Trump defender was triggered by
the president’s Friday tweet in which he called for Alabama voters to
“not trust Jeff Sessions” and instead put their support behind Sessions’
Republican Senate seat challenger, football coach Tommy Tuberville.
Trump says he supports the troops. His record suggests otherwise.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/todaysdebate/2020/05/05/trump-says-he-supports-troops-his-record-says-otherwise-our-view/4870524002/
Historically, American soldiers have tended to be
more conservative and Republican-leaning than the population at
large. Yet polls suggest that troops are beginning to sour on
this GOP president. Since Trump's election, the percentage of service
members disapproving of his performance has gone from a third to half of
the nation's fighting force.
Given his record of disrespect toward the military and its values, the surprise is that it isn't higher.
Michael Flynn judge defends decision to challenge DOJ request to drop case; no 'rubber stamp'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/01/michael-flynn-judge-defends-decision-challenge-doj-effort-drop-case/5306884002/
The federal judge overseeing the fraught
prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn Monday
defended his decision to review the Justice Department's effort to
abandon the case, calling such a move "unprecedented."
"It
is unusual for a criminal defendant to claim innocence and move to
withdraw his guilty plea after repeatedly swearing under oath that he
committed the crime," attorneys for U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan
said in documents filed in a D.C. appellate court. "It is unprecedented
for an acting U.S. Attorney to contradict the solemn representations
that career prosecutors made time and again, and undermine the district
court’s legal and factual findings, in moving on his own to dismiss the
charge years after two different federal judges accepted the defendant’s
plea."
DOJ urges appeals court to force dismissal of Flynn case trump's pals being defended by DOJ
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/01/judge-questions-unusual-justice-department-filing-in-flynn-case-294330
The DOJ
lawyers unveiled a muscular argument in favor of virtually unbridled
executive branch discretion in criminal charging decisions. They argued
that Sullivan had no business standing in the way of a dismissal favored
by both the government and a defendant.
The
Justice Department’s new filing represented a major coup for Flynn’s
defense. Indeed, in one respect the government went even further than
the retired general’s attorneys did: It essentially asked the appeals
court to foreclose Sullivan or any other judge from launching contempt
proceedings against Flynn over seemingly contradictory statements he
made under oath when affirming his plea and later withdrawing it.
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