Wednesday News: “In America, Protest Is Patriotic”; “America, We Break It, It’s Gone”; “Trump has normalised mayhem and the US is paying the price”; “It takes a village to create a monster”; “Make black lives matter in Virginia”; “Stoney joins protest march”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 3.

• China gutted Hong Kong’s autonomy. Trump’s reaction failed on every count.
• Solar and wind’s stunning cost advantage sparks call for mass coal closure (“A new global study has highlighted the growing advantage of wind and solar costs over new and even existing coal generators, so much so that a decision to replace 500GW (gigawatts) of old coal plant with new renewables would deliver annual savings of $23 billion ($A34 billion) and a timely $A1.4 trillion economic boost.”)
• New Study Shows Global Warming Intensifying Extreme Rainstorms Over North America (“The current warming trajectory could bring 100-year rainstorms as often as every 2.5 years by 2100, driving calls for improved infrastructure and planning.” We need to reverse this ASAP!)
• It takes a village to create a monster (“Monday’s event was the result of years of enabling.”)
• Protests show no sign of fading but remain largely peaceful
• America, We Break It, It’s Gone
• In America, Protest Is Patriotic (“The police are supposed to protect free speech, not suppress it.”)
• Live Updates on George Floyd Protests: Impassioned Rallies Continue Across U.S.
  (“The eighth day of protests was largely peaceful, with only sporadic reports of looting overnight. Washington is becoming a heavily armed fortress, and criticism of President Trump’s response is mounting.”)
• I Cannot Remain Silent (Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: “Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so.”)
• Trump’s threats to deploy troops move America closer to anarchy
• A Calmer Night as Large Demonstrations Roll On: Protest Update
• During Nationwide Protests, Politicians Resort to the “Outside Agitator” Trope (Here in Virginia, people like Corey Stewart and Amanda Chase are among the worst examples of this, constantly referring to “Antifa,” even as the vast majority of protesters are simply people who are rightfully upset and angry.)
• How Trump’s Idea for a Photo Op Led to Havoc in a Park
• ‘How did we get here?’: Trump has normalised mayhem and the US is paying the price
• Trump Deploys Full Might of Federal Law Enforcement to Crush Protests (“Nearly a dozen federal agencies were sent to Washington and other cities after President Trump vowed to ‘dominate’ protesters.”)
• Trump’s Use Of Tear Gas To Break Up A Protest Undermined Three Core Values Of American Democracy (“It was essentially a three-part violation. In being generally unsupportive of the protests against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, Trump is in tension with a core democratic value — America taking additional steps to ensure people are treated equally, no matter their race. Trump’s decision to break up the protest then subverted one of America’s core democratic values, the right to peacefully protest. Finally, by involving the National Guard and senior military officials in the action against the protesters, Trump also disregarded the democratic value that the military and police not be used for political purposes.”)
• The Carterization of Donald Trump (I get the point, but it’s totally unfair to Carter, as Carter was trying his best and was a good man, while Trump is…none of those things.)
• Trump’s weak attempt to outsource strongman rule to the military (The military needs to tell Trump to f*** off.)
• The Inconceivable Strangeness of Trump’s Bible Photo-Op (Super, super creepy and bizarre shit.)
• Why This Time Is Different (“Years of polite protests against Donald Trump could not do what this movement might accomplish.”)
• Trump Called In The Military To Scare Anti-Racist Protesters. They Showed Up Anyway. (“Facing threats of violence from police and military, protesters showed up by the thousands in D.C. and around the nation to call for justice for George Floyd.”)
• Trump’s Response to Protests Draws Bipartisan Rebuke in Congress (This NY Times headline is very misleading. In fact, pretty much all Dems condemned Trump, while Republicans *blocked an effort* by Democrats to officially condemn Trump. So why does the NY Times feel the need to constantly apologize for Republicans and to “both sides” everything?)
• Secretary Esper, you violated your oath in aiding Trump’s photo op. That’s why I’m resigning. (“Where will you draw the line, and when will you draw it?”)
• George Floyd and Derek Chauvin Might as Well Have Lived on Different Planets(“Minneapolis abandoned its vision of an egalitarian society. The region is now paying an enormous price for that choice.”)
• Eugene Robinson: We are the governed. We no longer consent to let the police kill us.
• Trump’s use of the Bible was obscene. He should try reading the words inside it.
• ‘Uncomfortable Mission’: Pentagon Tries to Retreat From Trump’s Call to ‘Dominate’ Protests (“Pentagon officials say it was the White House, not the Defense Department, pushing for military might in the streets—with Trump seeking details on ‘tanks’ that could be used.” The military really needs to push back on illegal, unconstitutional, and/or crazy suggestions, orders, etc. from Trump.)
• Mark Zuckerberg on leaked audio: Trump’s looting and shooting reference “has no history of being read as a dog whistle” (“On a tense call with employees, the Facebook CEO defended his decision not to moderate Trump’s posts.” Zuckerberg continues to be a disgrace.)
• Trump’s rhetoric turns off even Republicans (“It is painfully clear that the president is panicked and overwhelmed.”)
• Right-wing media attack faith leaders for criticism of police brutality around Trump’s church photo-op (“Bill O’Reilly called a priest ‘clueless,’ and Raheem Kassam accused an Episcopal bishop of having never ‘picked up a Bible'”)
• The Trump campaign demanded a retraction. Here’s our response.
• Sports Have Never Felt More Meaningless Than Right Now
• Bush administration alums form pro-Biden super PAC
• Biden delivers the presidential speech we needed (“Biden’s address was his most impressive moment in more than 40 years of public service.”)
• George W. Bush Calls George Floyd’s Death, Harassment A “Shocking Failure” In Open Letter; Donald Trump Fires Back (Bush is absolutely right in this case.)
• Biden’s Speech About the Protests Is a Vision of Post-Trump America
• Biden Doesn’t Really Have A Young Voters Problem (“Biden’s margins among different groups of younger voters is about the same — or just a tad worse — than Clinton’s margins were four years ago.”)
• Team Biden: The Media Is Fucking Up the Election Again (“The former VP’s campaign is growing irritated at the lack of coverage they’re getting relative to Trump. And they have additional grumblings for The New York Times.” Strongly agree, the political media is doing a horrible job yet again.)
• Video: Joe Biden Addresses the Nation On the Civil Unrest Facing Communities Across America
• Biden moves closer to formally winning Democratic nomination
• Joe Biden Wins Maryland, New Mexico: Campaign Update
• Trump says GOP is pulling convention from North Carolina (What a joke.)
• Iowa voters oust Rep. King, shunned for insensitive remarks (“Insensitive?” Try racist, xenophobic, etc. Also, he was NOT ousted by Republicans for his racist comments, as the next article explains. Pitiful job by the AP on this story.)
• What Really Brought Down Steve King (“The primary campaign against the Iowa Republican wasn’t about his racism.”)
• Virginia Latino Leaders Endorse Joe Biden for President
• Republicans Are Still Finessing the Question of Steve King’s Racism
• Rep. Connolly Demands Answers from Secret Service on Unwarranted Attack on Peaceful Demonstrators
• Open Letter from Sen. Mark Warner: “Black Americans have been denied justice in our country for far too long…This is a moment to act.”
• Comments by Virginia Members of Congress on Trump’s “Betraying the Very Foundation of the Rule of Law He Purports to Support – the U.S. Constitution”
• Virginia Republicans Silent as Trump Violently Represses Peaceful Protests
• The criminal justice reform agenda Virginia Democrats put off until 2021 (“’When we do these things, I want them done right,’ said Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria and chair of the House of Delegates committee that vetted the proposals. ‘I’m not a fan of sloppy.’”)
• Northam denies Trump administration request to send Va. National Guard to ‘clamp down’ on D.C. unrest
• Editorial: Make black lives matter in Virginia (“Given its ugly racial history, Virginia can set an example to the nation with a determined commitment to making black lives matter.”)
• Dominion seeks extension of suspension on utility disconnections
• Northam asks people to listen and understand cries of black Virginians; proposes action to address racial inequities
• ‘Do not water the weeds’: Gov. Ralph Northam responds to Liberty’s Jerry Falwell’s mask tweet
• Northam’s Phase Two reopening largely overshadowed by protests and continued civil unrest
• Live Video, Highlights: Gov. Ralph Northam’s Tuesday (6/2) Virginia COVID-19 Briefing
• Governor Northam Announces Phase Two Guidelines to Further Ease Public Health Restrictions
• Hampton Roads and most of Virginia to move into Phase 2 of reopening Friday
• Virginia African American leaders respond to four days of protests at news conference
• Arlington County Board Democratic Nominee Takis Karantonis: Arlington “not immune to the systemic racism and injustice that have plagued Black Americans for generations.”
• Richmond mayor joins protesters, apologizes after city police gassed a peaceful demonstration (“The police chief called the actions ‘unwarranted’ and disciplined the officers who fired tear gas without provocation.”)
• Mayor Stoney Joins Fifth Night of Downtown Richmond Protests
• Stoney joins protest march after promising support and policy change, leaves to boos 45 minutes before curfew (“I’m here to stand by those peaceful protesters today, 100%”)
• Crowds march after demanding firings from Stoney for police actions
• Protestors Demand More than an Apology, After Police Tear Gas Demonstrators
• Live Blog: Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to Address Protesters – “I want to say sorry. I want to listen”
• CNU president criticized for “tone deaf” protest email citing burglary of son’s luxury clothing store
• Police deploy tear gas hours into Hampton protest (“Hundreds of protesters kneeled near Peninsula Town Center on Tuesday night after marching up and down Mercury Boulevard for nearly an hour.”)
• Forum in Blacksburg park calls for changes to race relations and police interactions
• School Board Candidates Cristina Diaz-Torres and David Priddy Earn Arlington Democrats’ Endorsement in Historic Vote-by-Mail Caucus
• 131-year-old Confederate statue removed from Alexandria intersection
• ‘Agitators’ mar peaceful protests in Fredericksburg, leading to arrests
• Virginia Tech will host students on campus. But many classes will remain online.
• Council appoints final CRB member; Brackney backs protests (“Charlottesville officials filled out the last seat on the Police Civilian Review Board and the city’s police chief commended activists for peaceful demonstrations locally over the weekend.”)
• Opinion/Editorial: Charlottesville marchers show passion, restraint
• Fredericksburg School Board is urged to go solar
• Suddenly 90s today; near 90 tomorrow through Saturday with shower and storms possible