Yesterday, the sitting president of the United States had a chance to call for understanding and start us down a path toward healing; to defuse some of the anger that has broken free since a brutal cop and three of his brutish friends murdered a man in Minneapolis. Instead he chose to threaten violence against citizens of the United States of America.
Being presidential is so far beyond his skill set that he’ll never manage it. He can’t even manage to pretend to be presidential anymore.
You can either try to solve a problem, or you can be the problem. tRump made his choice to cower in his bunker and whine about how no one has been fair to him. When he finally came out it was to formally threaten the population and then to stage a photo op by tear gassing protesters so he could walk across a street to the steps of a church and turn around and walk back. That walk served no useful purpose, except for him to flex his bully muscles and demonstrate his utter unsuitability for the office he holds.
Of course, that didn’t really surprise any of us. If ever there was a man who deserved the sobriquet, “misbegotten”, it’s Donald John tRump. As far as I can tell, he’s never once in his entire life serves a useful purpose. The man (and I use the term loosely) has shown exactly one purpose since he was in diapers (I mean the first time) — the comfort of Donald John tRump. Nothing else matters to him. At a minimum, he’s lied and cheated to gain everything he’s ever squandered away. This year he’s upped his level of incompetence to the stratospheric and cemented his place as world wide laughingstock and stochastic mass murderer.
While he gibbers and rails against his manifest unsuitability for any office whatsoever, it is up to the rest of us to fill the void left by his abdication of any pretense of leadership. Joe Biden is stepping up. Many, if not most, of our Democratic mayors and other elected officials are stepping up. Even some police chiefs and departments are stepping up. The republican party and their team is, for the most part, AWOL, or worse, busy inciting unrest and violence themselves. We will be sure to remember this in November. History should remember this forever.
We have so many reasons and, yes, a duty to stand up to the forces trying to destroy progress. Society’s momentum is to move forward, to build on what we have accomplished and to continue to improve the lives of all of our citizens. Anything less is unacceptable. Your voice is important. Your vote is critical. WE WILL PREVAIL.
When you vote this November, hold your head high and be proud of the difference you are making. If you are willing to do more, here’s Yosef 52’s latest list of ways to get involved: One Old Man Trying to Fight Back. It's All I Am. I Can Do Nothing Else.
Up the Resistance!
Lest we forget, he also is responsible for this fiasco. (parody of Coconut by Harry Nilsson)
Ok, Let’s look at some good news:
Some police apparently take the serve and protect part of their oath seriously
While I wish this had happened in a lot more places, the fact that it happened at all is a positive sign. With the “If it bleeds, it leads” focus of the news media, we get a steady bread and circuses style diet of the worst that’s out there. That picture has an inherently negative bias. These stories are a counterpoint.
[Camden, New Jersey] nj.com: N.J. police chief carries banner, helps lead march in peaceful protest of George Floyd killing
When she learned about George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Yolanda Deaver wanted to be there to protest.
She decided to organize a march in Camden, where she grew up and has owned a business for more that five years. Deaver posted about her plans on social media and one of her followers, a Camden police officer, asked if she could join.
“She wanted to march with me because she felt the same way,” Deaver said. Soon after, she heard from the police chief, who also asked to participate. From there, the event held Saturday in Camden blossomed into a peaceful protest in which residents and police walked side-by-side, carry signs and calling for change.
Camden Police Chief Joseph Wysocki helped lead the way, carrying a banner proclaiming “Standing in Solidarity,” while a police captain led a Camden Strong chant at one point.
[Coral Gables, Florida] CBS Miami 4: Police Join Demonstrators In Prayer At Coral Gables Protest
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – While some of the demonstrations turned violent on Saturday night, there were also powerful moments of unity.
In Coral Gables, an afternoon of hundreds peacefully protesting included a question-and-answer session with police, and concluded with a moment of prayer.
Images of demonstrators and police kneeling down with heads bowed was one way of standing up against racism.
The Miami-Dade Chiefs of Police Association, in an act of solidarity with protesters, took a knee while someone led the group in prayer.
[Flint, Michigan] CNN: A sheriff put down his baton to listen to protesters. They chanted 'walk with us,' so he did
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson spoke with demonstrators who were met by police officers in riot gear, local affiliate WEYI reported.
"The only reason we're here is to make sure that you got a voice -- that's it," Swanson said in video clips shown on Twitter.
"These cops love you -- that cop over there hugs people," he said, pointing to an officer.
He was speaking to the crowd protesting police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
He smiled and high-fived people in the crowd, who responded by chanting, "walk with us!"
So, he did.
[Newark, NJ] New York Times: How a City Once Consumed by Civil Unrest Has Kept Protests Peaceful
“People have a right to be outraged,” said Lawrence Hamm, a Democratic candidate for United States Senate and the chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, which organized the protest. “I would even say that it is unhealthy for people to repress their strong emotions.”
But the simmering tension never reached a flash point — a victory that city officials and residents attributed to a combination of tactical decisions, community and political leadership and the still-raw memory of 1967.
But in more than a dozen interviews, protesters and city leaders said it was the potent determination of predominantly young African-American members of the Newark community — many of whom have had past run-ins with the police — who stood in the way of widespread destruction.
“It was a combination of anarchists and opportunists waiting for a window to be broken so they could go in and grab something,” said Aqeela Sherrills, the director of the 50-person street team.
“But I tell you: The community wasn’t having it.”
[New York City] The highest-ranking uniformed member of the NYPD took a knee to show his support for protesters at Washington Square Park. A visibly emotional Chief of Department Terence Monahan took a knee and hugged George Floyd protesters at the park on Monday evening. This happened after a few people threw bottles at the cops and a peaceful organizer with a megaphone approached Monahan and he spoke to the crowd. Monahan said the protest leader asked the chief to take a knee with him for peace.
BBC News: George Floyd: Uplifting moments from peaceful protests [Video — 1:37]
The Latest from the Lincoln Project
These ads have to sting — a lot.
Remember that photo op from the intro
The reaction didn’t take long.
Rolling Stone: ‘I’m Outraged’: D.C. Bishop Sounds Off On Trump for Using Historic Church as ‘Prop’
Minutes after announcing plans to mobilize the military to violently crack down on the millions of Americans who since last week have been demonstrating against police brutality, President Trump sauntered over to Washington, D.C.’s historic St. John’s Episcopal Church to have his picture taken with a Bible. His path was cleared by the tear-gassing of peaceful protesters.
Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, D.C., was not happy. In fact, she was outraged. “I’m outraged,” she told the Washington Post. “I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call, that they would be clearing [the area] with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop.”
Because the area was crowded with demonstrators, law enforcement used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear a path to the church. Sirens were audible in the background as the president struggled to find the most awkward way possible to brandish the holy book for the cameras.
Sanity Prevails
The wanker-in-chief was bragging about his new court over the weekend. I suspect he counted some chickens that haven’t hatched yet. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it until I can’t.
Wonkette: Chief Justice John Roberts Can't Even Pretend To Be That Stupid
Late Friday night, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts did something that he likes to do every once in a while, just to mix things up and ... wait for it ... he did the right thing.
Yeah, we were surprised, too.
Early last week, the South Bay United Pentecostal Church, located just south of San Diego in Chula Vista, sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom, arguing his order limiting attendance at worship services was unconstitutional.
Like many recent Supreme Court rulings, this one was 5-4. But unlike in most recent opinions, Justices Ginsberg, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Breyer were joined by none other than George W. Bush appointee John Roberts, whose favorite hobby normally is doing whatever the Trump regime asks him to.
Mmm. Mmm. Good.
I’m all about the food.
Good News Network: ‘Coronavirus Cooking Survey’ Finds That People Are Eating Healthier and Wasting Less Food
Amid lockdowns, people are eating healthier, cooking their own food, and consuming more fruit and vegetables, according to preliminary results from a worldwide Corona Cooking Survey.
Based on analysis of answers to the survey by 11,000 people in 11 countries, consumers reported fewer purchases of microwave-prepared foods, and fewer purchases of sweet and salty snacks.
“Consumption of salty, fat and sweet products usually goes up when people are under stress, but during the pandemic this heightened craving has been fulfilled in many countries with home-baked delicacies,” said Charlotte De Backer, chairman of FOOMS, a research group on food and media at U. Antwerp.
Necessity is the mother of invention (or maybe Frank Zappa — I’m not sure)
While the orange clown is missing in action, other people have stepped up.
Good News Network: This Nurse Didn’t Just Create a Replacement N95 Mask – Hers Filters More
As Tommye Austin made her way around the COVID-19 unit in early April, she worried about how long her nurses were going to have the supplies they needed to protect them from the virus.
Her San Antonio, Texas, hospital was well stocked, but with a surge of cases expected in May, the senior vice president and chief nurse executive, worried whether there would be enough N95 masks—especially with every hospital in the world seeking them.
Then she remembered what her late husband always said: “If you can’t find something, and you can’t buy something, you make it.”
Musical Interlude
I’ve become addicted to Playing for Change. Music really does bring us together.
WineRev’s History Lesson
This space will magically fill up with WineRev’s daily history lesson (as long as I don’t fall asleep or he forgets to post it). — Looks like we both managed to coordinate again.
[Edit] This section was written by WineRev. It has been promoted from his comment, because he’s just that good.
Its the NNNE show, opening with the dawn of your day! Thank you, NNNE, for going down to that little cafe that bakes those Good News rolls and bringing back a box of them. Looks like there;ll be enough to go around. We can sit here on the screened in porch, watch the sun glisten off the dew, agree its “going to be a hot one” here in the upper Midwest (90s and definite shot at thunderstorms) and listen to the birds alert each other that the chipmunks are scurrying through the grass by the garage.
NNNE, your pickings of Good News cover a lot of ground, and that’s good because I haven’t got any nuggets today from around the InterWebs. (I feel like John Wayne in his final years. The comic and impressionist Rich Little got to meet Wayne and was nervous---Little had been spoofing him for years and you never know how someone reacts in person. Wayne said, “Let me hear the voice.” So Little gave him the hard-bitten, ‘round ‘em up’ voice of Wayne. Then Wayne said, “Let me see you do the walk.” So Little gave the slightly pigeon-toed, stiff-hooped walk, like having just dismounted a horse after 6 hours. Wayne nodded in approval and said, “Yep. You’ve got it. And that’s good, ‘cause I’m losin’ it.”)
Another 40 years or so and that’ll be me (since by then I’ll be past 100, that will mean anything and everything I write will be historic…..hmmmm.)
Some of the Better June 2nds that have been: Good and Goofy with News so we can be wiser and chuckling as we cope with the Living of These Days
1715 Liege, Belgium Birth of Herman-Francois Delange, violinist and composer. Studied in Italy and taught most of his life back in Liege. Composer of several ensemble pieces, a comic opera and a fair body of church music. (I know, I know, all of you are just on composer #3 from yesterday and you haven’t even started in on the Dual Concerto for Kazoo and Cowbell by Obscurious Compositosovic of Bulgaria, who ALSO had a composer’s birthday yesterday. But Delange gets his day today.)
1835 Phineas Taylor Barnum, more famously known as P.T. Barnum, this day begins his first US tour with his circus. While the shows went on for decades, this first one’s main attraction was Joice Heth. Barnum charged admission to gaze in awe upon Miss Heth who, Mr. Barnum assured all comers, was reputed to be the 161-year-old nurse of George Washington. (No doubt the success of this tour inspired Barnum’s famous maxim, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Actually, while this IS Barnum, the whole cynical quote is, “There’s a sucker born every minute…..and two to take him!”)
1857 Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire, UK Birth of Edward Elgar, composer. Mostly a self-taught musician from humble origins, followed a calling into first teaching and then composing. In his 20s for five years was the conductor of the Orderlies and Attendants band of the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum. (No known connection to the current White House.) A violinist, bassoonist and composer who finally achieved fame and fortune with “Pomp & Circumstance” (at every high school graduation in America, for the next 100 years, since we have no musicians of our own and never will have) and the “Coronation Ode” among others. (See 1953, below)
1863 Combahee River, South Carolina Union troops come through the Low Country waters by steamboats and the South Carolina militia turn out to resist. Captain Harriet Tubman (with a commission personally signed by Abraham Lincoln!) leads 150 men ashore to engage and beat them back. The raiders take 750 slaves to freedom at Beaufort, SC (a Union Navy base). (A rare case of the Underground Railroad going on offense!) Only Civil War action with woman commanding as an officer. When Tubman died in 1913, by her own request, she was buried in her captain’s uniform and the US Army gave her full military honors.
1875 Portland, Maine James Augustine Healey is consecrated this day as the1st Black Catholic Bishop in the United States.
1886 Washington, DC In front of a mere 40 guests in the Blue Room of the White House, President Grover Cleveland, 49, marries Frances Folsom, 21. (To date, Cleveland is the only president to marry in the executive mansion.) At the same moment, Frances becomes (to this day) the youngest American First Lady.
1924 President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act, declaring all Native Americans to be American citizens. Certainly a mixed message, but a legal foundation stone that has proved important.
1943 Having trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, on this day the 99th Pursuit Squadron of the famed Tuskegee Airmen flies 1st combat mission (over Malta and Pantelleria, from North Africa). Their heroics were noted in the movie, Red Tails. Facing sharp racial discrimination in their early days, by 1944 bomber crews were asking for the Red Tails by name as escorts for their bombing runs over Germany because of their sterling record of protection.
1953 London. With all the Pomp and Circumstance that Elgar and the rest of England and the Commonwealth and the remnants of the Empire could muster, 27-year-old Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor is crowned Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. Since she is still with us its why hardly anyone has ever seen a British coronation.
May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring.
Shalom.
On the Lighter Side
We can choose to laugh or we can choose to cry. I think laughter gives us strength.
Another entry from the Parody Project (parody of House of the Rising Sun)
Today’s Quote(s)
Those with the privilege to know, have a duty to act. — Albert Einstein
What can you or I do? Alone, almost nothing. Yet one person – you alone – can make the difference. … The failure of just one person to join, to participate, to do whatever he or she can – your failure or my failure – may mean that there is just one too few to win the fight for sanity, and so leave the world on the road to destruction. Each of us, all of us, must do what we can. — Archibald Cox
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. — Edmund Burke
Required Pet Photo
Closing Notes
To all of our fellow resisters, rounderuppers and gnusies recovering from illness or injury lots of hugs, including {{{{oldhippiedude}}}}, {{{{Msdude}}}}, our Tuesday partner {{{{niftywriter}}}}, {{{{karij}}}}, {{{{ElizabethinNYC}}}}, {{{{Arel1}}}} and to our entire {{{{Gnuville}}}} community during this time of uncertainty.
Last night’s Shade covered the unpresidential unpresident: Evening Shade: The Unprecedented Unpresident
Evening Shade appears every evening at 7:30PM Eastern. It’s currently in the midst of a readership drive with worthless prizes and everything. Think shoestring PBS and you’ve get the idea. If you spread the word and your spreadee announces themselves in the ES comments, you will become eligible to receive your very own very special noprize of a personalized meme. So get out there and start proselytizing (or pimping, if you are of an irreligious bent).
By the way, tonight’s Shade will be the 200th Shade authored by me (and the 205th Shade overall). If I can stay awake long enough to write it, I hope you’ll give it a look. Shades have appeared for 204 of the last 206 days. For those of you keeping score, today’s is my 57th GNR (First one was January 20th, 2018).
We’ll close out today’s festivities with a Dead cover of a Dylan song featuring Branford Marsallis and recorded September 10th, 1991
Disclaimer: tRump still really sucks.