The Commentariat -- May 29, 2020

Afternoon Update:

** Briana Bierschbach of the (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune: "Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says [former Minneapolis policeman] Derek Chauvin has been charged with murder and manslaughter. Freeman said this moved with extraordinary speed, that the investigation is continuing into other three officers, Freeman says. He said they have never charged a case this quickly before. Earlier, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said he just received information that the officer identified as Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd has been taken into custody by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension." A Politico story is here.

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

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said on Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, becoming the second senator in as many days to disclose that they had been infected with the disease. Casey, in a statement, said he had a 'low-grade fever and some mild flu-like symptom'" earlier in the spring and received an antibodies test last week to try to determine if he could donate blood plasma, which is being studied as a potential treatment for COVID-19. '... In an effort to help others fighting this virus, I will be making my first donation today in Taylor, Pennsylvania,' he said. The disclosure comes after Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on Thursday that he had recently tested positive for coronavirus antibodies."

Daniela Silva of NBC News: "Wisconsin saw a record number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported in a single day on Wednesday, two weeks after the state's Supreme Court struck down its statewide stay-at-home order.... Wisconsin also issued a record number of test results Wednesday, with more than 10,300 tests conducted, according to the department."

Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump said Friday that his administration would 'begin the process' of ending the American government's special relationship with Hong Kong, including on trade and law enforcement, and that it was withdrawing from the World Health Organization, as part of a broad effort to retaliate against China.But the president was unclear about the speed and full scope of the actions, and his remarks left many questions unanswered.... Mr. Trump voiced a range of grievances against China's 'malfeasance,' angrily denouncing the country's trade and security practices and its crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, as well as its influence at the W.H.O.... Mr. Trump delivered a scathing indictment of Chinese behavior that echoed an emerging line of attack in the president's re-election campaign, as he seeks to deflect blame for his administration's failure to stem the pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 Americans." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump took no questions & did not address those 100,000+ deaths. or the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, or his threat to kill protesters. This was strictly a chickenshit teleprompter show.

Myah Ward of Politico: Joe Biden "condemned Trump for 'calling for violence against American citizens during a moment of pain for so many.... Im furious, and you should be too.' Biden also decried the arrest of a CNN news crew early Friday, when police handcuffed reporter Omar Jimenez and led him away even after he produced his press credentials. He was quickly released and back on CNN's air less than 90 minutes later. Jimenez, who is black, was reporting on the protest and riots since the death of George Floyd.... 'This is not abstract: a black reporter was arrested while doing his job this morning, while the white police officer who killed George Floyd remains free,' Biden said. 'I am glad swift action was taken [to release Jimenez], but this, to me, says everything.'" ~~~

~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump simply does not accept that he has any institutional obligation of any kind as president to use the White House's formidable communications powers to calm the nation at moments of severe tension and hardship. Instead, he views it as beneficial to his reelection to actively incite further hatred.... Setting aside whether Trump will or even can ['assume control' over Minneapolis], the intent of the threat itself is the thing here -- not just to glorify violence but to glorify his willingness to threaten it against urban protesters, should they get out of hand.... Joe Biden offered another approach.... He appealed for calm while also calling for justice for the Floyd family and acknowledging the legitimate grievances of the protesters about systemic racism and police brutality. Biden noted that Floyd's 'final words' were 'Let me breathe, I can't breathe,' and added that this has 'ripped open anew' the 'wound' wrought by racism.... The core difference here is the recognition of a broader historical and societal context in which the protesters actually do have legitimate grievances." ~~~

~~~ Kaelan Deese of the Hill: "On Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called President Trump's tweet about protests in Minneapolis 'horrific,' adding, 'Donald Trump is calling for violence against Black Americans.' In her tweet about the president, Warren said, 'His advocacy of illegal, state-sponsored killing is horrific. Politicians who refuse to condemn it share responsibility for the consequences.'" ~~~

~~~ Oops, He Did It Again. Davey Alba, et al., of the New York Times: "Amid the unrest in Minnesota, Mr. Trump posted a message on Twitter early Friday saying that 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts.' Twitter quickly prevented users from viewing the tweet without reading a brief notice that the post glorified violence, the first time it had applied such a warning on any public figure's tweets. The official White House account then reposted Mr. Trump's message; Twitter responded by adding the same notice."

Patricia Mazzei, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's baseless insinuations that [Joe] Scarborough was involved in [Lori] Klausutis's death and had an affair with her reflect a callous pattern in which the president attacks his critics by going after their families or even ordinary people unconnected to Mr. Trump's grievance. They have become the collateral damage of a transactional president and his followers, whose online swarm lingers and continues to unsettle long after Mr. Trump has moved on to the next outrage.... Mr. Trump has gone after the dead and their families before, usually because he regards them as political opponents. In 2016, he claimed that the Gold Star mother of a Muslim soldier was not 'allowed' to speak alongside her husband at the Democratic National Convention. He relentlessly insulted Senator John McCain of Arizona for months after his death. When former Representative John D. Dingell Jr. died last year, Mr. Trump mocked his widow, Representative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, and implied that her late husband was 'looking up' from hell." The story details accounts from some ordinary citizens who continue to be harassed years after Trump targeted them.

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nadja Popovich & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "The coronavirus still has a long way to go. That's the message from a crop of new studies across the world that are trying to quantify how many people have been infected. Official case counts often substantially underestimate the number of coronavirus infections. But in new studies that test the population more broadly, the percentage of people who have been infected so far is still in the single digits. The numbers are a fraction of the threshold known as herd immunity, at which the virus can no longer spread widely. The precise herd immunity threshold for the novel coronavirus is not yet clear; but several experts said they believed it would be higher than 60 percent.... Even in some of the hardest-hit cities in the world, the studies suggest, the vast majority of people still remain vulnerable to the virus."

~~~ Paul Krugman: "... when we take the value of not dying into account, the rush to reopen looks like a really bad idea, even in terms of economics properly understood.... A Columbia University study estimated that locking down just a week earlier would have saved 36,000 lives by early May, and a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the benefits of that earlier lockdown would have been at least five times the cost in lost G.D.P.... So why isn't the Trump administration even trying to justify its push for reopening in terms of a rational analysis of costs and benefits? The answer, of course, is that rationality has a well-known liberal bias.... The push to reopen doesn't reflect any kind of considered judgment about risks versus rewards. It's best seen, instead, as an exercise in magical thinking.... Trump and his allies don't want us to wear face masks but do want us to wear blinders."

The New Office. And Getting There. Matt Richtel of the New York Times: "Upon arriving at work, employees should get a temperature and symptom check. Inside the office, desks should be six feet apart. If that isn't possible, employers should consider erecting plastic shields around desks. Seating should be barred in common areas. And face coverings should be worn at all times. These are among sweeping new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the safest way for American employers reopening their offices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If followed, the guidelines would lead to a far-reaching remaking of the corporate work experience. They even upend years of advice on commuting, urging people to drive to work by themselves, instead of taking mass transportation or car-pooling, to avoid potential exposure to the virus."

Joe Biden demonstrates how to be a real president:

~~~ OR, You Could Read a Trump Tweet. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Thursday offered his first expression of sympathy in observance of the milestone of 100,000 American coronavirus deaths, tweeting his condolences after drawing criticism for failing to reflect on the human cost of the outbreak in recent days. 'We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000,' Trump wrote online. 'To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Oh, He Gets Worse. Of Course. Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump promoted a video on Twitter late Wednesday night that opens with Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin declaring that 'the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.' Griffin made these comments at a New Mexico church while rallying a crowd to protest stay at home guidelines and amid the coronavirus." Thanks to Bobby Lee for the link. Mrs. McC: A church is an excellent venue for wishing ... Americans dead & encouraging parishoners to go forth & make everyone sick.

Trump Can't Handle the Truth, Ctd. Jeff Stein & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "White House officials have decided not to release updated economic projections this summer, opting against publishing forecasts that would almost certainly codify an administration assessment that the coronavirus pandemic has led to a severe economic downturn, according to three people with knowledge of the decision. The White House is supposed to unveil a federal budget proposal every February and then typically provides a 'mid-session review' in July or August with updated projections on economic trends such as unemployment, inflation and economic growth. Budget experts said they were not aware of any previous White House opting against providing forecasts in this 'mid-session review' document in any other year since at least the 1970s." Mrs. McC: There must be a hole in the floor under the Oval Office carpet to hold all the stuff Trump has tried to sweep under the rug. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tim Mak of NPR: "Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, owns between $506,043 and $1.64 million worth of individual stocks in companies doing work related to the Trump administration's pandemic response -- holdings that could run afoul of conflict of interest laws. Many of the medical, pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies -- including 3M, Abbott Laboratories, Gilead Sciences, Procter & Gamble, Medtronic, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson -- in which Short and his wife hold stock have been directly affected by or involved in the work of the coronavirus task force chaired by Pence. Other companies among his holdings, such as CVS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Walmart and Roche, have been publicly touted by the White House for their work with the federal government on the coronavirus response.... The White House contends he has followed administration guidelines to avoid conflicts of interest." Mrs. McC: Uh-huh. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ken Winkes in the (Washington State) Stand: "With more than 100,000 COVID-19 deaths and 34 million workers unemployed, with no clear direction from Washington, D. C. beyond an executive order to reopen meatpacking plants without adequate testing, and with each state variously attempting to balance public safety and economic recovery, it will be a long time before our future becomes clear.... While the shape of our future is unclear, the virus has brought into focus much about our country that was already weak, broken and just plain wrong. We are learning which parts of our economy are 'essential' and which are not. And we are at long last acknowledging how many of those essential goods and services are provided by workers drawn from the lower end of our economic ladder."

Pennsylvania. Allyson Chiu of the Washington Post: "Democratic state legislators in Pennsylvania accused their Republican counterparts Wednesday of keeping a GOP lawmaker's positive coronavirus diagnosis under wraps for days, arguing the lack of transparency may have increased their risk of contracting the potentially deadly infection.Republican state Rep. Andrew Lewis released a statement Wednesday revealing he received his positive test result on May 20 -- a jarring announcement that rattled House Democrats who said they had no idea he had been sick or other GOP members had been told to self-quarantine.... Lewis, whose last appearance at the state Capitol was on May 14, said he immediately went into isolation after testing positive and informed House officials about his condition.... [On about May 16,] Lewis started to feel unwell, displaying symptoms that included a fever, fatigue and a slight cough. Within days, he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19.... [Rep. Brian] Sims [D], who at times grew visibly angry and repeatedly used expletives, attacked House Republicans for being 'callous liars' and accused them of recklessly endangering lives in pursuit of partisan goals. 'Every single day that our gerrymandered Republican leadership has been calling us up into this building so they could pass these ridiculous bills pretending that it was safe to be out there, they were covering up that it wasn't safe,' he said, referencing efforts from GOP lawmakers pushing to reopen Pennsylvania." Thanks to Ken W. & Nisky Guy for the link. ~~~

~~~ Chris Cillizza of CNN: "On May 20, Pennsylvania state Rep. Andrew Lewis, a Republican, tested positive for the coronavirus. On May 27 ... his Democratic colleagues say he finally told them about the positive test -- in a statement, no less!... [Lewis wrote] that he had waited an entire week to go public with this information 'out of respect for my family, and those who I may have exposed.'... 'Knowing how House members and staff work closely together at the Capitol, we should have been made aware of this much sooner," said [House Democratic leader Frank] Dermody. 'In the last two weeks alone, there were six days of voting session here at the Capitol and more than 15 separate meetings of House committees voting on dozens of bills. For those members who journeyed to the Capitol in person, each of these meetings raises the risk of possible exposure.'... What Lewis seemingly did -- abetted, apparently, by his House Republican colleagues -- is act selfishly in a situation in which unselfishness is the answer."

Raymond Zhong & Russell Goldman of the New York Times: "Twitter said early Friday that a tweet from President Trump implying that protesters in Minneapolis could be shot violated the company's rules against glorifying violence.... The company prevented users from viewing Mr. Trump's message without first reading a brief notice describing the rule violation. Twitter also blocked users from liking or replying to Mr. Trump's post. But Twitter did not take the tweet down, saying it was in the public's interest that the message remain accessible.... 'These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!' [Trump tweeted.]" Axios has a story here. ~~~

~~~ Allan Smith & Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "In a feud with Twitter..., Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday asking federal regulators to revisit the 1996 law that protects websites from liability for what their users post.... With Attorney General William Barr standing alongside him, Trump said he was acting against what he called one of the greatest threats to free speech. 'We're here today to defend free speech from one of the greatest dangers it has faced in American history, frankly, and you know what's going on as well as anybody,' Trump said.... Trump spent days fuming over [Twitter's] fact-check [of his false claims about mail-in vote,] saying Thursday that it's 'so ridiculous' for Twitter to make the case that mail-in ballots aren't subject to fraud.'... A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday that repealing or changing the law 'will restrict more speech online, not less. By exposing companies to potential liability for everything that billions of people around the world say, this would penalize companies that choose to allow controversial speech and encourage platforms to censor anything that might offend anyone.'" The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Exactly. Trump Doesn't Know WTF He's Doing. Peter Baker & Daisuke Wakabayashi of the New York Times: "President Trump ... has now gone to war with Twitter, angered that it would presume to fact-check his messages. But the punishment he is threatening could force social media companies to crack down even more on customers just like Mr. Trump. The executive order that Mr. Trump signed on Thursday seeks to strip liability protection in certain cases for companies like Twitter, Google and Facebook for the content on their sites, meaning they could face legal jeopardy if they allowed false and defamatory posts. Without a liability shield, they presumably would have to be more aggressive about policing messages that press the boundaries -- like the president's.... Furious at what he called 'censorship' -- even though his messages were not in fact deleted -- Mr. Trump is wielding the proposed executive order like a club to compel the company to back down.... Plenty of lawyers quickly said on Thursday that he was claiming power to do something he does not have the power to do" ~~~

~~~ The text of Trump's order is here, via CNN. Mrs. McC: My guess is that Trump is causing a lot of federal (and some state) workers to engage in busy work, but like so much of Trump's sound and fury, it will all come to naught. ~~~

     ~~~ Charlie Savage of the New York Times has a, ah, more thorough analysis: "Much of the president's order consists of complaints about social media companies and their efforts to flag or remove content deemed inappropriate. Here is an explanation of the legal issues surrounding the components of the order that would -- or might -- do something." ~~~

~~~ Pete Williams of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's executive order to get the federal government more involved in regulating social media sites like Twitter won't accomplish much and would be bad public policy, according to many experts on internet law.... 'Twitter, Facebook and the like are immune as platforms regardless of whether they edit, including in a politicized way,' said Eugene Volokh, a conservative legal scholar at UCLA. 'Like it or not, this was a deliberate decision by Congress.'... That's been the settled law for a quarter-century, according to Eric Goldman, who teaches internet law at Santa Clara University. 'The whole point of the law was to give internet companies the power to decide what they thought was fit for their audience,' he said. "It was intended to encourage and protect editorial discretion, not to eliminate it.' While the executive order directs the Federal Communications Commission to consider imposing new rules, Goldman said, 'the FCC has no authority over this, because Congress hasn't delegated that authority.'" ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A real attorney general, of course would not "stand alongside" Trump as he made ridiculous claims about his First Amendment rights -- the rights of which, as head of government, Trump is instead attempting to deprive Twitter, et al. -- but would tell Trump what crap his plaint is. ~~~

~~~ Kate Conger & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "Twitter on Thursday added new fact-checking labels to hundreds of tweets, even as the Trump administration prepared an executive order to curtail the legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for the content posted on their platforms. Twitter' move escalated the confrontation between the company and President Trump, who has fulminated this week over actions taken by his favorite social media service." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Trump Yells at Kids to Get Off His Lawn. Summer Concepcion of TPM: "Shortly before the President signed an executive order on Thursday targeting social media companies ... a reporter pointed out his erroneous claim that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) plans to send ballots out to everyone in the state. The reporter then clarified that mail-in ballots will only be sent to registered voters in California. Trump responded by going on an unhinged rant that similarly echoed his recent tweets falsely accusing Newsom of sending millions of ballots to 'anyone living in the state, no matter who they are,' before baselessly passing the buck to children.' 'Kids go and they raid the mailboxes and they hand them to people that are signing the ballots down at the end of the street -- which is happening -- they grab the ballots,' Trump said.... Trump went on to ramble about 'ballot harvesting' and claimed that ballots being 'ripped out of mailboxes' aren't being sold to Republican or conservative communities." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Kate Conger of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is preparing an executive order intended to curtail the legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for what gets posted on their platforms, two senior administration officials said early Thursday. Such an order, which officials said was still being drafted and was subject to change, would make it easier for federal regulators to argue that companies like Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter are suppressing free speech when they move to suspend users or delete posts, among other examples. The move is almost certain to face a court challenge and is the latest salvo by President Trump in his repeated threats to crack down on online platforms. Twitter this week attached fact-checking notices to two of the president's tweets after he made false claims about voter fraud...." A similar WashPo story was linked yesterday. A Reuters story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "Fighting for the Right to Lie." Spencer Ackerman & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "Collectively, [Trump's] order suggests social media companies may face penalties -- real or potential -- for attempting to police misinformation on their platforms. Either, according to longtime observers, is likely to be enough to prompt those companies to revert to their resting state: opening the sluice-gate of misinformation. For the president's critics, it all amounts to a jarring sequence: To stay in power, Trump has taken a step toward erasing the already blurred line between what is and isn't true online. 'Donald Trump is so committed to preventing Americans from voting that he spent weeks lying about vote by mail, and now he is trying to twist Section 230 and the First Amendment to force Twitter to spread these lies,' said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the provision's co-author.... 'Mr. Trump wants to confront the power of these companies and how they operate, but instead of fighting for truth, he's fighting for the right to lie...,' [professor emerita Shoshana] Zuboff said."~~~

~~~ Oliver Darcy of CNN: "... Donald Trump has angrily complained this week about social media companies, repeatedly accusing them of censoring conservative voices and going as far as to sign an executive order Thursday seeking to limit their power. But data from Facebook, the world's largest social media company, pours cold water on the assertion that conservative voices are being silenced. In fact, according to CrowdTangle, a data-analytics firm owned by Facebook, content from conservative news organizations dominates Facebook and often outperforms content from straightforward news organizations. Additionally, over the last month on Facebook, Trump has captured 91% of the total interactions on content posted by the US presidential candidates, according to CrowdTangle. Biden has captured only 9%." Mrs. McC: You might think the whole Twitter rage was designed to distract from news of the 100,000+ Americans who have died of Covid-19. Sorry, I don't think we're distracted.

Peter Schuck in a New York Times op-ed: "... Mr. Trump's wantonly cruel tweets about the tragic death in 2001 of Lori Klausutis are distinctive: They may constitute intentional torts for which a civil jury could award punitive damages against him.... The president has offered no evidence for ... slander[ing Joe Scarborough & Lori Klausutis], because there is none.... Mr. Trump's first tort is called intentional infliction of emotional distress, which the courts developed precisely to condemn wanton cruelty to another person who suffers emotionally as a result. This tort, which is sometimes called 'outrage,' readily applies to Mr. Trump's tweets about Ms. Klausutis.... Mr. Scarborough may not have suffered the 'severe emotional distress' required for an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. Even so, Mr. Scarborough might succeed in a defamation suit against Mr. Trump for reputational harm."

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Attorney General William P. Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney in Texas to scrutinize Obama-era officials who sought to identify anonymized names in government documents that turned out to be people connected to then-President-elect Trump, a Justice Department official said Wednesday. In an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said the attorney general had tasked John Bash, the U.S. attorney in the Western District of Texas, to examine the practice of 'unmasking,' which many Republicans charge was abused by the previous administration to unfairly target people close to Trump.... Bash's review is an offshoot of an investigation underway by U.S. Attorney of Connecticut John Durham.... Notably, Barr said during a news conference last week that he did not expect Durham would investigate former president Barack Obama or former vice president Joe Biden.... Unmasking is a common practice...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ David Shortell of CNN: "Overall, the level of unmasking has increased under the Trump administration, in the last three years. There were more than 10,000 unmaskings last year and nearly 17,000 in 2018, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's Statistical Transparency reports. There were 9,529 in 2017, Trump's first year in office. Under the Obama administration, there were about 9,217 unmaskings in 2016 and only 654 in 2015." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kevin Collier of NBC: "The same Russian intelligence unit that leaked Democrats' files in 2016 is engaged in an ongoing email hacking campaign, the National Security Agency announced Thursday. Hackers in Russia's GRU, its military intelligence agency, regularly target email accounts, as is common for many with robust cyber capabilities. But this is the first time that the NSA has issued a direct public alert that named the agency and warned of an ongoing hacking campaign." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Say what? Two days after Trump's rabid attack dog John Ratcliffe is sworn in as DNI, the agency comes out with a warning that pretty much confirms the "Russia hoax"? Did this slip out while Ratcliffe was still trying to find the Post-it notes? ~~~

~~~ Julian Barnes & David Sanger of the New York Times are as surprised as I am: "While the Trump administration has publicly attributed cyberattacks to Russia before -- including for its 2016 election hack and for paralyzing Ukraine in 2017, which damaged the operations of the shippers Maersk and FedEx -- this allegation was unusually specific. It singled out Russia's military intelligence unit, widely known as the G.R.U., demonstrating the intelligence agencies' concern that Russia intends to interfere in the election only a little more than five months away. But it also comes as President Trump has renewed his baseless claims that the investigation into Russia's activities was part of a 'hoax' intended by Democrats to paralyze him. He has publicly questioned Russia's culpability in the election hacking and appeared to accept President Vladimir V. Putin's argument that Russia was so good at cyberoperations that it would never have been caught. 'There has been a reluctance to be critical of Russia because of echoes of investigations,' said retired Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 'For the N.S.A. to do that, in this climate, they must have absolutely incontrovertible evidence.'" Emphasis added.

Presidential Race

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Republicans planning their party's convention on Thursday gave North Carolina's governor a deadline of June 3 to approve safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the event, planned for Charlotte in August. The move came as President Trump pressures Democratic leaders in the state to allow him to hold the kind of convention he wants, and as they cite public health concerns and say it is too soon to make a determination.... The letter [from RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniels & hpresident of the convention committee, Marcia Lee Kelly] also appeared to be an effort to put the onus on [Gov. Roy] Cooper and [Charlotte Mayor Vi] Lyles, both of whom are Democrats, if Republicans end up trying to stage their convention in another state."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the protests in Minneapolis & elsewhere are here. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments Thursday in the protests over white Minneapolis policemen killing of an unarmed George Floyd, who was black. "Protesters broke windows and charged over fences to breach a police precinct in Minneapolis late Thursday night as demonstrations boiled over after the killing of George Floyd. A video of Mr. Floyd, a black man, struggling to breathe this week as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against the man's neck has incited protests across the country. The unrest escalated even after Gov. Tim Walz [D] activated the Minnesota National Guard, saying he supported peaceful demonstrations but was bothered by the level of destruction on Wednesday -- buildings on fire, clashes with the police and looted stores." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Mrs. McCrabbie: In Minneapolis, Minnesota state police arrested & took into custody CNN reporter Omar Jimenez & his crew for no apparent reason. Jimenez was prominently wearing a press badge. The police would not tell Jimenez why he was being arrested but later told CNN they were arresting him because he "refused to move" & "was not following orders." In video of the arrest, Jimenez & the crew were standing in a designated area & Jimenez could be heard politely saying he & his crew would move if told where to go. While I don't doubt they will be released shortly, my guess is the "reasons" for the arrests were (1) Jimenez appears to be black, and (2) the cops adhere to Donald Trump's view of CNN as "fake news." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. CNN president Jeff Zucker spoke to Gov. Tim Walz about the arrests. Walz apologized for the arrests & said he would do what he could to have the CNN staff released. @ 7:30 am ET, CNN reported the crew had been released. ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. Here's a CNN story on the crew's arrest & release.

~~~ Matt Furber, et al., of the New York Times: "Minnesota's governor activated the National Guard on Thursday as angry demonstrators took to the streets for a third straight night to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was pleading that he could not breathe as a white police officer pressed his knee into Mr. Floyd's neck. The order by Gov. Tim Walz came as the city asked for help after vandalism and fires erupted during demonstrations and as the Justice Department announced that a federal investigation into Mr. Floyd's death was a top priority.... In ... parts of the city and in St. Paul, police in riot gear clashed repeatedly with protesters amid reports of vandalized buildings and fires in businesses. In Minneapolis, at least one person was injured in a stabbing during the chaos, the police said. Late Thursday, protesters climbed over fences to breach a police precinct and set it on fire as officers retreated in squad cars.... Minneapolis's deep racial divide is as much a feature of the city for its black residents as its picturesque parks, robust employment and thriving businesses." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Dana Thiede of KARE (Twin Cities): "United States Attorney Erica M[a]cDonald says they're conducting a 'robust and meticulous' criminal investigation into the police-related death of George Floyd.... She added that ... Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr are 'directly and actively monitoring the investigation.'" Mrs. McC: MacDonald must be super-stupid. Invoking Trump/Barr is going to convince Minneapolis residents that a fair investigation is out of the question. ~~~

~~~ Amy Klobuchar Will Not Be Vice President. Kathryn Krawczyk of the Week: "George Floyd's death in police custody is renewing criticism of Sen. Amy Klobuchar's (D-Minn.) prosecutorial record. Before she became a senator and a top contender for former Vice President Joe Biden's vice presidential spot, Klobuchar spent eight years as the Hennepin County attorney, in charge of prosecution for Minneapolis. And while in that position, Klobuchar declined to prosecute multiple police officers cited for excessive force, and did not prosecute the officer who kneeled on Floyd's neck as he protested, The Guardian reports.... As The Washington Post noted in March, Klobuchar 'declined to bring charges in more than two dozen cases in which people were killed in encounters with police' as Hennepin County attorney. Instead, she 'aggressively prosecuted smaller offenses' that 'have been criticized for their disproportionate effect on poor and minority communities,' the Post continues." ~~~

~~~ Coincidence? Maybe Not. Ana Lastra and Eric Rasmussen of KSTP (Twin Cities): "A former club owner in south Minneapolis says the now-fired [white] police officer and the black man who died in his custody this week both worked security for her club [during the same time period] up to the end of last year. George Floyd and now-former Officer Derek Chauvin both worked security at the El Nuevo Rodeo club on Lake Street, according to Maya Santamaria. Santamaria owned the building for nearly two decades, but sold the venue within the last few months.... Although the two overlapped working security on popular music nights within the last year, Santamaria can not say for certain they knew each other because there were often a couple dozen security guards, including off-duty officers."

Comments

[Ken Winkes]

Getting more than my money's worth from my $29 WAPO subscription. They sure do have some columnists sufficiently annoying get me going in the morning.

This morning it was Henry Olsen, who while criticizing the Pretender’s new executive order as wrong-headed and bad politics, by touting the Zuckerberg approach seemed to be defending the Right’s absolute freedom to say anything at all, no matter how wrong, stupid or incendiary.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/28/trumps-social-media-executive-order-would-be-big-mistake/

My reply:

Yeah, the whole free speech thing is, as they say, fraught with legal and intellectual pitfalls.

One of them is that while people do have the right to say what they will, that right has limits as defined by the Supremes in their famous shouting fire in a crowded theater illustration.

Of course a metaphor is not a regulation, but when it comes to a president who deliberately stokes anger, re-tweets lies designed to set people against one another, including the recent one that suggested the only good Democrat is a dead one, that crowded theater thing seems to fit our national situation more snugly every day.

[Marie Burns]

@Ken Winkes: The real issue here is not that "people have the right to say what they will," but that no one has the "right" to use private entities' platforms to say what they will. You do not have the right, for instance, to comment on a NYT news or opinion story; the NYT decides whether or not to publish your comment. The Times does not have to tell you why they rejected your comment.

Because federal law for social media platforms is different from the laws for publishers -- unlike the Times, social media can't be sued for content they publish. But just because Trump can't successfully sue Jack Dorsey for flagging Trump's tweets doesn't mean Dorsey (not to mention that snot-nosed Zuckerberg) doesn't have a moral obligation to moderate posts, especially those by prominent, influential people.

[Ken Winkes]

The Twitter Wars*, (continued):

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/technology/trump-twitter-minneapolis-george-floyd.html?

Must have missed the Pretender tweet expressing his outrage over George Floyd's death...

*Don't usually find wars entertaining, but this one has my attention.

[PD Pepe]

Here's something that might cheer you up, Ken.

"This is also the thesis of a great public service of a book, by the Washington Post’s Fact Checker staff, that will come out next week, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth.” The book is not just a compendium of the President’s tens of thousands of falsehoods, misleading claims, and lies during the first three years of his Presidency; it’s also an effort to catalogue and explain the different pathologies at work in his systematic misrepresentations to the American people. The untruths told by the President have increased in seriousness and volume, the Post found: an average of six per day in 2017 turned to nearly sixteen per day in 2018, which then increased to more than twenty-two per day in 2019—and that was before this crazy 2020 of the impeachment trial, the pandemic, the economic crisis, and Trump’s reëlection campaign. The President’s use of Twitter has metastasized along with the false statements that he publishes on his feed; he is now sending out, every day, an average of nearly four times as many misleading tweets as he did during his first year in office." (Susan Glasser)

Another black man was murdered by a white cop and this cop is still free to wander around. Although fired, along with his bystander buddies, he has not been convicted––"we have to wait until the we have a full investigation"––so we once again have protests all over the country and unfortunately, fires and looting. And what is the president doing during all this mayhem? Dissing Dorsey over the little flags on his "Twinkle Tweets" that ain't so sweet. The Master of Distraction is doing what he does best. It's as if someone would accuse a contender for the U.S. presidency of not being born in this country so instead of coverage on that contender, all ears and eyes are on the accuser. Works every time.

[Jeanne]

It is only 9:22 in the morning, and already I hate anyone with an R after his or her name. They are morally bankrupt and I wish the Ds did have someone with fascist/flamethrower tendancies to counteract the big four:
Fatso #1, Fatso #2 (Barr), Fatso #3 (Pompeo), Beast From Hell #4 (McConnell); and the entire R party in Harrisburg, PA, not to mention the Senate of the USA. Did I leave anyone out? Disgusting perferts.

[Jeanne]

Fury does not good typing make..."perverts"

[PD Pepe]

Actually, Jeanne, I liked your "perferts" just fine––the "fifh" has a better punch than the more solid "v" sound. Ferting fucking bastards all!

[Jeanne]

Haha! Thanks, PD!

[Bobby Lee]

Florida thins the field: The mayors of Tampa and St Petersburg both stated it would be irresponsible for them to host a gathering the size of the RNC under the current conditions.

[Akhilleus]

Why is there a need for an actual convention for the traitors? Is there some suspense surrounding which lying thug they’ll choose? There are so many on the right, I’ll admit. But no, there’s no mystery. There’s only the glorification of the head traitor, his chance to waddle across a giant stage and soak in the unqualified adoration of fascists. His chance to lie repeatedly without correction or challenges, and his chance to whip up fury, hatred, and violence against his enemies. His chance to appeal to the bug-eyed gun knobbers and to plant the seeds of chaos and destruction should his Royal fatness be unable to successfully steal another election.

He has only ever cared about the pomp, the preening, the pictures of the one and only (in)human being he cares about. The actual work of being a president has no appeal for such a world historical figure. It’s his chance to strut before fawning subjects as their king.

It doesn’t matter if several hundred become infected and in turn pass on the virus to hundreds more, perhaps thousands, none of whom will be told that they are in the company of an infected individual who refuses to wear a mask or restrict their movements in public. That’s not the R way. Taking their cues from the glorious leader, they care only about themselves.

Everyone else can go to hell.

Which is the only campaign promise Trump has ever, or will ever, keep.

[NJC]

Five more months of this poisonous stain on American history. And then two more for him to sully before he leaves the stage.
Gd help us--

[Ken Winkes]

States with Rt rates at 1.0 or higher now up to 11.

Going backwards, just like the Pretender.

[RAS]

Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting piece about how "The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened.
Released 50 years ago, the infamous report found that poverty and institutional racism were driving inner-city violence"

"in March 1968, the Kerner Commission turned those assumptions upside-down, declaring white racism—not black anger—turned the key that unlocked urban American turmoil."

"going to the moon was far easier than solving the nation’s racial issues. Politically, spending billions on space travel was more saleable than striving to correct racial inequality."

[Bobby Lee]

I do hope this isn't trending. New cases in Florida jumped by 1212 in the past 24 hours, up from an average of around 700.

[Bobby Lee]

@RAS Some things never change. Today it is far easier to get a dollar for Space than a nickel to improve the lot of minorities.

[Akhilleus]

RAS,

And don’t think black Americans didn’t notice. I’m reposting something I wrote six years ago here on RC (hopefully with Marie’s permission). One might have hoped that race relations would have improved in the intervening years, but one would have to recognize that, but for a few MONTHS, here and there, Race relations in this country have been poisonous since Appomattox Courthouse. Things have only been made worse by a president* who clamored for the murder of innocent black kids for an attack they did not commit, and who now advocates shooting anyone who stands up to his racist jackboots.

So, while you read this post, think about how much worse the Orange Menace and his racist followers and his plantation overseers in Congress have made things. Also, don’t forget that this Fat Fuck blamed Obama for the Ferguson protests,whining that the president should step up to lead in such instances.

Fatty is leading. He’s insisting that black protesters be shot.

Here’s that post from 2014.

“Black people? I don' see no black people. Don't hear me none neither. And don't want to.

Today we're seeing the wondrous results of John Roberts' decision that race is no longer a problem in America. There'll probably be several million Americans who won't be able to vote today because race is no longer a problem in America. All those southern states the Voting Rights Act was designed to keep from sticking it to black citizens are now free from the shackles of unfair bondage because race is no longer a problem in America. Little Johnny and the dwarfs done set them free, hallelujah. And to show how much they've reformed their ways, they set right to making sure the roadblocks to the ballot box in place for generations in the south were immediately reinstated with extra prevention mechanisms, just to make sure them darkies stayed away. It's all good. Because race is no longer a problem in America.

This is a big part of what Reagan meant by morning in America again. White picket fences, Brillcream billboards, sunny, happy, shining white faces on the way to vote for Confederate politicians, and black people off to the side of the road. Invisible and silenced, in their places, happy to steppinfetchit and catch the occasional crumb falling out off the white tables, eatin' watermelon and keepin' out of the way. Invisible and silenced. Because...

Today those southern states get to unveil how much they learned from the Voting Rights Act. The moral? "Time to teach those niggers a lesson once again. They thought those fucking liberals were gonna help them vote? Fuck that. Now here's a few dozen hoops for them to jump through. Let 'em try this shit on for size. And this time, it's all nice and legal like. The Supreme Court says so. And we'll have our open carry boys at the polling places just to make sure they get the message: they ain't Americans and they ain't welcome to vote."

And that was the message Confederates on the court sent out.

Message received.

The other day I read that Nikki Haley was getting all bent out of shape that some people thought SC's voter ID bullshit was out of control. She sniffed that you had to show an ID to buy Sudafed (this hoary citation is right out of the Winger Playbook; they all trot out this one) or to get on a plane. Okay, Nikki. First, Sudafed can be used to make meth which has decimated large swaths of rural America, so there's a good reason for the ID check. Second, plane travel has become a dangerous business. Voting is only dangerous if you're a Republican thinking about Democrats being allowed to vote and voter ID regulations are designed to fix a non-existent problem. Oh, and since we're up in arms about all those important things you need an ID for, you don't need an ID in 30 states (30!) to purchase deadly weapons. How 'bout that asshole? Huh? Sorry, can't hear you....What'd ya say? Never mind. Scumbag.

The movement to make black Americans even more invisible than they already are is in high gear as is the effort to shut them up. Black Lives Matter is a "hate group", a "murder movement", they're for killing all police. Organized right wing efforts to silence black voices run the gamut from self-appointed "journalists" in the deep south, to presidential candidates (apart from Trump) to a TV network and its favorite political party.

Yesterday, I posted a link to a song written and performed by a politically astute Trinidadian musician back in the thirties, Growling Tiger, who sang about the differences between rich and poor, differences that are no better today. The poor are invisible to most white Americans. But poor and black? Those people don't even exist. Or at least an enormous number of white Americans try not to think about them. And they're encouraged in that effort by an entire political party for whom black America is seen as a dangerous swarm that needs to be exterminated. It really is that bad. So, you might hear about "those people" but they're criminals and murderers and rapists, so don't bother worrying about them.

In response to the Growling Tiger song, Whyte Owen replied with a pertinent and timely link of his own to a song by the great Gil Scott-Heron, "Whitey on the Moon":

I can't pay no doctor bills
But Whitey's on the moon
Ten years from now I'll be paying still
While whitey's on the moon

You know, the man just upped my rent last night
Cause whitey's on the moon
No hot water, no toilets, no lights
But whitey's on the moon

It's become a common expression: We put a man on the moon so we ought to be able to do X. But the X is never "fix race relations in this country" or "make it easier for all Americans to vote" or "find a way to keep so many black men out of jail for minor offenses."

And to prove the point, yesterday, a little known 'bagger pol, Ben Sasse, came out against Donald Trump. He's not upset because of the unchanging problems of race relations, despite his use of the David Duke endorsement; that's just a handy cudgel. I mean, seriously, a 'bagger concerned about black people?? No. He's pissed because Trump isn't a "true Conservative" (the No True Scotsman thing).

Here is Sasse's problem in a nutshell: "The American people deserve better than two fundamentally dishonest New York liberals. This is a country that put a man on the moon."

Whitey is still on the moon.

And it's pretty fucking hard to see Ferguson from there.”

It’s interesting that the Fat Fuck is demanding that NASA land another man (no women) on the moon for his personal glorification.

And on the other hand, he’s demanding that black Americans who do things he’s unhappy about (protesting the murder Of a black man by a white cop) Be shot to death.

Whitey on the moon STILL doesn’t give a shit about non-whities on Earth.

https://youtu.be/3nzoPopQ7V0

[Akhilleus]

By the by, in case you might be prepared to offer Ben Sasse a Noble Piece Prize, he has, after Ferguson, gotten in line with the rest of the traitors to put slimy tongue to slathering tiny, fake Trump testicles.
(fakesticles?).

And as for those R never-trumper types, don’t forget that had Trump not won, they would still all be Nazi pig fucks. And Sasse would himself have been preening in front of a giant mirror, parading about in his Waffen SS officer’s uniform. It’s a huge mistake to think that, minus Fatty, these treasonous jabroni motherfuckers would all be Tom Paine clones.

They get together yearly to piss on Thomas Jefferson’s grave.

An act they hope to repeat for all of us.