Healthcare workers gather in Times Square for the 7 p.m. daily "Thank You Hour" to honor essential medical workers and to protest on Blackout Tuesday in New York City on June 2. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Wednesday, June 03, 2020
NYC HEALTH CARE WORKERS FOR BLM
Healthcare workers gather in Times Square for the 7 p.m. daily "Thank You Hour" to honor essential medical workers and to protest on Blackout Tuesday in New York City on June 2. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
BLM POLICE SOLIDARITY
Baltimore police officers kneel in solidarity with protesters at City Hall in Baltimore on June 1. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
Pentagon science adviser quits over security tactics for Trump church photos
By Don Jacobson
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
June 3 (UPI) -- A Pentagon adviser has resigned from his post in protest over Defense Secretary Mike Esper's involvement in a controversial photo opportunity and tactics used to snap a picture of President Donald Trump in front of a historic Washington, D.C., church.
James Miller, who served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014, resigned from his position on the Pentagon's science board Tuesday in a letter published by The Washington Post.
Miller cited Monday's photos at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, which were preceded by federal law enforcement officers forcefully clearing peaceful protesters from the area so Trump could walk there. In the photos, Trump is holding a Bible.
Moments earlier, Trump had threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military troops to states that failed to "solve" their violent demonstrations.
RELATED House defense committee chair demands clarity on potential domestic military use
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the tactics "shameful" and Rev. Mariann Budde, the district's Episcopal bishop, said she was "outraged" and was given no notice the church would be used "as a prop."
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI
In his resignation letter, Miller said Esper violated his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution by "visibly supporting" Trump's photo plan.
"Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets -- not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op" he said. "You (Esper) then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church for that photo."
Trump's actions, Miller said, "violated his oath to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed," as well as the First Amendment right of the people to peaceably assemble.
"You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it."
Esper told NBC News he didn't know beforehand that Trump would walk to the church. He said he thought they were going to view damage cased by violent protesters and speak with federal troops.
RELATED George Floyd protests: Pentagon moves 1,600 troops to D.C. area
CNN reported that U.S. Attorney General William Barr had ordered the removal of protesters who'd gathered near the White House. Authorities had planned to secure a wide perimeter for the walk, but Barr gave the order for the demonstrators to be cleared when he saw the crowds, CNN's report said.
U.S. Park Police said their move to clear Lafayette Square, north of the White House, before the start a scheduled curfew on Monday was unrelated to Trump's visit to the church.
Some top Republican U.S. Senators have supported Trump's move. A "sense of Congress" resolution condemning his actions failed to achieve unanimous consent after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell objected because it didn't sufficiently condemn rioting.
By Don Jacobson
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
June 3 (UPI) -- A Pentagon adviser has resigned from his post in protest over Defense Secretary Mike Esper's involvement in a controversial photo opportunity and tactics used to snap a picture of President Donald Trump in front of a historic Washington, D.C., church.
James Miller, who served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014, resigned from his position on the Pentagon's science board Tuesday in a letter published by The Washington Post.
Miller cited Monday's photos at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, which were preceded by federal law enforcement officers forcefully clearing peaceful protesters from the area so Trump could walk there. In the photos, Trump is holding a Bible.
Moments earlier, Trump had threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military troops to states that failed to "solve" their violent demonstrations.
RELATED House defense committee chair demands clarity on potential domestic military use
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the tactics "shameful" and Rev. Mariann Budde, the district's Episcopal bishop, said she was "outraged" and was given no notice the church would be used "as a prop."
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI
In his resignation letter, Miller said Esper violated his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution by "visibly supporting" Trump's photo plan.
"Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets -- not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op" he said. "You (Esper) then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church for that photo."
Trump's actions, Miller said, "violated his oath to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed," as well as the First Amendment right of the people to peaceably assemble.
"You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it."
Esper told NBC News he didn't know beforehand that Trump would walk to the church. He said he thought they were going to view damage cased by violent protesters and speak with federal troops.
RELATED George Floyd protests: Pentagon moves 1,600 troops to D.C. area
CNN reported that U.S. Attorney General William Barr had ordered the removal of protesters who'd gathered near the White House. Authorities had planned to secure a wide perimeter for the walk, but Barr gave the order for the demonstrators to be cleared when he saw the crowds, CNN's report said.
U.S. Park Police said their move to clear Lafayette Square, north of the White House, before the start a scheduled curfew on Monday was unrelated to Trump's visit to the church.
Some top Republican U.S. Senators have supported Trump's move. A "sense of Congress" resolution condemning his actions failed to achieve unanimous consent after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell objected because it didn't sufficiently condemn rioting.
WE ARE ALLIES, WE ARE COMRADES,
WE ARE FELLOW WORKERS TOO
MOST IMPORTANTLY WE ARE IN SOLIDARITY
WITH BLACK LIVES MATTER
WE CALL THAT SOLIDARITY UNIONISM
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL
Responding to a request to protect black demonstrators, white demonstrators form a perimeter at City Hall in Baltimore on June 1. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL
Responding to a request to protect black demonstrators, white demonstrators form a perimeter at City Hall in Baltimore on June 1. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
TRAFALGAR SQUARE LONDON
THE WHOLE MILLENNIAL WORLD HAS BECOME WOKE TO IMPERIALISM, RACISM, AND COLONIALISM
THAT THOSE THE EMPIRES HAVE EXPLOITED TO CREATE CAPITALISM HAVE STILL NOT SEEN REPARATIONS WORLD WIDE FOR THE CRIME OF COLONIALISM
BOSTON GENERAL HOSPITAL
ITALY
TRIBAL TERRITORIES
\
PLASTIC BOTTLES VS SWAT
THESE ARE THE DREADED PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES
THEY TERRIFY HEAVILY ARMOURED RIOT COPS
WHO RESPOND IN KIND WITH RUBBER BULLETS, TEARGAS, PEPPERBALLS, BATONS AND SHIELDS WHILE WEARING KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR, HELMETS,
GAS MASKS.
THEY TERRIFY HEAVILY ARMOURED RIOT COPS
WHO RESPOND IN KIND WITH RUBBER BULLETS, TEARGAS, PEPPERBALLS, BATONS AND SHIELDS WHILE WEARING KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR, HELMETS,
GAS MASKS.
YES FOLKS YOU AND I BOTH KNOW
THAT RIOT COPS FEAR OF
PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES,
FULL OR EMPTY,
IS JUST THEIR EXCUSE
FOR BOYS TO USE THEIR TOYS!
NBA coach Gregg Popovich says ‘if Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people’
Spurs coach and other members of the sports world, like LeBron James and Michael Jordan, have been vocal supporters of protesters
Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs calls a play during an NBA game. CHRISTIAN PETERSEN
Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs calls a play during an NBA game. CHRISTIAN PETERSEN
Published: June 2, 2020
“It’s unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people. But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. ”
That’s future Hall of Fame basketball coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, in an interview with The Nation addressing President Donald Trump’s reaction to the events surrounding the death of George Floyd.
“The thing that strikes me is that we all see this police violence and racism, and we’ve seen it all before, but nothing changes. That’s why these protests have been so explosive. But without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change,” Popovich said. “And white Americans have avoided reckoning with this problem forever, because it’s been our privilege to be able to avoid it. That also has to change.”
The Spurs coach has not been shy about vocalizing his political beliefs in the past, and has been an outspoken Trump critic for years.
See also: Michael Jordan and many current NBA players express their anger and frustration over the death of George Floyd
“It’s unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people. But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. ”
That’s future Hall of Fame basketball coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, in an interview with The Nation addressing President Donald Trump’s reaction to the events surrounding the death of George Floyd.
“The thing that strikes me is that we all see this police violence and racism, and we’ve seen it all before, but nothing changes. That’s why these protests have been so explosive. But without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change,” Popovich said. “And white Americans have avoided reckoning with this problem forever, because it’s been our privilege to be able to avoid it. That also has to change.”
The Spurs coach has not been shy about vocalizing his political beliefs in the past, and has been an outspoken Trump critic for years.
See also: Michael Jordan and many current NBA players express their anger and frustration over the death of George Floyd
“It’s so clear what needs to be done. We need a president to come out and say simply that ‘black lives matter.’ Just say those three words,” he said.
In recent days, protests have erupted across the U.S. demanding justice for Floyd and calling for an end to racial discrimination in the country. Many athletes, from LeBron James to Michael Jordan, have voiced support for those protesting.
In recent days, protests have erupted across the U.S. demanding justice for Floyd and calling for an end to racial discrimination in the country. Many athletes, from LeBron James to Michael Jordan, have voiced support for those protesting.
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