The Commentariat -- June 8, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of protest developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here.

Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico: "Top Democrats unveiled a major police reform bill Monday morning in an effort to galvanize public pressure into legislative action as protesters nationwide demand racial justice after the killing of George Floyd. The bill would make dramatic changes to police policy across the country and undo decades-old laws that Democrats and activists say has led to the deaths of black men and women at the hands of police officers.... House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he plans to call the House back as soon as the bill is ready for a vote, likely before the end of June. But, Hoyer added, he's not as confident the Senate will pass the legislation given how the chamber has struggled in recent days to pass a bipartisan bill making lynching a federal crime."

The Cops Keep Killing People. Mark Berman, et al., of the Washington Post: "Protests against the use of deadly force by police swept across the country in 2015.... That year, The Washington Post began tallying how many people were shot and killed by police. By the end of 2015, officers had fatally shot nearly 1,000 people, twice as many as ever documented in one year by the federal government.... Since 2015, police have shot and killed 5,400 people.... The number killed has remained steady despite fluctuating crime rates, changeovers in big-city police leadership and a nationwide push for criminal justice reform.... Even amid the coronavirus pandemic and orders that kept millions at home for weeks, police shot and killed 463 people through the first week of June -- 49 more than the same period in 2019. In May, police shot and killed 110 people, the most in any one month since The Post began tracking it. The year over year consistency has confounded those who have spent decades studying the issue."

Virginia. Gabrielle Harmon of WTVR Richmond: "The Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney said a hate crime investigation was underway against the self-proclaimed president of the Virginia KKK. Harry Rogers appeared in Henrico Court Monday morning where he agreed to receive a court-appointed attorney. Rogers, 36, of Hanover, was formally charged with attempted malicious wounding (felony), destruction of property (felony), and assault and battery (misdemeanor) after police said he drove his pickup truck into a group of protesters Sunday in Lakeside.... No one was seriously injured physically."

Washington State. Linda Givetash of NBC News: "A man drove into a Seattle crowd protesting the death in police custody of George Floyd before shooting one of the demonstrators on Sunday, police said. The suspect was detained and the 27-year-old man who was shot in the arm was taken to hospital by firefighters, police said in a tweet. Officials did not name the shooter or the victim.... Video shared on Twitter by a bystander at the incident showed a man emerging from a vehicle that appeared to have struck a barricade at an intersection. The driver appeared to be carrying a gun in one hand as he ran into the crowd. The sound of what appeared to be gunshots could be heard on video of the incident from the scene."

Polls don't mean too much at this point, BUT this is ~~~

~~~ Bad News for Bozo. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump's overall job approval rating dropped 7 percentage points over the past month, according to a survey released Monday that also shows him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden by 14 points ahead of the general election in November. The CNN poll showed that 38 percent of respondents said they approve of the 'way Donald Trump is handling his job as president,' and a majority -- 57 percent -- indicated that they disapprove." ~~~

~~~ What's the Matter with Men? Chuck Todd, et al., of NBC News: "Overall, our poll shows ... Joe Biden leading Trump by 7 points among registered voters, 49 percent to 42 percent, which is unchanged from April.... Biden is ahead of Trump by 21 points (!!!) among women, 56 percent to 35 percent. That's compared with Hillary Clinton's 13-point advantage with women, per the 2016 exit poll. And Trump is up among men by 8 points, 50 percent to 42 percent -- it was 11 points in the 2016 exit poll."

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The Washington Post's live updates of protest developments Sunday are here. The Post also has live updates for events in D.C., Maryland & Virginia; a crowd of tens of thousands is expected in the District. New York Times Sunday updates are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lara Jakes & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Sunday that he had ordered National Guard troops to begin withdrawing from the nation's capital, after a week of relentless criticism over his threat to militarize the government's response to nationwide protests.... The president said the National Guard soldiers would withdraw 'now that everything is under perfect control.... Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!' (In fact, the daylong protest in Washington on Saturday appeared larger than earlier rallies over the past week.)... Mr. Trump announced his order on Twitter as three former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff harshly condemned him for using force to drive protesters back from the White House and threatening to send troops to quell protests in other cities. They warned that the military risked losing credibility with the American people....

"Colin L. Powell, a retired Army general who was the first African-American national security adviser, Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, called Mr. Trump's actions 'dangerous for our democracy' and 'dangerous for our country.'... 'We have a military to fight our enemies, not our own people,' Mike Mullen, a retired Navy admiral who was the top military adviser to Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, told 'Fox News Sunday.'... Martin E. Dempsey, a retired Army general who was the Joint Chiefs chairman during the Obama administration, criticized the Trump administration's comparisons of the demonstrations to battlegrounds as 'inflammatory language' that could damage the military's relationship with the public." ~~~

~~~ From His Bunker, Donnie Couldn't See Mitt. Paul LeBlanc & Ted Barrett of CNN: "Republican Sen. Mitt Romney on Sunday marched in a Washington, DC, protest after the death of George Floyd in a break from other GOP lawmakers who have largely aligned behind ... Donald Trump's militarized response to nationwide unrest.Romney told Washington Post reporter that he was participating in the demonstration 'to make sure that people understand that black lives matter.' The Utah senator later tweeted a photo of himself at the protest with the caption 'Black Lives Matter,' becoming one of the most prominent GOP figures to do so.... Joining [an] evangelical group was 'spontaneous, [a Romney] aide said, adding that Romney was in DC and intended to march Sunday. He came across a group of 1,000 to 1,500 evangelicals from the DC area near the Capitol and joined their march for an hour and a half, the aide added." ~~~

This is my father, George Romney, participating in a Civil Rights march in the Detroit suburbs during the late 1960s—“Force alone will not eliminate riots,” he said. “We must eliminate the problems from which they stem.” pic.twitter.com/SzrcAyfPD8

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 6, 2020

Kristen Holmes & Sarah Westwood of CNN: "After a weekend of massive peaceful protests around the country, White House officials are currently deliberating a plan for ... Donald Trump to address the nation this week on issues related to race and national unity, as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson hinted in an interview with CNN on Sunday and a senior administration official said was under serious consideration. Many allies of the President spent the last week distraught as they watched Trump fumble his response to the police killing of George Floyd, only to follow his perceived silence on the resulting racial tensions with a federal law enforcement crackdown on the protesters near his fortified doorstep." Mrs. McC: I'm pretty sure we're going to find out there are very fine people on both sides. ~~~

~~~ AND, while we're at it, we might as well note that Ivanka Trump, too, has been reflecting about the protests and --luckily for all of us -- shares her thoughts. Thanks to Anonymous for the link:

David Martin of CBS News: "In a heated and contentious debate in the Oval Office last Monday morning, President Trump demanded the military put 10,000 active duty troops into the streets immediately, a senior administration official told CBS News. Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand, the official said. In an attempt to satisfy Mr. Trump's demand, Esper and Milley used a call with the nation's governors later that morning to implore them to call up the National Guard in their own states, the official said.... On 'Face the Nation' Sunday, Barr disputed the characterization of the Oval Office meeting, calling it 'completely false' and denying the president demanded active-duty troops in the streets immediately, rather than having them on standby." Mrs. McC: Because Bill Barr always tells the truth. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Timothy O'Brien of Bloomberg: "The St. John's gig was a raw abuse of Trump's powers, a stunt made possible by deploying state violence to clear a path through peaceful protesters saddened and angered by George Floyd's death at the hands of police.... Even if the staging ultimately doesn't serve him well electorally, it will still serve him well personally. Because however unraveled he may be about weak poll numbers and social disarray he can't control, performing at St. John's advanced one of his few long-term goals: promoting Trumpism so that it endures beyond his presidency.... Whenever his tenure ends, I imagine Trump will attempt to start or buy a media company that can compete with Fox News and do battle with everyone else..., remain[ing] a force in Republican politics, darkening the national conversation.... [H]e crossed his Rubicon last week. Don't expect him to let go of anything." (Firewalled) --s

Rebecca Morin of USA Today: "The perception of police by white Americans has dropped by double digits in just one week, as police continue to target peaceful protestors, bystanders and even journalists amid nationwide demonstrations focusing on systemic racism facing black Americans. Perceptions also have declined across all racial groups following the death of George Floyd in police custody, according to a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project." --s

Minnesota. AP: "A majority of the members of the Minneapolis City Council said Sunday they support disbanding the city's police department, an aggressive stance that comes just as the state has launched a civil rights investigation after George Floyd's death. Nine of the council's 12 members appeared with activists at a rally in a city park Sunday afternoon and vowed to end policing as the city currently knows it. Council member Jeremiah Ellison promised that the council would 'dismantle' the department.... Disbanding an entire department has happened before. In 2012, with crime rampant in Camden, New Jersey, the city disbanded its police department and replaced it with a new force that covered Camden County. Compton, California, took the same step in 2000, shifting its policing to Los Angeles County. It was a step that then-Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department was considering for Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown. The city eventually reached an agreement short of that but one that required massive reforms overseen by a court-appointed mediator." ~~~

~~~ Libor Jany & Andy Mannix of the Star Tribune: "Long before former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck, the Third Precinct in south Minneapolis had a reputation for being home to police officers who played by their own rules. One officer kicked a handcuffed suspect in the face, leaving his jaw in pieces. Officers beat and pistol-whipped a suspect in a parking lot on suspicion of low-level drug charges. Others harassed residents of a south Minneapolis housing project as they headed to work, and allowed prostitution suspects to touch their genitals for several minutes before arresting them in vice stings.... While 40% of the city's residents are people of color, 74% of all Minneapolis police cases with force involve them. Black people are on the receiving end of officers' force 63% of the time.... 'It was kind of like a playground for rogue cops,' said Paul Applebaum, an attorney who specializes in civil police misconduct cases." --s

Florida. Maggie Lorenz of News4Jax: "A retired Navy captain, who lives in Atlantic Beach, has resigned from the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association board after he accidentally broadcast a conversation he was having with his wife on Facebook, according to a statement from a family spokesperson. News4Jax received a copy of the recording, which was live on Facebook for more than 30 minutes. Scott Bethmann and his wife, Nancy, were apparently discussing the Black Lives Matter movement while watching television, when they began using slurs and making other racially insensitive comments. Bethmann is heard using the N-word." --s

Oregon. Brandy Zadrozny & Ben Collins of NBC: "About 200 protesters came to Sugarman's Corner, the local hotspot in downtown Klamath Falls, Oregon, last Sunday night to protest the killing of George Floyd.... Just across the street, hundreds of their mostly white neighbors were there for decidedly different reasons.... Most everyone seemed to be carrying something: flags, baseball bats, hammers and axes. But mostly, they carried guns. They said they came with shotguns, rifles and pistols to protect their downtown businesses from outsiders. They had heard that antifa, paid by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, were being bused in from neighboring cities, hellbent on razing their idyllic town.... Towns from Washington state to Indiana have seen armed groups begin patrolling the streets after receiving warnings about an antifa invasion, often spurred by social media or passed along from friends. Those actions have yet to erupt in major violence but often bring heavily armed people in close contact with protestors, as it did in Klamath Falls." --s

Pennsylvania. How the Philly D.A. Caught That Top Cop. Laura Ly of CNN: "A Philadelphia police inspector [Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna] is facing charges after prosecutors said a video shows him striking a student protester on the head with a metal baton...Prosecutors say Bologna was captured on cell phone video striking a Temple University student in the back of his head [requiring around 10 staples 10 sutures at the hospital].... Philadelphia police arrested the student protester and detained him for more than 24 hours and referred him to the ... [Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner] for prosecution. But after prosecutors reviewed the video and other evidence, Krasner declined to charge the student and charged Inspector Bologna instead." --s

Virginia. Sabrina Moreno of the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "After a day and evening of peaceful protests and marches in Richmond and its suburbs, protesters using ropes pulled down a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham, which has stood in the park since 1891.... Monroe Park is in the heart of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Canada. Leah Asmelash of CNN: "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Ottawa on Friday. Trudeau's act of solidarity comes after he declined to comment earlier in the day about whether he would be attending the protest. Still, he arrived at Parliament Hill -- home to Canada's Parliament -- wearing a black cloth mask Friday afternoon and surrounded by security guards, according to CNN affiliate CTVnews."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Wowza! Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "James Bennet resigned on Sunday from his job as the editorial page editor of The New York Times, days after the newspaper's opinion section, which he oversaw, published a much-criticized Op-Ed by a United States senator calling for a military response to civic unrest in American cities. 'Last week we saw a significant breakdown in our editing processes, not the first we've experienced in recent years,' said A. G. Sulzberger, the publisher, in a note to the staff on Sunday announcing Mr. Bennet's departure.... The foment has reached other newsrooms. On Saturday night, Stan Wischnowski resigned as top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer days after an article in the newspaper about the effects of protests on the urban landscape carried the headline 'Buildings Matter, Too.' The headline prompted an apology published in The Inquirer, a heated staff meeting and a 'sickout' by dozens of journalists at the paper." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Travis Andrews & Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "The New York Times on Sunday announced the resignation of its editorial page editor James Bennet, who had held the position since May 2016, and the reassignment of deputy editorial page editor James Dao to the newsroom. The announcement comes three days after Bennet acknowledged that he had not read, before publication, a controversial op-ed from Sen. Tom Cotton (R.-Ark.) headlined 'Send in the Troops,' which called for military intervention in U.S. cities where protests over police brutality have ignited violence." ~~~

Say, Let's Find Out What Donald Trump Thinks! (From the WashPo story): "President Trump, who has long railed against the Times..., was predictably pleased with the announcement, tweeting, 'Opinion Editor at @nytimes just walked out. That's right, he quit over the excellent Op-Ed penned by our great Senator @TomCottonAR. TRANSPARENCY! The State of Arkansas is very proud of Tom. The New York Times is Fake News!!!' Cotton retweeted the note, adding an American flag emoji." ~~~

~~~ Here's a statement from the New York Times Company. ~~~

~~~ Erik Loomis of LG&$: "... I guess it turns out that soliciting a piece supporting fascism and then not even bothering to read it before publishing it can cost you a job, even at the New York Times.... Maybe Bedbug Stephens will resign in protest. [NYT executive editor Dean] Baquet needs to go too. But this is a significant development."

~~~ Ben Smith of the New York Times: "Historical moments don't have neat beginnings and endings, but the new way of covering civil rights protests, like the Black Lives Matter movement itself, coalesced on the streets of Ferguson. Seeing the brutality of a white power structure toward its poor black citizens up close, and at its rawest, helped shape the way a generation of reporters, most of them black, looked at their jobs when they returned to their newsrooms.... Some of the lessons learned in Ferguson -- about race and the particular experience of black reporters, among others -- carried over into the next challenging era: the arrival of Mr. Trump, whose bigoted language and tactics shattered norms.... Now..., [America's] biggest newsrooms are trying to find common ground between a tradition that aims to persuade the widest possible audience that its reporting is neutral and journalists who believe that fairness on issues from race to Donald Trump requires clear moral calls." Mrs. McC: Love the set-up to this piece, which demonstrates what a blow-dried blowhard Joe Scarborough is. The bottom line is that corporate, MSM will never get on board with young reporters, whether those reporters are minorities or women or gay or gonzo. Whatever. If you don't fit into a "suit," you have to pretend you find that starched collar, tie & dry-cleaned gabardine just the comfiest, most natural look ever.

Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "Shutdown orders prevented about 285 million coronavirus infections in China and about 60 million in the United States, according to a research study published Monday that examined how stay-at-home orders and other restrictions limited the spread of the contagion. A separate study from epidemiologists at Imperial College London estimated that the shutdowns saved approximately 3.1 million lives in 11 European countries and dropped infection rates by an average of 82 percent, sufficient to drive the contagion well below epidemic levels. Both reports were published Monday in the journal Nature. The two reports provide fresh evidence that aggressive and unprecedented shutdowns, which caused massive economic disruptions, were necessary to halt the exponential spread of the novel coronavirus." At 6:45 am ET, this is a developing story.

Jessica Silver-Greenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "HCA [Healthcare] is among a long list of deep-pocketed health care companies that have received billions of dollars in taxpayer funds but are laying off or cutting the pay of tens of thousands of doctors, nurses and lower-paid workers. Many have continued to pay their top executives millions, although some executives have taken modest pay cuts.... The hospitals -- including publicly traded juggernauts like HCA and Tenet Healthcare, elite nonprofits like the Mayo Clinic, and regional chains with thousands of beds and billions in cash -- are collectively sitting on tens of billions of dollars of cash reserves that are supposed to help them weather an unanticipated storm." Mrs. McC: There's a reason TV shows so often portray hospital administrators as useless, greedy bastids; it's, um, true-to-life.

Here is the text, via the Washington Post, of President Obama's address to the class of 2020. The text of Michelle Obama's address is here.

A Mustache in Summer. John Dawsey & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "John Bolton is forging ahead with plans to publish a scathing memoir about his time in President Trump's White House and is in negotiations with network television channels to promote the book, according to people familiar with the talks. Bolton, who served as national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019, plans to publish 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir' on June 23, after embarking on a media tour to promote the book the weekend before, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. The White House has not formally signed off on the tome, and officials in the Trump administration have delayed the book for months due to a classification review process led by the National Security Council.... Bolton is planning to publish even if the White House does not give publication approval, people familiar with his thinking say, and believes he has removed all classified material." A Mediaite story is here.

Presidential Race

~~~ Carol Morello & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "The most withering critique [of Donald Trump Sunday from a former military leader] came from Colin Powell in an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union.' The former secretary of state and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called Trump a chronic liar who had 'drifted away' from the Constitution and become a danger to the country. Powell said he plans to vote for Joe Biden for president and urged Americans to search their conscience and vote for the candidate who is best for the country as a whole, not only themselves.... 'I couldn't vote for [Trump] in 2016. I certainly cannot in any way support President Trump this year.' Trump responded nearly immediately on Twitter, calling Powell 'a real stiff' and 'highly overrated.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump has "drifted away from the Constitution"? That's like my saying I have "drifted away" from Sophocles' works in the original ancient Greek. Can't drift away if you ain't never got close. Update: OR, better yet, as Mae West used to say, "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted." Thanks, Akhilleus!

The Commentariat -- June 7, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of protest developments Sunday are here. The Post also has live updates for events in D.C., Maryland & Virginia; a crowd of tens of thousands is expected in the District. New York Times Sunday updates are here.

Virginia. Sabrina Moreno of the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "After a day and evening of peaceful protests and marches in Richmond and its suburbs, protesters using ropes pulled down a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham, which has stood in the park since 1891.... Monroe Park is in the heart of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus."

David Martin of CBS News: "In a heated and contentious debate in the Oval Office last Monday morning, President Trump demanded the military put 10,000 active duty troops into the streets immediately, a senior administration official told CBS News. Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand, the official said. In an attempt to satisfy Mr. Trump's demand, Esper and Milley used a call with the nation's governors later that morning to implore them to call up the National Guard in their own states, the official said.... On 'Face the Nation' Sunday, Barr disputed the characterization of the Oval Office meeting, calling it 'completely false' and denying the president demanded active-duty troops in the streets immediately, rather than having them on standby." Mrs. McC: Because Bill Barr always tells the truth.

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The Washington Post's live updates of protest developments Saturday are here. The Post also has live updates for events in D.C., Maryland & Virginia; a crowd of tens of thousands is expected in the District. New York Times Saturday updates are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)&

Damien Cave, et al., of the New York Times: "From Paris to Berlin -- as in demonstrations this past week in Japan, Sweden and Zimbabwe -- people around the world once again turned out in solidarity with Americans protesters calling for justice in the death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of the police in Minneapolis.... Tens of thousands flowed to Parliament Square in London on Saturday afternoon, shouting anti-racist slogans and carrying signs paying homage to Mr. Floyd.... The global demonstrations, continuing for a week now, were inspired by the demonstrations in the United States to call for an end to racism and police brutality in their own countries.... Large crowds gathered on Saturday in cities and towns for the 11th straight day in the United States, denouncing police brutality and seeking reforms after a long line of deaths of African-Americans like Mr. Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and others at the hands of law enforcement. In the nation's capital, peaceful rallies took place near the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and other iconic locations."

Lauren Egan of NBC News: "Thousands of people gathered outside Washington, D.C., monuments and the White House on Saturday protesting the killing of George Floyd, years of unanswered calls for police reform and ... Donald Trump's use of military personnel in response to largely peaceful demonstrations.... Protesters moved fluidly through the city, marching from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol, and back again.... Many D.C. residents have also expressed anger over Trump's use of federal forces in the city, complaining that the presence of Humvees, Army helicopters and armed soldiers every few blocks has turned the city into a military zone." A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: On Monday, Trump told the nation's governors, "You have to dominate, if you don't dominate you're wasting your time. They're going to run over you, you're going to look like a bunch of jerks." Who looks like a jerk now?

For you mean fake-news-lovin' critics who claim the Dear Leader isn't making America great again ~~~

~~~ Andrew Blake of the Washington Times: "President Trump broke several personal records for Twitter usage Friday with a barrage of social media activity amid crises caused by the coronavirus and killing of George Floyd. Mr. Trump's account on Twitter ... posted on the platform a total of 200 times within 24 hours, shattering his previous record of 142."

David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: Since Donald Trump personally attacked her on May 30, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel "Bowser has fought back fiercely against the president's bullying, taunting him with tweets and criticisms of her own. On Friday, she rebuked him with a defiant display of street art in which she sought to draw a clear contrast with Trump's calls for 'law and order' by demonstrating active support for peaceful protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement. Over the past 10 days -- set against the backdrop of the pitched national protests over police violence -- their once relatively temperate relationship has erupted into an ugly schism freighted with the overtones of race and power that have infused the protests, as well as city leaders' long and fruitless fight for D.C. statehood." ~~~

~~~ Maureen Dowd: "After the country was rocked to its soul by the sight of a handcuffed black man dying while being held down by a police officer as those around begged for mercy, Trump could hardly summon a shred of empathy. His only move was to grab a can of kerosene and cry 'Domination!'... He called Muriel Bowser, the poised black mayor of D.C. who wanted the federal troops out of the capital, 'incompetent' and then upgraded her to 'grossly incompetent.'... But Bowser offered the best troll on the First Troller when she had the words 'Black Lives Matter' painted in yellow in front of the White House and St. John's."

Robert Burns of the AP: "Tensions between the White House and Pentagon have stretched to near a breaking point over ... Donald Trump's threat to use military force against street protests triggered by George Floyd's death.... In recent days, and for the second time in Trump's term, it has raised a prospect of high-level resignations and the risk of lasting damage to the military’s reputation.... The nub of the problem is that Trump sees no constraint on his authority to use what he calls the 'unlimited power' of the military even against U.S. citizens if he believes it necessary. Military leaders generally ... believe that active-duty troops, trained to hunt and kill an enemy, should be used to enforce the law only in the most extreme emergency, such as an attempted actual rebellion."

** Thomas Gibbons-Neff & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Top Pentagon officials ordered National Guard helicopters to use what they called 'persistent presence' to disperse protests in the capital this week, according to military officials. The loosely worded order prompted a series of low-altitude maneuvers that human rights organizations quickly criticized as a show of force usually reserved for combat zones. Ryan D. McCarthy, the Army secretary and one of the officials who authorized part of the planning for the helicopters' mission Monday night, said on Friday that the Army had opened an investigation into the episode.... Military officials said that the National Guard's aggressive approach to crowd control was prompted by a pointed threat from the Pentagon: If the Guard was unable to handle the situation, then active-duty military units, such as a rapid-reaction unit of the 82nd Airborne Division, would be sent into the city.... The episode has stirred outrage among lawmakers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This does not look like a headline that ever would appear in a more-or-less mainstream news outlet: "Chainsaw-wielding racist gets boosted by a top presidential aide as race protests sweep the nation." I did change one word to make the headline seem more implausible: instead of "presidential," the actual headline reads "Trump." Suddenly the headline seems as real as it is. Here's the story:

~~~ Marc Caputo of Politico: On her Twitter feed, "... Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp ... boosted a tweet that lauded a man in Texas in a viral video as he yelled the n-word and wielded a chainsaw to chase away anti-racism demonstrators.... The video originated in McAllen, Texas, where demonstrators had gathered downtown, only to be confronted by a man with a chainsaw that he revved at them as they fled. 'Go home!' yells the man, who was arrested Friday. 'Don't let those f------ n------ out there fool you!'... After Politico reached out to her and the campaign Saturday morning, Schlapp then retweeted another account that posted a version of the video that muted the racist slur. After this story published, she removed both her retweets and issued a written apology Saturday evening.... On one hand, Schlapp favorably promoted a man spewing anti-black racism and on the other she urged black people to vote for Trump just three days prior in an online campaign discussion on race." ** More from the Intercept. Mrs. McC: As we so often say, you can't make up this stuff.

California. Dan Noyes of KGO: San Jose, California, police last week severely injured activist Derrick Sanderlin, who was trying to diffuse conflicts during a protest. "He stood a good distance away [from police], made no aggressive motions to police, yet they fired on him [with rubber bullets] several times, one round hitting him in the groin.... Video shows the officers' training their riot guns on Sanderlin." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kansas. Chance Swaim & Michael Stavola of The Wichita Eagle: "Wichita State University and WSU Tech canceled Ivanka Trump's commencement speech without explanation Thursday in a late-night news release following a public outcry from faculty, students and alumni.... Trump will be replaced by nursing graduate Rebecca Zinabu.... Pressure was on the Wichita State administration after Jennifer Ray, associate professor of photo media, authored a scathing open letter asking the university to cancel Trump.... 'Ivanka Trump, obviously, represents her father's administration as one of his closest advisors,' Ray wrote. 'To many Americans, that administration has come to signify the worst of our country, particularly in its recent actions toward those peacefully protesting against racist police brutality.'" --s ~~~

     ~~~ Womp Womp. Guardian: "Ivanka Trump has hit out at 'cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination' after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump's response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd...The move clearly angered Ivanka Trump[.]" --safari: She'll never get her father's fascist stench off of her.

New York. Nicole Acevedo of NBC News: "Two Buffalo officers who were suspended without pay after a video showed police shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground at a George Floyd protest on Thursday night, were charged with second-degree assault, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office. A large crowd of police officers and firefighters stood in front of Buffalo City Court to show support for the officers as they both attended a virtual arraignment on Saturday. Officers Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, pleaded not guilty to the charges of second-degree assault and will be released on his own recognizance, according to NBC affiliate WGRZ in Buffalo." Mrs. McC: Apparently Buffalo cops & firefighters really don't get it. Both forces need attitude tests. & Test administrators should come equipped with thick books of pink slips. (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Naomi Andu, et al., of the Texas Tribune: "On Friday morning, Texas' top Republican officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, had condemned four GOP [county] chairs for proliferating conspiracy theories on Facebook. The posts, from chairs of some of the largest counties in Texas, suggested George Floyd's death was staged to erode black support for ... Donald Trump. Meanwhile, a fifth chairperson, Harris County GOP chair-elect Keith Nielsen, announced Saturday he will not take office as planned after coming under fire for posting a Martin Luther King Jr. quote -- 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' -- on a background with a banana. On Friday afternoon, The Texas Tribune identified similar posts from seven more GOP chairs across the state. Some of these posts suggested people who have been protesting Floyd's death across the state and the country were being paid by Jewish billionaire George Soros -- an oft-used anti-Semitic trope. GOP county chairs are elected leaders of the Republican Party who help oversee local elections and head up county-level meetings and events." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As ignorant & bigoted as these unsocial media posts were, the county chairs still did not -- as far as we know -- promote video of a chainsaw-wielding maniac running after protesters & yelling "fucking n-----s!" as did Trump's top aide & former White House communications honcho Mercedes Schlapp.

"Petty & Preposterous." Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "President Trump has signed off on a plan to permanently withdraw up to one-third of about 34,500 U.S. troops currently based in Germany, bringing the total down to no more than 25,000, according to U.S. officials. Implementation of the plan is being turned over to the Defense Department, a senior administration official said.... As of late Friday, Germany had not been officially informed of the withdrawal order.... The fact that Germany was given no 'heads up' that Trump had signed off on the withdrawal 'speaks for itself,' said one senior European official, and is unlikely to improve the generally low state of 'the transatlantic environment.'... As word of the plan became public, Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Trump's order 'petty and preposterous.' 'It's another favor to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and another leadership failure by this Administration that further strains relations with our allies,' Reed said in a statement...."

Edward Helmore of the Guardian: "Food insecurity, underscored by government figures that 40% of lowest-paid workers are now idled, has led to calls for a profound adaptation or wholesale reform of the food system, if a sustained crisis is to be avoided.... At the same time, pressure [to] adapt is revealing cracks in the system: farmers have reported that crops and herds may have to be destroyed if processing and distribution doesn't pick up.... Some states have recorded record spikes in hunting licence applications, a reversal of recent trends, and in Vermont, fishing license sales are up more than 50%. How much of this can be ascribed to people with time on their hands, and how much to need is still hard to discern. What is clear is some trends, including the smallholding organic farm movement, coupled with greater awareness of food justice and food insecurity, are coalescing under Covid-19." --s

Presidential Race

John Naughton in the Guardian: "[T]he thinking goes, if we all hold our nerve, the nightmare will end on 20 January 2021, when Trump has to hand over power to his victorious opponent.... At which point my mind goes back to this time in 2016...; how could Nate Silver and co have got it so wrong? The answer is simple: nobody, including opinion pollsters, knew about the Trump campaign's astonishing mastery of social media, especially Facebook. Trump may not have known much about that at the time -- he really only understood Twitter -- but Brad Parscale and his team sure knew how to make use of Facebook's micro-targeting machine. And they did.... What it all comes down to is this: only one man -- Mark Zuckerberg -- now stands between Joe Biden and the US presidency." --s

Julie Brown of The Miami Herald: "The Palm Beach judge [Krista Marx] who has thus far refused to release grand jury records in the Jeffrey Epstein case has both professional and family ties to three of the politicians who have a stake in keeping those records secret, the Miami Herald has learned...[:] State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who has been sued by the Palm Beach Post to release the grand jury records; Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, whose department's favored treatment of Epstein while he was in the Palm Beach County jail is part of an ongoing state criminal investigation; and ex-State Attorney Barry Krischer, part of the same investigation in connection with his decision not to prosecute Epstein on child-sex charges.... The original handling of the Epstein case a decade ago stands as a flagrant example of the corrosive effects of power, wealth and privilege on the criminal justice system." --s

News Lede

Weather Channel: "Tropical Storm Cristobal is now moving inland over southeastern Louisiana, but threats of flooding rainfall, storm-surge flooding, tornadoes and gusty winds will continue along the Gulf Coast into Monday. Cristobal is also expected to spread heavy rain and gusty winds through the lower Mississippi Valley and upper Midwest early this week. The National Hurricane Center said Cristobal made landfall along the coast of southeastern Louisiana between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Grand Isle at 5 p.m. CDT Sunday evening. Maximum sustained winds at the time were estimated near 50 mph. Bands of heavier rain are affecting areas from southeastern Louisiana into southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Rainfall rates of 3 to 6 inches per hour Sunday morning triggered significant flash flooding in parts of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, trapping cars.... Cristobal is tracking north-northwestward with a forward speed of 10 mph as it moves inland over southeastern Louisiana." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Although you never know. If Trump has a Sharpie in the bunker, he may tell us that storm is headed for Wyoming.

The Commentariat -- June 6, 2020

And the men who were boys when I was a boy
Fought on the beach with me. ~~~

Afternoon Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of protest developments Saturday are here. The Post also has live updates for events in D.C., Maryland & Virginia; a crowd of tens of thousands is expected in the District. New York Times Saturday updates are here.

** Thomas Gibbons-Neff & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Top Pentagon officials ordered National Guard helicopters to use what they called 'persistent presence' to disperse protests in the capital this week, according to military officials. The loosely worded order prompted a series of low-altitude maneuvers that human rights organizations quickly criticized as a show of force usually reserved for combat zones. Ryan D. McCarthy, the Army secretary and one of the officials who authorized part of the planning for the helicopters' mission Monday night, said on Friday that the Army had opened an investigation into the episode.... Military officials said that the National Guard's aggressive approach to crowd control was prompted by a pointed threat from the Pentagon: If the Guard was unable to handle the situation, then active-duty military units, such as a rapid-reaction unit of the 82nd Airborne Division, would be sent into the city.... The episode has stirred outrage among lawmakers."

Nicole Acevedo of NBC News: "Two Buffalo officers who were suspended without pay after a video showed police shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground at a George Floyd protest on Thursday night, were charged with second-degree assault, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office. A large crowd of police officers and firefighters stood in front of Buffalo City Court to show support for the officers as they both attended a virtual arraignment on Saturday. Officers Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, pleaded not guilty to the charges of second-degree assault and will be released on his own recognizance, according to NBC affiliate WGRZ in Buffalo." Mrs. McC: Apparently Buffalo cops & firefighters really don't get it. Both forces need attitude tests. & Test administrators should come equipped with thick books of pink slips.

Dan Noyes of KGO: San Jose, California, police last week severely injured activist Derrick Sanderlin, who was trying to diffuse conflicts during a protest. "He stood a good distance away [from police], made no aggressive motions to police, yet they fired on him [with rubber bullets] several times, one round hitting him in the groin.... Video shows the officers' training their riot guns on Sanderlin."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Washington Post's live updates of protest developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) New York Times Friday updates are here.

Will the Real Donald Trump Please Stand Up? Yes, And It Didn't Take Long. Josh Feldman Donald Trump retweeted a video of [Mrs. McC: wild wingers] Glenn Beck and Candace Owens discussing George Floyd, in which Owens said the fact that Floyd is being made a martyr 'sickens' her.'" As Abby Phillip of CNN points out in one of the tweets Feldman cites, Owens is not exactly a White House pariah: "Pence invited Owens for a conversation on Floyd's death yesterday -- the day of his memorial service in Minneapolis." In another tweet cited, S.V. Dáte of the HuffPost concludes, "It appears the president has moved on to the next phase of the George Floyd messaging."

Yesterday, I asked the president to check his rhetoric at the door and to lead us with courage and compassion through this difficult time. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, he continues to prove himself incapable of doing so. What Maine people heard today was more of the same incendiary rhetoric and insults he uses to try to divide us and to stoke tension and fear. What Maine people heard today was largely devoid of fact and absent of reality. What Maine people saw today was a rambling, confusing, thinly veiled political rally. -- Gov. Janet Mills (D), in a statement following Trump's visit to the state ~~~

~~~ Another Trump Campaign Stop You Financed. Jill Colvin & Patrick Whittle of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Friday laced into Maine's Democratic governor for not moving quickly enough to reopen the state's economy and urged his supporters to help him win the rest of the state in November if they want to see the country rebound from the coronavirus shutdown. Referring to Maine's electoral votes, Trump said: 'Get that other half to go with Trump.' He spoke in the small town of Guilford, home to Puritan Medical Products, one of only two major companies producing a special type of swab needed to ramp up coronavirus testing.... His visit to Puritan had the feel of a campaign rally.... At stops in Guilford and Bangor, Trump used his first visit to the state as president to lob jabs at Gov. Janet Mills for not reopening businesses more quickly. Trump won just one of Maine's four electoral votes in 2016.... In Bangor, Trump compared Mills to a 'dictator' and said she was preventing her state from reaping money from Maine's busy summer tourist season. 'She's going to destroy your state,' he said.... Trump did not reference [George] Floyd or the protests during his stops in the state.... In Maine, the nation's whitest state, there have been multiple days of demonstrations." ~~~

~~~ John Switze & Michael Collins of USA Today: "... Donald Trump traveled to Maine Friday to tour a facility that makes medical swabs used for coronavirus testing, but the swabs manufactured in the background during his visit will ultimately be thrown in the trash, the company said. Puritan Medical Products said it will have to discard the swabs.... It is not clear why the swabs will be scrapped, or how many. The company described its manufacturing plans for Friday as 'limited' -- but the disruption comes as public health officials in Maine and other states have complained that a shortage of swabs has hampered their ability to massively scale up coronavirus testing. Workers in white lab coats, hair nets and plastic booties worked at machines making swabs while the president walked through the room. Trump, who did not wear a mask for the visit, stopped at one point to talk with some of the workers." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: You don't have to be an expert lab manager to know why the Trump Swabs were tossed. The MOOM contaminated them. In fairness, he contaminates everything. ~~~

     ~~~ Earlier. Manu Raju & Ted Barrett of CNN: "... Donald Trump has a full Friday in Maine, but the senior Republican senator who has yet to publicly say if she'll back his reelection bid won't be there. 'Sen. [Susan] Collins will be in Washington Friday and has several federal, and non-federal, events on her schedule," according to campaign spokesman Kevin Kelley. 'She actually just visited Puritan Medical Products in just last month and she is proud of the work they are doing to combat COVID-19.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Also Earlier. Portland (Maine) Press Herald Editors: "President Trump: We're sorry that you decided to come to Maine, but since you are here, could you do us a favor? Resign. You have never been a good president, but today your shortcomings are unleashing historic levels of suffering on the American people.... Bringing the nation together in times of distress is a big part of the job when you are head of state. You can't do it, so you should resign. As head of government, you have unmatched power to direct resources to relieve suffering. You can't or won't do that, either, so you should resign. And in your mistreatment of lawful protesters and abuse of religious symbols, you have violated your oath to protect and defend the Constitution, so you should resign." The Press Herald is the biggest newspaper in Maine.

David Jackson & John Fritze of USA Today: "... Donald Trump, besieged by protesters and the coronavirus pandemic, used an event Friday to tout the nation's latest jobs numbers and to predict the U.S. economy is beginning to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. 'It's affirmation of all the work we've been doing,' Trump said. Trump also touched on the protesters that have gathered outside the White House for days following the death of George Floyd.... Trump castigated governors that he said had not called in the National Guard to address riots and looting in some cities. 'Don't be proud. Get the job done,' Trump said, speaking directly to the nation's governors and echoing remarks he made to them in a phone call last week. 'You have to dominate the streets.' Trump referred to Floyd, saying that 'hopefully' he was 'looking down right now' and thinking 'this is a great thing that's happening for our country.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Reality Chek. Trump, You Idiot. Ben Popken of NBC News: "As the nationwide shutdowns gradually lift and economic activity returns, the latest employment figures show that while the virus is colorblind, its effects are anything but indiscriminate. Black unemployment rose to 16.8 percent in the monthly employment snapshot released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While that number is slightly up from 16.7 last month, white unemployment came in at 12.4 percent, down from 14.9 percent.... Coronavirus job losses have exacerbated the racial unemployment gap." Emphasis added. Read on for the reasons for the gap. ~~~

~~~ Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Joe Biden blasted ... Donald Trump for remarking Friday that 'this is a great day for' George Floyd ... while touting positive economic data. Speaking in Dover, Del., the apparent Democratic presidential nominee ripped into Trump for 'speaking of a man who was brutally killed by an act of needless violence' and accused the president of failing to curb a 'larger tide of injustice that has metastasized on' his watch.... In his remarks Friday, Biden responded, 'George Floyd's last words, "I can't breathe. I can't breathe," they've echoed all across this nation, quite frankly around the world. For the president to try to put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable.'" ~~~

~~~ From the Guardian's live protest updates for Friday: 11:26 am: "Trump's comment moments ago about this being a 'great day' for George Floyd is already sparking outrage among the president's critics.... The liberal organization CAP Action said the president's comment was 'despicable'[.]" 11:35 am: "Trump has just concluded his nearly hour-long 'press conference' at the White House without taking any questions from the reporters there. This is the second consecutive time that the president has called a 'press conference' only to make a statement, which reporters argued defied the definition of a press conference." ~~~

11:42: "DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has just announced that the section of 16th Street NW in front of the White House has been renamed 'Black Lives Matter Plaza.'... A crowd cheered as a city employee installed a sign reading 'Black Lives Matter Plz' on a street light." Mrs. McC: Not only that, Bowser covered the street from side to side in front of the White House with huge yellow-painted letters spelling out "Black Lives Matter." According to Brian Williams of MSNBC, the street painting is "visible from space." Take that, Donald Trump. Update: Here's a Washington Post story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Trump Repeats Racial Slur While Touting His Supposed Economic Boost to Minorities. Kimmy Yam of NBC News: "Speaking at the White House, Trump addressed the May jobs report that was released this week, claiming that a strong economy is the 'greatest thing that can happen for race relations.... When we had our tremendous numbers ... just prior to the China plague that floated in, we had numbers, the best in history, for African American, for Hispanic American, for Asian American, and for everybody,' he said. The re-emergence of the phrase elicited criticism across social media, from many who pointed out that terms like the 'China plague' or the 'China virus' -- which experts have warned could put Asian Americans in harm's way -- run counter to ideas of racial equality...."

Ken Belson of the New York Times: "The protracted debate in the N.F.L. over players protesting racial injustice during the national anthem reignited with force on Friday as President Trump rekindled his war with the league over the issue and the league's commissioner, Roger Goodell, issued his strongest support yet for the players seeking to fight racism and police brutality." ~~~

~~~ Gwen Aviles of NBC News: "... Donald Trump reiterated his stance that NFL players should not kneel in protest during the national anthem in a tweet supporting New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' recent comments about protests. Brees drew criticism Wednesday after he told Yahoo! Finance that he did not agree with 'disrespecting the flag' by kneeling during the national anthem. After fierce criticism, Brees apologized for his comments in an Instagram post Thursday, saying he would do better.... 'I am a big fan of Drew Brees. I think he's truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag,' Trump wrote.... On Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized to players for not listening to their concerns regarding racism sooner." Mrs. McC: Trump is so stupid he still can't comprehend that kneeling in protest against injustice honors the flag & what it symbolizes. ~~~

Wowza! Chloe Melas of CNN: "NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday the league should have listened to players earlier about racism concerns in a response to NFL players calling on the league to condemn racism and support its black players. Goodell posted a video to the NFL's social media on Friday in response to the video 'Stronger Together,' which features several of the league's most famous players asking the league to take a strong stance in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. 'We the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,' Goodell said. 'We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest,' Goodell said.Goodell noted that it has been a difficult time for the country, in particular black Americans, and offered his condolences to the families of Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and 'all the families who have endured police brutality.'" A Washington Post story is here.

Not My Fault: Barr. Michael Balsamo of the AP: "Attorney General William Barr says law enforcement officers were already moving to push back protesters from a park in front of the White House when he arrived there Monday evening, and he says he did not give a command to disperse the crowd, though he supported the decision.... Barr said it was a Park Police tactical commander -- an official he never spoke to -- who gave the order for the law enforcement agencies to move in and clear the protesters. 'I'm not involved in giving tactical commands like that,' he said. 'I was frustrated and I was also worried that as the crowd grew, it was going to be harder and harder to do. So my attitude was get it done, but I didn't say, "Go do it."' Barr insisted there was no connection between the heavy-handed crackdown on the protesters and Trump's walk soon after to St. John's Church.... Administration officials have spent much of the week trying to explain how the situation escalated and why smoke bombs, pepper balls and police on horseback were needed to clear the largely peaceful crowd. Earlier in the week, White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters it was Barr who made the decision to push back the security perimeter outside the White House on Monday morning."

When Pentagon "Leaders" Are Chickens. Rebecca Kheel of the Hill: "Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley have refused to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the military's role in responding to nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice, a House aide said Friday. 'Staff was advised that [Department of Defense] leadership has refused to testify next week as requested,' the aide said. 'In addition, an informal briefing with the secretary of the Army was cancelled for today.' In a statement Friday evening, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and the 30 other Democratic committee members called Esper and Milley's decision not to testify 'unacceptable.' 'We insist that they appear before our committee,' the statement said. 'Our military leaders are sworn to be accountable to the people of this country, and Congress is constitutionally responsible for oversight. They must appear and testify on these crucial matters in order to meet that responsibility.'"

Jana Winter in Yahoo! News: "A leaked Trump administration document details the federal law enforcement and military personnel squaring off against protesters in Washington, D.C., including a 1,300-strong force currently deployed to the south side of the White House.... The show of force outside the White House is a task force operation that includes U.S. Secret Service, National Guard, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Park Police, according to the internal Department of Homeland Security report, dated June 4. They aren't the only ones in town: Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, National Guard, Coast Guard, Federal Protective Service and more have been called in, says the document.... Thousands more -- from at least a dozen federal agencies or divisions -- have been deployed across the capital region and to cities big and small across the U.S. where peaceful protests have been held or are expected.... Elite SWAT teams from the Border Patrol and sniper-trained units from ICE have also descended upon Washington. TSA's air marshals arrived too, and three of the agency's 'VIPR teams'...helicopters, drones and other mobile surveillance or tactical resources ... have been called into Washington, New York and other cities.[.]" --s

Zoë Richards of TPM: "Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said a member of the state's National Guard was suspended and removed from a mission to quell disturbance at racial justice protests in Washington, D.C., after the FBI discovered comments the guardsman had posted online supporting white supremacist ideology prior to his assignment." --s

Eighty-nine Former Defense Officials in a Washington Post op-ed: "President Trump ... has gone so far as to make a shocking promise: to send active-duty members of the U.S. military to 'dominate' protesters in cities throughout the country -- with or without the consent of local mayors or state governors.... While several past presidents have called on our armed services to provide additional aid to law enforcement in times of national crisis -- among them Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson -- these presidents used the military to protect the rights of Americans, not to violate them.... We are alarmed at how the president is betraying this oath [to support & defend the Constitution] by threatening to order members of the U.S. military to violate the rights of their fellow Americans." The op-ed includes the names of the signers, headed by former Secretaries of Defense Leon E. Panetta, Chuck Hagel, Ashton B. Carter & William S. Cohen. Mrs. McC: All appointed by Democratic presidents, Hagel & Cohen are Republicans.

Kelly Lambastes Trump. Sarah Westwood of CNN: "Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Friday he agrees with former Secretary of Defense Gen. Jim Mattis' stark warning this week that ... Donald Trump is 'the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people' as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd.... 'There is a concern, I think an awful big concern, that the partisanship has gotten out of hand, the tribal thing has gotten out of hand,' Kelly said. 'He's quite a man, Jim Mattis, and for him to do that tells you where he is relative to the concern he has for our country.'... 'I think we need to look harder at who we elect,' Kelly said on Friday. 'I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?'" Mrs. McC: Weirdly, Kelly made these remarks in an interview/reunion with Anthony Scaramucci, whom Kelly fired. (Also linked yesterday.)

Paul Sonne, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Pentagon has told National Guardsmen deployed to the nation's capital not to use firearms or ammunition, and has issued orders to send home active-duty troops that the Trump administration amassed outside the city in recent days, a sign of de-escalation in the federal response to protests in the city. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper made the decision to disarm the guard without consulting the White House, after President Trump ordered a militarized show of force on the streets of Washington to quell demonstrations that were punctured by an episode of looting Sunday, two senior administration officials said. Trump had encouraged the National Guard to be armed. Initially, a small group of guardsmen deployed in the city had been carrying guns while standing outside monuments, but the bulk of the forces, such as those working with federal park police at Lafayette Square in front of the White House, didn't carry firearms out of caution."

Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post: "Federal agents on Friday morning released boxes of cloth masks that Black Lives Matter organizers mailed to cities across the county to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 during nationwide demonstrations against police brutality. Four boxes of the masks were shipped to Washington, St. Louis, New York City and Minneapolis on Wednesday afternoon, and were supposed to arrive in each city by Thursday. But until Friday morning, the boxes of 500 masks apiece that read 'stop killing Black people' and 'defund police' never left Oakland, California, because they were seized by the government. Federal agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were involved with the seizure." This is an update to a story linked yesterday.

Georgia. Dakin Andone, et al., of CNN: "A video posted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows a police officer body slamming a woman on the first night of protests in Atlanta, according to the woman's attorney. The woman, identified as Amber Jackson, suffered a broken clavicle and cannot work as a dental hygienist because of the injury, her lawyer Mawuli Davis said in a news release. The video, taken on May 29 by the AJC, shows a woman pull away from an officer who then grabs her from behind and slams her to the ground. The camera shifts so the impact occurs just out of frame. A woman is heard screaming in the background. The video then cuts to show the officer lifting the woman, now handcuffed, by her arm.... May 29 was the first night of protests in the Atlanta area sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That night, several businesses were looted. There were no curfews in place at that time. At a news conference Friday, Davis said Jackson received a citation for disorderly conduct."

Illinois. Heather Cherone of WTTW Chicago News: "Chicago officers struck Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman five times on his legs with their batons during a protest on Sunday in Hyde Park that turned violent, Foreman told WTTW News. Foreman filed a complaint with the Citizens Office of Police Accountability alleging that he was struck by at least one officer.... Foreman's complaint, which identifies the officer Foreman said struck him, is one of 344 complaints of police misconduct filed with COPA between midnight May 29 and 7 a.m. Friday, Eaddy said.... Foreman said he had two bruises on his legs where he was struck while protesting police brutality on 47th Street, not far from his Hyde Park home.... Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she urged Foreman to file a complaint after she learned of the incident Sunday afternoon."

Minnesota. Liz Navratil of Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The Minneapolis Police Department will ban officers from using chokeholds and neck restraints and strengthen the requirements for officers to intervene if a colleague is using excessive force under a new deal negotiated between the city and the state. The tentative agreement -- which still requires a judge's approval -- also seeks to give the public more access to officers' disciplinary decisions and to limit the number of supervisors who can authorize the use of tear gas, rubber projectiles and other similar tactics to disperse demonstrators." ~~~

~~~ Frederick Melo & Mara Gottfried of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "St. Paul will revise its use-of-force guidelines as part of a nationwide push to reform policing after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody. Mayor Melvin Carter announced Friday he has signed on to the '8 Can't Wait' campaign, which has eight recommendations for reducing police violence. The campaign says St. Paul already follows six of those recommendations but has yet to explicitly ban chokeholds or state that deadly force can be used only as a last resort. By Carter's reading of city policies, St. Paul already achieves all eight goals in practice. Soon after he took office in 2018, the city made changes that emphasize de-escalation and the sanctity of human life."

New York. Neil Vigdor, et al., of the New York Times: "Prosecutors are investigating the actions of two Buffalo police officers who were suspended without pay on Thursday night after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who was hospitalized with a head injury. The video taken by WBFO, a local radio station, shows the man, identified on Friday as Martin Gugino, approaching a group of officers during a protest stemming from the death of George Floyd. He was identified by the Western New York Peace Center, a nonprofit that named him in a Facebook post, saying he is a peace activist and a member.... On Friday, Mr. Gugino was in serious but stable condition and was alert and oriented, according to a hospital spokesman.... On Friday, John T. Evans, the president of the Buffalo police union, said all 57 officers on the Emergency Response Team, a special squad formed to respond to riots, had resigned from their posts on the team in support of the suspended officers, according to The Buffalo News. The officers remain members of the department." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.) Mrs. McC: Fire them! ~~~

     ~~~ Maki Becker of the Buffalo News: "The mass resignation came after members of the team that responds to riots and other crowd control situations, were suspended without pay.... The resignations raise questions about how local law enforcement will be able to handle continuing protests at a time when some of the protests have turned violent and more protests are anticipated this weekend." ~~~

     ~~~ David K. Li & Jareen Imam of NBC News: "'Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,' union president John Evans told NBC affiliate WGRZ."

~~~ Ali Watkins of the New York Times: New York City police have been "kettling" protesters: encircling them "so that they have no way to exit from a park, city block or other public space, and then charge in and make arrests.... The kettling operations carried out by the police department after curfew have become among the most unsettling symbols of its use of force against peaceful protests, and have touched off a fierce backlash against Mayor Bill de Blasio and the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. In the past several days, New York Times journalists covering the protests have seen officers repeatedly charge at demonstrators after curfew with seemingly little provocation, shoving them onto sidewalks, striking them with batons and using other rough tactics. The escalation in the use of force in New York is part of a national trend. Across the country, local police have resorted to increasingly violent crowd control techniques to control the protests...." ~~~

     ~~~ Molly Crane-Newman of the New York Daily News: "Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on Friday said his office will decline to prosecute marchers arrested for breaking the city's 8 p.m. curfew while out protesting the death of George Floyd -- and he commended New Yorkers for sticking up for their civil liberties. 'The prosecution of protesters charged with these low-level offenses undermines critical bonds between law enforcement and the communities we serve. Days after the killing of George Floyd, our nation and our city are at a crossroads in our continuing endeavor to confront racism and systemic injustice wherever it exists,' Vance said in a statement.... Vance's office is the first in the city to stop prosecuting protesters after a letter urging them to halt the practice was sent to all of the DAs on June 1 from state Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Judiciary Committee." Mrs. McC: Each of the five boroughs has its own D.A.

Pennsylvania. Alicia Lozano of NBC News: "A Philadelphia police officer has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault after a video surfaced showing the man allegedly beating a 21-year-old Temple University student during recent protests, District Attorney Larry Krasner's office announced Friday. Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna, a 30-year veteran of the department, was also charged with reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime. He has been removed from street duty pending an investigation, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. Video footage appears to show Bologna hitting the student in the head and neck with a baton. The student was knocked to the ground and another officer put his knee on him to keep the student down, the Associated Press reported."

Washington, D.C. About That Tear Gas. Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Three days after the U.S. Park Police claimed that tear gas was never used on protesters outside the White House, the organization's spokesman [Sgt. Eduardo Delgado] acknowledged that the chemical agents shot into the largely peaceful crowd have similar painful effects. A spokesman for the Park Police said in an interview with Vox that his agency regretted using the term "tear gas," noting that officers threw pepper balls containing an irritant powder and chemical agents that are designed to produce tears. Their use causes people to experience difficulty breathing and burning sensations on the skin.... 'I think the term "tear gas" doesn't even matter anymore. It was a mistake on our part for using "tear gas" because we just assumed people would think CS or CN, two common forms of tear gas.'... But two hours later, after The Washington Post contacted the Park Police and the White House for comment, acting Park Police chief Gregory T. Monahan walked back that acknowledgment.... 'United States Park Police officers and other assisting law enforcement partners did not use tear gas or OC Skat Shells to close the area at Lafayette Square in response to violent protestors.'"

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lachlan Cartwright, et al., of the Daily Beast: "The New York Times apologized to its staff on Friday in a lengthy, tense meeting in which the paper's top editors strongly suggested they will overhaul the oft-controversial and scrutinized opinion page. Earlier this week, the Times published an op-ed, headlined 'Send in the Troops,' in which Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) enthusiastically called for the deployment of American military forces to suppress the ongoing protests against police brutality. The column sparked immediate criticism from readers and many of the paper's own staffers, who publicly denounced the decision to publish it. One by one during Friday's staff meeting, the paper's top leaders apologized for the opinion piece. At one point, the paper admitted that it did 'invite' Cotton to write the column. The paper's controversial top opinion editor James Bennet issued a mea culpa, claiming he let his section be 'stampeded by the news cycle,' and confessed that the backlash had inspired him to rethink the op-ed section entirely."

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Friday are here. "The United States reported 21,614 new infections on Thursday, and while that number is below its April peak, the daily average has been rising slightly in recent days as the continued improvement in Northeast is offset by new outbreaks in the South and parts of the West. The uptick appears to represent a combination of increased testing, the coronavirus taking hold in more regions and outbreaks in localized hot spots. It comes during a convergence of two developments that health officials are watching warily: states and cities pressing ahead with plans to allow more businesses to reopen, and masses of people gathering around the country in large-scale protests against police brutality and racism."

Emily Holden of the Guardian: "The Trump administration continued to weaken core environmental protections in the US by announcing a pair of policies to cut reviews for large infrastructure projects and downplay the health benefits of rules to curb pollution. Both changes could disproportionately hurt communities of color, which are far more likely to live with pollution because of decades of environmental racism. They come after a week of nationwide protests over police killings of black Americans. The proposals could also make it easier for the government to ignore the climate crisis in making decisions." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

** Stephen Ohlemacher & Will Weissert of the AP: "Joe Biden formally clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Friday, setting him up for a bruising challenge to ... Donald Trump that will play out against the unprecedented backdrop of a pandemic, economic collapse and civil unrest. 'It was an honor to compete alongside one of the most talented groups of candidates the Democratic party has ever fielded,' Biden said in a statement Friday night, 'and I am proud to say that we are going into this general election a united party.' The former vice president has effectively been his party's leader since his last challenger in the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders, ended his campaign in April. But Biden pulled together the 1,991 delegates needed to become the nominee after seven states and the District of Columbia held presidential primaries Tuesday."

While Donald Trump campaigned in Maine on your dime, the conservative Lincoln Project struck another blow at the Cowardly Liar: