Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Light News Mon/Tues/Wed

I’ll be voting for Biden. I don’t care if he doesn’t enact anything or push any policies. I just want somebody who doesn’t actively invite conflict between civilians and police and promote racial hatred to be in the White House. We need a leader not a tweeter.

Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House. Reminder that Joe Biden walk the streets of downtown Delaware talking to protestors while it happened.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/31/trump-flees-to-bunker-as-protests-over-george-floyd-rage-outside-white-house

Joe Biden visited a Black Lives Matter protest site in Delaware as Trump rages on Twitter against demonstrators and hid in a bunker
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/joe-biden-visits-protest-site-while-trump-endorses-violent-pushback-1008189/
https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-visits-a-black-lives-matter-protest-site-in-delaware-2020-5

Say what you will, but the optics of Trump tweeting race rage from a bunker in the White House vs Biden kneeling with BlackLivesMatters protesters is the best PR that Biden could dream of. Everyone who has ever been around him talks glowingly about his capacity for compassion and willingness to actually listen to those in distress and grief. Unlike a lot of politicians he doesn't fake having a heart. Big reason that Obama picked him.

"This isn’t going to stop until the good guys are willing to use overwhelming force against the bad guys": Hear that, America? The bad guys are in the white house, the head of the DOJ, and the Senate. Vote with overwhelming force. I wish the protests at the White House would spiral out of control. Burning down the White House is the real kind of change America needs.

Thousands of Species Are Fleeing to Earth's Poles en Masse, And a Pattern's Emerging. Today, as temperature increases squeeze animals into ever-narrowing habitat ranges, those animals already swimming towards he poles are also at risk of running out of cooler water.
https://www.sciencealert.com/as-the-world-gets-hotter-thousands-of-species-are-fleeing-to-earth-s-poles

Authorities Arrested Truck Driver Who Drove at Crowd of Protesters
https://lawandcrime.com/crazy/authorities-say-theyve-now-arrested-truck-driver-who-drove-at-crowd-of-protesters/

Atlanta officers fired after AUC students tased, pulled from car Saturday night
https://www.cbs46.com/news/atlanta-officers-fired-after-auc-students-tased-pulled-from-car-saturday-night/article_837b61b4-a383-11ea-bdd0-b7b23b6df8e3.html

Black Protester Shot to Death Outside Omaha Bar
https://www.thedailybeast.com/black-protester-james-scurlock-shot-to-death-outside-omaha-bar

What Biden said was more of "if you can’t see the difference between what I represent and what Trump does then you ain’t black" and he's 100% right

UK ready to use veto to block Russia’s readmission to G7 after Trump said he wanted to invite Putin
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/g7-russia-uk-veto-putin-trump-boris-johnson-a9542421.html

Confederate Statues and Other Symbols of Racism All Over the Country Were Destroyed by Protesters This Weekend
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/n7wbxk/confederate-statues-and-other-symbols-of-racism-all-over-the-country-were-destroyed-by-protesters-this-weekend

Joe Biden, the Moderate, Plans the Most Radical Economic Overhaul Since FDR
https://www.newsweek.com/2020/06/12/joe-biden-moderate-plans-most-radical-economic-overhaul-since-fdr-1507674.html

Four dead after new Ebola outbreak in Congo
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ebola-congo-outbreak-death-toll-drc-mbandaka-pandemic-outbreak-a9542426.html

As Trump Hides In A Bunker, Biden Meets With Black Leaders
https://i.redd.it/qr0mt3pxmb251.png

Biden will have a virtual roundtable today at 1 p.m. with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, his campaign says. Usually it would be the president convening such key mayors.
https://twitter.com/jeneps/status/1267466648442855425

Visiting the site of last night’s Wilmington protests, @JoeBiden gets some sage advice: “You’ve got to get this crazy guy out of office.”
https://twitter.com/OliviaRaisner/status/1267230325350023170

Louisville, KY - unarmed David McAtee shot and killed by National Guard and LMPD at a non-protest event while serving food
https://www.wave3.com/2020/06/01/man-shot-dead-th-broadway-identified/

Protests could set off second wave of coronavirus infections — Recent protests across the country are likely to cause a spike in coronavirus cases as the pandemic continues to impact the United States. Dr. Dave Campbell discusses when and where the country could see spikes.
https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/protests-could-set-off-second-wave-of-coronavirus-infections-84167749939

Former U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, who's suing over absentee voting, used it himself 16 times
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/former-us-rep-darrell-issa-whos-suing-over-absentee-voting-used-it-himself-16-times/509-0bc853db-a6eb-4c8e-9d68-6e2b115c5640

Deadline for Kansas Senate race passes without Pompeo filing
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/500481-deadline-for-kansas-senate-race-passes-without-pompeo-filing

Q: Has the President considered resigning?

Summers are growing longer due to climate change, while winters are dramatically shrinking
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/01/summers-are-growing-longer-due-climate-change-while-winters-dramatically-shrink/

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld a key aspect of the federal response to the worst debt crisis in Puerto Rican history, one that threatened basic services like schools and hospitals, some $50 billion in public pension obligations and more than $70 billion in debts to bondholders. The crisis worsened after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island’s infrastructure in 2017, with the commonwealth estimating that recovery costs would exceed $139 billion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/supreme-court-puerto-rico-debt.html
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-1334_8m58.pdf

Trump Meets a Historic Moment By Hiding Out and Ranting on Twitter
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/trump-meets-a-historic-moment-by-hiding-out-and-ranting-on-twitter

Our country is totally fractured and, with our weak leadership in Washington, you can expect Ferguson type riots and looting in other places
12:25 AM - 25 Nov 2014
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/537160060682924032

First time I agree with you! Our leader is weak and has fractured our country even further.
https://twitter.com/Nataliew1020/status/1267222195090178048

Owner of Barbecue Business Shot, Killed by Police and National Guard in Kentucky
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/owner-of-barbecue-business-shot-killed-by-police-and-national-guard-in-kentucky/

Kayleigh McEnany Insists Trump’s Not Hiding While Speaking For Him
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kayleigh-mcenany-insists-trumps-not-hiding-while-speaking-for-him

Kansas Senate Deadline Passes Without Mike Pompeo Filing for Candidacy. Kris Kobach, the losing 2018 candidate, is running.
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-06-01/mike-pompeo-doesnt-file-for-kansas-senate-deadline-passes

Conservatives and GOP officials involved in the voting litigation say they are not coordinating their strategy. However, the legal arguments deployed by the various groups bear remarkable similarities — and share a law firm.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-attacks-voting-by-mail-gop-builds-2020-strategy-around-limiting-its-expansion/2020/05/31/a17ccfa0-a00d-11ea-b5c9-570a91917d8d_story.html

The DHS memo we obtained also says a white supremacist discussed shooting into crowds and trying to "frame" the people in it
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/01/dhs-domestic-terrorists-protest-294342

Trump is considering invoking a federal law, the Insurrection Act, that would allow him to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to respond to George Floyd protests in cities across the country.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-considering-move-invoke-insurrection-act-n1221326

Covid-19: Hard to think of a better way to facilitate complacency and undermine trust in experts than to constantly emphasize worst-case outcomes and treat them as though they're the base case. Usually the worst case doesn't come to pass. But the actual outcomes can still be very bad.

Louisville police chief fired after no body camera footage of shooting
https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/louisville-police-chief-fired-after-no-body-camera-footage-of-shooting/article_faa2ba10-a443-11ea-9309-c39cfd65671a.html

Nearly 30,000 nursing home residents died during coronavirus pandemic
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/01/coronavirus-nursing-home-deaths/

Black-owned businesses aren’t spared during destructive riots
https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/black-owned-businesses-aren-spared-during-destructive-riots/9UNdbOC61OovGc8h6ecbjN/

Active duty Army soldiers are now being deployed to Washington DC, roughly 200 Military soldiers
https://twitter.com/CBSWalsh/status/1267571404620345353

Medical examiner lists Floyd's death a homicide, says heart stopped while police restrained him and compressed his neck.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/medical-examiner-lists-floyds-death-a-homicide-says-heart-stopped-while-police-restrained-him-and-compressed-his-neck/2020/06/01/dff1f42a-a451-11ea-898e-b21b9a83f792_story.html

Hennepin County Medical Examiner releases autopsy of George Floyd. Cause of death: Cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression Manner of death: Homicide.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZdSCmmU4AAAbHG.png

Large US military transport vehicles just rolled through the WH complex, taking National Guard troops to Lafayette Park in front of WH.
https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1267576012881231879

U.S. police have attacked journalists at least 100 times in the past four days
https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/06/well-try-to-help-you-follow-the-police-attacks-on-journalists-across-the-country/

Tear gas has been fired outside the White House at protesters

The military troops and police used tear gas and flash bangs and rubber bullets to clear out protesters so Trump could have a photo op at St. John’s Episcopal Church, the clergy cheered and hugged Trump

Trump promises to deploy military if states don't act. Says he is dispatching "thousands and thousands of heavily armed" personnel in D.C., says 7 p.m. curfew will be enforced.

Reminder: George Floyd did not die in "antifa" custody, he died in police custody

The streets were cleared of protesters so the president could come visit St. John’s church, which caught fire last night. Trump and a large coterie of staff. No Melania Trump spotted.
https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1267595899372318721

Donald Trump is a terrorist, as are all Republicans and all people who support them, law enforcement included

This is 1000% motivated by how much he hated the "hiding in a bunker" story over the weekend

The desire for a certain backdrop for a press announcement is not a security requirement. In other words, using the power of the U.S. Military to clear out protestors for a presser is a massive abuse of power and showing the country he will murder everybody to get even with everybody

This is terrible for civil-military relations and actually dangerous for Republicans and the federal police and military to create a military vs. protestors rhetoric.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the 50th anniversary of Kent State came and went this year with barely any notice, least of all from Trump.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/us/kent-state-shooting-50th-anniversary-trnd/index.html

If Trump and Republicans had "mobilized all available federal resources" to stop the pandemic, thousands more Americans would be alive now. Instead, Republicans are mobilizing to murder Americans.

I love how they can give cops gas masks instantly but they can't get doctors basic fucking PPE.

Trump threatens to deploy 'heavily armed' US military to kill Americans

I truly cannot fathom how the cable networks could decide not to air Biden's events live after spending weeks hosting pundits discussing why Biden wasn't doing more events. If Biden was President and Trump was the challenger, they would definitely have aired Trump's events

LBJ was besieged at the White House by 100,000 protestors against Vietnam war in 1968. Nixon, by more than 500,000 in 1969. Neither deployed forces against demonstrators this way. Nixon literally spoke with war protestors unfiltered at the Lincoln memorial.

Sixth mass extinction of wildlife accelerating, scientists warn
https://theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/01/sixth-mass-extinction-of-wildlife-accelerating-scientists-warn
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8376925/Animals-plants-dying-fastest-rate-dinosaur-extinction.html

Animal Rights Activists Uncover the Locations of Thousands of Factory Farms
https://theintercept.com/2020/05/31/animal-rights-map-farms-coronavirus/

Right Before Trump Bible photo op, police forcibly expelled priest from St. John's church near White House |  The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the bishop of Washington who helped organize the clergy presence at the church, said Trump’s arrival at St. John's happened without warning and left her “outraged.”    “The symbolism of him holding a Bible … as a prop and standing in front of our church as a backdrop when everything that he has said is antithetical to the teachings of our traditions and what we stand for as a church — I was horrified,” she told RNS.    “He didn't come to pray. He didn't come to lament the death of George Floyd. He didn't come to address the deep wounds that are being expressed through peaceful protest by the thousands upon thousands. He didn't try to bring calm to situations that are exploding with pain.”
https://religionnews.com/2020/06/02/ahead-of-trump-bible-photo-op-police-forcibly-expel-priest-from-st-johns-church-near-white-house/

It’s important people hear/read this. It’s was a very VERY weird and empty photo opp, and people got hurt to make it happen. An Australian news team was hurt live on air to clear the way for this. The same team is being prevented from leaving their hotel now (media is supposedly exempt from curfews), so they are suppressing media. This is broken and wrong.

REPUBLICANS ordered the human rights violations of their own citizens.

Trump demanded his church photo-op because he didn't like being mocked for hiding from protests in a bunker, reports say
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-church-photo-op-in-fury-at-bunker-mockery-reports-2020-6

White Supremacist Group Identity Evropa Posed As Antifa On Twitter And Called For Looting And Violence
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/m7jvq8/white-supremacist-group-identity-evropa-posed-as-antifa-on-twitter-and-called-for-looting-and-violence

Riots are destructive but so is abusing police power, a riot didn't kill Floyd, a police officer did with a knee to his neck. A life of hard drug and alcohol abuse didn't help, either.

Biden: The President held the Bible. I just wish he opened it once in a while.

His speech was phenomenal. Hillary's were better and people refused to vote for her. America is done. Never assume that people who aren't on board with Biden are paying attention to his recent speeches rather than waiting for the 10-second out-of-context "shoot them in the leg"-esque soundbites on Twitter. Biden could deliver the greatest speech in the history of the United States and people would still clip the one line he flubbed and tout it as ironclad evidence that he's off his rocker and joyfully vote for Trump and Republicans straight down the ballot. Plenty of people have unfortunately made up their minds already.

Millions are saying to themselves, not in the course of losing their life, but in the course of living their life: I can't breathe.

The FCC on Friday approved 100 percent foreign ownership of U.S. broadcast properties, overturning long-standing 25 percent limit.
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-568A1.pdf

Good: New York City is reportedly voting on a bill that would criminalize the NYPD's use of chokeholds during an arrest, as protests for George Floyd rage on
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-chokehold-bill-vote-de-blasio-george-floyd-protests-2020-6

Biden: "I won't traffic in fear and division. I won't fan the flames of hate. I will seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued this country – not use them for political gain. I will do my job and take responsibility..."

Trump will be re-elected. Remember 1968? At the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the police were brutally beating protestors in the street.Dr King, RFK, Malcom X all gunned down. Nixon (Republican) won. The leaders then were bad, but they weren’t evil. Now we have a morally bankrupt bully who clears the streets with a military he considers his own private army - whom joyfully gas people and unload rubber bullets at them - so that he can hold up a book that he has no more regard for than the man whose life was publicly extinguished on a street by a white cop who took an oath to serve and protect the man whose life he was draining in the gutter. Republicans and all their supporters love it.

Six Atlanta police officers charged after allegedly pulling two protesters from car
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/500696-six-atlanta-police-officers-charged-after-allegedly-pulling-two

The response to people burning down the country over the abuse of policing power and/or law enforcement's propensity towards using overwhelming force is NOT to use overwhelming force. Killing people to stop people from killing people does not stop people from killing people, using overwhelming force to stop people protesting and rioting about the use of overwhelming force does not stop protesting and rioting nor does it stop the reciprocal overwhelming use of force.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Kramer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Alexander_(artist)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_van_Husen

Grocery stores have been torched, pawn shops smashed, pharmacies looted, private cars and residential buildings destroyed. These all represent significant investments and, often, needed sources of income for their owners. None of those owners had anything to do with the killing of George Floyd, and many of them are horrified by the incident and support the protests.
https://localnews8.com/news/2020/05/30/minneapolis-businesses-including-some-that-were-damaged-are-standing-in-solidarity-with-protesters/

The work is offline.
The work is online.
The work includes presence.
The work includes absence.
The work is virtual.
The work is in the streets.
The work is in legislative halls.
The work is in art.
The work is in policies.
The work is at the polls.
The work is where we are.

The American military must never again be used as the President’s personal palace guard against peaceful protesters.
https://twitter.com/timkaine/status/1267897449730863104

Militarization is never the answer, fuck your hate and/or fear

Ahead of Trump's visit to Catholic shrine in DC today, the Catholic Archbishop of Washington says it's "baffling and reprehensible" that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be used for a photo-op
https://twitter.com/WashArchdiocese/status/1267837240815697925

The main story should be that, in response to a mass mobilization against police brutality, the police responded with more brutality

This arrest of a peaceful protester exercising his First Amendment rights is absolutely outrageous. I hope there is some information not shown in this video which explains his arrest.
https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1267874917887823872

Remembering when Trump mocked France over its yellow vest protestors
https://businessinsider.com/trump-mocks-emmanuel-macron-over-paris-yellow-vest-riots-2018-12

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
@uspresstracker
OUR LATEST DATA:
*192 total press freedom violations*
—31+ arrests
—131 assaults (108 by police, 23 by others)
—30 equipment or newsroom damage.
Assault category breakdown:
45 physical attacks (30 by police)
30 tear gassings
17 pepper sprayings
46 rubber bullet/projectiles
https://twitter.com/uspresstracker/status/1267878024365723650

"Violence against any American will never be tolerated" say Republicans as Republicans order violence against Americans
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1267903382968242176

A black family tried to get the attention of the police to protect a neighborhood store in Van Nuys and were immediately handcuffed.
https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/1267636511589031937

Twitter says fake "Antifa" account was run by white supremacists
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-removes-fake-antifa-acounts-white-supremacists/

"I can't breathe." George Floyd's last words. But they didn't die with him. They're still being heard. They're echoing across this nation. It's a wake-up call for all of us.

People are sick and tired of police abuse without consequences. Congress must end "qualified immunity" now so that police can be held accountable for wrongdoing, just like everybody else.

Pope Francis is absolutely right. During the worst public-health crisis in 100 years, we must cut funding for making weapons to kill each other and invest those resources in real human needs, like a coronavirus vaccine available to all.

McConnell’s critique of Obama last month: “he should have kept his mouth shut."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/11/politics/mitch-mcconnell-barack-obama-coronavirus-response/index.html

McConnell about Trump: "I’m not going to critique other people’s performances."
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/mitch-mcconnell-dodges-on-trump-leadership-im-not-going-to-critique-other-peoples-performances/

Julián — I made a promise to George's family that he wouldn't just become another hashtag. We're going to tackle this head on — and we're going to need your help to do it. Grateful for your support.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1267876242075746304

This pause says everything! Thank you Justin Trudeau
https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1267848426626207745

Biden's Philadelphia speech today: "A few days before Dr. King was murdered he gave a final Sunday sermon in DC. He told us that though the arc of a moral universe is long, it bends toward justice. And we know we can bend it—because we have. We have to believe that still. That is purpose."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2aWDG87nJo

Biden 2013: "Don’t tell me what you value; show me your budget and I will tell you what you value" | A common refrain for Vice President Biden last year was "Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I will tell you what you value."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLwjFmESrg

Religious Leaders Say They Were Tear-Gassed For Trump’s Church Photo-Op | Clergy were passing out water and snacks to protesters in front of St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square, an Episcopal parish in Washington, D.C., before law enforcement officials in riot gear reportedly fired tear gas and flash-bangs to disperse the crowd so that Trump could walk to the church for a photo-op. Lafayette Square is a park that lies directly north of the White House. Rev. Gini Gerbasi, rector of a different St. John’s Episcopal Church in the city, said she and seminarian Julia Joyce Domenick were tear-gassed and driven off of church property by police. “I was coughing, her eyes were watering, and we were trying to help people as the police - in full riot gear - drove people toward us,” Gerbasi wrote in a Facebook post late Monday night.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/clergy-st-johns-church-trump_n_5ed6403ac5b6f9c2444b5851
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/st-johns-fire-protest-donald-trump_n_5ed53051c5b645ff4afb19b2
https://www.facebook.com/gini.gerbasi/posts/10157575422089624

    Our Minnesota Department of Human Rights today filed a civil rights charge against the MPD. @mnhumanrights will investigate the department’s policies, procedures, and practices over the past 10 years to determine if they engaged in systemic discriminatory practices.
    — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) June 2, 2020
https://twitter.com/GovTimWalz/status/1267899902039908355

District of Columbia Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-district-of-columbia-president-democrat-primary-election.html

Indiana Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-indiana-primary-elections.html

Maryland Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-maryland-primary-elections.html

Montana Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-montana-president-democrat-primary-election.html

New Mexico Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-new-mexico-primary-elections.html

Pennsylvania Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-pennsylvania-primary-elections.html

Rhode Island Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-rhode-island-president-democrat-primary-election.html

South Dakota Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-south-dakota-primary-elections.html

Mike Mullen, Seventeenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so. | While no one should ever condone the violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets, neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about institutional racism that have ignited this rage. As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough—and I've seen enough—to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded. We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits. And neither of these pursuits will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty or National Guard. The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws. The issue for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be wisely administered. I remain confident in the professionalism of our men and women in uniform. They will serve with skill and with compassion. They will obey lawful orders. But I am less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops. Certainly, we have not crossed the threshold that would make it appropriate to invoke the provisions of the Insurrection Act. | Even in the midst of the carnage we are witnessing, we must endeavor to see American cities and towns as our homes and our neighborhoods. They are not “battle spaces” to be dominated, and must never become so. We must ensure that African Americans—indeed, all Americans—are given the same rights under the Constitution, the same justice under the law, and the same consideration we give to members of our own family. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so. | This is not the time for stunts. This is the time for leadership.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-cities-are-not-battlespaces/612553/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mullen
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/06/01/secdef-encourages-governors-to-dominate-the-battlespace-to-put-down-nationwide-protests/

This "no tear gas" angle is ridiculous. I was in the middle of a crowd coughing up a lung. All sort of projectiles were being fired at a peaceful crowd. I just watched our raw video from 6:35-7pm. Protesters had taken a knee, chanting "Black Lives Matter" when the advance started
https://twitter.com/MarquardtA/status/1267862454555508737

A retired police captain was shot to death by looters at a St. Louis pawn shop early Tuesday and his killing apparently was broadcast on Facebook Live. David Dorn, 77, was shot in the torso about 2:30 a.m. He died on the sidewalk in front of the shop, Lee's Pawn & Jewelry, at 4123 Martin Luther King Drive.4 hours ago
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/retired-police-captain-shot-to-death-at-st-louis-pawn-shop-in-slaying-caught-on/article_d482138c-0224-5393-bd87-9898bebb3fd1.html

Military medical helos used to disperse protesters last night in DC was "foolish," possibly violated regs and could erode the symbol of the Red Cross, experts said. The show of force, common on the battlefield, was also risky, a former Cobra pilot said
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/06/02/helicopter-protest-dc/

It's funny how I've been told constantly that the doctrines of critical race theory are restricted to a few, irrelevant campuses, and I shouldn't bother. And yet almost every Democrat I know and see is regurgitating every single doctrine of this ideology as self-evident.

16th Street moments ago, a few blocks north of the White House. Chants of “hands up, don’t shoot!”
https://twitter.com/BlakeSobczak/status/1267931123121872904

As people flood streets across America to protest the killing of George Floyd, public health experts fear the crowds - and in many cases people's failure to wear masks - will lead to new transmissions of the coronavirus.
https://apnews.com/e85ddae4d8d97a644be6ca71b5070bd5

Good: Colorado's biggest law enforcement organizations - including one of the biggest unions - are asking state lawmakers to pass a law that makes it a crime for police to not intervene if other officers are using unreasonable force. That is a staple of modern policy.
https://twitter.com/EliseSchmelzer/status/1267926804787941376

“Our diplomats are accustomed to expressing concern about other countries’ human rights violations. Today they’re being asked by foreign governments to explain our own.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/02/adversaries-delight-in-americas-convulsions-while-us-diplomats-despair-296877

BET Invites Trump and Biden to Face Black America in Juneteenth Forum
https://money.yahoo.com/bet-invites-trump-biden-face-181112601.html

McConnell blocks resolution condemning Trump's actions against peaceful protesters
https://www.axios.com/mcconnell-trump-peaceful-protesters-4f2209d1-7cad-477c-a5fa-1a9fee4e625a.html

The chief of staff of the US Air Force, Gen. David Goldfein, sent a memo to commanders late Monday calling the death of George Floyd a "national tragedy" and voicing support for the service's top enlistee, Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth Wright, after he made a passionate plea for justice, vowing to do more to fix racial inequality among the ranks, according to a copy of the message obtained by CNN. | "The death of George Floyd is a national tragedy. Every American should be outraged that the conduct exhibited by police in Minneapolis can still happen in 2020. We all wish it were not possible for racism to occur in America, a country founded on the sacred ideal that 'all men (and women) are created equal' and have the 'unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' But it does, and we are at a moment where we must confront what is," Goldfein wrote. | Goldfein's message to airmen under his command came after Wright posted Monday on Twitter, "Just like most of the Black Airmen and so many others in our ranks...I am outraged at watching another Black man die on television before our very eyes." "Who am I? I am a Black man who happens to be the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. I am George Floyd," he said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/politics/air-force-chief-of-staff-goldfein-george-floyd-memo/index.html
http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/images/06/02/air.force.goldfein.letter.george.floyd.pdf
http://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/politics/air-force-chief-master-sergeant-george-floyd/index.html

A large portion of the military equipment is surplus property that is donated to police forces through the 1033 program. When it comes to the boats, aircraft and armored vehicles offered through the program, a lot of police forces actually decline the donations because of the maintenance costs associated with accepting the material. I don't see the equipment as the problem (especially when the public are buying and stealing the same equipment and the police need to be able to stop the white nationalist terrorists), I see the attitude of the police as the problem. The solution has very little to do with cost, and everything to do with state of mind. They are trained to conquer a situation in order to take control of the situation in order to de-escalate a situation. They are trained to remind everybody they are the police and in charge and everybody must answer to them and obey, and to achieve that police enter situations in a bullying-state-of-mind to conquer and control and take over.

Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Wendy's franchisee gives $200K more to Trump reelection campaign. If only mentally ill deranged worthless Democrats burned down all non-vegan fast food chains.....
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/wendys-james-bodenstedt-400k-trump

But a senior White House official told Axios that when they saw the tear gas clearing the crowd for Trump to walk to the church with his entourage: "I've never been more ashamed. I'm really honestly disgusted. I'm sick to my stomach. And they're all celebrating it. They're very very proud of themselves."
https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-law-order-white-house-walk-a2d5ecb8-442c-4ab8-b845-b293ffad6710.html

Joe Biden's campaign for president is seeing a surge in fundraising in the wake of George Floyd's death, particularly as Trump comes under scrutiny for his response to protests across the country. | Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told CNBC that he recently organized a virtual fundraiser, scheduled for next week, which was expected to raise close to $500,000 for Biden. Instead, he said, it is likely to bring in over $1 million.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/02/biden-sees-fundraising-surge-in-wake-of-george-floyd-death-trump-response.html

The USPP statement also pointedly denies using "tear gas" - instead, they just used "pepper balls" which create a cloud (a gaseous one, you might say!) that produce "tearing, burning and involuntary closing" of eyes and "uncontrollable gasping and gagging." But it's not tear gas!
https://twitter.com/josh_wingrove/status/1267924929477033985?s=20

You’ve all been asking who the leader of antifa is, and boy have I got a plot twist: Pat Robertson tells Trump that his response to the George Floyd protests "isn't cool."
https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1267891912910012417

The fires and looting, which damaged or destroyed at least 300 businesses across South Minneapolis and parts of neighboring St. Paul, have largely stopped. While protests continue, they have been peaceful. State officials said 120 arrests had been made Monday and early Tuesday, mostly of protesters in violation of the region’s 10 p.m. curfew, and all had been taken into custody without incident.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-days-of-unrest-minneapolis-begins-to-rebuild/2020/06/02/e2c1fa76-a51c-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html

Your Lincoln Memorial this evening.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZi-JXxWoAElrn-?format=jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZi-Ju1WAAE6M8c?format=jpg

Facebook employees are now openly resigning in protest of Mark Zuckerberg's policies on Trump, and posting the evidence to LinkedIn, Twitter et. al.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timothy-j-aveni_blacklivesmatter-activity-6673316720993824768-q_dU/

Kellyanne Conway says it's wrong to call Trump's  walk to St. John's Church a photo-op. That is "calling into question" Trump's faith. Note: Trump walked over from the White House to the church, held up a bible, and posed for photos. Most would call that a photo-op. And there is no question about Trump's Faith.  He has none.

At the moment there is a circularity in that no-one is going to apply for a job as a US cop. Because cops are "pigs". They get paid like pigs as well, and they have reduced life expectancy and terrible health because of stress and threat. It's very easy to point at them and say they are the problem. But the working class families that staff the police are not the management. So you get undereducated people in, you give them more responsibilities than they can manage ("thin blue line"), you put them in a pressure cooker, and make them a hated class. None of this excuses murder for sure. But you can't back a system like this with a clean conscience. A police officer that murders a black man is a product of society. That means everyone is to blame.

Christina Hale wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Indiana's 5th congressional district.

In what will end up being a minor story somehow, Trump is moving the RNC less than three months before its scheduled start because North Carolina's governor is a Democrat, because voters basically flipped from red to blue against Trump (not because of social distancing guidelines)

Member of a Pentagon panel resigns over Esper's role in last night's photo op set up by moving against peaceful protesters: "I hope this letter of resignation will encourage you to again contemplate the obligations you undertook in your oath of office."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/02/secretary-esper-you-violated-your-oath-aiding-trumps-photo-op-thats-why-im-resigning/

This is how Democrats and "experts" lose credibility; all the warnings about spreading covid-19 are dismissed if you support the right cause.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/01/867200259/protests-over-racism-versus-risk-of-covid-i-wouldn-t-weigh-these-crises-separate

All the Bernie Sanders leftist candidates, who repackaged themselves as "progressives" but aren't, they're mentally ill alt-left and alt-right racist pro-sex-trafficking anti-education conspiracy theory antisemitic scumbags, lost their primaries. Thankfully Democratic voters did their homework and noted how the progressive" candidates were really deranged leftists, Bernie Sanders destroyed leftism for good

Sanders himself failed to meet the threshold for winning delegates in 5 of the 8 races

It’s going to be hilarious when Joe clinches on 6/6 with the Virgin Islands’ 6 delegates lmao

Biden has 1866 delegates, he needs 1991, still plenty of ballots to be counted in PA and NM and Indiana and Montana etc in the coming days to help him clinch
https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P20/D-PU.phtml

3 Massachusetts special elections flipped seats from Republican to Democrat.

Voters in all the primary states voted overwhelmingly for Biden.

Biden isn't nicknamed PA's Third Senator for no reason

Racist Republican Steve King defeated in Iowa primary, too little too late. Problem is the Republican challenger who won is no different than Steve King, he's also a racist pro-Trump terrorist. He won because he painted King as not pro-Trump enough, not a strong enough Trump ally. He lost not because of his racism, but because he had lost committee assignments and was portrayed as ineffective.
https://www.axios.com/steve-king-iowa-primary-0f573843-c5e3-4246-a92c-1c0ce72efcdf.html

Bernie finished third in DC primary lol

Valerie Plame lost her primary
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/02/us/elections/results-new-mexico-primary-elections.html

Ferguson, Missouri elects Ella Jones, first black and woman mayor in city's history.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/politics/ferguson-first-black-mayor-ella-jones/index.html

Two term Republican AG who ran ahead of Trump in the state in 2016 gets beat by a 1.5 term congressman with no qualifications or accomplishments except for assaulting a reporter and lying about it. Greg Gianfore, who bodyslammed a journalist, won his primary in a blowout. Republicans have lost four Montanta gubernatorial elections in a row, hopefully that trend continues.

rose twitter (Bernie Sanders base) destroyed tonight, hopefully permanently. Red States, Purple States, and Blue States blew those non-progressive alt-left and alt-right candidates off the map.

Obama speaks at 5p ET today on police violence via virtual town hall.
Discussion, livestreamed on http://Obama.org, will be on “tragic events of recent weeks, the recurrent problem of racial bias in our criminal justice system, and specific action steps needed,” per aides.
https://www.obama.org/

One-Third of America’s Record Unemployment Payout Hasn’t Arrived
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-02/one-third-of-america-s-record-unemployment-payout-hasn-t-arrived

Trump demands journalists correct stories on the use of tear gas. According to the CDC, it was tear gas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/trump-demands-journalists-correct-stories-on-the-use-of-tear-gas-according-to-the-cdc-it-was-tear-gas/2020/06/02/bf68726c-a544-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html

Twitter Account That Just Copies Trump Tweets Suspended For Glorifying Violence in Under Three Days
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/trump-twitter-account-copy-tweets-glorifying-violence-suspended-a9545831.html

Get The Old Twitter UI Back: GoodTwitter2, if you use Firefox, this is only compatible for versions 57 and above
https://github.com/Bl4Cc4t/GoodTwitter2

Auto Refresh For Twitter, refreshes tweets not page
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/super-twitter-auto-reresh/

Inside the White House, Esper's comments “were not well received," says a senior administration offi

Another way to understand the deployment of all those slouchy looking riot police around DC: the military, the state National Guards, the DC police have all found ways to evade Trump's summons. Only Bill Barr's DoJ force answered the call

Defense Sec. Esper: "I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act." “The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most ... dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now.”
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1268185637921964032

Esper's decision to state publicly that he does not support invoking Insurrection Act did NOT go over well at White House. Trump and some top aides viewed the Pentagon chief’s remarks on that at his news conference as out of line
https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1268214189153300481

US bans Chinese airlines from flying to US From China, citing reciprocity: "We will allow Chinese carriers to operate the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese government allows ours." China effectively banned US airlines from flying to China from US
https://www.wtoc.com/2020/06/03/trump-administration-moves-block-chinese-airlines-us/

Rosenstein denies having ever proposed wearing a wire in the White House or invoking the 25th Amendment, both of which are described in a memo by Andrew McCabe. But he also says he can't recall an instance where McCabe has lied.

Can you imagine seeing this exhibit with just five other people? Or experiencing the Sistine Chapel with a "dinner-party-sized" group? A massive Raphael exhibit reopens in Rome. Six people can enter every five minutes. The once-in-a-lifetime exhibition took three years to come together. Organizers arranged for the careful transport of Raphael masterpieces loaned from London, Washington, Florence, Madrid. The insurance bill was 4 billion euros. One 1510 painting, “The Alba Madonna,” had belonged over the centuries to Spanish nobility, the emperor of Russia and American banker Andrew Mellon, who acquired it in a secret Soviet art sell-off.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-reopens-museums-raphael-exhibit/2020/06/02/d7191c36-a427-11ea-898e-b21b9a83f792_story.html
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.26.html

The NBA's Board of Governors intends to approve a league proposal on a 22-team format to restart the season in Orlando, sources told ESPN.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29260860/sources-nba-approve-plan-22-team-return-eight-regular-season-games

McCabe is not too happy with the bus-underthrowing Rosenstein is doing. Remember. McCabe has an ONGOING lawsuit demanding Rosenstein's testimony.

Coeur d’Alene Tribal Member Paulette Jordan Wins US Senate Democratic Nomination in Idaho. Problem is Paulette Jordan is multiple Idaho election loser. Her campaigns are rife with questionable practices and resignations by her campaign staffers are common. Just because she has a D after her name doesn't make her good. I honestly believe that she just wants her full-time job to be as a Professional Campaign Loser, so she can play politician without ever actually needing to win or do any actual work.
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/coeur-dalene-tribal-member-paulette-jordan-wins-us-senate-democratic-nomination-in-idaho/

4 Native candidates for Congress advance to November:
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/4-native-candidates-for-congress-advance-to-november-sLh2gTWgHUm6z1vNtx3Rig
Trump’s Voter Registration Mistake Is What He’d Call Fraud
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/trumps-voter-registration-mistake-is-what-hed-call-fraud.html

Three more former Minnesota police officers will be charged in the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died after an officer kneeled on his neck during an arrest. The office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison plans to charge Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng on Wednesday with aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder, according to reporting by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that HuffPost confirmed with a law enforcement source. The Hennepin County prosecutor had already arrested Derek Chauvin, the former police officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck, last week, charging him with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Ellison’s office is also planning to announce that it would be upgrading the third-degree murder charge to second-degree murder.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/3-cops-charged-george-floyd-death_n_5ed15c7cc5b63f2b5793fa50?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
https://www.startribune.com/ellison-expected-to-provide-update-on-george-floyd-investigation/570984872/

D.C. National Guard to investigate helicopter maneuvers to show force
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/d-c-national-guard-to-investigate-helicopter-maneuvers-to-show-force

The FBI Finds ‘No Intel Indicating Antifa Involvement’ in Sunday’s Violence | Trump wants to designate antifa a terrorist organization, despite lack of authority and evidence of wrongdoing.
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/antifa-trump-fbi

It really bothers me that law enforcement can remove their identifying information. Private militias. They can do whatever they want based on contract and under the legal protection of the DOJ. This is Trump's real army, the militias.

The fact that Mike Pence doesn’t believe in evolution, thinks smoking doesn’t kill, and called the Disney movie Mulan liberal propaganda and yet he still was smart enough to avoid the St. John’s Church photo op doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence in the rest of team Trump. Pence is many things but he’s a seasoned politician. This is not hard, he knows what it looks like.

Covid-19 is raging. Our cities are burning. And what is Trump's #1 legislative priority right now? Trump wants to get Russia back into the G-7. That should tell you enough that Trump is in Russia's pocket. The US president can't even get world powers to show up for a financial summit.

The NBA is inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify. The NBA's back.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1268205549583241218?s=19

The body of a missing Mexican congresswoman has been found in a shallow grave more than a month after she was abducted by armed men while raising awareness about the coronavirus pandemic
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/missing-mexican-congresswoman-anel-bueno-body-found

Fake antifa and white nationalist accounts taken down by Facebook. Some of the removed white nationalist accounts were associated with the Proud Boys, which Facebook previously classified as a dangerous group.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fake-antifa-white-nationalist-accounts-taken-down-facebook-n1223491

LeBron's message for Pro-Trump Racist Drew Brees:"WOW MAN! Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of flag and our soldiers who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those"
https://thespun.com/nfl/nfc-south/new-orleans-saints/lebrons-message-for-saints-qb-drew-brees-is-going-viral

Putin orders state of emergency after huge fuel spill inside Arctic CircleRussia https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/vladimir-putin-orders-state-of-emergency-huge-fuel-spill-siberia-power-plant-kerch

The voter fraud is coming from inside the White House: Trump tried to commit voter fraud: Trump tried to register to vote in Florida using an out-of-state address
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/president-trump-tried-to-register-to-vote-in-florida-using-an-out-of-state-address/2020/06/03/687d0014-a4f2-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html

The thing that's really worrying about these anonymous Trump paramilitaries: they look so unprofessional. Exactly the kind of untrained, unfit, unexperienced person who might panic in a crisis and do harm where none is called for

History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.

The SEC has embarked on a campaign to make securities markets less transparent and less accountable, exposing investors to bad actors and financially unstable firms; we call on the SEC to safeguard market integrity by retracting its proposals
https://bettermarkets.com/newsroom/sec-proposal-would-expose-investors-dangerous-financial-products-and-enable-companies-china

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to announce plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond
https://apnews.com/75e6f0d57a896207551c1c0e8868cb27

Obama: "When sometimes I feel despair, I just see what’s happening with young people all across the country and the talent and the voice and the sophistication that they’re displaying and it makes me feel optimistic."

Obama to mayors: review your use of force policies with your community and commit to reforms

Spoke w/some of them this afternoon (as well as w/DC law enforcement) who said that many federal agencies (BoP, DEA & other agencies under DoJ) don’t have branded combat or riot gear for their dept. So they are wearing camo flak jackets & khaki uniforms with no bureau insignia.
https://twitter.com/vmsalama/status/1268294701729415168?s=20

Does social distancing matter, or doesn't it? If not, why not–and since when? And why did 40 million disproportionately non-white people go on unemployment? And if there's a second wave sparked by all this and black people are disproportionately affected, how do we weigh that?

Obama: "There is a change in mindset that's taking place, a greater recognition that we can do better. And that is not a consequence of speeches by politicians ... that's a direct result of the activities and organizing and mobilization and engagement of so many young people."

The White House's unproven claims on Facebook and Twitter that antifa activists are placing bricks to incite riots have been taken down
https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-conspiracy-facebook-twitter-antifa-bricks-violence-2020-6

Two months ago we were getting countless articles on how coronavirus is also white supremacy, a disease that is itself effectively racist. It was called a "black plague." White people resisting social distancing were called out. Now it's fine? People are blowing all credibility.

This is a heightened political moment, but the public is in desperate need of transparent and consistent public health messaging.

A great article would be something examining the contrast between theory and practice when it comes to all this posturing...many of the frameworks media writers use (from every angle) these days are so far afield from reality and pragmatic decision-making

Protesters’ breach of temporary fences near White House complex prompted Secret Service to move Trump to secure bunker
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-service-moved-trump-to-secure-bunker-friday-after-protesters-breached-temporary-fences-near-white-house-complex/2020/06/03/e4ae77c2-a5b9-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html

Trump's own former Defense Secretary: In Union There Is Strength | I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. 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. 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. We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them. James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law. Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics. Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children. We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite. Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/

3 held in Las Vegas on terror charges in right-wing conspiracy to spark violence during protests
https://wtop.com/national/2020/06/prosecutors-3-held-in-las-vegas-on-terror-charges-in-right-wing-conspiracy-to-spark-violence-during-protests/

His own former Defense Secretary that the military loved is calling him a threat to the constitution. Mattis promised to not comment on a sitting president and this was big enough to make him feel he had to act.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640

Having Mattis, George W Bush and other Republicans and Christian leaders all come out in condemnation of Trump in recent days is HUGE.

Just left the protestors walking up Pennsylvania Ave. where everyone stopped to lie down for 8 minutes. Powerful silence before turning to head back toward the White House https://twitter.com/MAMilloy/status/1268328255741804549

George Floyd also had coronavirus, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s full autopsy report, which was released in full tonight. Floyd first tested positive on April 3, the medical examiner says.
https://twitter.com/GeoffRBennett/status/1268338060762255360

US Park Police now investigating use of force against an Australian news crew during the H St. episode Monday night. Photographer was seen on video getting clubbed with a shield.
https://twitter.com/usparkpolicepio/status/1268303555984842769

Charles Barkley: "I don't like the All Star fan's vote. Remember what happened last time when we let them make a big decision? White House."
https://streamable.com/eiz16

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