Sunday, May 31, 2020

And another day of America drifting rudderless--and leaderless--in a torrential sea of chaos comes to a close:

“I can’t breathe.” -- George Floyd

Deaths

US: 106,195 (+638)

World: 373,899 (+2981)

Countdown: 156 days.

George Floyd protests go global.

Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is. The protests will eventually end. But state-sanctioned violence against black Americans won’t.

Images of police using violence against peaceful protesters are going viral.

Videos, threats, but few signs protests have been stoked by 'outsider' extremist groups.

'Because they can get away with it': Why African Americans are blamed for crimes they didn't commit: Experts. African Americans make up 49% of wrongful convictions since 1989. Both the phony 911 call and the alleged kidnapping story follow, experts say, the stereotypical notion of black men as criminals and the ingrained racism that has existed in American society for generations. Although some may find it shocking that people are still resorting to these tropes, experts say that a culture of relative impunity has allowed it. "It's because they can get away with it. They do it because the criminal justice system is not going to give them consequences," said Gloria Browne-Marshall, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Trump envisioned 'American carnage.' Now, he's got it. The president has met protests against state violence with calls for more of it. -- It’s what fascists do.

Trump Plays Macho Man as America Burns. The Trump Presidency has “already given us an impeachment trial, a deadly plague, and the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression. We can now add the worst riots in a generation.”

Commentary: White Privilege Anger. Anger is not exclusively reserved for white people.

"There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military (and their tactics) becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people" -- William Adama

Rubber and plastic bullets too dangerous for crowd control, says study. -- So why are police shooting protesters with them?

Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro find their populist playbooks are no match for coronavirus. The coronavirus pandemic could have been a moment of glory for the world's populist leaders. This is a period of heightened fear and anxiety — emotions that typically allow them to thrive. Instead, some populists are finding themselves powerless.

Trump tweets Antifa will be labeled a terrorist organization but experts believe it is unconstitutional.

Journalists covering protests face assault and arrest. From Minneapolis to Washington DC, from Louisville to Las Vegas, reporters are facing assault and arrest while reporting on widespread protests and unrest. -- It’s what fascists do.

Police shoot non-lethal rounds at people as they stand on their porch in Minneapolis.

A sheriff put down his baton to listen to protesters. They chanted 'walk with us,' so he did. -- There is good happening throughout this shitshow. Don’t forget it.

Many Republicans were silent about the president’s remarks. -- Modern Republicans are not capable of governing. They all must go.

Gov. Jay Inslee is dispatching an additional 200 National Guard troops to Seattle to help maintain order after a peaceful protest over the killing of George Floyd was hijacked by violent demonstrators Saturday night.

Bolsonaro joins rally against Brazil's top court; judge warns democracy at risk.

Recreational venues in South Korea, including bars, nightclubs and indoor gyms, will be required to keep a QR code-based customer log from June 10, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said Sunday. This data will be automatically erased after four weeks to safeguard customer information.

Some Republicans are afraid if Iowa Rep. Steve King wins his primary next week, his district is in jeopardy of getting picked up by Democrats. King has a history of making offensive comments. -- Steve King is an asshole.

Emergency COVID-19 vaccines will have to convince a skeptical public.

'Shame on you': NFL's Roger Goodell accused of hypocrisy in protest response. -- It was a bullshit response. Oh yeah. And stop watching the NFL.

Don’t make any bones about it: Let people know they should expect to have Covid-19 cases on campus this fall, says one communications expert.

Herd Of Fuzzy Green 'Glacier Mice' Baffles Scientists. Intrigued, he and two colleagues set out to study these strange moss balls. In the journal Polar Biology, they report that the balls can persist for years and move around in a coordinated, herdlike fashion that the researchers can not yet explain.

La Liga resumes on June 11 after a three-month absence due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Two American astronauts boarded the International Space Station from a SpaceX capsule.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.

White Privilege Anger

In this time of a pandemic, limited socializing, high unemployment numbers, the not-to-be-forgotten climate change problem, rising racial tensions, political polarization, and just a general uncertainty for the future, it’s understandable that people are angry. But if you’re angry because people of color and their supporters are angry, but you’re not concerned with why people of color and their supporters are angry, then you might suffer from what is appropriately called ‘white privilege.’

Some white people are angry because black people are trying to bring attention to an important issue: black people face a high risk of being killed by police. Over their lifetime, black men in particular face a much higher risk of being killed by police than white men.

But the anger goes deeper than that. These current protests sparked by the unnecessary death of George Floyd are about more than just his heinous murder at the knee of white cop. It’s about all the heinous murders, and almost murders, of black men and women at the hands and knees and weapons of white cops. It’s about armed white men chasing down unarmed black men and killing them. It’s about white women calling 911 on law abiding black men. It’s about ‘stand your ground’ laws which encourage racially charged violence. It’s about people of color having to raise their children to be fearful of the police, teaching them that making one wrong move, or even saying one wrong word, could mean the end of their life.

White people don’t have those issues.

That is white privilege.

If you’re white, you don’t get to tell people of color how they should be angry. That is not up to you. If someone is angry, we should listen to them to learn why they are angry, not just be pissed off because people different than us are pissed off about issues we think don’t affect us.

Instead of being pissed off at sports figures for taking a knee during the National Anthem, you should have listened to why they were doing it. You should have asked yourself why they were quietly protesting and then sought out the answer. You didn’t. Instead you vilified the players for making you uncomfortable. You thought of them as ‘lesser,’ and wanted nothing more than for them to shut up and step back in line so you could go back to enjoying mainly young black men damage their brains and bodies for your ‘entertainment.’ You were angry at their peaceful protests.

That is white privilege.

Yet when white people get angry because they haven’t been able to go to a bar or a restaurant or, god forbid, get a haircut because there’s a deadly pandemic happening, you seem to be fine with armed white men protesting at state capitols, angry white women in their SUVs yelling at nurses in the street, and a mob of white people at an anti-social-distancing protest pressed against statehouse windows looking like a scene out of a zombie movie.

While those people are all idiots who either don’t understand science or refuse to listen to the advice of those that do, their anger is understandable. We all are frustrated and angry by the necessary limitations put on us by the pandemic.

But anger is not reserved exclusively for white people.

In regards to a police killing of an unarmed black man, many white people repeat the mantra that one bad apple doesn’t mean the whole barrel is bad. True. No one has argued that it is. But when ‘good’ cops look away from what ‘bad’ cops are doing--when they condone the abhorrent behavior of their colleagues, either out of fear or some unwritten brotherhood code--then there is more going on than just a few bad apples. That’s no longer individualized. That’s systemic. That’s a police culture that needs to change.

When cops approach peaceful protestors and shoot them with rubber bullets or pepper spray them or push them to the ground or kick them over while they try to get their bearings or provoke violence then they are being bullies. They don’t get a pass for being law enforcement. In fact, being a member of law enforcement, they should be held to a much higher standard. And when they fail that higher standard, they should be held accountable. The ‘good’ cops, and there are many, should be out in front on this, demanding things to change.

People are pissed off because the system doesn’t treat everyone equally. Black people see this in their communities every day. White people don’t. Thus many white people don’t understand the anger. And since it happens over there, in communities many white people would rather not see, they view the protests as a threat to their way of life--to their existence--and they demand that it stop. They belittle the protestors or refuse to see the message because they get hung up on the violence. They then demand that the protesting should be done differently, on their terms, in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. Really, that means in a way so they don’t have to see it.

That is white privilege.

Change is often dirty. Systemic change is down right messy. Flowers and rainbows aren’t going to always get it done. But be careful casting blame for the violence. Things aren’t always what they seem since other people have other agendas.

People of color have much to be angry about--white silence, apathy, and indifference be damned. We need to listen to people of color; support them; help them realize they are loved and that we will not stand for bullying and inequality. That we, too, demand change.

I ask that if you’re saddened or befuddled or angered by the mass protests to please take a moment to understand the years of oppression and inequality our black brothers and sisters have had to endure. Then ask yourself, if under the same circumstances, if you would feel the same way they do? Would you be as outraged and hurt and desperate for change? If your answer to those questions is no, or if you can’t even fathom the questions at all, then that is white privilege.

And anger is not exclusively reserved for white people.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

And another day of fighting institutional racism comes to a close:

"For once, Don't Do It. Don't pretend there's not a problem in America. Don't turn your back on racism. Don't accept innocent lives being taken from us. Don't make any more excuses. Don't think this doesn't affect you. Don't sit back and be silent. Don't think you can't be part of the change. Let's all be part of the change." -- Nike

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” — Benjamin Franklin

“I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Deaths

US: 105,557 (+1015)

World: 370,918 (+4109)

Countdown: 157 days

A week of distractions from Trump shows a leader in crisis. On Monday, as the nation marked Memorial Day, President Donald Trump mocked his campaign rival for wearing a face mask. On Wednesday, as the national death toll from coronavirus reached a wretched milestone, Trump and his family flew to Florida in an attempted focus on space travel. By Friday, as smoke was lifting in Minneapolis after a night of racial unrest, he announced the United States would withdraw from the World Health Organization. In between, there was a dark suggestion of murder, false conspiracies about voting through the mail, a fight over where to hold his nominating convention and a dramatic escalation of ill will with the very social media platform that facilitated almost all the other diversions in the first place.

Police act like laws don't apply to them because of 'qualified immunity.' They're right. The Supreme Court created qualified immunity in 1982. With that novel invention, the court granted all government officials immunity for violating constitutional and civil rights unless the victims of those violations can show that the rights were “clearly established.” Although innocuous sounding, the clearly established test is a legal obstacle that’s nearly impossible to overcome. It requires a victim to identify an earlier decision by the Supreme Court or a federal appeals court in the same jurisdiction holding that precisely the same conduct under the same circumstances is illegal or unconstitutional. If none exists, the official is immune. Whether the official’s actions are unconstitutional, intentional, or malicious is irrelevant to the test. — Examples are given, and yes, this must change.

Far-Right Extremists Are Hoping to Turn the George Floyd Protests Into a New Civil War. Far-right extremists are showing up, with guns, to the protests against police brutality that have exploded across the country. Others are egging on the violence from behind their computers, urging followers to carry out acts of violence against black protesters with the goal of sparking a “race war.” — And the worst President this country has ever had is stoking the flames.

Trump says military 'ready, willing and able' to deploy to Minneapolis amid protests. Active-duty forces are normally prohibited from taking part in domestic law enforcement, but the Insurrection Act of 1807 allows for a state legislature or governor to request assistance in the event of civil unrest. — Will Americans be okay with the military storming American cities?

U.S. attorney general says outside agitators taking over anti-police protests. — They’re not anti-police protests. Words are chosen for a reason.

Trump announces unprecedented action against China.

Newly Released Transcripts Show Michael Flynn Betrayed the United States.

FBI's top lawyer, Dana Boente, ousted amid Fox News criticism for role in Flynn investigation. Boente was asked to resign on Friday and two sources familiar with the decision to dismiss him said it came from high levels of the Justice Department rather than directly from FBI Director Christopher Wray.

'No Blame?' ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults.

Colin Kaepernick establishes fund to pay legal fees for George Floyd protesters in Minneapolis.

Groups representing infectious disease doctors, pediatricians and general physicians all protested President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization on Friday, saying it will make it harder to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

From AIDS to Covid-19: Trump's decades of spreading dangerous misinformation about disease outbreaks. Donald Trump has spent decades spreading and sowing dangerous misinformation about disease outbreaks -- from falsely suggesting AIDS can be transmitted through kissing to warning Americans not to get vaccinated and falsely suggesting vaccines can cause autism.

A person who attended a packed pool party in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, over Memorial Day weekend — video of which went viral and drew widespread condemnation — has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Antibody Tests Point To Lower Death Rate For The Coronavirus Than First Thought.

Nike is saying 'Don't Do It' in a message about racism in America.

Joe Biden has a chance to make history on climate change. All he has to do is embrace the consensus that’s waiting for him.

Faculty Are Not Cannon Fodder. Despite what they say, administrators have no idea who is vulnerable to the virus.

UK government authorises return of live sport.

Washington state campgrounds will start reopening June 1.

NASA, SpaceX launch astronauts from US soil for the first time in a decade.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.

Friday, May 29, 2020

And another day in America with an unhinged President who literally threatens to shoot and kill Americans comes to a close:

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Deaths

US: 104,542 (+1212)

World: 366,809 (+4785)

Countdown: 158 days.

In the next couple of weeks, the coronavirus will have killed more Americans than died in World War I. It has already killed 40,000 more Americans than died in the Vietnam War—and has proven to be 33 times more deadly than the 9/11 attacks. — But go ahead and keep on supporting dickhead Donald Trump. 

Before President Trump tweeted the phrase “When the looting starts, the shooting starts" on early Friday, it was uttered by a Southern police chief during civil rights unrest in the 1960s.  — Yeah, Trump specifically chose those words.

Trump says he doesn't want 'shooting' after Minneapolis riot over police killing. — His version of damage control is to try and convince you he didn’t mean what he actually said. Shut up, Donald. You need to be locked away. 

Trump’s Campaign Was Always Going to Be About Racism. Minnesota Just Became the Epicenter.

Police officer fires pepper bullets directly at news crew in Louisville. -- Yeah, that wasn’t an accident.

Trump has announced that the United States will terminate its relationship with the World Health Organization.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin charged with third degree murder and manslaughter, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says.

A black Latino CNN reporter was arrested. A white CNN reporter was not.

Legal analyst says arrest captured live on air shows "people don't have faith" in authorities. — Some people. Others apparently love authoritarianism.

Police in Minneapolis released a CNN reporter who was led off in handcuffs along with his film crew while reporting live on television during protests in the city.

Trump accuses Twitter of unfair targeting after company labels tweet 'glorifying violence'.

Trump and Zuckerberg Both Want You to Believe Facebook, a Private Company, Is the Public Square. The president won’t tolerate checks on his behavior—which is convenient, because the platform won’t institute any.

Mark Zuckerberg says social networks should not be fact-checking political speech.

Leaked posts show Facebook employees asking the company to remove Trump’s threat of violence.

Lindsey Graham urges judges to retire so that their places can be filled before November election.

Documents regarding former national security adviser Michael Flynn's December 2016 calls have been declassified and sent to Congress, officials say. — They are summaries of the transcripts. Hmmm. 

Finally, justice for Ethan, man with Down 

Syndrome who died at the hands of movie theater security.

Florida officials approve Walt Disney World reopening plans.

Monkeys steal coronavirus blood samples in India. — Because this is 2020. 

Brazilians say 'I do' at drive-thru weddings to avoid virus.

U.S. senators urge probe of TikTok on children's privacy.

Oh great, now we’re running out of bikes.

Disrupting death: Could we really live forever in digital form? Once largely the concern of science fiction, more people are now interested in immortality -- whether that's keeping your body or mind alive forever (as explored in the new Amazon Prime comedy Upload), or in creating some kind of living memorial, like an AI-based robot or chatbot version of yourself, or of your loved one. The question is -- should we do that? And if we do, what should it look like? — Black Mirror has a terrific episode about this. 

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

And another day of living in two Americas comes to a close:

"The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it." — George Orwell

Deaths

US: 103,330 (+1223)

World: 362,024 (+4592)

Countdown: 159 days.

Trump continues to claim broad powers he doesn’t have. Threatening to shut down Twitter for flagging false content. Claiming he can “override” governors who dare to keep churches closed to congregants. Asserting the “absolute authority” to force states to reopen, even when local leaders say it’s too soon. As he battles the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump has been claiming extraordinarily sweeping powers that legal scholars say the president simply doesn’t have. And he has repeatedly refused to spell out the legal basis for those powers.

Another 2.1 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total number of unemployment claims since March to 40.8 million — or 26% of the civilian labor force.

New research shows how dangerous the coronavirus is for current and former cancer patients. “If they don’t have COVID-19, they want to do anything they can to avoid getting it.”

Some Pennsylvania Democrats Accuse Pennsylvania GOP Leadership of Covering Up Lawmaker’s COVID-19 Diagnosis.

Trump shares video of supporter saying that politically "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat". -- Trump is deliberately trying to start a civil war.

Trump is set to announce an executive order against social media companies. While his messages often have the effect of distracting from an unfortunate headline, people close to the President say it is their impression that he genuinely believes many of the more conspiratorial things he sends -- including debunked theories about his predecessor -- and that he isn't raising them only in the hopes of diverting attention elsewhere.

Trump signs executive order aimed at social media companies after fuming over fact-check. -- He wants you to believe that only what he says is truth. Orwell rolls in his grave.

Legal experts 'ratio' Trump's executive order aimed at social media companies. Congress has protected Twitter, Facebook and other platforms, and the president's action can't do away with that.

Four years later, Trump's complaints and rhetoric haven't changed. -- Same Donald. Same shit.

Activists call for murder charges in George Floyd's death. But they're rare against police.

Unrest erupts again after death of George Floyd, Minnesota governor activates National Guard. -- You’re pissed off that POC are pissed off, but you’re not concerned with why POC are pissed off. That is white privilege.

Minneapolis banned warrior-style police training. Its police union kept offering it anyway.

Lack of COVID-19 immunity no reason to vote by mail, Texas court rules. Trump cheers.

Covid-19 clusters emerge as lockdowns ease across Europe.

California is reporting the largest single-day increase in confirmed cases since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Las Vegas is reopening in one week.

China approves plan to rein In Hong Kong, defying Trump and worldwide outcry.

Backlash after YouTubers give up adopted son. A couple who documented on a popular YouTube channel their life with an autistic toddler adopted from China are facing a backlash after they revealed he had been placed with another family.

A looming plague –- and it’s not coronavirus. New swarms of locusts could push millions into hunger.

Betsy DeVos demands public schools share pandemic aid with private institutions. -- Betsy DeVos is a vile human being.

They’re back, telling us again that the age of online education is here. Don’t believe the hype.

People are accidentally throwing out their stimulus check — because it looks like junk mail. -- Probably by design. Yeah, I’m snarky tonight. Fuck it.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.