Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Trump will rage. History will judge him poorly. But from the Pentagon money diverted to Trump’s wall, to abandoning the Kurds, to allowing the military to be politicized like we’ve never seen, it’s our troops who will ultimately pay the price for Esper’s weakness. Per usual.


Asked about the White House's contention that Trump's visit to St. John's Church was similar to Churchill's tour of London bombing damage during World War II, Nancy Pelosi replied, "I think they're hallucinating."


Gun-toting members of the Boogaloo movement are showing up at protests across the country


My hot take: James Mattis just made it a lot easier for many, many other respected defense officials and Republican lawmakers to criticize the president.


Letter from the leadership of U.S. Naval Forces #Europe & #Africa, and U.S. 6th Fleet:


NEW: The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Las Vegas PD announce charges against 3 alleged members of the right-wing extremist group "Boogaloo" with violating state & federal laws, "for conspiracy to cause destruction during protests in Las Vegas", prosecutors say.


Paralyzed man pulled out of car... You can SEE his wheel chair in the back seat.. You watch.. smh


WATCH: "Sometimes when I feel despair, I just see what's happening with young people all across the country," President Obama says. "It makes me feel optimistic. It makes me feel as if ... this country's gonna get better."


The Joker meets Lex Luthor.#Facebook is pro Trump and has been weaponized.


Racism, what does it look like?


Mattis: “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.”


bunker boy @realDonaldTrump


"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."


@realDonaldTrump is no longer hiding that he’s a brazen authoritarian, so desiring of control and power that he’s willing to turn our once peaceful cities into war zones. #AmericaOrTrump


Barred from getting anywhere near the White House, hundreds have gathered outside Trump Hotel instead. Adding up those here & the 100s gathered as close as they can get to WH, it doesn’t seem the extreme heat & humidity has lessened turnout much, if at all.


5PM WHITE HOUSE — These are the unidentified DOJ officers holding the perimeter at 15th and H Streets. They won’t tell the public to whom they report exactly... It’s generating HUGE frustration here


James Mattis brings the fire against Trump: "We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution." Waiting for the Trump tweetstorm on this one tonight...


James Mattis takes swipe at Trump: We have gone ‘three years without mature leadership’


I was blistering about Mattis's refusal to speak up. I'm still pretty chapped that he held out for so long. But he didn't mince any words here and I'm glad he's finally said something.


General James Mattis: “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.”


James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary backs protesters and says the president is trying to turn Americans against one another.


Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, is live now:


"This is what our cops are up against: Organized looters, strategically placing caches of bricks & rocks at locations throughout NYC," an NYPD Commissioner wrote. Except the bricks were left next to a construction site in a neighborhood without protests.


Heartbroken and inspired by these words from George Floyd’s daughter. Yes, Gianna, he changed the world


The CEO of one of the country’s biggest chicken producers and three other industry executives were indicted Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to fix prices on chickens sold to restaurants and grocery stores.


WASHINGTON (AP) — Esper has reversed decision to return active-duty troops deployed near DC to home bases, Army secretary tells AP.


Jimmy Carter: "Rosalynn and I are pained by the tragic racial injustices and consequent backlash across our nation." "We are responsible for creating a world of peace and equality...We need a government as good as its people, and we are better than this."


#BREAKING: Two large military vehicles arrive at St. John's.


Perspective | The dystopian Lincoln Memorial photo raises a grim question: Will they protect us, or will they shoot us?


This is what happens when you add a sad tuba to the propaganda film ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ released earlier.


Salman Rushdie writes in Opinions: "I’ve seen dictators rise and fall. Beware, America."


.@TomCottonAR is an honest to goodness cartoon fascist. He's an evil person with putrid ideas.


Horrified and the Knights of Columbus should be ashamed.


I am a Catholic too. It’s appalling! — Gen Michael Hayden


Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's daughter, spoke publicly a week after his death in Minneapolis, Minn.


Nancy Pelosi walking through the protests without needing the police to gas protesters


It’s in some of our darkest moments of despair that we’ve made some of our greatest progress — and we have that chance once again. We’re not just going to rebuild this nation — we’re going to transform it. There is nothing we can’t do if we do it together.


Just on @MSNBC: Nancy Pelosi is at the protest in Washington D.C.


No American should ever face law enforcement personnel, at any level, who do not identify themselves or wear insignia. This is atrocious.


Back outside the White House. Today the perimeter has been pushed back another half block. Federal law enforcement of some kind, but they won’t identify themselves, and all insignias and name plates have been removed.


Hydroxychloroquine, a drug promoted by Trump, failed to prevent healthy people from getting covid-19 in trial


The White House doctor says the physical was done in April.


TRUMP PHYSICAL: Trump weighs 244 lbs, is 6'3", blood pressure 121/79 mmHG, resting heart rate 63 bpm


Minnesota law wouldn’t permit charging the other three officers for their role in the murder of George Floyd without correcting the charge of Derek Chauvin to second degree felony murder, which I’ve argued from the start was the proper charge here. @AGEllison did the right thing.


‼️ UPDATE in #GeorgeFloyd case: Attorney General Keith Ellison to elevate charges against Officer Derek Chauvin to Second Degree Murder. Also charging other 3 officers involved with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.


"Arizona is generating an average of 519 new cases a day. On May 15, when the stay-at-home order expired, the average was 378 a day." "'What it tells me is that the stay-at-home order was working, because when it ended, it started popping back up again'.”


"...democrats and republicans should hail this president..."@PressSec, just now.


Breaking via WaPo: President Trump tried to register to vote in Florida using an out-of-state address.


Senator Sheldon Whitehouse just revealed the most basic acts of misconduct from Trump's unjust DOJ, asking Rod Rosenstein why they wouldn't answer a DAMN question for Democrats, but they'll trot information out for the GOP and the Trump 2020 campaign


Capitol Police officers are seen taking a knee at the urging of protestors. The crowd is loving it.


While GOP on @SenJudiciary today pursues debunked conspiracies trying to undermine Special Counsel’s investigation into Russia’s attack on our elections, far more pressing is the anguish Americans feel about George Floyd's murder & the plague of racial injustice. My remarks here:


EXCLUSIVE: In 2017, at the request of Trump, Jared Kushner encouraged his pals at The National Enquirer to push the debunked conspiracy theory that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough murdered a female congressional aide


Sean Hannity and wife divorce after more than 20 years of marriage


BREAKING: President Barack Obama will address the nation at 5pm EDT today (livestreamed on https://t.co/1IhHfFleeK) regarding George Floyd’s killing and the ongoing protests around our country.


Trump’s Summer Playbook: Scare the Shit Out of Voters and Rip Biden Apart


“..Esper told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act, a law that would allow President Donald Trump to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to respond to civil unrest in cities across the country.”


The Governor of Florida just announced that he is sending 500 members of the Florida National Guard to Washington, D.C. to join the Trump state police force.


LIVE --> Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies on "Crossfire Hurricane Investigation" before @senjudiciary @JudiciaryDems - LIVE on C-SPAN, @cspanradio & online here


Asked why he should be spending time going after Chris Cuomo and Joe Scarborough while there are so many big problems happening, Trump says, "I just do it. You know, people hit me, I hit back. I fight."


This is trump's 'great' America where her 'freedom of speech' is her destruction of any freedom of speech expression that she doesn't like. They learn from the mob master.


NEW: "This November, End Trump's American Carnage." The ad, from Republican Voters Against Trump, is airing on Fox News and is being promoted digitally in key states.


This would work, but would the MPD arrest him? What if 100 people filed police reports? Barr doesn’t have Trumps immunity, he could be arrested.


Breaking: The @ACLU says it is filing a class-action lawsuit and asking a Minnesota court to stop what it calls "unconstitutional conduct targeting journalists." Here's my full story


America cries out for unification. Yet Trump is ripping it apart by tear-gassing peaceful protestors so he could pose for photos with a bible outside a church. We need real leadership -- not a President whose message and actions fan the flames of discord, bigotry and violence.— Nancy Pelosi


Inspecting the bunker


Oh you have to be fucking kidding me


Good morning from Washington where the perimeter around the White House has been expanded - guarded by what we believe are federal prison riot control officers


People of America! Join me tomorrow at 1:30pm ET for an Instagram Live about safely reopening restaurants with Dr. Anthony Fauci of the @WhiteHouse COVID task force and director of @NIAIDNews @NIH.


You could write a good book on the devolution and demise of the Republican Party solely through the generations of the Romney family, from George to Mitt to the lapdog who dropped her maiden name because Trump demanded it.


Tweeting and retreating Retreating and tweeting


The mother of George Floyd's daughter makes first public comments: "He'll never see her grow up, graduate. He will never walk her down the aisle. If there's a problem she’s had and needs her dad, she does not have that anymore.


How to bible


"Can Trump Use the Insurrection Act to Deploy Troops to American Streets?," the latest from Scott R. Anderson and Michel Paradis:


Very relieved that the unexploded flash-bang grenade that my daughter found and innocently picked up this morning didn't explode in her face. Beyond angry that it was left on the streets of our capital city.


I had 28 years in the Marines. Time in combat & counterterrorism work. Worked with some tough hombres. Not a single one would get in camo & line the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to beat down a fellow American. Refuse to serve if you’re asked to be a fascist leader’s phalanx.


Bayonets?


Americans are dying every day due to a pandemic you discounted and denied. Protests over police violence and social inequities are occurring across the land. And you’re focused on the ratings of a cable news host? Nothing better illustrates your smallness of spirit & pettiness


"Leave television ratings to us," CNN says to the president, after he spreads a deceptive right-wing talking point about ratings for the 2nd straight day


New: my dispatch from the protests in NYC, including video of my arrest by the NYPD.


This Treasury Official Is Running the Bailout. It’s Been Great for His Family.


Happy Birthday to @DrBiden! Thank you for your empathy, kindness, and faith in America during these hard times.


Obama is going to do a discussion this afternoon as part of his foundation entitled, “Reimagining Policing in the Wake of Continued Police Violence”


I actually for the first time this cycle believe North Carolina will go Democrat in November...šŸ¤” Trump says GOP is pulling convention from North Carolina


‘End Trump’s American carnage’: New Lincoln Project ad airs on Fox News


Use of medical helicopter to target protesters is under investigation, National Guard says


Donors pour money into Joe Biden's campaign after President Trump's response to George Floyd protests


1 million Uyghur Muslims were not available for comment.


TEAR GAS & COVID caution: The widespread use of tear gas could contribute to coronavirus rebound, says experts. šŸ“A study of thousands of Army recruits found evidence of significantly higher risk of respiratory illness after tear gas exposure. #covid19


Steve King, 9-term Iowa congressman who mortified GOP leaders with his comments about race and immigration but had a history of being impermeable to political challenges, was defeated in primary last night after Iowa Rs influencers spoke out publicly, and privately, against him.


Contrition: Sweden’s top epidemiologist Tegnell has admitted his strategy to fight coronavirus resulted in too many deaths, after driving his country to avoid lockdown—Sweden’s mortality rate is among the highest globally & highest in Scandinavia.


“It’s my first day,” says Homer Simpson


NEW: Pentagon officials say it was the White House, not the Defense Department, pushing for military might in the streets—with Trump seeking details on “tanks” that could be used.


WATCH - Once again, thousands of protesters are laying on the Burnside Bridge with their hands behind their back. It's the fifth day of protests in the City of Portland


Let this sink in: The United States Secretary of Defense claims “I didn’t know where I was going.”


It's been 24 hours and I still have yet to see any NRA member standing up to this military occupation they always say they need guns for.


The world is watching, and it is appalled by what it sees. Germany’s SĆ¼ddeutsche Zeitung summed it up: “Trump declares war on America.”


Notice how Trump urged Gov. Whitmer to “make a deal” with armed right-wing protesters, the “very good people” who invaded and shut down the Michigan legislature, but now threatens to unleash the U. S. military on hundreds of thousands peacefully protesting racist violence.


The world is watching and weeping. We have become an international pariah because of the way that our police forces mistreat people of color with the encouragement of our racist president. Our allies are mortified; our enemies are gleeful.


Trump demands journalists correct stories on the use of tear gas. According to the CDC, it was tear gas.


“The sooner that you mass and dominate the battlespace, the quicker this dissipates, and we can get back to the right normal,”


Perspective: I’m a priest. The police forced me off church grounds for Trump’s photo op.


In Paris, thousands defy police orders to protest death of George Floyd


Donald Trump gave a glimpse into his mindset towards mass protests when he said in 1990 that China showed "power of strength" in a "vicious" crackdown on students in Tiananmen Square


Trump's Moscow masters are breaking out the vodka for breakfast.


Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam slams US ‘double standards’ with protests Carrie Lam's comments referred to the contrast between Western support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong last year, and the response to recent anti-police brutality demonstrations in the US

šŸ’“

I always laugh when I see some of these “officers” during this coverage who are wearing a shemagh, like they’ve actually been to the ME or Afghanistan, as if it’s part of the uniform they should be wearing on the street on duty...with all of his tattoos from wrist to shoulder


I think Sam Stein is a clown šŸ¤” but one of the worst kind, he always attempts to normalize the worst aspects of every event and action...he often defends the indefensible...


Fox guest Cabot Phillips says people join antifa because they're trying to be cool by "doing the craziest things possible" to prove how "woke" they are. He also says antifa organized all the riots nationwide. I really can't overstate how incomprehensibly stupid this is.


Shocking footage showed a medical helicopter hovering dangerously close to protesters in Washington, D.C. in a maneuver that aviators described as a “show of force"


NYPD officers surrounded, shoved & cursed at two @AP journalists out covering protests in Manhattan tonight & pinned one against a car. After they explained they were exempt from NY’s curfew, an officer said to “get the f— out of here you piece of s—.”


So hired mercenaries are working for the Department of Justice? We are rapdily morphing into a fascist country. It is time to impeach Bill Barr.


The four large countries where coronavirus cases have recently been increasing fastest are “all run by populist male leaders who cast themselves as anti-elite and anti-establishment.”


ICYMI: Ella Jones became the first African American and first woman elected mayor of Ferguson, Missouri yesterday.


“[T]he president emerged from the White House, followed by a phalanx of aides and Secret Service agents as he made his way to the church, where he posed stern-faced, holding up a Bible that his daughter pulled out of her $1,540 MaxMara bag.”


Boris Johnson says he will give as many as three million Hong Kong residents the chance to seek refuge in the U.K. if China presses ahead with plans to impose a new security law on the city


Asked to respond to Pres. Trump's threatened use of military force against protesters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pauses for 20 seconds before answering. "We all watch in horror and consternation, what's going on in the United States."


A reminder that Meghan McCain is married to the scumbag who owns propaganda outlet The Federalist.


The Federalist is now complicit in peddling Trump's false narrative. Wonder what @MZHemingway and @FDRLST got in exchange for writing this propaganda.

Who funds The Federalist? Time we knew.

At least 15 of the graduating cadets who returned to West Point ahead of President Trump’s commencement speech tested positive for the coronavirus


Trump’s photo with his loyalists was a vulgar mess. And Ivanka brought a handbag.


Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed cautious optimism that several successful vaccine candidates would prove effective “within a reasonable period of time” to fight the novel coronavirus


When all 50 states are protesting the same issue, the government should realize they are the problem


Something changed last night. I am hearing from conservative friends and relatives in states like WV, VA, and SC who are finally done with Trump. One is writing in "Romney-Mattis." Another one is voting Biden. He just told me, "I want him [Trump] crushed."


"You don't read 'blessed are the peacemakers' and then have tear gas fired on peaceful protesters." -Bishop Michael Curry


awww, the unapologetic birther is sad


Meghan, we live in the same building, and I just walked outside. It’s fine.


BREAKING: Pope Francis tells U.S. Catholics he is concerned about "disturbing social unrest" following the death of George Floyd, saying "we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism"


How easy and enjoyable it is to delete facebook.


New: The pandemic has cost jobs around the world. Comparing people who lost the same position in the two countries reveals that the U.S. government is spending more on unemployment — but its citizens are getting less.


Thousands in Boston peacefully denounce killings of Black Americans.


Peter Strzok, a patriotic career counterintelligence agent whose conduct in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election has been vindicated by two independent IG investigations, today found himself targeted by his President in yet another unhinged attack....


Perspective: Saturday’s protests were big news. Why did these Gannett newspapers push them off the front page?


Trump's police and military protection continue to directly target the media. Which isn't surprising because @realDonaldTrump encourages it.


THREAD: Images of violent protests from around the U.S. can obscure some of the hundreds of peaceful demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd. Here are some of the voices of demonstrators, in their own words.


This evening’s @TheAtlantic reading opportunities (partial listing) - @anneapplebaum on why people of conscience must speak out . Former JCS Chairman Mike Mullen, a person of conscience, speaking out


Fired State Department watchdog who was probing Pompeo to appear before Congress


Our Constitution guarantees Americans’ right to peacefully protest. If protests become violent, leaders need to de-escalate tensions, not exacerbate them, and unify not divide. Using our military to stomp out 1st Amendment rights is against everything I believe in and fought for.


White House officials say the church photo opp was Ivanka Trump’s idea, and that Hope Hicks orchestrated the visuals, per big NYT piece reconstructing the smoke-and-flash-grenades Lafayette Square clash


In 1992, a guy named Billy Barr approved the use of DEA subpoenas to start collecting phone records between the US and first a few, then many, other countries. That surveillance led to the illegal Stellar Wind program.


The EU is pressing for a global deal to end tariffs on medical supplies in an effort to guard against the kind of supply-chain shock triggered by the coronavirus pandemic


If you have to dress up like this, to respond to that, you’re doing it wrong. Demilitarize America’s Police now...


White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter


3 cops beating the hell out of a protester behind a wall thinking nobody can see them.


Tech group files first lawsuit against Trump over executive order targeting social media


“The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to “conduct covert surveillance” and collect intelligence on people participating in protests, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News.”


AP: Soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Drum, New York, were heading to D.C. and would be based outside the city in case they are needed


“IF YOU DO NOT MOVE, YOU WILL BE DEAD” WALNUT CREEK, CA


Having DEA on the streets doing internal security must be horrifying to the FBI.


.@realDonaldTrump: "Today I'm here to support Steve King. A special guy, a smart person with, really, the right views on almost everything."


conservatives a month ago: “why should we listen to the government and stay home? you are all sheep, this is a free country!” conservatives today: “if you just follow the government mandated curfew, the paramilitary police stormtroopers won’t shoot you in the face, it’s simple”


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)