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
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