By Robert A. Vella
President Trump continues to feed racism in America by scheduling his political events on anniversary dates of violent attacks by whites upon blacks (including his first campaign rally in Tulsa and his party nomination acceptance speech in Jacksonville), by excluding Dallas’ top three law enforcement officials – who are all black – at a police reform meeting held there yesterday, and by using inflammatory rhetoric to glorify the forceful suppression of peaceful protests by police and national guard troops. Curiously, Trump is also requiring his campaign rally supporters to sign waivers declaring that they will not pursue legal action against him if they become infected with COVID-19. And, speaking of the coronavirus pandemic, government officials across the world – who have been pushing to reopen the economy – are getting rattled by a worrisome resurgence of the contagion which is prompting a few state and local leaders to consider re-implementing “stay at home” orders and other restrictions in the U.S. (such as Oregon and Houston, Texas).
Here’s the news:
President Trump praised the use of tear gas and other force to disperse Minneapolis protesters, calling it a “beautiful scene” and describing the National Guard’s actions “like a knife cutting butter.”
[…]
Trump’s event at a conservative, evangelical and predominantly white church in Dallas on Thursday afternoon came as the White House has yet to announce what new measures it might support in response to the protests against racial injustice that have gripped the nation since the killing of George Floyd by a police officer.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump heads to Dallas on Thursday for a discussion on race and policing that excludes the three top law enforcement officials in the county – a police chief, sheriff and district attorney who all are black.
From: Trump on Juneteenth rally: ‘Think about it as a celebration’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended his decision to resume campaign rallies next week on a day marking the end of U.S. slavery and at the site of a black massacre 100 years ago, saying it would be a celebration.
[…]
“This isn’t just a wink to white supremacists — he’s throwing them a welcome home party,” Senator Kamala Harris, a contender to be Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, said on Twitter on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Republican Party scheduled Trump’s speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination in Jacksonville on Aug. 27. That day will mark the 60th anniversary of what is called “Ax Handle Saturday,” when a white mob wielding ax handles began a riot over black youth attempting to order food from a whites-only lunch counter in the Florida city.
See also:
Trump’s Tulsa Rally on Juneteenth Is a ‘Calculated’ Insult: Oklahoma Dem
Labor leaders under pressure to oust police unions
Vacant Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City to be demolished
From: US government spy planes monitored George Floyd protests
A small Cessna Citation jet flying straight into Washington’s highly restricted airspace would typically be met with fighter jets on its wing. But when one flew over the nation’s capital on June 1 and circled the White House 20 times, it was hardly an accident.
The plane was only one of several aircraft — both piloted and unpiloted — that CNN has been able to track flying over protests in Washington, Minneapolis and Las Vegas. Government watchdogs fear the planes were used to track protesters and perhaps capture cell phone data.
The government’s use of surveillance planes to watch over those protesting the police killing of George Floyd has captured the attention of nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress who want to know whether the planes — typically equipped with live video cameras and heat sensors — were used for “surveilling of Americans engaged in peaceful protests.”
From: Chicago police made coffee and popcorn in US Rep. Bobby Rush’s office while shopping plaza was being looted, he says [Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers and was a 1960s civil rights activist]
Chicago police officers made popcorn and coffee in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s office while nearby businesses were being looted last month, he announced at a stunning news conference alongside Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Rush’s South Side campaign office was looted about two weeks ago during widespread civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police. Looters also went into a nearby plaza of businesses, he said.
Rush said he got a call that his campaign offices at 65th and South Wentworth had been burglarized and there was videotape of eight or more police officers “lounging in my office” as looters were in the shopping center nearby.
Rush looked at the videotape and saw eight or more cops, including three supervisors, with their feet up on desks, he said.
From: American Indian tribes thwarted in efforts to get coronavirus data
Federal and state health agencies are refusing to give Native American tribes and organizations representing them access to data showing how the coronavirus is spreading around their lands, potentially widening health disparities and frustrating tribal leaders already ill-equipped to contain the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has turned down tribal epidemiologists’ requests for data that it’s making freely available to states. Authorities in Michigan and Massachusetts since early spring have also resisted handing over information on testing and confirmed cases, citing privacy concerns, and refused to strike agreements with tribes on contact tracing or other surveillance, eight tribal leaders and health experts told POLITICO. In some instances, officials questioned tribes’ legal standing as sovereign entities.
From: Risk of new lockdowns rises with fear of second COVID-19 wave
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) – Fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections grew on Friday with a record daily increase in India, warnings against complacency in Europe and word from half a dozen U.S. states that their hospital beds were filling up fast.
Health officials worldwide have expressed concerns in recent days that some countries grappling with the devastating economic impact of lockdowns may lift restrictions too swiftly, and that the coronavirus could spread during mass anti-racism protests.
Wall Street took its biggest dive in three months on Thursday on worries of a resurgence and on Friday, shares around the world extended a four-day losing streak.
Related stories:
Public health workers fighting COVID-19 are threatened, forced out of jobs
From: Appeals court appears unlikely to stop Flynn case
A federal appeals court on Friday appeared unlikely to stop a federal judge from examining why the Justice Department sought to walk away from its prosecution of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
During 90 minutes of argument by teleconference, at least two members of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia indicated that they were not inclined to grant a motion by Flynn’s lawyers, who want an order directing District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan to let the government drop the case.
From: International Criminal Court condemns US sanctions order
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to authorize sanctions against court staff, saying it amounted to “an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings.”
An executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday authorizes sanctions against ICC staff investigating American troops and intelligence officials and those of allied nations, including Israel, for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Trump’s order would block the financial assets of court employees and bar them and their immediate relatives from entering the United States.
From: Iowa House overwhelmingly passes scaled back election bill that softens absentee ballot restrictions
The Iowa House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a revised election-related bill that had sparked intense controversy in the Senate only a day before.
The House vote of 95-2 came after Reps. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines, proposed an amendment that eliminated the most controversial parts of the Senate Republicans’ bill, which had included a measure prohibiting the secretary of state from sending absentee ballot request forms to Iowa voters without first receiving a request from the voter.
Such a measure would have directly prevented the events leading up to Iowa’s record-setting June primary, in which Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate sent ballot request forms to every registered voter in the state and extended the voting period for mail-in ballots from 29 days to 40. More than 80% of Iowa’s primary vote came from absentee ballots.
From: Chancellor scolds state over absentee ballot request order
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A Tennessee judge says state election officials have until 12 p.m. Friday to make new absentee ballot request forms available to voters.
If they don’t, she says officials could be jailed.
Chancellor Ellen Lyles scolded the state in a virtual hearing Thursday, saying election officials did not comply with her order which allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot because of COVID-19.
Headlines:
The Secular Jurist 
Do waivers give blanket protections in the US? Even in cases of endangering one’s self or others? I don’t think that sort of thing would have any validity in a French court. Here they call it a “renunciation of rights” and that can only be applied in very narrow circumstances.
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Excellent point. When contractual waivers are challenged in U.S. courts, they are typically not upheld. So, why are they common in America? Because wealthy people and corporations assume that legal challenges won’t be pursued by most individuals and smaller businesses. Why do they assume that? Because the U.S. judicial system favors those who have greater financial resources at their disposal. Is that fair? No, it certainly isn’t.
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All I can say is that November 3rd cannot come fast enough.
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Ditto.
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This sums up the mentality of Trump voters perfectly. They are asked to come to a crowed, indoor rally for their hero, Bunker Boy, not wear masks, and must sign a waiver that if they contract covid-19, they can’t sue said Bunker Boy for exposing them recklessly to it. And thousands of these idiots will sign these waivers and hang on every word Bunker Boy says as if Jeebus Christmas himself was the one saying them. Many will get covid-19. Many will bring it home to their families, elderly and sick friends, and their kids. Many may die from it themselves. ALL of them are fucking mindless idiots being led around by the biggest sissy to EVER hold the title of US President, Herr Donald, Bunker Boy, Trump. Absolute idiots.
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Yep, I’d add “disgusting” too.
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