Fwd: The times they are a-changin'
I had the opportunity to march alongside thousands of Americans this weekend to peacefully demand change at the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Washington, D.C. It was inspiring to see so many people from diverse backgrounds united on an issue that speaks to the heart of our national character—that all are entitled to equal treatment under the law. Change will require more accountability in law enforcement, as an arm of government, to reduce abuse. This may include adjustments to training, personnel, and culture, so that we return to the stated mission of the police to "serve and protect” our communities. This isn't a political cause; it's an American cause. When we stand for the rights of others, we protect our own as well. Liberty and justice cannot exist in a vacuum for some Americans and not for others.
—Evan McMullin
1. Protests gain traction around the world
As Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., and cities around the country over the weekend to demand equal rights for African Americans, the rest of the world joined in. From Italy to Belgium to the UK, demonstrators chanted, "No justice! No peace!" along with their counterparts in the U.S. Statues of slavetraders and Confederate soldiers were torn down, and moments of silence were held in memory of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose death at the hands of police on May 25 sparked the international reaction. —Reuters
— Romney marches, Barr demurs. Sen. Mitt Romney joined in the D.C. march yesterday, while Attorney General Bill Barr took a different, though not unexpected, stance. "I don't think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist," Barr told interviewer Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation." He also defended police use of force to clear largely peaceful protests in Lafayette Square last week. —Forbes
— Minneapolis disagrees. Nine Minneapolis City Council members told a crowd yesterday that they will "begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department." Reading from a prepared statement, they said, "We're committed to engaging with every willing community member in the City of Minneapolis over the next year to identify what safety looks like for you."
— Chauvin ruled a flight risk. Unconditional bail for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged in the murder of Floyd, was raised to $1.25 million today. Chauvin made his first court appearance by video feed, handcuffed in an orange jumpsuit sitting at a small conference room table. He did not enter a plea. —Star Tribune
More: Two Buffalo police officers charged in shoving of 75-year-old demonstrator (The New York Times)
2. Vinograd: Law and order...on the right terms
"[T]he president seems to be focused on using all law enforcement and security personnel—no matter their specific training, rules of engagement, jurisdiction, or the time they were given to get themselves safely ready to deploy to D.C.—in a brute show of force. This doesn't advance law and order, it undermines it. How ironic—and hypocritical—that a president who has tried to depict himself as a victim of out-of-control law enforcement would now appear to champion agents of the state acting with impunity. It is unfortunately just the latest reminder that this President wants 'law and order' on his terms, and his terms only." —CNN
Ed. Note: Samantha Vinograd served on former President Barack Obama's National Security Council from 2009 to 2013 and at the Treasury Department under former President George W. Bush.
3. Prominent Republicans pull away from Trump
It wasn't unusual for top Republicans to take a stand against Donald Trump early in 2016. Many thought he couldn't win the nomination, much less the presidency. Cut to 2020, and the Republican Party has largely fallen in line behind the president, content with the conservative judges, business-friendly regulations, and reduced taxes they've gained—not to mention a fear of incurring the president's volcanic wrath. But not everyone is toeing the line, and some are publicly debating whether to back his re-election. —The New York Times
— No surprise here. Among many former top officials to criticize Trump's handling of the George Floyd protests is former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell. "We have a Constitution. And we have to follow that Constitution. And the president has drifted away from it," Powell told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" yesterday. —CNN
— What will W do? We're not sure yet. The New York Times reported yesterday that former President George W. Bush has stated that he will not support Trump's re-election. But Freddy Ford, a Bush spokesman, told The Texas Tribune that the claim is false. "This is completely made up," Ford said in an email. "He is retired from presidential politics and has not indicated how he will vote." —The Texas Tribune
— More criticism of the president. A letter signed by more than 280 former national security officials, some who worked for Republican administrations, criticized Trump's aggressive approach to peaceful protesters and expressed concern about the presence of U.S. military assets at demonstrations across the country. —ABC News
More: McManus: Trump finds an unexpected center of resistance: the Pentagon (Los Angeles Times)
4. Rubin: Trump polling in free fall
"Polling suggests Trump's collapse continues. The latest Ipsos-ABC poll shows his approval on race underwater (32/66%), as is his handling of the pandemic (39/60%). The CNN poll of polls shows Biden is ahead 51% to 42%. PPP, a Democratic polling outfit, shows the candidates tied in Texas. Republicans who have stuck to him and enabled him find themselves going down with the ship. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) are in dead heats against their respective opponents in states Trump won in 2016. Trump went to Maine on Friday; Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) stayed in D.C.—a weak effort to distance herself from a toxic president she voted to acquit in impeachment." —The Washington Post
More: Mail ballots from Tuesday's election push Biden over the top (Star Tribune)
5. COVID-19 still rearing its ugly head
With so many people taking to the streets and chanting, singing, and coughing within close proximity, and police making more than 10,000 arrests, there is sure to be a coronavirus spike in the near future. But before we see protest-related cases around July, scientists were already starting to see an incline in cases in at least 14 states that began relaxing their stay-at-home orders. —WIRED
— The lockdowns worked. Although the aggressive and unprecedented shutdown orders experienced nationwide for the last three months caused massive economic disruptions and job losses, the shutdown orders prevented an estimated 60 million coronavirus infections in the U.S., according to a research study published in the journal Nature. —The Washington Post
— The City that Never Sleeps is waking up. New York City plans to slowly reopen this week after being the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic for three months, with more than 205,000 infected and 22,000 deaths. In the city's first phase of reopening, as many as 400,000 workers could begin returning to construction jobs, manufacturing sites, and retail stores. —The New York Times
— Taking it too far. The CDC has released survey data that revealed that roughly 200 adults have intentionally inhaled disinfectants, washed food with bleach, or applied household cleaning products to bare skin to combat the virus. The CDC plans to collect more data to understand some Americans' lack of knowledge when handling household cleaners. —Axios
More: Putin's global ambitions are upended by coronavirus' heavy toll in Russia (The Wall Street Journal)
6. Americans fear country is 'out of control'
According to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that was conducted May 28 to June 2, 80% of registered voters believe that things are "out of control" in the United States—that's 92% of Democrats, 78% of independents, and even 66% of Republicans who think things are spiraling. It's not surprising given the events of the past weeks and months. And some public officials aren't helping matters by pushing disinformation and extremism. —NBC News
— Four Texas GOP chairs promoted conspiracy theories suggesting that George Floyd's death was a hoax and that protesters across the country were being paid by George Soros. Top Texas Republican officials condemned their actions, which State Rep. Donna Howard called a "...disgusting level of ignorance that's hard to hear from anyone, much less an elected official." —The Texas Tribune
— A congressional candidate from Georgia, Marjorie Greene, recently published a campaign ad showing her holding an AR-15 and telling "Antifa thugs" to "stay the hell out of Northwest Georgia." Facebook removed the ad for violating its advertising policy, claiming "ads must not promote the sale or use of weapons." —Chattanooga Times Free Press
— Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp boosted a tweet on Saturday that depicted a Texas man using a racial slur and wielding a chainsaw to chase away protesters. Schlapp then deleted the retweet, admitted she didn't watch the full video before retweeting, and issued an apology. —Politico
7. MST Ed Board: Brace yourself for Cold War II
"The current climate is reminiscent of the run-up of the Cold War. But it would be unfortunate for the world to devolve back to that kind of conflict, especially when international cooperation is needed to tackle transnational challenges like climate change and, yes, the coronavirus. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on May 24, 'It's time for the United States to give up its wishful thinking on changing China.' No, it's not. The U.S. and its allies never gave up wishful thinking on the Soviet Union. But it's important to remember what carried the West in the Cold War: ideals, international institutions, and allies." —Yakima Herald
More: Hong Kong bans disrespect of China's anthem, penalty of 3 years in jail (The Mercury News)
8. To keep the peace, NYT flags a piece
Editorial Page Director James Bennet of The New York Times resigned this weekend as a result of the fallout over an opinion piece published by the Times, written by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton. The Times added an editorial note at the beginning of the piece online, saying that it should not have been published.
— In his polemical piece, Cotton argued that the president should invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 and send in active duty soldiers to stop the unrest across the U.S. The opinion drew a strong rebuke from readers and a number of Times staff members.
— "The New York Times editorial page editor and owner defended it in public statements, but then they totally surrendered to a woke child mob from their own newsroom that apparently gets triggered if they're presented with any opinion contrary to their own," Sen. Cotton said, criticizing the editorial note included by the Times.
— While no official reason was given for Bennet's departure, Bennet initially defended the decision to publish the piece, before changing course due to the backlash from Times staffers. Bennet had worked as editorial page director since May 2016. —The Guardian
9. Pitts: Where's the 1st Amendment when you need it?
"Not to imply a journalist's bruises are more important than a welder's or a teacher's. They aren't. But the willingness of police to stomp on the First Amendment while dealing with someone who has a platform and visibility, sometimes live on the air, should raise an obvious question. If that's how they treat a journalist with the world watching, how do you imagine they treat the welder or the teacher when the world is not? ... Yes, it's well and good to have your freedoms vindicated after the fact. But if you don't have your rights in the moment you need them, it's fair to say you don’t have them at all." —Daily Camera
10. An American Story: Ballin' for Justice
In times of fear and uncertainty, simple acts of community and connection can make a world of difference. Stephania Ergemlidze has been bringing a portable basketball hoop to the Philadelphia protests to unite people through sport.
— Ergemlidze has spent the last year bringing her portable hoop around the city to unite people of all walks of life. She recently retired it because of COVID-19 and social distancing, but with the unrest in the city this week, she brought it back.
— She has deemed the project "Ballin' for Justice" and has managed to bring together both protesters and police across the city through the love of the game.
— "People needed this positivity," Ergemlidze said. "We need something to bring people together right now...For me to see the city just completely torn apart is killing me inside. I wanted to find a way that I could bring some kind of light to the situation in my own way and unite everybody." Great job, Stephania! —ABC News
Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis and recent unrest. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to editor@topline.com. Thank you!
If Derek Chauvin were a Minneapolis police officer in the 1970s, when Mary Tyler Moore tossed her tam o'shanter into the air in the iconic opening to her TV program, would he have wrestled her to the ground for littering? Perhaps not. But what if Oprah Winfrey did it? —Jim V., New York
As people are protesting the actions of a few officers, others are showing there are more than "just a few bad apples." People are shoved and fall, cops say they tripped. Among other things.
In D.C., Australian reporters are hit and attacked by the police; hit with shields and a club. The police report of the incident is total BS. How do I know? My eyes. There's video of the entire encounter. And I read what the police reported.
In Buffalo, a 75-year-old white man is talking to an officer, and it looks cordial. Another officer walks by and shoves the man. The man falls, bleeding from his head, not moving. One cop starts to help the man and another cop pulls him away. He's in the hospital in serious condition. The police report is a lie. How do I know? I watched the entire encounter caught on video and read what the police said about the incident.
"Just a few bad apples." I hope they (I'm a supporter of GOOD police) go to prison. Being fired is too good for them. But what kind of people are on these forces that do such things when people are protesting against it, and then the other cops say and do nothing? —Bill T., Arizona
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