Friday, June 5, 2020
A Superpower In Chaos
Chandra Muzaffar
https://countercurrents.org/2020/06/a-superpower-in-chaos/
Minneapolis could not have happened at a worse time for the US elites. While violence perpetrated against African Americans by White police officers has happened a number of times before, its occurrence right in the midst of a huge health emergency that has already claimed more than a 100,000 lives and a related massive economic disaster that has robbed 30 million people of their jobs, is truly unprecedented. The mayhem and chaos accompanying the violence have spread to a number of other cities right across the United States of America.
What has sparked outrage among thousands of Americans (and not just those of African descent) was the way in which an unarmed Black civilian, George Floyd, suspected of using a counterfeit banknote was killed by a White police officer. The officer had pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for 5 to 9 minutes forcing him to plead that he could not breathe until he went silent and limp. The officer has now been charged with third degree murder though a lot of the protesters are demanding that three other police personnel who were with him at the time of the incident should also be punished.
If there is a lot of anger among thinking, caring Americans about the Floyd incident, it is mainly because they know that discrimination against African Americans is still pervasive and is a manifestation of the larger marginalisation of the community. True, through education there has been some mobility for groups within this minority especially in the decades following the civil rights movement but large segments remain trapped at the bottom of the heap. The current economic devastation has underscored the vulnerability of these segments just as the coronavirus pandemic has also revealed how the poor and disadvantaged in the US and elsewhere are more likely to be the victims of the scourge than others.
That the US is not really able to protect the well-being of the poorer and weaker segments of society is obvious when we look at the situation of yet another minority, the Hispanics. In the last few decades their economic and social burdens have been exacerbated by an irrational fear of their alleged demographic challenge to the White majority. This fear was exploited successfully by candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election as it will be manipulated again in the forthcoming November 2020 election through issues such as building a wall to protect the US’s southern border.
There is a third minority, better positioned than the first two, which is also the object of racist attacks from time to time. Broadly classified informally as ‘Asians,’ they are often equated with Americans of Chinese origin. Since the coronavirus crisis and president Trump’s attempt to pin the blame upon China, the harassment of Chinese and Chinese looking Americans has escalated. Indeed, verbal and even physical abuse of members of the community has been going on for a while given the constant negative targeting of China by some US elites on a variety of issues ranging from trade and technology to alleged human rights violations and suppression of minorities. Though independent research has shown that there is a great deal of distortion and exaggeration in these allegations, they appear to have impacted upon ordinary Americans through community and social media.
Why China is subjected to such vile treatment, it is not difficult to understand. The US elites and a section of the media see the ascendancy of China as a challenge to US dominance and control of the planet, or US hegemony, and are therefore determined to tarnish and subvert China. Other countries which are independent-minded and unwilling to submit meekly to US power are also often targeted. Sometimes, prejudice against a particular religion or specific ethnic communities — this is true of the prevailing attitude of certain segments of American society towards Islam and Muslims — tends to warp inter-community relations.
The US pursuit of global hegemony has affected adversely the rights and interests of millions of Americans in a number of ways. By spending so much on the military — in 2019 it was 732 billion US dollars — and maintaining some 800 military bases encircling the world, the US has sacrificed the essential needs of its people such as well-equipped hospitals and schools. Gross neglect of the economic and social rights of the people has emerged as a tragic reality for everyone to witness when the nation is confronted by a twin health and economic crisis of gigantic proportions.
Indeed, given its wealth, the US failure to enhance the rights of millions of its citizens including the underclass within the White majority is simply criminal. In the domestic arena, as in international politics, it is the height of hypocrisy of the US political elite to present itself as a champion of human rights and democratic rule. In fact, on a number of occasions in international politics —- Iran 1953; Chile 1973; Palestine 2006; and Egypt 2013 —– the elite had directly and obliquely participated in the suppression of democratic principles.
Today, through the two crises that have overwhelmed the superpower and the righteous anger vented in the streets of the nation by ordinary citizens of all shades —- anger that stems from centuries of contempt and scorn heaped upon a people —- the truth about the elites’ lack of respect for human rights and human dignity is exposed for all to see. Will this lead to some sincere soul-searching especially among young Americans?
De Blasio Staffers Demand `Radical Change from Mayor' in Open Letter
Two-hundred thirty-six current and former staffers for Mayor de Blasio signed an open letter calling on him to live up to the promises of reform that initially drew them to work for him. One demand is to cut the $6 billion police budget by 1/6.
Shant Shahrigian
https://portside.org/2020-06-04/de-blasio-staffers-demand-radical-change-mayor-open-letter
We are former and current de Blasio Administration staffers.
We came to the Mayor’s Office from different places and walks of life, but we all shared a common goal: to work for a fairer, more just New York City.
None of us joined the de Blasio Administration believing this mayor would be radical on criminal justice policy. That was apparent from the moment he hired Bill Bratton to be his police commissioner. But we saw in Bill de Blasio a chance for real change.
He made his opposition to “Stop and Frisk” a pillar of his run for the mayoralty. He spoke passionately about his duty as a parent to make New York City safer for his Black son and daughter. He called for cuts to the City’s jail population, and for the closure of Rikers Island.
It was our hope that these words were a starting place. That we could push the Administration further to reform New York City’s racist criminal legal system. That together we could create real, lasting change for a City and police department that have failed Black and brown New Yorkers, generation after generation.
Our time in the Mayor’s Office showed us that the change we had hoped for, and fought for, might never come.
We saw up close the Administration’s unwillingness to challenge the abuses of the NYPD—the Mayor’s refusal to fire Daniel Pantaleo for choking the life out of Eric Garner, the continuation of the failed “Broken Windows” policing strategy that criminalizes our Black and brown communities, the rejection of even basic accountability measures like making information public about police officers accused of misconduct.
We saw how, while crime rates are at record lows, the Administration has continued to pour money into the NYPD budget—which is now almost $1 billion larger than when de Blasio took office—heightening the over-policing of Black and brown communities.
We saw how the Mayor refused to end the use of solitary confinement, which took the lives of New Yorkers like Kalief Browder and Layleen Polanco, in the City’s jails.
We saw the aggressive push for the construction of new borough-based jails, at a cost of $9 billion, despite activists’ cries to invest that money in jobs and alternatives to incarceration.
The chasm between Mayor de Blasio’s promise to reform the criminal legal system and the actions of his Administration has only widened in the past year.
De Blasio expanded the City’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which wages war on our immigrant communities.
He joined with police and prosecutors as they demonized the progressive bail and discovery reforms that activists and advocates spent years lobbying for in Albany.
He sat by as thousands of our fellow New Yorkers remained locked in cages on Rikers Island, while a deadly virus raged inside its jails.
And these past long days, as New Yorkers have taken to the streets demanding an end to the racist policing that humiliates, maims, and kills Black New Yorkers, he stood with the very police who perpetrate that violence.
Many of us marched at these protests. We’ve all seen the images and read the stories. Crowds of cops swarming over a single protestor, raining down blows with their batons. Protestors rammed with police cars. A rampaging cop throwing a protester to the curb, sending her to the hospital with seizures. A cop drawing his gun and pointing it into a crowd. A cop macing a defenseless young man with his hands in the air. Cops covering their badges so they could act with utter impunity.
What was the Mayor’s response? He said that the NYPD had “acted appropriately.” That police had “shown a lot of restraint.” That he “was not going to blame” officers who were trying to deal with an “impossible situation.”
And while the Mayor did attempt to walk back some of his comments on Sunday morning, by Tuesday he had implemented an 8:00 PM citywide curfew, an unprecedented attempt to silence New Yorkers’ cries for justice.
We have joined together in writing this letter because we could not remain silent while the Administration we served allows the NYPD to turn our City into an occupied territory. Our former boss might not hear the cries for justice from Black and brown New Yorkers, but we do.
We are demanding radical change from the Mayor, who is on the brink of losing all legitimacy in the eyes of New Yorkers.
1. Reduce the NYPD operating budget by $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2021, and reallocate that money to essential social services, including housing support and rental relief, food assistance, and health care, in alignment with the demands of the NYC Budget Justice campaign.
2. Immediately fire all NYPD officers found to have used excessive force—or to have covered their badges—at protests.
3. Release the names and official disciplinary records of all NYPD personnel who have been accused of using excessive force, covering their badge numbers, or other misconduct.
4. Appoint an independent commission, in the vein of the Knapp and Mollen Commissions, composed of civil rights attorneys, journalists, and activists, including abolitionist organizers, to investigate the response of the Mayor’s Office and the NYPD to the May and June 2020 protests against police violence.
We are also calling upon all former and current staffers of conscience to stand with us in our call for change.
We all chose to serve for a better New York. Stand with us now and demand justice—for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. For Eric and Erica Garner. And for all Black and brown New Yorkers.
Signed,
Aarati Cohly, Aaron Ghitelman, Aaron S., Abdul Hafiz, Abe E., Abigail Cook-Mack, Aileen Almanzar, Aisha Pasha (Public Engagement Unit), Alacia Lauer (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Alejandro Cintron (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Alex F. (Public Engagement Unit), Alex Washington, Alexandra R., Alexis H., Alyssa Lott, Amanda Clarke, Amen Ra Mashariki, Amrita Dasgupta, Amy Furman (Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency), Andrea H., Andrew Schustek, Angela Sherpa, Angela Lascala-Gruenewald, Angela Terry, Angie Carpio (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Anthi Markatos, Anthony Jackson (Mayor’s Office of Creative Communications), Arelis Hernandez, Ariel L., Ashe Mcgovern, Ashley C., Ashley Dinzey (Gracie Mansion), Ashley Putnam (NYC Office of Workforce Development), Audrey Crabtree-Hannigan (Office of Research & Media Analysis), Ayesha D., Ayesha I., Ben Kantor, Ben Sarle (Mayor’s Press Office), Benita Miller, Benjamin Mandel (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Bianca Guerrero (Mayor’s Office of Policy and Planning), Brad Raimondo (de Blasio for Mayor 2017), Brandon G. Brandon West (Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget), Brandt Hamilton (Mayor’s Office of Speechwriting), Brian Erickson (Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations), Brian Johnson (Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget), Bridgit Donnelly, Camara Cooper (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Cara F., Carly Fleming (Public Engagement Unit) Carlyn Cowen (Mayor’s Office of Contract Services), Catherine Almonte, Cathy Pasion (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Chai Jindasurat (Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget), Charlette Renault-Caragianes, Christopher Collins-McNeil (Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs), Colin Stayna-Wynter, Cristina Gonzalez (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Cristine K. (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Curtis Cravens (Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency), Daniel B., Daniel Backman, Daniel Edelman, Darren Martin, David Vincent Rodriguez (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Deena Patel, Diana G., Dina Rybak, Dina Simon, Dorothy Suchkova (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Douglas Nam Le (Climate Policy and Programs), Eden T., Elisa Gahng, Elizabeth Olguin, Ellen P., Elvin Garcia (Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit), Emily Apple, Emily Preuss, Emnet Almedom (Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity), Eric G., Erika Lindsey, Esai Ramirez (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs) Essence Franklin (Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity), Esther Rosario, Eve Grassfield (Office of the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives), Ezra Cukor (CCHR), Felicia H., Frances Chapman, Gabriela Martins (NYC Census 2020), Gagan Kaur, Giulianna S., Gloria Medina (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Gwendolyn Litvak, Hanif Yazdi (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Hannah Shaw (Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity), Harrison N., Helen Ho, Hermanoschy Bernard, Hina Naveed (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Ian Hanson, Ifeoma Ike (Young Men’s Initiative), Irina Tavera (NYC Census 2020), Jacqlene Moran (Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency), Jacqueline Crossan, James N., Janie K., Jasmine Fernandez, Jason Spear (Young Men’s Initiative), Jean Bae, Jen Samawat (Office of the First Lady of New York City), Jenna Tatum (NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Jennifer Scaife (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Jennings Louis, Jeremiah Cedeño (NYC Census 2020), Jerry Bruno, Jessica Woolford (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Jesús Alejandro C., Joi Rae, Jonathan Soto, Joseph Desimone (de Blasio for Mayor 2013), Joshua C., Juana Silverio, Julie Kim (NYC Census), Julie W., June Glover, Karen Coronel (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Kate Bernyk, Kate Van Tassel, Katerín Fernández (Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services), Katie Unger, Kimberly P., Kristen Grennan, Kunchok Dolma (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Lacey Tauber, Leah R., Leigh Shapiro, Lexi I., Lilly L., Lily K., Lindsay F. (Mayor’s Office of Operations), Lindsay Mollineaux (Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics), Lindsay Scola, Lois S., Lucia Goyen (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Manvir Singh (Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs), Maria Cruz Lee, Mariana Veras, Maribel Hernández Rivera (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Marielle Sanchez (NYC Office of Workforce Development), Marissa Jackson (Mayor’s Office for International Affairs), Marv McMoore, Jr. (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Mary Bruch, Matthew Dhaiti (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Matthew M. (Mayor’s Office of Appointments/PEU), Megan Abron (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs) Megan Macinnes, Melissa Lachan (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Michael Cox, Michael Shaikh (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Mike D’Armi (Public Engagement Unit), Minden K., Minelly De Coo, Mirjam Grunenfelder-Reig, Mitsue Iwata (Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics), Moeena Das, Molly Cohen, Molly Dexter, Molly Hartman, Morgan A. (Mayor’s Office of Food Policy), Natalie Leary (Mayor’s Office of Special Projects and Community Events), Nathifa Forde, Nick Gulotta (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Nicole B., Nora Stephens, Onnesha Roychoudhuri, Oonagh J., Pascale Mevs, Pooja Podugu, Rachael Berkey (Mayor’s Office of Creative Communications), Rachel F., Rachel G. (Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity), Rachel Patterson, Rachel Smith (Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer), Radhe Patel (Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services), Raphael Pope-Sussman (Mayor’s Office of Speechwriting), Reagan S. (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Rebecca B. (Mayor’s Office of Operations), Rebecca F., Rebecca H., Rebecca Lynch, Richard André (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Ricky Da Costa, Robin D., Rodney Stiles, Rosalia Contreras, Rosanna E. (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Rose Destefano (Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development), Ross Karp, S. Wright, Sam Hersh (Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency), Sam S. (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Samantha Adelberg, Samantha Grassle (Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer), Samantha Villella, Sara Nitschke, Sara S., Sarah Bennett, Sarah L., Sarah Nolan (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs) Sarah Shuster (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Sasha Beder-Schenker, Schuyler Mapp-Williams, Shaddi Zeid (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Shaheen M. (Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services), Shehab Chowdhury, Shevani P. (Mayor’s Office of Operations), Shifra G. (Mayor’s Office of Operations), Shira Mitchell (Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics), Silvia S. (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Simon Rimmele (Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics), Sofia M., Sona Simran Kaur Rai, Sophia Cho, Sophie Pauze (ThriveNYC), Stacy L. (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Suzanne Herman (Public Engagement Unit), Tatianna Echevarria, Taylor Yasui, Travis Hardy (Mayor’s Office of International Affairs) Trenton Seubert (de Blasio for Mayor 2017), Ufei Chan (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Valentina Strokopytova, Victoria A., Yamilka M. (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Zain Khan, Zakiya Robinson
NYT Rebuked for Tom Cotton Op-Ed Calling for US Military to Use ‘Overwhelming Show of Force’ Against Protests
https://citizentruth.org/nyt-rebuked-for-tom-cotton-op-ed-calling-for-us-military-to-use-overwhelming-show-of-force-against-protests/
“This is the most openly authoritarian piece of writing I’ve read from an American politician who has been in power during my lifetime.”
(By: Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams) The New York Times drew sharp criticism on Wednesday for publishing an op-ed by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton calling for the military to be deployed to the nation’s streets to respond to the protests over the police killing of George Floyd.
The op-ed was titled “Send in the Troops.”
Fulya Apaydin@Fulya_Apaydin
Seriously NYT?!? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html … https://twitter.com/jeremyscahill/status/1268266429750685696 …
Opinion | Tom Cotton: Send In the Troops
The nation must restore order. The military stands ready.nytimes.com
jeremy scahill
✔@jeremyscahill
This was published today by @nytimes.
11
2:52 PM - Jun 3, 2020
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In the op-ed, Cotton (R-Ark.) claimed that “[o]utnumbered police officers, encumbered by feckless politicians, bore the brunt of the violence” from the unrest. He added that certain “elites have excused this orgy of violence in the spirit of radical chic, calling it an understandable response to the wrongful death of George Floyd.”
He also suggested that suggested the protesters are “nihilist criminals… simply out for loot and the thrill of destruction, with cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd’s death for their own anarchic purposes.”
To respond to the social justice uprising, Cotton called for “an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain, and ultimately deter lawbreakers,” and reiterated his call for President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military to streets, dismissing opponents of using that 1807 law as “excitable critics, ignorant of both the law and our history.”
“Some governors have mobilized the National Guard, yet others refuse, and in some cases the rioters still outnumber the police and Guard combined. In these circumstances, the Insurrection Act authorizes the president to employ the military ‘or any other means’ in ‘cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws,'” claimed Cotton.
“Why, New York Times, why?” tweeted Jason Lyall, a political scientist at Dartmouth.
“Trump is not the only problem of this country,” tweeted writer and historian Massimo Faggioli. “I am not only referring to Sen. Cotton, but also to the NYT choosing to publish this.”
Tayari Jones
✔@tayari
Wow. Is this where we are, @nyt???
Send In the Troops https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html?smid=tw-share …
Opinion | Tom Cotton: Send In the Troops
The nation must restore order. The military stands ready.nytimes.com
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Others responding to the new op-ed focused on Cotton’s language and claims.
“This is the most openly authoritarian piece of writing I’ve read from an American politician who has been in power during my lifetime,” tweeted author and HuffPost reporter Zach Carter.
“Tom Cotton is a fascist,” tweeted journalist Walker Bragman. “Hate oozes from every word of this dehumanizing screed.”
Cotton had already urged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act in recent days, saying in a Monday interview on Fox News, “If local law enforcement is overwhelmed, if local politicians will not do their most basic job to protect our citizens, let’s see how these anarchists respond when the 101st Airborne is on the other side of the street.”
The Times has previously published op-eds by Cotton, including one from last year in which he argues the U.S. should buy Greenland, a purchase Trump also floated.
Dissenting Voice: Defense Secretary Mark Esper Opposes Use of Insurrection Act
Daniel Davis June 3, 2020
https://citizentruth.org/dissenting-voice-defense-secretary-mark-esper-opposes-use-of-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 urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now.”
US President Donald Trump wants to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to mobilize the military against protesters, but Pentagon officials have vocally opposed the idea. Chief among them is Defense Secretary Mark Esper. At a Wednesday press conference, Esper told reporters “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act,” Phil Seward reported for Reuters on Wednesday.
Esper Dissents
“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 urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now,” Esper said.
Esper also apologized for describing demonstration zones as “battlespaces,” saying he regretted the word choice. The word, he said, is “something we use day in and day out … it’s part of our military lexicon the I grew up with … it’s not a phrase focused on people,” according to CNN.
The secretary is the first cabinet official to speak out against the president’s idea to deploy the military to “quickly solve the problem for” governors and “dominate the streets,” as POLITICO reported.
Notably, Esper was a member of the delegation that joined Trump fro a photo-op on Monday in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church next to the White House. However, Esper claimed he was not informed beforehand that the event was designed to be a photo-op.
White House insiders told CNN that Esper’s press conference did not sit well with the president, with three of them describing the reactions of Trump and other advisers as “not happy.”
Discontent in Pentagon
The administration was reportedly unaware of the nature of Esper’s remarks before the press conference. Esper’s briefing is the first public break between the Defense Department and Oval Office. Rumors circulated this week that Pentagon officials are hesitant to follow Trump’s plan to summon the military.
“There is an intense desire for local law enforcement to be in charge,” one defense official told CNN.
Esper phoned governors to ask them to supply National Guard troops to provide security in the capital. The governors of Virgina, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York all declined to provide Guards. Some cited a need for keeping security forces in their states in the event they are needed and others, like Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, said he would not support sending Guards who would be taking orders from Attorney General William Barr instead of the Washington, D.C., mayor.
The Next to Leave?
The public breaking of the ranks could expedite Esper’s ouster from the administration, some aides told CNN. Trump has reportedly been displeased with Esper in recent weeks, CNN reported, and White House sources said “I think this is the end for him.”
National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien is also behind the outrage at Esper, sources claimed. In particular, Trump and O’Brien are not convinced Esper is onboard with Trump’s military ambitions.
O’Brien has been crucial to swaying the president, speaking to him in private about Esper’s remarks, often pointing out how the secretary offers half-hearted defenses of the administration. O’Brien even printed out Esper’s remarks on a topic and compared them with his own.
Some administration officials said O’Brien is interested in a new post as either secretary of state or secretary of defense. The former position is filled by Mike Pompeo who has repeatedly insisted he is happy in his post, even refusing calls by Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R–Ky., to run for senator. Therefore, Esper’s seat might be the next vacancy O’Brien can jump into.
Congress Has Questions for Esper
Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been summoned to testify before the House Armed Services Committee by Rep. Adam Smith, D–Wash., to “explain this domestic engagement to the American people.”
“I have serious concerns about using military forces to respond to protestors. The role of the US military in domestic US law enforcement is limited by law. It must not be used in violation of those limits and I see little evidence that President Trump understands this fundamental premise,” Smith said.
An open hearing on the matter is scheduled for next week, CNN reported.
Yes, the Looting Must Stop
Thom Hartmann June 3, 2020
https://citizentruth.org/yes-the-looting-must-stop/
African Americans and Hispanics have been looted of trillions in reduced pay by racist employers and giant corporations, while their safety, lives and peace of mind have been looted by racist police.
(Common Dreams) Looting is the word of the day, on the lips of every newscaster, the president, and elected officials across the country. And, indeed, looting is a major problem in America.
In 1981, when Ronald Reagan ended the New Deal era, crushed labor unions, and massively cut the top personal and corporate tax rates, he kicked off the most massive and widespread looting of America since the 1920s.
Working people all across the nation have seen over $7 trillion of their wealth looted by the top 1 percent just in the past two decades, reducing them from the middle class to the working poor.
Small and medium sized businesses, since Reagan stopped enforcing the Sherman AntiTrust Act in 1983, have seen their companies looted by giant monopolies and predatory banksters like Mitt Romney.
Millions of homeowners across the nation had their homes looted by thugs like Steven Mnuchen, California’s “Forclosure King,” and Wall Street banksters like Jamie Dimon, a practice that’s again exploding.
Hungry people across America have had their food supplies looted by defense contractors whose ever-increasing chunk of federal spending has come at the expense of food stamps and other agricultural supports.
Billionaires and the Trump Crime Family looted out nation’s treasury to the tune of $1.5 trillion in 2017, and have looted over $2 trillion out of monies appropriated recently to help COVID19 victims.
Betsy DeVos has looted billions from our public schools to give to her buddies in the for-profit and religious education industries.
George W. Bush looted trillions out of Medicare when he partially privatized the program in 2005 with so-called “Medicare Advantage,” throwing the system into crisis.
Bush and his fellow thugs also looted the Post Office, taking $5 billion a year from them for a decade to stop them from converting their fleet of vehicles to electric and hydrogen power, and set the USPS up for sale to FedEx or USP.
Students across the country have lost $1.7 trillion to banking looters empowered by Bush’s 2005 bankruptcy “reform” legislation that will force them into debt, in some cases, until the day they die.
Sick people have been looted—to the tune of over a trillion dollars a year—by giant insurance companies that pay their executives millions and sometimes even billions.
African Americans and Hispanics have been looted of trillions in reduced pay by racist employers and giant corporations, while their safety, lives and peace of mind have been looted by racist police.
Asylum seekers and immigrants have had their lives and children looted from them by brutal thugs like Steven Miller and Donald Trump.
Our air and water—and the survival of our planet—have been looted by giant fossil fuel companies and the billionaires who own them, leading to mass migrations and millions of deaths every year.
Local media, cable systems, and small internet service providers have been looted by giant corporate thugs, to the point where news has become infotainment, Americans are dumbed down, and the average American family pays more than twice—sometimes ten times—as much for internet and cable TV service as people in other developed countries.
Our food supply has been looted by giant corporations that have destroyed family farms, poisoned rural communities with factory farms, and provoked an epidemic of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
It’s time for looting to stop in America.
‘He Must Resign’: Attorney General Barr Personally Ordered Police Assault on Peaceful DC Protesters, Report Says
https://citizentruth.org/he-must-resign-attorney-general-barr-personally-ordered-police-assault-on-peaceful-dc-protesters-report-says/
“AG Bill Barr’s behavior has been deeply problematic since he was sworn in, but now it has become truly dangerous. He needs to resign.”
(By: Jake Johnson, Common Dreams) Attorney General William Barr is facing demands to step down after the Washington Post reported Tuesday that the nation’s top law enforcement official personally ordered police to beat back peaceful protesters gathered near the White House Monday evening to clear the path for President Donald Trump’s walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Two anonymous federal law enforcement officials told the Post that “the decision had been made late Sunday or early Monday to extend the perimeter around Lafayette Square by one block.” An unnamed Justice Department official said that Barr on Monday afternoon “went to survey the scene and found the perimeter had not been extended.”
“The attorney general conferred with law enforcement officials on the ground, which the official said is captured in a video of the incident,” the Post reported. “He conferred with them to check on the status and basically said: ‘This needs to be done. Get it done,’ the Justice Department official said.”
National Guard soldiers and police proceeded to club peaceful protesters with batons and fire tear gas canisters into crowds as Trump delivered a speech on the nationwide uprising sparked by the killing of George Floyd. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Barr “had strolled to the edge of the police line to observe the crowd in the minutes before the tear-gassing began.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) was the first Democratic member of Congress to demand Barr’s resignation in the wake of the Post‘s reporting, which was confirmed by ABC News.
“The Attorney General is the top law enforcement officer in the country, the leader of an agency meant to protect Americans’ constitutional rights,” Beyer tweeted Tuesday. “Barr betrayed that mission by ordering the violent and systematic violation of peaceful protesters’ rights. He should resign.”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), also called for Barr’s resignation Tuesday.
“AG Bill Barr’s behavior has been deeply problematic since he was sworn in, but now it has become truly dangerous,” CREW tweeted. “He needs to resign.”
Citizens for Ethics
✔@CREWcrew
AG Bill Barr's behavior has been deeply problematic since he was sworn in, but now it has become truly dangerous. He need to resign. https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1267881485522087937 …
The Washington Post
✔@washingtonpost
Attorney General Barr personally asked for protesters to be pushed back from D.C. park just before Trump spoke https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/02/george-floyd-protests-live-updates/ …
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In a statement released just ahead of the Post‘s report, Barr thanked the police and the National Guard for their “outstanding work” Monday night but did not mention his role in ordering the assault on demonstrators.
“I am particularly impressed by the citizen-soldiers of the D.C. National Guard, who are committed to serving their community, and did so with great effectiveness last night,” Barr said. “There will be even greater law enforcement resources and support in the region tonight.”
Before news of Barr’s instructions to law enforcement broke, Senate Democrats unveiled a non-binding resolution (pdf) condemning Trump for “ordering federal officers to use gas and rubber bullets against the Americans who were peaceably protesting in Lafayette Square… thereby violating the constitutional rights of those peaceful protestors.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats will attempt to pass the resolution by unanimous consent Tuesday, but Republicans are expected to block it.
“President Trump ordered federal officers to attack peaceful American citizens exercising their constitutional rights by tear gassing them in a public park while military helicopters flew overhead,” Schumer tweeted. “Appalling. An abuse of presidential power. Blatantly unconstitutional.”
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