BLM supporter speaks out after carrying counter-protester to safety

Photo of Patrick Hutchinson coming to the man’s aid went viral after Saturday’s protests

Clea Skopeliti
Sun 14 Jun 2020
 

Patrick Hutchinson carries the injured man near Waterloo station in London. 

Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

The Black Lives Matter demonstrator who carried a counter-protester to safety during Saturday’s protests in London has spoken out about the moment he decided to intervene to help the man.

Describing his decision to step in, Patrick Hutchinson said: “His life was under threat, so I just went under, scooped him up, put him on my shoulders and started marching towards the police with him.”

In an interview with Channel 4 News, the personal trainer and grandfather said: “You don’t think about it [being scary] at the time, you just do what you’ve got to do.”

Hutchinson contrasted the intervention with the lack of action taken by the Minneapolis police officers who were involved in George Floyd’s death. “If the other three police officers that were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening, and stopping their colleague from doing what he was doing, like we did, George Floyd would be alive today.

“I just want equality, equality for all of us. At the moment, the scales are unfairly balanced and I just want things to be fair for my children and my grandchildren.”

Police said 113 people were arrested on Saturday, including a 28-year-old man detained on suspicion of urinating by a Westminster memorial dedicated to the murdered police officer Keith Palmer, after far-right activists organised a counter-protest to BLM groups. The Metropolitan police said its officers were injured after being kicked, punched or hit by missiles as they faced hundreds of angry demonstrators, who claimed they were protecting statues.

Hutchinson and his friends, who are security and martial arts experts, attended an anti-racist protest on Saturday to “try and keep the peace”. When far-right groups began to clash with black protestors, Hutchinson said the man he helped had been caught alone and left by his friends.

Pierre Noah, a businessman and friend of Hutchinson’s, said of the incident: “It would have turned out really bad because someone’s life would have been taken and you know what would have happened. Straight away – black boys have killed somebody, and they’ve killed a white man – it’s just going to be worse. So we had to go out there. I couldn’t sleep.”

Describing his motivation to help the protester, Jamaine Facey, a personal trainer, said: “I’m not protecting him, I’m protecting our kids. I was protecting their future, because I know the judge would not have saw what happened before. I was protecting their future.”

Chris Otokito, a businessman, described the group’s effort to de-escalate the situation. “We were there to serve a purpose. We saw it escalating, we tried to get around the guy to try and stop it from happening. Patrick came in and assessed the situation straight away, picked him up and just tried to do what we could to get him back to a safer place.”

A photo of Hutchinson carrying the injured man went viral on Sunday, with people describing the BLM protester as a hero.

Claudia Webbe, the Labour MP for Leicester East, tweeted: “A national hero – this is what humanity looks like.”

David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, shared the photo on Twitter, writing: “Patrick Hutchinson carries an injured stranger to safety during yesterday’s protests. It’s easy to focus on the worst instincts of human behaviour. But it is vital we also celebrate the best.”

Boris Johnson condemned the “racist thuggery” of the rightwing protests in London, while the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on Sunday described the scenes as “shocking and disgusting”.

Similar demonstrations took place elsewhere in the country, including in Bolton and Bristol, but appeared to proceed mostly peacefully.

This powerful image of a Black man carrying a white counter-protester to safety frames a day of chaos and race-inspired violence in London

A protester carries an injured counter-protester to safety, near the Waterloo station during a Black Lives Matter protest in London, Britain, on June 13, 2020.
Dylan Martinez/Reuters

INSIDER•June 14, 2020

Image of Black man carrying white counterprotester to safety goes viral

A powerful photo taken during anti-Black Lives Matter protests in London on Saturday shows a Black man carrying a white protester to safety after he got injured.

The picture was taken after hundreds of demonstrators, some of which belonged to far-right groups, clashed with police in Parliament Square.

Videos on social media show protesters, mostly white, throwing bottles, cans, and smoke canisters at mounted police officers.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the violence as "racist thuggery."

An alleged far-right protester at the protest was also pictured urinating next to a memorial for PC Keith Palmer, a police officer stabbed to death during the Westminster Bridger terror attack in 2017.

A Black Lives Matter group in the British capital had to call off their demonstration planned for Saturday over fears of clashes, but small groups still gathered.

A powerful photo taken during an anti-Black Lives Matter demonstration in London on Saturday shows a Black man carrying a white protester to safety after he got injured.

It came at the end of sporadic violence across the capital between white protesters, some members of far-right groups, and Black Lives Matter supporters. Police made more than 100 arrests.

If you're feeling tired, fuzzy, or unmotivated, you're not alone. Stress related to the COVID-19 coronavirus and the pandemic can take a huge short- and long-term toll on your mental and physical health. Turns out, our bodies weren't meant to maintain high levels of stress for long periods of time. The wear and tear it causes our bodies is called allostatic load, with symptoms like depression, irregular menstrual cycles, and an increased susceptibility to disease. Here's what's happening in your brain when you're chronically stressed and what it does to your body.

The picture, which is trending on social media, was taken as hundreds of demonstrators, some of which belong to far-right groups and organizations, clashed with police in central London's Parliament Square.

The protesters, many of which were middle-aged white men, claimed they were there to "protect" statues, after recent calls to remove them because of their colonial associations.

"Easily my favourite photo of the day," someone wrote on Twitter
—Lauren Townsend (@LaurenJTownsend) June 13, 2020

"Wow. This is it. This is the photo," another person commented.

Videos on social media of the demonstrations show white protesters gathered in Parliament Square, many of which were shirtless or clutching beers, throwing bottles, cans, and smoke canisters at mounted police.

In response, police in riot gear formed lines and blocked exits to contain protesters in the square.
—Matthew Thompson (@mattuthompson) June 13, 2020

In a post on Twitter, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the violence used by the protesters as "racist thuggery."

"Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of law. These marches & protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines. Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality" he wrote
—Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 13, 2020

Many of the protesters gathered around a statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, which was boarded up on Friday, claiming to be protecting it after it was vandalized during a BLM protest, the previous week. Authorities also fenced off other statues in Parliament Square, including memorials to Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.

Speaking before the protest, Paul Golding, the leader of the far-right political organization Britain First, was cited in the Guardian as saying: "I am extremely fed up with the way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism against our national monuments."

Another protester told the New York Times: "People are defacing my history and my culture. That's why these people are here because we feel we're getting attacked."

Statues and monuments have become flashpoints in ongoing demonstrations against police brutality and racism sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis after a white a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The demonstration on Saturday came partly in response to a social media callout to "protect the monuments," according to the Guardian.

At one point, a protester was pictured urinating next to a memorial for PC Keith Palmer, a police officer who was after stabbed to death during the Westminster Bridger terror attack in 2017.

Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the act as "appalling and shameful."

"We have seen some shameful scenes today, including the desecration of PC Keith Palmer's memorial in parliament, in Westminster Square, and quite frankly that is shameful, that is absolutely appalling and shameful," Patel said.

The 28-year-old man has since been arrested "on suspicion of outraging public decency," according to the BBC.

By Saturday evening, more than 100 arrests were made "for offences including breach of the peace, violent disorder, assault on officers, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of class A drugs, and drunk and disorder," according to a statement by The Metropolitan Police. Around 15 people were injured, two of which were police officers.

A Black Lives Matter group in the British capital had to call off their demonstration planned for Saturday over fears of clashes with counter-protesters.

But small groups of anti-racist protesters still gathered in the capital and briefly clashed with counter-protesters in Trafalgar Square. The two groups were throwing bottles and fireworks at one another as police tried to separate them, the New York Times reported.

The alteration comes a few days after protesters at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the southwest city of Bristol, tore down a statue of Edward Colston, a 17th-century slave trader, and dumped it in a river.

London isn't the only European city that saw protests this weekend. In Paris, around 15,000 people rallied to condemn police brutality and racism on Saturday, also demanding justice for Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old Black man who died in 2016 after police arrested him.

Traoré's sister, who was at the demonstration, said: "What's happening in the United States is happening in France. Our brothers are dying," according to the BBC.

Beverly Hills Limits Nighttime Protests in Residential Areas With Emergency Order

By Jordan Moreau

Joe Kohen/Shutterstock
Beverly Hills issued an emergency order on Saturday that bans gatherings of more than 10 people at night in residential areas.

Enacted on Saturday night, the new rules lasts between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. each night until further notice.

The city of Beverly Hills’ Twitter account shared the message as well, and the full order can be viewed here. The rule is to “preserve the peace and tranquility of residential neighborhoods.”

To preserve the peace and tranquility of residential neighborhoods, effective tonight and until further notice, no more than 10 people shall gather in an assembly in a public right of way in a residential area between the hours of 9 p.m. – 8 a.m. More: https://t.co/EVjLWqWgE5
— CityofBeverlyHills (@CityofBevHills) June 14, 2020

The emergency order comes after a group called “Occupy” staged loud protests at night using bullhorns and loud music in residential areas, according to the press release.
Silent gatherings, like candlelight vigils and private events, are still allowed, but people disobeying the order will be subject to arrest.

On May 30, Beverly Hills was hit by violence and property damage as looting began in the area, particularly around Rodeo Drive. The city had enacted an earlier curfew than the rest of Los Angeles at that time.

Protests against the death of George Floyd and police brutality are still being carried out around the country. A march for the Black LGBTQ community called All Black Lives Matter is taking place on Hollywood Boulevard on Sunday.

Fox News Host Tucker Carlson Loses More Advertisers

Tiffany Hsu,
The New York Times•June 13, 2020

Tucker Carlson loses more advertisers after Black Lives Matter comments


On Monday’s segment of his prime-time show, Fox News host Tucker Carlson cast doubt on the reasons behind the worldwide unrest prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

“This may be a lot of things, this moment we are living through,” Carlson said. “But it is definitely not about black lives, and remember that when they come for you. And at this rate, they will.”

Since he made those statements and others, prominent companies including The Walt Disney Co., Papa John’s, Poshmark and T-Mobile have distanced themselves from “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” joining other businesses that have backed away from the show in recent years.

The flight of advertisers accelerated Tuesday, when watchdog group Sleeping Giants tagged T-Mobile in a Twitter post, saying that Fox News had aired what amounted to an “extremely racist segment scaremongering about the Black community.”

The telecommunications giant responded on Twitter, saying that its ads had not run on the show since early May and would not run in the future. Mike Sievert, T-Mobile’s chief executive, added a post of his own: “Bye-bye, Tucker Carlson!”

Fox News said that Carlson was referring to Democratic leaders, not protesters, when he said “they” in his remarks on Monday night’s program.

“No matter what they tell you, it has very little to do with black lives,” Carlson had said. “If only it did.”

Advertiser disavowals of the show gained momentum Wednesday, after the newsletter Popular Information highlighted that Disney had run commercials 29 times on Carlson’s program this year. The entertainment giant responded by saying that it had asked the third-party media agency that placed the ads, which were for Disney’s ABC network, to stop doing so on the show.

Papa John’s, a pizza chain that was the center of an uproar in 2018 over a racial slur used by its founder, also backed away from Carlson. The company said that Havas, its media agency, placed a general buy for ad space across several cable news networks and left the positioning of the spots up to the networks.

Papa John’s began advertising on cable only after the pandemic began, as live sports and other content disappeared. It has run ads on “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC and “CNN Tonight With Don Lemon.”

After Carlson’s comments, Papa John’s said in a statement that it would stop spending on opinion shows, noting that “placement of advertising is not intended to be an endorsement of any specific programming or commentary.”

Steven Tristan Young, chief marketing officer of Poshmark, said in a statement Thursday that the e-commerce company stopped advertising on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on June 2.

“We do not agree with the comments he made on his show and stand in solidarity with those who seek to advance racial justice and equality,” Young said.

Companies are trying to be especially sensitive amid the nationwide reckoning over race. Many, including Disney, T-Mobile, Poshmark and Papa John’s, have posted messages on social media in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Others have been advertising less in recent weeks.

Carlson has spoken harshly about the unrest, urging a more severe crackdown on protests. In a segment posted to YouTube on June 1, which was preceded by a note that it could be “inappropriate or offensive to some audiences,” he chided Vice President Mike Pence for having “scolded America for its racism” and told President Donald Trump that “people will not forgive weakness.”

Fox News said the advertiser departures had not caused the network to suffer a financial hit overall, noting that the commercials that would have run nationwide on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” had moved to other programs on the network.

On Thursday night, a hashtag campaign — #IStandWithTucker — sprang up on Twitter, with his fans appending it to messages of support for the host. As the phrase made the list of the platform’s trending topics, Carlson’s detractors tweeted insults at the host and the network that employs him while making use of the same hashtag.

Carlson, who recently sold his stake in the conservative site The Daily Caller, has lost major advertisers in the past few years. Dozens of companies, including Pacific Life, Farmers Insurance and IHOP, have distanced themselves following his on-air comments about white supremacy, immigrants and women.
But his show remains a linchpin of the Fox News lineup, drawing 4.8 million viewers last week. So far this year, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” generated 16% of ad revenue for Fox News, according to iSpot.tv, the television ads measurement company. Out of $75 million in total spending, more than a third came from a single advertiser: MyPillow, a pillow manufacturer in Minnesota run by Mike Lindell, a supporter of Trump who appeared at a White House Rose Garden news briefing in March.

Few major brands remain on Carlson’s program. Several major media buyers said they did not have clients with recent spots on the show.

Alongside spots from the computer security brand Norton, skin care brand Proactiv and Trump’s reelection campaign, recent ads have included a beet powder company that has used gun rights personality Dana Loesch as a spokeswoman, a foot fungus treatment brand and several law firms, according to iSpot.tv.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2020 The New York Times Company

Paul Krugman reveals why the far right is living out its ‘nightmare’ — and could become even more dangerous
Published on June 12, 2020 By Alex Henderson, AlterNet


The “Justice for George Floyd” protests have been having a major impact all around the United States — even in the Deep South, where symbols of the Confederacy are being removed from public property. Discussing the impact of the protests in his New York Times column, liberal economist Paul Krugman asserts that far-right “reactionaries” are having a terrible month. But Krugman also warns that the more threatened reactionaries feel, the more “dangerous” they can become in the months leading up this year’s presidential election

President Donald Trump has been highly critical of the removal of Confederate monuments from public places — which, Krugman stresses, speaks volumes about Trump’s mentality and the mentality of his party.

"Why should a guy who grew up in Queens care about Confederate tradition in the first place?” Krugman asks. “The answer is that Trump and most of his party are reactionaries.”

Krugman goes on to explain that “from a reactionary’s point of view, the past three weeks have been a nightmare. Not only are marginal people who are supposed to know their place standing up for justice — they’re overwhelmingly winning the battle for public opinion.”

Trump, according to Krugman, has responded to the Floyd protests in a variety of ways — from “wild conspiracy theorizing” to “law and order” rhetoric that seeks to “turn the clock back to 1968.” Krugman is obviously referring to the fear-mongering 1968 presidential campaigns of President Richard Nixon and segregationist George Wallace.

Another tactic of the far right, Krugman observes, is claiming that the Floyd protests are being organized by extremists.

“On the right, it’s a given that mass popular demonstrations have been orchestrated by Antifa radicals, though there’s not a shred of evidence to that effect,” Krugman writes. “And Trump, famously, suggested that a 75-year-old man knocked over by the police — we’ve all seen the video of him bleeding out on the sidewalk — was an Antifa provocateur who somehow engineered his own assault.”

Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2020

Krugman points out that in the minds of far-right reactionaries, “the horror of the situation isn’t the possibility that protests might turn violent. It’s the fact that the protests are happening at all. And that’s why people like Trump and Tom Cotton have been so eager to send in the military.”

Moreover, Krugman says, reactionaries are terrified to see so many whites marching in the protests.

But Krugman ends his column with a warning: if far-right reactionaries believe they are losing public option, that could make them even worse.

“Don’t count the reactionaries out,” Krugman warns. “They remain extremely dangerous and will become more dangerous if, as seems increasingly likely, Trump finds himself staring at the prospect of electoral defeat.”

American apartheid: This country still treats too many of its black citizens like slaves
Published on June 13, 2020 By Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon- Commentary


Imagine that you are a black citizen of this country. Every day, you wake up in your house or your apartment, and you must wonder, is this the day? Is this the day I’m going to be jogging down a neighborhood street, like Ahmaud Arbery, and be killed by armed civilians? Is this the day I’m going to be arrested outside a convenience store, like George Floyd, and be strangled to death? Is this the day I’m going to be stopped in my car by a policeman for failure to signal a lane change, like Sandra Bland, and be arrested and jailed and end up dead? Is this the day I’m going to be birdwatching in the park, like Christian Cooper, and have a passerby call the police and report me? Is this the day I’m going to be stopped for a broken brake light, like Walter Scott, and shot five times in the back and killed? Is this the day I’m going to walk up to the door of my apartment building and be confronted by four policemen and when I reach for my wallet, be shot 19 times, like Amadou Diallo? Is this the day I will be snatched off the street by three white supremacists and dragged with a chain behind a truck for three miles until I die, like James Byrd Jr. in Texas?

How would you like to be afraid every single day of your life that something terrible will happen to you, just because you are black?

We white citizens are treating our fellow black citizens like they are slaves. They experience the same kind of violence and inhumanity that was visited upon slaves. If they were walking normally down a road, they could be suspected of having escaped their slave bonds and be arrested and taken into custody. They could be accused of misbehavior or a crime and be killed with impunity. They could be hanged from the neck until dead. They could be beaten with hands or clubs or whips in punishment for crimes they were arbitrarily accused of, without trial or conviction.

All of this could be done to them because they were not fully human beings. No laws protected them. They were not citizens. They were property. They were owned. Nothing prevented their punishment or death. Their owners could do with them what they pleased. They could rape them. They could beat them. They could sell them. They could kill them. Nothing would happen to the people who did those things, because they were white. They were protected by their skin color, and that was enough.

So many attitudes and laws are passed down to us from slavery, and we inherit them without thinking about it. Doesn’t all of this sound like what has been done to black citizens over and over and over again? Sure, sometimes a perpetrator is caught and tried and punished. But many times — way, way too many times — when the perpetrators are police officers, they get away with it. The police have been like overseers, working for slave owners to control and discipline and punish slaves. The police are our hired agents just as much as overseers were the agents of slave owners. It’s awful to confront, isn’t it? Ugly. Terrible to think about.

But it’s been happening right in front of our eyes. It’s beyond racism. It’s a system of apartheid that has been with us since slavery: two worlds, one white, one black, kept separate by culture and custom and law enforcement. Two systems of justice, two ways of punishment, two ways of living, two ways of dying.

If you are white, you don’t have to wake up in the morning in fear of what will happen to you that day at the hands of the police or your fellow citizens. You don’t have to worry that you will be pursued and shot to death because you are jogging through a neighborhood. You don’t have to worry that men will seize you and tie you with a chain behind a truck and drag you until you are dead. You don’t have to worry about a policeman pulling you over in your car because your taillight is out, and you will end up handcuffed and beaten and even shot. You do not have to worry about any of this because you are white, not black.

We white people, we have sat back and thought to ourselves, it’s all good now. In my lifetime, we’ve had Brown v. Board of Education, ordering the integration of schools. We have passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, conveying the right to free access to public accommodations, and outlawing discrimination in hiring because of race. We’ve passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. We’ve passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting racial discrimination in rentals and sales of housing. We have passed dozens of lesser federal and state laws dealing with racial discrimination of various kinds. We have even elected a black president.

And yet here we are. Black people are still being beaten and killed all across this country, not just in the South, but in the Midwest and the West and the North. When it’s done by cops, they generally get away with it because the system of apartheid allows it, two legal systems, one for white people and one for black people. Black people are arrested and jailed far more than white people. They are given stiffer sentences. And yes, they are beaten and killed by policemen for infractions that white people can usually get away with.

You want to know why this is happening? It’s because we have never lived up to the promise in the Declaration of Independence that everyone is created equal, and we have never lived up to the guarantees in the Constitution enforcing that ideal.

It’s happening because we have never dealt, as a nation, with our legacy of slavery. Look at what’s happening right now. Donald Trump just announced that he will oppose the renaming of Army posts named for Confederate generals. He wanted to put armed active duty soldiers on the streets to suppress the protests against the killing of George Floyd. Why is he doing this? Because he wants to send a signal to the base of his supporters that he is in favor of our system of apartheid, and wants to keep it going.

His audience gets the message when its subject is honoring Confederate generals who fought on the side of slavery. By honoring these dishonorable traitors to the ideals of our Constitution, Trump is keeping alive the laws of slavery. Did you see the story about a dozen Republican county chairmen in Texas sending out racist and anti-Semitic posts last week? You know why they did it? Because they can read Trump’s signals that it’s OK to discriminate against black people and Jewish people. They know he’s on their side.

Slavery isn’t some ancient custom you find in history books. In terms of the history of this country, it’s yesterday, staring us in the face. You want to know how close we are to slavery? My grandmother’s grandfather owned slaves. When I was growing up and visited my grandparents, their maid lived in a log cabin without running water or electricity that had been built by her great-grandparents when they were freed from slavery. Her grandmother, who still lived with her, was born a slave. All her ancestors she knew of, past her grandparents, had been slaves. All of my ancestors on my grandmother’s side, past her grandmother and grandfather, had been slave owners. All the schools in the state of Virginia, where my grandparents lived, were segregated. So were public accommodations. If you were black and you wanted to buy a Coke in Loudoun County where my grandparents lived, you had to go to a black-owned store. If you wanted to buy a dress or a shirt, you had to go to a black-owned store. If you wanted to use the restroom, you had to go to a restroom marked for “Coloreds.”

I saw it all. This apartheid happened during my lifetime.

My sixth great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson, who famously wrote the words in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal,” also infamously owned more than 600 slaves during his lifetime. He wrote in a letter in 1820 to a friend, discussing the issue of slavery in the territory of Missouri, “But as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.”

The “wolf” to which he referred was the evil of slavery.

I called my old friend Frank Serpico on Thursday night to discuss the issues of racism and police brutality that have filled the news for weeks. He was a famous New York cop who fought corruption in the NYPD more than 50 years ago, and I knew he would have something to say.

“It’s the same shit, Lucian,” Serpico said. “It doesn’t go anywhere. They always pick on the guy who has no ability to defend himself. It’s not just the cops. It’s the judges, it’s the district attorneys, it’s the mayors. The cops, they come from society, and the society is us. Watching this cold-blooded killer taking the life out of a human being was like a perfect storm. When you give somebody power, they’re never going to give it up. Look at Trump. He’s in there egging it on. There’s no stopping him. It’s been there all along. It’s all been said before. Nothing ever changes.”

I interviewed Serpico at his home in the Netherlands in 1975 for a story in the Village Voice. He told me back then, “People have got to understand that it’s just as patriotic to try to keep your country from dying, as it is to die for your country.”

Serpico is right. We will continue to have “justice on one scale, and self-preservation in the other” until we confront the wolf of slavery, and if we don’t, our country will die.

Larry Kudlow grilled by CNN’s Tapper over ‘swampy’ decision to hide names of corporations getting millions in bail-out dollar

Published on June 14, 2020 By Tom Boggioni


Appearing on CNN on Sunday morning, one of Donald Trump’s chief economic advisors was put on the spot by State of the Union host Jake Tapper for the administration’s decision to withhold the names of corporations that received millions in federal bailout money related to the coronavirus pandemic.

With the host noting Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s decision to withhold the names of the large corporations that have received millions in taxpayer dollars after previously saying the process would be totally transparent, Director of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow was pressed to explain why the secrecy.

“He [Mnuchin] reversed course and he said the government would not release the names of those companies,” Tapper began. “Now, look, I can understand why the Trump administration might think that a company that receives a $25,000 loan doesn’t need that information released — I get that. But some companies are getting millions if not tens of millions of dollars. Don’t the American people have a right to know where their money is going?”

“Well, look. I think in terms of those that shouldn’t have qualified, a lot of them have returned the money, and some of those have been named, but I think when Secretary Mnuchin talked about transparency, he talked about the transparency of the process of making the evaluation for the loan and then the distribution of the loan,” he attempted.

“I’m sorry,” Tapper replied. “He said we would report to the public — that’s what he said, we will be reporting to the public. That’s us, the American people and we have a right to know where these tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars have gone if there’s no problem with it, if everything’s fine with it, great. but otherwise it is about as swampy a deal as I can ever imagine. The government giving out hundreds of millions of dollars and the American people don’t even get to know who got it.”

‘Well, I don’t know that I would judge it that way. Idon’t think it was sloppy,” Kudlow replied only to have Tapper correct him with “swampy.”

“The Congressional Budget Office, which is nonpartisan, said this is the most efficient distribution of emergency rescue funds ever,” Kudlow soldiered on. “That’s the CBO, that’s nonpartisan, Jake. Now, insofar as naming each and every company, I don’t think that promise was ever made and I don’t think it’s necessary. I think what is necessary is to make sure that the legalities were observed, that the process of credit and lending was observed, and that people who can qualify will in fact get it.”


You can watch below:

Internet celebrates ‘best president ever’ Obama by honoring 44th president on Trump’s birthday
Published 1 min ago on June 14, 2020
By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement - Commentary


It’s President Donald Trump’s 74th birthday but on social media former President Barack Obama is the one being celebrated.

On Twitter, the top trending topics include #BestPresidentEver, which is number one and almost entirely comprised of tweets about Barack Obama.

“President Trump celebrates 74th birthday” is number two.

“President Obama” is number three. “Mr. President,” mostly praise for Obama or attacks on Donald Trump, is number four.

#RampGate, relating to Trump having to be helped to walk down a ramp after he delivered the West Point commencement address in number seven.
“People are expressing their r former president Barack Obama,” is number nine.

#TrumpIsUnwell comes in at number 10.

And #ObamaDayJune14th is number 11.

A few examples:

Today is Yo Day!!!! Love you #44 and miss You!!! #BestPresidentEver #ObamaDayJune14th pic.twitter.com/gO3uyjKNwN
— MeShellTheBell (@MeShellTheBell1) June 14, 2020


#BestPresidentEver walks the ramp with ease and grace — and going up. #ObamaAppreciationDay pic.twitter.com/EtZd3KJI7V
— Outspoken (@Out5p0ken) June 14, 2020


GM everybody-
I hear it’s #ObamaDayJune14th

President Obama, a man of integrity and inspiration that believed in building bridges, not walls. #HappyBirthdayTrump pic.twitter.com/DaISEuF0ev
— Debbie (@Dangchick1) June 14, 2020

President Obama can win elections without cheating.#ObamaDay #ObamaDidEverythingBetter #TrumpIsNotWell pic.twitter.com/rSRMTGRw8R

—

Robyn (@rsmale) June 14, 2020


Impossible to pick just one @PeteSouza photo of my President. @BarackObama encompassed everything a leader should: strength, compassion, clarity, accountability, affability, humility.#ObamaDayJune14th #ObamaAppreciationDay #ObamaDay #BarackObamaDay #BarackObamaDayJune14th pic.twitter.com/VOV92AW9Ft
— Dr. Lara Carlson (@DrLaraCarlson) June 14, 2020


Forever First Family #ObamaAppreciationDay pic.twitter.com/p4NhJMPFN7
— TV One (@tvonetv) June 14, 2020


WATCH: Trump greeted by silence after telling West Point cadets it’s his birthday on Sunday
Published on June 13, 2020 By Tom Boggioni


Midway through his commencement address at West Point, Donald Trump noted that tomorrow is notable for being both the birthday of the U.S. Army and his own — and was greeted with silence by the graduating cadets.

Earlier in his speech, scattered applause could be heard as the president commended some of the military school’s top athletes, but when the subject of birthdays came up his announcement was met with silence before he soldiered on.

“Tomorrow, America will celebrate a very important anniversary — the 245th birthday of the US Army. Unrelated, it’s going to be my birthday also. I don’t know if that happened by accident,” the president said, and with no response, added, “But it’s a great day because of that Army birthday.”

Watch below:

“Tomorrow, America will celebrate a very important anniversary — the 245th birthday of the US Army. Unrelated, it’s going to be my birthday also. I don’t know if that happened by accident.” #BoneSpurs pic.twitter.com/KDlfxePPeE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 13, 2020

Larry Stone: Black Lives Matter movement has catalyzed a reckoning across sports — and it's not slowing down

2020/6/14 ©The Seattle Times

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS

SEATTLE — The country is going through cataclysmic changes before our very eyes. And the world of sports, rather than providing a sanctuary for those who want to escape the upheaval, is being jolted with a seismic force of its own.

You might even say a reckoning is taking place at all levels of sports. When NASCAR, of all organizations, announces a ban of the Confederate flag in all forms at its races, well, there’s something’s happening here, to paraphrase the classic Buffalo Springfield song from an earlier era of reckoning.

The demands, revelations, changes and mea culpas that have taken place in just a couple of weeks since the George Floyd protests started are nothing short of astonishing.

Perhaps the fact that almost all our games are shut down from the coronavirus makes this a unique moment of reflection by both athletes and those in the power structure. It’s hard, after all, to find sanctuary in non-existent competition. Or, more to the point, this is one of those rare inflection points in our society where all arrows point in the direction of an awakening of sorts.

Clearly, Black athletes are not going to accept the status quo and are speaking out with a force not seen since the turbulent 1960s. White athletes are joining in solidarity more than ever before. As Richard Sherman told the San Francisco Chronicle, “It’s like the beast has been woken up. And I don’t think they’ll let it go back to sleep.”

This has gone beyond the statements that virtually every sports team and organization felt compelled to make condemning the Floyd killing and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. It seems as if a collective soul-searching is manifesting itself in deeds as well as words. Whatever hesitance to speak out that might have existed in the past — fear of alienating owners, coaches, fans, sponsors — has abruptly disappeared.

You have the Boston Red Sox taking the remarkable step, in the wake of former All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter’s comment that he put the Red Sox on his no-trade list because of the racial abuse he received at Fenway Park, putting out a statement that began, “Torii Hunter’s experience is real. If you doubt him because you’ve never heard it yourself, take it from us, it happens.” The Red Sox then vowed to address “larger systemic issues” within the organization.

You had a group of star NFL players releasing a video on social media demanding that the league “admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting” — which resulted in commissioner Roger Goodell releasing his own video in which he did just that.

You had the newly elected president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, Cindy Parlow Cone, personally apologizing to OL Reign star Megan Rapinoe for the policy — recently repealed — that banned kneeling during the national anthem. Rapinoe had done so in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, and Parlow Cone told ESPN, “We missed the point completely — it was never about the flag.”

You had an extraordinary outpouring of allegations from nearly 50 former football players at the University of Iowa, alleging racism and systemic bullying within the program under coach Kirk Ferentz. The immediate result was longtime strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle — the highest-paid strength coach in the country — being placed on administrative leave, and a full investigation into the Hawkeye program ordered.

This only touches the surfaces of a movement that has now spread around the world, from international soccer to Australian Rules Football. The Premier League in England last week sanctioned the display of “Black Lives Matter” in place of individual player names on the back of jerseys. It also expressed support for players who choose to take a knee when play resumes.

Some might call it virtue signaling or political correctness. It’s fair to wonder if all this will last when the vigor of the current protest movement wears off. It’s inevitable that there will be a backlash, and it’s already coming. Saints quarterback Drew Brees received a firestorm of criticism when he stated that he could never support a protest during the national anthem because it was disrespecting the flag. But Brees was criticized from a different direction when he profusely apologized, then backed off his original statement, and then contradicted President Donald Trump by saying, “Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our Black communities.”

It’s absolutely undeniable, however, that this movement within sports, in the wave of Black Lives Matter consciousness-raising, has attained what is now virtually an unstoppable momentum.

The second half of the lyric I quoted earlier — “There’s something’s happening here” — goes: “What it is ain’t exactly clear.” And, indeed, it’s impossible to say where all this is heading.

But if you’re one of those people who likes to tell athletes to “stick to sports” or “stay in your lane’’ or “shut up and dribble,” this is not a comfortable time. Because, for now anyway, the beast is wide awake.

Only one in six say their financial situation improved after three years of Trump: report
Published on June 14, 2020 By Tom Boggioni

According to a report at Bloomberg, few Americans believe their financial situation improved after over three years under the administration of Donald Trump.

The report notes that a survey commissioned by Bankrate.com revealed that, “The ‘Trump Bump’ hasn’t benefited most Americans, with fewer than one in six saying their personal finances have improved since Donald Trump became president.”

According to the survey, despite claims from the president that he has led America to its best economy ever, few are reaping the rewards if there are any.

“Almost twice as many respondents said they’re worse off since Trump moved into the White House in January 2017, while about half of the U.S. adults polled, 45%, said their financial situation has stayed about the same, ” the report states before adding, “Groups likely to report doing better under Trump included men, those identifying as white, and those earning $80,000 or more annually

The report does add the caveat that the fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic is a contributing factor –with millions losing their jobs — bit added that the health crisis is only partly to blame.

“Three out of five of those surveyed said they failed to see any improvement in their personal wealth during Trump’s presidency, even before the coronavirus slammed the U.S., cratered the economy, and ate into stock market gains of the past three years,” Bloomberg reports, adding, “About 42% of those surveyed rated Trump’s overall handling of the economy negatively while 35% say he’s done a good or very good job.”

As for what the future holds, the report adds, “Just 35% of those who say their finances have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak think their financial situations will improve by November’s election.”

Federal court urged to hold ‘rogue’ Trump EPA head in contempt for blatant defiance of ban on toxic weed killer

Published June 14, 2020 By Common Dreams
A coalition of farming and conservation groups is calling on a federal appeals court to hold EPA chief Andrew Wheeler in contempt for defying an order to immediately suspend use of dicamba, a poisonous weed-killer that is notorious for its tendency to drift and destroy nearby crops.

“Trump’s EPA is so rogue it thinks it can blow off a federal court ruling that stops the damaging dicamba spraying in an administrative order,” George Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety, lead counsel in the case, said in a statement late Thursday night. “EPA needs a lesson in separation of powers and we’re asking the court to give it to them.”

On Monday, the EPA issued guidance greenlighting the use of dicamba through July 31 despite a June 3 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the agency’s approval of XtendiMax, Engenia, and FeXapan—dicamba-based herbicides sold by chemical giants Bayer (formerly Monsanto), BASF, and Corteva, respectively.

In its 56-page ruling (pdf), the Ninth Circuit said the EPA “entirely failed to recognize the enormous social cost to farming communities where use of dicamba herbicides had turned farmer against farmer, and neighbor against neighbor.”

“The EPA and Monsanto urge us, if we conclude that substantial evidence does not support the 2018 conditional registrations, to remand without vacatur, leaving the conditional registrations in effect,” the court said. “We decline to do so.”

Green groups celebrated the ruling as a victory for both farmer safety and the environment. On Thursday, the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed an emergency motion (pdf) urging the Ninth Circuit to enforce its June 3 order and hold the EPA and Wheeler in contempt for refusing to abide by it.

According to the two groups, last week’s court ruling to ban the continued use of dicamba “could not have been any clearer” and argued the EPA must be held to account for disobeying the order.

“It’s mind-boggling to see the EPA blatantly ignore a court ruling, especially one that provides such important protections for farmers and the environment,” Stephanie Parent, a senior attorney with CBD, said in a statement. “We’re asking this court to restore the rule of law at the Trump EPA.”