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July 25, 2020
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/portland-federal-officers-judge-ruling-identify
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the Oregon attorney general’s office for an order that would require federal law enforcement officers in Portland to identify themselves when making arrests and place limits on the detention and arrests of protesters. US District Judge Michael Mosman found that state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum lacked standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Oregon residents because her office hadn’t articulated any specific state interest beyond the constitutional rights of individuals.
Rosenblum’s office filed one of multiple pending lawsuits in federal court challenging the Trump administration’s deployment of federal officers, largely from agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, to Portland. Rosenblum’s complaint accuses federal officers of violating the constitutional rights of Oregonians, citing reports that individuals have been picked up off the street and detained without probable cause. The offices of the inspector general for the departments of Homeland Security and Justice announced this week that they are investigating the actions by federal law enforcement officers in Portland.
Mosman's ruling came one day after another federal judge in Portland, US District Judge Michael Simon, granted an order restricting the activities of federal officers. Simon entered a temporary restraining order on Thursday that bars federal officers from arresting or using force specifically against journalists and legal observers at demonstrations unless there is probable cause that they committed a crime. Simon also ruled that clearly marked journalists and legal observers did not have to follow dispersal orders, writing that journalists are present to report on whether authorities are acting within the law. "Without journalists and legal observers, there is only the government's side of the story to explain why a 'riot' was declared and the public streets were 'closed' and whether law enforcement acted properly in effectuating that order," Simon wrote.
Rosenblum’s office asked Mosman to also enter an immediate order, while the case is pending, that would bar federal law enforcement officers from making arrests or detaining people without probable cause or a warrant, and require federal officers who do make arrests to identify themselves and explain the reason. The Justice Department argued that the state of Oregon lacked standing to bring constitutional claims on behalf of its citizens because the state hadn’t alleged any specific threat to its interests that were separate from those of private individuals. The government also disputed that any Oregonian’s constitutional rights had been violated. In response to a viral video that showed two officers wearing military-style uniforms that lacked identification forcibly escorting a man into an unmarked van, Customs and Border Protection said it suspected the man had been involved in assaults on federal agents or property. The man in the video, Mark Pettibone, said he was not told why he was arrested and wasn’t given any paperwork when he was released.
snip
https://twitter.com/sparrowmedia/status/1283436911307218948
A Judge Won't Force Federal Officers In Portland To Identify Themselves When Making Arrests
The judge found the Oregon attorney general’s office could not bring a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the federal presence in Portland.https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/portland-federal-officers-judge-ruling-identify
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the Oregon attorney general’s office for an order that would require federal law enforcement officers in Portland to identify themselves when making arrests and place limits on the detention and arrests of protesters. US District Judge Michael Mosman found that state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum lacked standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Oregon residents because her office hadn’t articulated any specific state interest beyond the constitutional rights of individuals.
Rosenblum’s office filed one of multiple pending lawsuits in federal court challenging the Trump administration’s deployment of federal officers, largely from agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, to Portland. Rosenblum’s complaint accuses federal officers of violating the constitutional rights of Oregonians, citing reports that individuals have been picked up off the street and detained without probable cause. The offices of the inspector general for the departments of Homeland Security and Justice announced this week that they are investigating the actions by federal law enforcement officers in Portland.
Mosman's ruling came one day after another federal judge in Portland, US District Judge Michael Simon, granted an order restricting the activities of federal officers. Simon entered a temporary restraining order on Thursday that bars federal officers from arresting or using force specifically against journalists and legal observers at demonstrations unless there is probable cause that they committed a crime. Simon also ruled that clearly marked journalists and legal observers did not have to follow dispersal orders, writing that journalists are present to report on whether authorities are acting within the law. "Without journalists and legal observers, there is only the government's side of the story to explain why a 'riot' was declared and the public streets were 'closed' and whether law enforcement acted properly in effectuating that order," Simon wrote.
Rosenblum’s office asked Mosman to also enter an immediate order, while the case is pending, that would bar federal law enforcement officers from making arrests or detaining people without probable cause or a warrant, and require federal officers who do make arrests to identify themselves and explain the reason. The Justice Department argued that the state of Oregon lacked standing to bring constitutional claims on behalf of its citizens because the state hadn’t alleged any specific threat to its interests that were separate from those of private individuals. The government also disputed that any Oregonian’s constitutional rights had been violated. In response to a viral video that showed two officers wearing military-style uniforms that lacked identification forcibly escorting a man into an unmarked van, Customs and Border Protection said it suspected the man had been involved in assaults on federal agents or property. The man in the video, Mark Pettibone, said he was not told why he was arrested and wasn’t given any paperwork when he was released.
snip
https://twitter.com/sparrowmedia/status/1283436911307218948
July 25, 2020
We should not be shocked by President Trump’s admission, in an interview this week with Chris Wallace, that he might not accept the results of the November election. After all, he said that before the 2016 election as well. Yet the situation now is far more dangerous. For months, Trump has been unleashing forces that, come November, could cause tens of millions of Americans to be convinced the election was rigged. Even if Trump leaves office in January — voluntarily or not — he will likely leave behind a political climate that verges on civil war. Trump is an avid fan of conspiracy theories. His political rise began with one — the notion that Barack Obama was born in Kenya — and he has embraced the most noxious peddler of falsehoods, Alex Jones. Trump and his associates have been stoking the QAnon movement, which imagines a battle between the president and a “deep state” of high-ranking officials and liberal elites who practice child torture and satanic worship. All these instincts are now being channeled into one idea, one great conspiracy: that the November vote will be rigged.
Some take comfort from the polls, believing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will win with a large enough margin to make all these concerns irrelevant. Maybe. But it is also quite possible things will get very messy. The polls might prove even less useful this year than they were in 2016. Assuming we are still in the midst of a pandemic raging across the country, all 50 states will have instituted new measures related to voting, from social distancing rules to mail-in ballots. These will vary widely from state to state. Norm Ornstein writes in the Atlantic, “The combination of fewer polling places because of the pandemic, the need to space out voters in lines, and fewer poll workers could turn November 3 into a disaster that spirals into January.” Imagine that on the night of Nov. 3, backed-up polling sites turn away voters and several states have large enough stacks of mail-in ballots that they cannot announce their results immediately (somewhat like the Iowa caucuses debacle). Imagine that some procedures or ballots are contested. Imagine that this ends up in courts around the country.
By Dec. 8, each state is supposed to decide which party’s slate of electors will cast that state’s electoral votes, reflecting the official ballot tally. But what if that tally is unclear or disputed? “For years, people have worried about the problem of faithless electors, but the real problem this fall might be confusion and delay,” said Jared Cohen, the author of “Accidental Presidents.” He points out that the 2020 election could prove to be a toxic combination of the elections of 1876 and 2000. In 1876, four states faced serious allegations of irregularities or fraud, and the situation was resolved by a backroom deal. In 2000, a dispute over Florida’s ballots led the Supreme Court to intervene (in an unprecedented and highly controversial move), settling the election in favor of George W. Bush. What happens this fall will take place in the midst of the most polarized political climate in a century and with the hyper-accelerant of social media. Now add to this scenario the most worrisome element: the conspiracy theorists who have already been peddling fear and suspicion of the establishment, and specifically warning that the election will be rigged. If Trump’s prospects worsen as November approaches, his attacks are likely to get more outlandish.
He has already claimed in the past that large numbers of undocumented immigrants, out-of-state residents and dead people were voting for the Democrats. He recently insisted there is “ZERO” chance “Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent” because “Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged.” He says foreign countries will print counterfeit mail-in ballots by the millions. None of these charges are backed up with proof. Americans like conspiracy theories. Theirs is a country suspicious of centralized power, and these theories help people make sense of the world. People dislike the idea of chaos and chance, preferring to see patterns, causes — and villains. This tendency exists on the left as well, whether it’s Oliver Stone’s portrayal of the JFK assassination or the belief that Russia hacked into voting machines in 2016 and changed the tallies. But there is an important difference between the 2020 candidates: Trump revels in conspiracy theories; Biden does not. One of America’s greatest legacies to the world has been the peaceful transfer of political power. When John Adams left the White House in 1801 and Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as his successor, it marked the first time in modern history that power changed hands between two rival parties competing in an election. It is that precious legacy that Trump is endangering with his conspiracy-mongering about rigged elections.
snip
WaPo OpEd : Trump is setting us up for an Election Day nightmare
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-setting-us-up-for-an-election-day-nightmare/2020/07/23/559183b4-cd22-11ea-b0e3-d55bda07d66a_story.htmlWe should not be shocked by President Trump’s admission, in an interview this week with Chris Wallace, that he might not accept the results of the November election. After all, he said that before the 2016 election as well. Yet the situation now is far more dangerous. For months, Trump has been unleashing forces that, come November, could cause tens of millions of Americans to be convinced the election was rigged. Even if Trump leaves office in January — voluntarily or not — he will likely leave behind a political climate that verges on civil war. Trump is an avid fan of conspiracy theories. His political rise began with one — the notion that Barack Obama was born in Kenya — and he has embraced the most noxious peddler of falsehoods, Alex Jones. Trump and his associates have been stoking the QAnon movement, which imagines a battle between the president and a “deep state” of high-ranking officials and liberal elites who practice child torture and satanic worship. All these instincts are now being channeled into one idea, one great conspiracy: that the November vote will be rigged.
Some take comfort from the polls, believing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will win with a large enough margin to make all these concerns irrelevant. Maybe. But it is also quite possible things will get very messy. The polls might prove even less useful this year than they were in 2016. Assuming we are still in the midst of a pandemic raging across the country, all 50 states will have instituted new measures related to voting, from social distancing rules to mail-in ballots. These will vary widely from state to state. Norm Ornstein writes in the Atlantic, “The combination of fewer polling places because of the pandemic, the need to space out voters in lines, and fewer poll workers could turn November 3 into a disaster that spirals into January.” Imagine that on the night of Nov. 3, backed-up polling sites turn away voters and several states have large enough stacks of mail-in ballots that they cannot announce their results immediately (somewhat like the Iowa caucuses debacle). Imagine that some procedures or ballots are contested. Imagine that this ends up in courts around the country.
By Dec. 8, each state is supposed to decide which party’s slate of electors will cast that state’s electoral votes, reflecting the official ballot tally. But what if that tally is unclear or disputed? “For years, people have worried about the problem of faithless electors, but the real problem this fall might be confusion and delay,” said Jared Cohen, the author of “Accidental Presidents.” He points out that the 2020 election could prove to be a toxic combination of the elections of 1876 and 2000. In 1876, four states faced serious allegations of irregularities or fraud, and the situation was resolved by a backroom deal. In 2000, a dispute over Florida’s ballots led the Supreme Court to intervene (in an unprecedented and highly controversial move), settling the election in favor of George W. Bush. What happens this fall will take place in the midst of the most polarized political climate in a century and with the hyper-accelerant of social media. Now add to this scenario the most worrisome element: the conspiracy theorists who have already been peddling fear and suspicion of the establishment, and specifically warning that the election will be rigged. If Trump’s prospects worsen as November approaches, his attacks are likely to get more outlandish.
He has already claimed in the past that large numbers of undocumented immigrants, out-of-state residents and dead people were voting for the Democrats. He recently insisted there is “ZERO” chance “Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent” because “Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged.” He says foreign countries will print counterfeit mail-in ballots by the millions. None of these charges are backed up with proof. Americans like conspiracy theories. Theirs is a country suspicious of centralized power, and these theories help people make sense of the world. People dislike the idea of chaos and chance, preferring to see patterns, causes — and villains. This tendency exists on the left as well, whether it’s Oliver Stone’s portrayal of the JFK assassination or the belief that Russia hacked into voting machines in 2016 and changed the tallies. But there is an important difference between the 2020 candidates: Trump revels in conspiracy theories; Biden does not. One of America’s greatest legacies to the world has been the peaceful transfer of political power. When John Adams left the White House in 1801 and Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as his successor, it marked the first time in modern history that power changed hands between two rival parties competing in an election. It is that precious legacy that Trump is endangering with his conspiracy-mongering about rigged elections.
snip
July 24, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/health/cdc-schools-coronavirus.html
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top public health agency issued a full-throated call to reopen schools in a statement that aligned with President Trump’s pressure on communities, listing numerous benefits for children of being in school and downplaying the potential health risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the statement, along with new “resources and tools,” Thursday evening, two weeks after Mr. Trump criticized its earlier recommendations on school reopenings as “very tough and expensive,” ratcheting up what was already an anguished national debate over how soon students and teachers should return to classrooms.
“Reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education, well-being, and future of one of America’s greatest assets — our children — while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all their families,” the agency’s new statement said.
Mr. Trump, sinking in the polls and pummeled with criticism over his handling of the pandemic, sees reopening the nation’s schools this fall as crucial to reinvigorating the economy and to his re-election. While many public health experts and pediatricians agree that returning children to classrooms is critically important, they warn that it has to be done cautiously, with a plan based on scientific evidence. Many, along with teachers’ unions, have accused the president of putting children and the adults who supervise them at school at risk by politicizing the subject.
The new package of C.D.C. materials began with a statement titled “The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools This Fall” that repeatedly described children as being at low risk for being infected by or transmitting the virus, even though the science on both aspects is far from settled.
snip
NYT : C.D.C. Calls on Schools to Reopen, Downplaying Health Risks
The agency’s statement followed earlier criticism from President Trump that its guidelines for reopening were too “tough.”https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/health/cdc-schools-coronavirus.html
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top public health agency issued a full-throated call to reopen schools in a statement that aligned with President Trump’s pressure on communities, listing numerous benefits for children of being in school and downplaying the potential health risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the statement, along with new “resources and tools,” Thursday evening, two weeks after Mr. Trump criticized its earlier recommendations on school reopenings as “very tough and expensive,” ratcheting up what was already an anguished national debate over how soon students and teachers should return to classrooms.
“Reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education, well-being, and future of one of America’s greatest assets — our children — while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all their families,” the agency’s new statement said.
Mr. Trump, sinking in the polls and pummeled with criticism over his handling of the pandemic, sees reopening the nation’s schools this fall as crucial to reinvigorating the economy and to his re-election. While many public health experts and pediatricians agree that returning children to classrooms is critically important, they warn that it has to be done cautiously, with a plan based on scientific evidence. Many, along with teachers’ unions, have accused the president of putting children and the adults who supervise them at school at risk by politicizing the subject.
The new package of C.D.C. materials began with a statement titled “The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools This Fall” that repeatedly described children as being at low risk for being infected by or transmitting the virus, even though the science on both aspects is far from settled.
snip
July 24, 2020
Jonathan Pie - Put a F**king Mask On!
July 24, 2020
TikTok’s Chinese parent is scrambling to hang on to its hit app. America threatens to ban ByteDance’s most valuable digital property—or seize it
https://www.economist.com/business/2020/07/25/tiktoks-chinese-parent-is-scrambling-to-hang-on-to-its-hit-app
In may bytedance, the world’s most valuable startup, leapt further ahead of other technology “unicorns”. It was valued at $140bn on the secondary market, up by nearly half from a funding round in the spring. The reason? TikTok, a short-video app that has been downloaded 2bn times. The “last sunny corner” of the internet, as it is known thanks to jolly user-generated content, is China’s first worldwide internet sensation. For ByteDance’s 37-year-old founder, Zhang Yiming, it is part of an ambition to build a global software giant.
Now that ambition is in jeopardy. On June 29th India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps, after deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Himalayas. The same month ByteDance’s American lawyers told it that President Donald Trump’s administration has concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership. America is now threatening to ban the app altogether.
Official unease about TikTok has risen with its popularity. It has an estimated 70m American users, in the same league as Snapchat. In the first quarter it was downloaded 315m times globally, more than any app ever in three months, according to Sensor Tower, a research firm (see chart 1). In America and Britain it rivals YouTube for user attention—and not just among teenagers, who first took to it. “TikTok is a place for everyone now,” says Vanessa Pappas, the app’s general manager for America.
ByteDance keeps its numbers close to its chest but its investors say it is on track to bring in $30bn of revenue in 2020, up from $15bn-20bn in 2019. Net profit could more than double, to $7bn. Most of that comes from its Chinese businesses, Douyin, a version of TikTok, and Toutiao, a news app. TikTok is not yet making money, but ByteDance reckons it may in time eclipse all its Chinese properties put together, by tapping into America’s vast ad market. It has been rolling out tools to advertisers. ByteDance’s mainly American venture-capital backers believe this, plus growth in China, could lift its valuation to $500bn.
snip
America threatens to ban or seize TikTok
TikTok’s Chinese parent is scrambling to hang on to its hit app. America threatens to ban ByteDance’s most valuable digital property—or seize it
https://www.economist.com/business/2020/07/25/tiktoks-chinese-parent-is-scrambling-to-hang-on-to-its-hit-app
In may bytedance, the world’s most valuable startup, leapt further ahead of other technology “unicorns”. It was valued at $140bn on the secondary market, up by nearly half from a funding round in the spring. The reason? TikTok, a short-video app that has been downloaded 2bn times. The “last sunny corner” of the internet, as it is known thanks to jolly user-generated content, is China’s first worldwide internet sensation. For ByteDance’s 37-year-old founder, Zhang Yiming, it is part of an ambition to build a global software giant.
Now that ambition is in jeopardy. On June 29th India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps, after deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Himalayas. The same month ByteDance’s American lawyers told it that President Donald Trump’s administration has concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership. America is now threatening to ban the app altogether.
Official unease about TikTok has risen with its popularity. It has an estimated 70m American users, in the same league as Snapchat. In the first quarter it was downloaded 315m times globally, more than any app ever in three months, according to Sensor Tower, a research firm (see chart 1). In America and Britain it rivals YouTube for user attention—and not just among teenagers, who first took to it. “TikTok is a place for everyone now,” says Vanessa Pappas, the app’s general manager for America.
ByteDance keeps its numbers close to its chest but its investors say it is on track to bring in $30bn of revenue in 2020, up from $15bn-20bn in 2019. Net profit could more than double, to $7bn. Most of that comes from its Chinese businesses, Douyin, a version of TikTok, and Toutiao, a news app. TikTok is not yet making money, but ByteDance reckons it may in time eclipse all its Chinese properties put together, by tapping into America’s vast ad market. It has been rolling out tools to advertisers. ByteDance’s mainly American venture-capital backers believe this, plus growth in China, could lift its valuation to $500bn.
snip
July 24, 2020
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/coronavirus-relief-package-trump-covid-mitt-romney-trust-act-social-security-a9637266.html
The Republican coronavirus relief package will include legislation from Senator Mitt Romney that could result in cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed Thursday that the upcoming relief package would include the legislation.
Mr McConnell told the Senate that Mr Romney's TRUST Act is "a bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Senate Democrats, to help a future Congress evaluate bipartisan proposals for protecting and strengthening the programmes that Americans count on." Though the TRUST Act is being touted as a means to protect the New Deal-era social safety programmes, critics say it would allow for cuts to the program to be pushed through Congress with minimal opposition.
"This would allow benefit cuts to be fast-tracked through Congress," Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Common Dreams. "Seniors and people with disabilities need their benefits boosted, not slashed. Like payroll tax cuts, the TRUST Act is bad medicine for everyday Americans struggling to stay financially afloat, especially during the Covid crisis."
The TRUST Act has 13 co-sponsors in the Senate, including four members of the Democratic caucus. The Democratic co-sponsors are Senators Joe Manchin, Doug Jones, Krysten Sinema and Mark Warner (see edit).
snip
On Edit,
the article listed Rounds as a Democrat, the other Democratic Co-Sponsor is Mark Warner, plus Independent Angus King.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2733/cosponsors?searchResultViewType=expanded
Coronavirus relief package could lead to Social Security and Medicare cuts
'Donald Trump and his stooges in the Senate can't stop trying to rob us of our Social Security,' Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, said.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/coronavirus-relief-package-trump-covid-mitt-romney-trust-act-social-security-a9637266.html
The Republican coronavirus relief package will include legislation from Senator Mitt Romney that could result in cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed Thursday that the upcoming relief package would include the legislation.
Mr McConnell told the Senate that Mr Romney's TRUST Act is "a bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Senate Democrats, to help a future Congress evaluate bipartisan proposals for protecting and strengthening the programmes that Americans count on." Though the TRUST Act is being touted as a means to protect the New Deal-era social safety programmes, critics say it would allow for cuts to the program to be pushed through Congress with minimal opposition.
"This would allow benefit cuts to be fast-tracked through Congress," Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Common Dreams. "Seniors and people with disabilities need their benefits boosted, not slashed. Like payroll tax cuts, the TRUST Act is bad medicine for everyday Americans struggling to stay financially afloat, especially during the Covid crisis."
The TRUST Act has 13 co-sponsors in the Senate, including four members of the Democratic caucus. The Democratic co-sponsors are Senators Joe Manchin, Doug Jones, Krysten Sinema and Mark Warner (see edit).
snip
On Edit,
the article listed Rounds as a Democrat, the other Democratic Co-Sponsor is Mark Warner, plus Independent Angus King.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2733/cosponsors?searchResultViewType=expanded
July 24, 2020
Three teenagers have been convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, who died after being dragged along a road by a car.
PC Harper suffered catastrophic fatal injuries when his ankles got caught in a strap trailing behind a vehicle driven by Henry Long in August 2019.
Long, 19, had earlier admitted manslaughter but was cleared of murder.
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, were cleared of murder but found guilty at the Old Bailey of manslaughter.
Speaking outside court, PC Harper's widow Lissie said she would feel "heart-wrenching pain" for the rest of her life over the "brutal and senseless killing".
She said she was "immensely disappointed" by the manslaughter verdicts and had been left "utterly shocked and appalled".
snip
Teenagers guilty of killing PC Andrew Harper
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-53526636Three teenagers have been convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, who died after being dragged along a road by a car.
PC Harper suffered catastrophic fatal injuries when his ankles got caught in a strap trailing behind a vehicle driven by Henry Long in August 2019.
Long, 19, had earlier admitted manslaughter but was cleared of murder.
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, were cleared of murder but found guilty at the Old Bailey of manslaughter.
Speaking outside court, PC Harper's widow Lissie said she would feel "heart-wrenching pain" for the rest of her life over the "brutal and senseless killing".
She said she was "immensely disappointed" by the manslaughter verdicts and had been left "utterly shocked and appalled".
snip
July 23, 2020
https://thebanter.substack.com/p/trump-launches-the-invasion-and-occupation
WASHINGTON, DC -- We’re currently in the midst of the five-year anniversary of a series of military exercises known as “Jade Helm 15.” Between July and September of 2015, the Pentagon conducted these completely anodyne exercises in various locations throughout Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. At the time, Republicans -- future Red Hats -- thought this was one of the most egregious trespasses against constitutional liberty in American history. Alex Jones, Donald Trump’s favorite radio host, thought it was a “psyop” intended to acclimate Americans to a military occupation. Louie Gohmert insisted that Obama was “declaring an enemy of two or more of your states.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the state guard to monitor the federal troops. Jade Helm was the biggest political story of mid-2015, even though the soldiers involved didn’t engage with civilians, nor was there any intention to do so. The exercises ended, the soldiers went home and crickets continued to chirp. I know this is a well-worn process, but play along. Knowing how the Republicans reacted to a completely innocuous military exercise, imagine if Barack Obama had personally deployed troops to, say, Tulsa, Orlando, Little Rock and Charleston to round up and disappear tea party protesters. It’s a safe bet he would’ve been hastily impeached by the Republican Congress at the time. And you know what? If Obama had been capable of such a decision, which he obviously wasn’t, the Republicans would’ve been right to do it.
Today, Donald Trump announced that in addition to Portland, he’s deploying unidentified federal soldiers to Chicago and, for some reason, Albuquerque. But this time, the pretext isn’t to guard federal property, it’s to engage in law enforcement. This intention was confirmed by Trump’s personal lawyer, Bill Barr. That’s the greatly sanitized description of what can only be seen as Trump’s invasion and indefinite occupation of American cities. We’re ultimately talking about nothing more than petty vandalism and graffiti. It’s not like armed insurrectionists are seizing federal land and exploiting it for profit -- you know, like the Cliven Bundy gang did in Nevada, circa 2014. Trump wants to flex his “law and order” campaign slogan by completely immolating the Republican Party’s states’ rights, Tenth Amendment fetish. Worse, he’s given us no reason not to assume that his Gestapo will continue to occupy these cities -- predominantly Democratic cities -- through Election Day. In addition to fluffing the racist Republican base, this will carry with it the added benefit of discouraging legal immigrants and other groups from voting for fear of being black-bagged by these nameless Trump thugs.
It’s difficult to fully emphasize how unconstitutional and despotic this is, especially during a pandemic when societal stress and tension is at an all-time high. The only reason Trump pulled the trigger on this is because he knows he can get away with it, at least for a while. As I’ve been repeating: there’s no way to remove him for the next several months, a task made more difficult by his undeclared war on Americans. To be clear: the reason we’re here is because of law enforcement violence and overreach. So, in reaction, Trump has authorized even more law enforcement violence, now with even less accountability for the anonymous shocktroopers and their commanders. The unrest began as a consequence of police officers murdering a man in the street. Trump chose to escalate the unrest by ordering tear gas and rubber bullets fired into crowds. Today, the protesters are marching against both police violence and Trump’s invasion. The president had the power to de-escalate all of this, like so many previous chief executives have. Instead, because chaos makes him hard as a rock, he’s making everything worse. Shortly after his Chicago announcement, Trump held a brief press conference where he had the balls to say, “I’ve done more for Black Americans than anybody with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.” Not only is this more of Trump’s kneejerk lying and “toxic positivity,” but it makes his invasion of Chicago even more perverse. Given the demographics of that city, Trump has essentially authorized the rounding up of countless Black people.
Who knows where they’ll end up, but it’s likely they’ll be tossed into prison-for-profit gulags around the country, stripped of their rights. Imagine all of the innocent men and women who’ll be swept up in the mayhem. And as free-thinking citizens, we have an obligation to ask whether this professional con-man tyrant has a financial stake in the for-profit prison system. We have to ask whether he’s receiving kickbacks or other monetary benefits for delivering valuable bodies to these hellholes. He’s given us no reason -- none! -- to offer him the benefit of the doubt. Not on the mass incarcerations. Not on his obvious racism. Trump isn’t the first racist president, but he might be the first fascist president, deploying secret military police to disappear civilians simply because he can. History, should everything land safely in November, will remember him as an irredeemable villain, routinely abusing the system, gutting the government, stealing taxpayer money like a poseur Russian oligarch, bastardizing American institutions and traditions, and systematically forcing the United States to conform to his own twisted, stunted, paranoid, aggrieved worldview. Regardless of what some folks on Twitter might tell you, the primary goal of the election coming up isn’t necessarily about supporting your political party or endorsing a slate of policy proposals. It’s about patriotism -- the patriotism to oust a petty tyrant from unearned power before he blindly mows down what’s left of the nation for shits and giggles. The evidence of his tyranny is coming soon to your town.
Trump Launches The Invasion And Occupation Of American Cities
It’s difficult to fully emphasize how unconstitutional and despotic this is.https://thebanter.substack.com/p/trump-launches-the-invasion-and-occupation
WASHINGTON, DC -- We’re currently in the midst of the five-year anniversary of a series of military exercises known as “Jade Helm 15.” Between July and September of 2015, the Pentagon conducted these completely anodyne exercises in various locations throughout Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. At the time, Republicans -- future Red Hats -- thought this was one of the most egregious trespasses against constitutional liberty in American history. Alex Jones, Donald Trump’s favorite radio host, thought it was a “psyop” intended to acclimate Americans to a military occupation. Louie Gohmert insisted that Obama was “declaring an enemy of two or more of your states.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the state guard to monitor the federal troops. Jade Helm was the biggest political story of mid-2015, even though the soldiers involved didn’t engage with civilians, nor was there any intention to do so. The exercises ended, the soldiers went home and crickets continued to chirp. I know this is a well-worn process, but play along. Knowing how the Republicans reacted to a completely innocuous military exercise, imagine if Barack Obama had personally deployed troops to, say, Tulsa, Orlando, Little Rock and Charleston to round up and disappear tea party protesters. It’s a safe bet he would’ve been hastily impeached by the Republican Congress at the time. And you know what? If Obama had been capable of such a decision, which he obviously wasn’t, the Republicans would’ve been right to do it.
Today, Donald Trump announced that in addition to Portland, he’s deploying unidentified federal soldiers to Chicago and, for some reason, Albuquerque. But this time, the pretext isn’t to guard federal property, it’s to engage in law enforcement. This intention was confirmed by Trump’s personal lawyer, Bill Barr. That’s the greatly sanitized description of what can only be seen as Trump’s invasion and indefinite occupation of American cities. We’re ultimately talking about nothing more than petty vandalism and graffiti. It’s not like armed insurrectionists are seizing federal land and exploiting it for profit -- you know, like the Cliven Bundy gang did in Nevada, circa 2014. Trump wants to flex his “law and order” campaign slogan by completely immolating the Republican Party’s states’ rights, Tenth Amendment fetish. Worse, he’s given us no reason not to assume that his Gestapo will continue to occupy these cities -- predominantly Democratic cities -- through Election Day. In addition to fluffing the racist Republican base, this will carry with it the added benefit of discouraging legal immigrants and other groups from voting for fear of being black-bagged by these nameless Trump thugs.
It’s difficult to fully emphasize how unconstitutional and despotic this is, especially during a pandemic when societal stress and tension is at an all-time high. The only reason Trump pulled the trigger on this is because he knows he can get away with it, at least for a while. As I’ve been repeating: there’s no way to remove him for the next several months, a task made more difficult by his undeclared war on Americans. To be clear: the reason we’re here is because of law enforcement violence and overreach. So, in reaction, Trump has authorized even more law enforcement violence, now with even less accountability for the anonymous shocktroopers and their commanders. The unrest began as a consequence of police officers murdering a man in the street. Trump chose to escalate the unrest by ordering tear gas and rubber bullets fired into crowds. Today, the protesters are marching against both police violence and Trump’s invasion. The president had the power to de-escalate all of this, like so many previous chief executives have. Instead, because chaos makes him hard as a rock, he’s making everything worse. Shortly after his Chicago announcement, Trump held a brief press conference where he had the balls to say, “I’ve done more for Black Americans than anybody with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.” Not only is this more of Trump’s kneejerk lying and “toxic positivity,” but it makes his invasion of Chicago even more perverse. Given the demographics of that city, Trump has essentially authorized the rounding up of countless Black people.
Who knows where they’ll end up, but it’s likely they’ll be tossed into prison-for-profit gulags around the country, stripped of their rights. Imagine all of the innocent men and women who’ll be swept up in the mayhem. And as free-thinking citizens, we have an obligation to ask whether this professional con-man tyrant has a financial stake in the for-profit prison system. We have to ask whether he’s receiving kickbacks or other monetary benefits for delivering valuable bodies to these hellholes. He’s given us no reason -- none! -- to offer him the benefit of the doubt. Not on the mass incarcerations. Not on his obvious racism. Trump isn’t the first racist president, but he might be the first fascist president, deploying secret military police to disappear civilians simply because he can. History, should everything land safely in November, will remember him as an irredeemable villain, routinely abusing the system, gutting the government, stealing taxpayer money like a poseur Russian oligarch, bastardizing American institutions and traditions, and systematically forcing the United States to conform to his own twisted, stunted, paranoid, aggrieved worldview. Regardless of what some folks on Twitter might tell you, the primary goal of the election coming up isn’t necessarily about supporting your political party or endorsing a slate of policy proposals. It’s about patriotism -- the patriotism to oust a petty tyrant from unearned power before he blindly mows down what’s left of the nation for shits and giggles. The evidence of his tyranny is coming soon to your town.
July 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1285995059079524352
MAGA supporters in Colorado start a fight with ICE protesters and get washed handily in the middle
of the streethttps://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1285995059079524352
July 23, 2020
https://thebanter.substack.com/p/tucker-carlson-told-a-grotesque-lie
I’ve written a lot about Tucker Carlson in recent years because of his increasingly prominent role in American politics. As the host of the most popular cable news show on television and unofficial role as a highly effective Trump-whisperer, Carlson wields an extraordinary amount of power in America. His vile brand of Ethno-Nationalism has become extremely popular amongst Republican voters, and Carlson expertly channels their racism and rage into useful political energy for the president. I believe Tucker Carlson is the most dangerous figure in American politics right now, and his behavior on his show last night reinforces just how sinister he has become. In what can only be described as a grotesquely malicious and dangerous act of deception, Carlson falsely claimed that The New York Times was trying to “terrorize” his family by publishing his home address.
On Monday night, Carlson said the Times was trying to endanger him and his family by revealing where they live in a yet to be released story. “They hate my politics. They want this show off the air,” said Carlson. “If one of my children gets hurt because of a story they wrote, they won’t consider it collateral damage. They know it’s the whole point of the exercise: to inflict pain on our family, to terrorize us, to control what we say. That’s the kind of people they are.” According to Carlson, the Times has “followed” him and his family after they moved from Washington DC after his address was published on Twitter. “Their story about where we live is slated to run in the paper this week,” said Carlson. “Editors there know exactly what will happen to my family when it does run.” After making this astonishing claim Carlson then went on to name the reporters behind the story, showing viewer photos of Murray Carpenter, photographer Tristan Spinski and the Times’s media editor Jim Windolf. “How would Murray Carpenter and his photographer, Tristan Spinski, feel if we told you where they live, if we put pictures of their homes on the air?” Carlson asked. “What if we published the home address of every one of the soulless, robot editors at the New York Times, who assigned and managed this incitement of violence against my family?" “We could do that. We know who they are.” Carlson’s coded message to his Twitter trolls had an almost immediate effect, leading to the leaking of personal information of the journalist named by the Fox host.
Carlson is lying
It did not take long to discover that Carlson’s claim was an outright lie — not only was the Times not planning on publishing his address, they specifically told him they were not going to do so before he went on air. The Times told The Washington Post that: “While we do not confirm what may or may not publish in future editions, the Times has not and does not plan to expose any residence of Tucker Carlson’s, which Carlson was aware of before tonight’s broadcast.” When it comes to credibility, The Times vs Carlson isn’t a close contest, particularly given the Fox News host has a long track record consistently and egregiously lying on his show. The Orwellian piece of theater from the somber Carlson was clearly designed to set the conservative Twittersphere ablaze, but more specifically to distract his audience from two very serious scandals he is embroiled in. This obviously fake, extremely malicious act of subterfuge happened just hours after this (via Politico):
One of the accusers, Cathy Areu, a reporter who appeared on Carlson’s show a number of times claimed that, “Carlson implicitly invited her back to his hotel room for sex in 2018 and refused to have her on his show after she turned down his advances.” On top of that, Carlson had just come back from an abruptly announced “long planned” trout fishing vacation in the middle of the working week after it transpired that his chief writer was in fact a virulent White Supremacist and misogynist.
Attack and never apologize......
snip
Tucker Carlson Told A Grotesque Lie About NYTimes "Doxxing" Him, And Now He's Getting Away With It
Carlson said the Times was trying to endanger him and his family by revealing where they live in a yet to be released story. They weren't.https://thebanter.substack.com/p/tucker-carlson-told-a-grotesque-lie
I’ve written a lot about Tucker Carlson in recent years because of his increasingly prominent role in American politics. As the host of the most popular cable news show on television and unofficial role as a highly effective Trump-whisperer, Carlson wields an extraordinary amount of power in America. His vile brand of Ethno-Nationalism has become extremely popular amongst Republican voters, and Carlson expertly channels their racism and rage into useful political energy for the president. I believe Tucker Carlson is the most dangerous figure in American politics right now, and his behavior on his show last night reinforces just how sinister he has become. In what can only be described as a grotesquely malicious and dangerous act of deception, Carlson falsely claimed that The New York Times was trying to “terrorize” his family by publishing his home address.
On Monday night, Carlson said the Times was trying to endanger him and his family by revealing where they live in a yet to be released story. “They hate my politics. They want this show off the air,” said Carlson. “If one of my children gets hurt because of a story they wrote, they won’t consider it collateral damage. They know it’s the whole point of the exercise: to inflict pain on our family, to terrorize us, to control what we say. That’s the kind of people they are.” According to Carlson, the Times has “followed” him and his family after they moved from Washington DC after his address was published on Twitter. “Their story about where we live is slated to run in the paper this week,” said Carlson. “Editors there know exactly what will happen to my family when it does run.” After making this astonishing claim Carlson then went on to name the reporters behind the story, showing viewer photos of Murray Carpenter, photographer Tristan Spinski and the Times’s media editor Jim Windolf. “How would Murray Carpenter and his photographer, Tristan Spinski, feel if we told you where they live, if we put pictures of their homes on the air?” Carlson asked. “What if we published the home address of every one of the soulless, robot editors at the New York Times, who assigned and managed this incitement of violence against my family?" “We could do that. We know who they are.” Carlson’s coded message to his Twitter trolls had an almost immediate effect, leading to the leaking of personal information of the journalist named by the Fox host.
Carlson is lying
It did not take long to discover that Carlson’s claim was an outright lie — not only was the Times not planning on publishing his address, they specifically told him they were not going to do so before he went on air. The Times told The Washington Post that: “While we do not confirm what may or may not publish in future editions, the Times has not and does not plan to expose any residence of Tucker Carlson’s, which Carlson was aware of before tonight’s broadcast.” When it comes to credibility, The Times vs Carlson isn’t a close contest, particularly given the Fox News host has a long track record consistently and egregiously lying on his show. The Orwellian piece of theater from the somber Carlson was clearly designed to set the conservative Twittersphere ablaze, but more specifically to distract his audience from two very serious scandals he is embroiled in. This obviously fake, extremely malicious act of subterfuge happened just hours after this (via Politico):
Two women accused male Fox News hosts of sexual harassment and, in one woman's case, rape, in a lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court in New York. Ed Henry, who was fired as a host earlier this month, was accused of sexual harassment and rape in the suit, while hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Howard Kurtz were alleged to have separately behaved in a sexually inappropriate way.
One of the accusers, Cathy Areu, a reporter who appeared on Carlson’s show a number of times claimed that, “Carlson implicitly invited her back to his hotel room for sex in 2018 and refused to have her on his show after she turned down his advances.” On top of that, Carlson had just come back from an abruptly announced “long planned” trout fishing vacation in the middle of the working week after it transpired that his chief writer was in fact a virulent White Supremacist and misogynist.
Attack and never apologize......
snip
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