thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-20--Trump Camp Lashes Media, 'Radical Protesters' For Lackluster Rally Turnout

Large sections of the upper stands were clearly empty at President Donald Trump ’ s rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma , on Saturday , following days of campaign boasts that the venue would be packed to overflowing because some 1 million people had requested tickets to the event .
Trump had planned to deliver comments ahead of the rally to an overflow group of supporters outside the BOK Center .
But just a smattering of people were waiting , and Trump canceled the appearance .
The campaign claimed that Trump ’ s outdoor speech was canceled because of protests , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ setting up the media and protesters as fall guys for the rally ’ s mediocre turnout .
“ Protesters interfered with supporters , even blocking access to the metal detectors , which prevented people from entering the rally , ” campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement .
“ Radical protesters , coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media , attempted to frighten off the president ’ s supporters.
” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale echoed Murtaugh ’ s statement , blaming “ radical protesters ” who he said had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media coverage.
” The campaign later emphasized in a statement that millions of viewers watched Trump “ across all of the campaign ’ s digital media channels.
” “ The media , which encouraged protesters and bombarded Americans for more than a week with dire warnings against attending a Trump rally , are still unable to prevent President Trump from reaching the people , ” the statement added .
Trump said Monday that his campaign was expecting a “ record-setting crowd ” at the rally .
“ We ’ ve never had an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t in Oklahoma , ” he added .
He said the campaign planned to also use the convention hall next to the rally arena to handle the crowds — adding 40,000 extra spaces to the 19,000-capacity BOK Center .
“ We ’ ve had such an overwhelming response that we ’ re also looking at another venue , ” Vice President Mike Pence also told Fox News on Tuesday .
“ We ’ re also looking at outside activities.
” President Trump on rally this Saturday in Oklahoma : `` We expect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's like a record-setting crowd .
We 've never had an empty seat and we certainly wo n't in Oklahoma . ''
pic.twitter.com/9Lh4YtEo4m — CSPAN ( @ cspan ) June 15 , 2020 Social media has been buzzing over the last week about a plot by TikTok users to convince hordes of voters to request tickets to the Tulsa rally — and then not show up .
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) referred to the TikTok plot in a tweet mocking Parscale on Saturday .
“ Shout out to Zoomers , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make me so proud.
” Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID Shout out to Zoomers .
Y ’ all make me so proud .
☺ https : //t.co/jGrp5bSZ9T — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( @ AOC ) June 21 , 2020 Trump ’ s own coronavirus task force had advised against going forward with holding the indoor rally over fears that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the rally included a legal disclaimer saying attendees couldn ’ t sue Trump or the campaign if they later tested positive for the virus .

Large sections of the upper stands were clearly empty at President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, following days of campaign boasts that the venue would be packed to overflowing because some 1 million people had requested tickets to the event.
Trump had planned to deliver comments ahead of the rally to an overflow group of supporters outside the BOK Center. But just a smattering of people were waiting, and Trump canceled the appearance. The campaign claimed that Trump’s outdoor speech was canceled because of protests, a position that appeared to already be setting up the media and protesters as fall guys for the rally’s mediocre turnout.
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“Protesters interfered with supporters, even blocking access to the metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally,” campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement. “Radical protesters, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the president’s supporters.”
Three Associated Press journalists who covered the rally said they did not see protesters blocking people from entering the event.
The Trump campaign had touted more than 1 million people requested tickets to the rally. Now it’s texting supporters there’s “still space!” as pictures show empty seats inside and an overflow crowd that never materialized
https://t.co/pRaHqdYQ2y — Jon Passantino (@passantino) June 20, 2020
During an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Trump campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp also blamed protesters for the underwhelming attendance. But host Chris Wallace pushed back on her claim.
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“You guys were so far off that you had planned an outdoor rally and there wasn’t an overflow crowd,” Wallace said. “Protesters did not stop people from coming to that rally. The fact is that people didn’t show up.”
Schlapp doubled down on her claim, stating that protesters “absolutely” prevented people from traveling to the rally. She added that over 5.3 million people watched the event online.
"You guys were so far off that you had planned an outdoor rally, and there wasn't an overflow crowd ... the fact is, people didn't show up" -- Chris Wallace grills Trump campaign spokesperson Mercedes Schlapp on Trump's underwhelming Tulsa crowd pic.twitter.com/1wdWK7Cpta — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 21, 2020
Trump on Saturday also blamed the media for the empty seats at his rally.
“The media was saying, ‘Don’t come,’” he told the far-less-than-capacity crowd.
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale echoed Murtaugh’s statement, blaming “radical protesters” who he said had been “fueled by a week of apocalyptic media coverage.”
The campaign later emphasized in a statement that millions of viewers watched Trump “across all of the campaign’s digital media channels.”
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“The media, which encouraged protesters and bombarded Americans for more than a week with dire warnings against attending a Trump rally, are still unable to prevent President Trump from reaching the people,” the statement added.
Trump said Monday that his campaign was expecting a “record-setting crowd” at the rally. “We’ve never had an empty seat, and we certainly won’t in Oklahoma,” he added.
He said the campaign planned to also use the convention hall next to the rally arena to handle the crowds — adding 40,000 extra spaces to the 19,000-capacity BOK Center.
The Tulsa fire marshal reported that fewer than 6,200 tickets were scanned for the rally.
President Trump on rally this Saturday in Oklahoma: "We expect to have, you know, it's like a record-setting crowd. We've never had an empty seat and we certainly won't in Oklahoma." pic.twitter.com/9Lh4YtEo4m — CSPAN (@cspan) June 15, 2020
Social media has been buzzing over the last week about a plot by TikTok users to convince hordes of voters to request tickets to the Tulsa rally — and then not show up.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) referred to the TikTok plot in a tweet mocking Parscale on Saturday. “Shout out to Zoomers,” she wrote. “Y’all make me so proud.”
Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID
Shout out to Zoomers. Y’all make me so proud. ☺ https://t.co/jGrp5bSZ9T — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 21, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-20--Trump Uses Racist Terms 'Kung Flu' And 'Chinese Virus' To Describe COVID-19

President Donald Trump on Saturday used racist terms to describe coronavirus — including “ kung flu , ” a phrase White House counselor and Trump ally Kellyanne Conway has specifically called out for being “ highly offensive.
” “ China sent us the plague , ” Trump said at a campaign rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma .
“ COVID-19 — that name gets further and further away from China , as opposed to calling it the Chinese virus , ” Trump added .
“ It has more names than any disease in history .
I can name ‘ kung flu.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked her in March about an unnamed White House official referring to coronavirus as “ kung flu.
” “ Of course it ’ s wrong , ” she told a reporter at the time .
“ That ’ s highly offensive .
...
I ’ d like to know who it is.
” ( Check out the video of her comments up top . )
Conway noted she is married to an Asian American man : Her husband , lawyer George Conway , who dislikes Trump intensely , is part Filipino .
George @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet mocking the president ’ s speech at the rally .
Public health experts and political leaders around the world have sharply criticized Trump for labeling COVID-19 a Chinese disease .
“ This crisis requires science ... not fear-mongering , finger-pointing and xenophobia by our public servants , ” said MegaToys CEO Charlie Woo , a member of the Chinese American organization Committee of 100 .
The pandemic “ calls for a truly global , unified response , ” he added .
“ Attempts to ascribe the virus to one culture , ethnicity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , alienating people who could instead collaborate and support one another.
” Trump told Fox News in late March that he would no longer call COVID-19 the Chinese virus .
“ Look , everyone knows it came out of China , but I decided we shouldn ’ t make any more of a big deal out of it , ” he said .
Trump noted that China had “ lost thousands of people ; they ’ ve been through hell.
” It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world .
They are amazing people , and the spreading of the Virus ... .
— Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) March 23 , 2020 ... .is NOT their fault in any way , shape , or form .
They are working closely with us to get rid of it .
WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER !
— Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) March 23 , 2020 Donald Trump Jr. shared an Instagram post in March with a “ Karate Kid ” -themed meme showing his father beating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caption : “ Hahahahaha ‘ The Kung-Flu Kid .
’ ”

President Donald Trump on Saturday used racist terms to describe coronavirus — including “kung flu,” a phrase White House counselor and Trump ally Kellyanne Conway has specifically called out for being “highly offensive.”
“China sent us the plague,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“COVID-19 — that name gets further and further away from China, as opposed to calling it the Chinese virus,” Trump added. “It has more names than any disease in history. I can name ‘kung flu.’”
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The crowd laughed.
President Trump talks about the many names of Coronavirus, including “Kung Flu”. pic.twitter.com/m0aQLfpNuT — Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 21, 2020
Conway was furious when reporters asked her in March about an unnamed White House official referring to coronavirus as “kung flu.”
“Of course it’s wrong,” she told a reporter at the time. “That’s highly offensive. ... I’d like to know who it is.” (Check out the video of her comments up top.)
Conway noted she is married to an Asian American man: Her husband, lawyer George Conway, who dislikes Trump intensely, is part Filipino.
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George Conway used the phrase Saturday in a tweet mocking the president’s speech at the rally.
ramp water kung flu windmills dead birds Hunter Biden Obama Minneanopolis https://t.co/6R4oC5HqBY — George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 21, 2020
Public health experts and political leaders around the world have sharply criticized Trump for labeling COVID-19 a Chinese disease.
“This crisis requires science ... not fear-mongering, finger-pointing and xenophobia by our public servants,” said MegaToys CEO Charlie Woo, a member of the Chinese American organization Committee of 100.
The pandemic “calls for a truly global, unified response,” he added. “Attempts to ascribe the virus to one culture, ethnicity or country can only hinder this effort, alienating people who could instead collaborate and support one another.”
Trump told Fox News in late March that he would no longer call COVID-19 the Chinese virus. “Look, everyone knows it came out of China, but I decided we shouldn’t make any more of a big deal out of it,” he said. Trump noted that China had “lost thousands of people; they’ve been through hell.”
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It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world. They are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
....is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
Donald Trump Jr. shared an Instagram post in March with a “Karate Kid”-themed meme showing his father beating the coronavirus. It had an offensive caption: “Hahahahaha ‘The Kung-Flu Kid.’”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--Homeland Security Secretary: Trump's Threats To 'Bomb' Bolton Were A Joke

Chad Wolf , the acting secretary of homeland security , said President Donald Trump was likely only joking when he tweeted about having “ bombs dropped ” on former White House national security adviser John Bolton in response to the publication of Bolton ’ s upcoming memoir .
“ A lot of , some of his comments are taking from a humor standpoint , a joking standpoint , ” Wolf told CBS ’ “ Face the Nation ” when asked about the seriousness of Trump ’ s remark , which host Margaret Brennan said could spark security concerns had they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ He likes dropping bombs on people , and killing them .
Now he will have bombs dropped on him !
” Trump tweeted Saturday , without elaborating on what kind of action he was suggesting .
... .Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing , with a really big price to pay .
He likes dropping bombs on people , and killing them .
Now he will have bombs dropped on him !
— Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) June 20 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frustration over Bolton ’ s tell-all book , “ The Room Where It Happened , ” which is set to be released Tuesday .
The book details what appear to be acts of corruption and failures that Bolton said he witnessed during his time in the White House .
A federal judge on Saturday ruled against the Trump administration ’ s attempt to block the book ’ s release over claims that it contains classified information .
“ I think the frustration is there , which is as an individual that had every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t like the way the president was operating .
But in this case , he did not do that .
Instead , he ’ s writing a book for profit , ” Wolf said .
Are Trump 's veiled threats of having `` bombs '' dropped on @ AmbJohnBolton concerning ?
@ DHS_Wolf says `` if you listen to the president in a variety of different remarks , a lot of some of his comments are taking from a humor standpoint , a joking standpoint '' https : //t.co/qK5IwWhCpD pic.twitter.com/5rXaQjwZyU — Face The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2020 Trump spun the judge ’ s ruling allowing the publication of Bolton ’ s book as a win , arguing that the judge found that Bolton published it before securing final approval from national intelligence authorities .
The judge also suggested that Bolton may be at risk of being prosecuted and could lose his $ 2 million advance , which the Justice Department has separately requested .
“ In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities , Bolton may indeed have caused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote .
“ But in the internet age , even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality .
A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop .
With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe — many in newsrooms — the damage is done .
There is no restoring the status quo .
”

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Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, said President Donald Trump was likely only joking when he tweeted about having “bombs dropped” on former White House national security adviser John Bolton in response to the publication of Bolton’s upcoming memoir.
“A lot of, some of his comments are taking from a humor standpoint, a joking standpoint,” Wolf told CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked about the seriousness of Trump’s remark, which host Margaret Brennan said could spark security concerns had they been said by a private citizen.
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“He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!” Trump tweeted Saturday, without elaborating on what kind of action he was suggesting.
....Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2020
Wolf argued that Trump was likely expressing frustration over Bolton’s tell-all book, “The Room Where It Happened,” which is set to be released Tuesday. The book details what appear to be acts of corruption and failures that Bolton said he witnessed during his time in the White House.
A federal judge on Saturday ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to block the book’s release over claims that it contains classified information.
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“I think the frustration is there, which is as an individual that had every ability to resign if he didn’t like the way the president was operating. But in this case, he did not do that. Instead, he’s writing a book for profit,” Wolf said.
Are Trump's veiled threats of having "bombs" dropped on @AmbJohnBolton concerning? @DHS_Wolf says " if you listen to the president in a variety of different remarks, a lot of some of his comments are taking from a humor standpoint, a joking standpoint" https://t.co/qK5IwWhCpD pic.twitter.com/5rXaQjwZyU — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 21, 2020
Trump spun the judge’s ruling allowing the publication of Bolton’s book as a win, arguing that the judge found that Bolton published it before securing final approval from national intelligence authorities. The judge also suggested that Bolton may be at risk of being prosecuted and could lose his $2 million advance, which the Justice Department has separately requested.
“In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm,” U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote.
“But in the internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality. A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop. With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe — many in newsrooms — the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--Zoomers Boast They Sabotaged Trump Rally Turnout With Fake Reservations

Members of Generation Z are claiming on social media that the “ Zoomers ” are at least partially responsible for a number of empty seats at President Donald Trump ’ s campaign rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma , on Saturday night .
As part of a campaign organized on social media , they reserved masses of tickets to the rally that they had no intention of using .
The rally-busting movement involved young TikTok users and K-Pop fans around the nation , according to the prank participants who posted their ( unused ) ticket confirmations or commented ( and celebrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strategist Steve Schmidt boasted on Twitter that his daughter and her friends in Park City , Utah , signed up for “ hundreds ” of free tickets to the rally they had absolutely no intention of attending .
“ You have been rolled by America ’ s teens , ” Schmidt mocked Trump ’ s campaign manager Brad Parscale in a tweet .
My 16 year old daughter and her friends in Park City Utah have hundreds of tickets .
You have been rolled by America ’ s teens .
@ realDonaldTrump you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You have been deserted by your faithful .
No one likes to root for the losing team .
@ ProjectLincoln https : //t.co/VM5elZ57Qp — Steve Schmidt ( @ SteveSchmidtSES ) June 20 , 2020 This is what happened tonight .
I ’ m dead serious when I say this .
The teens of America have struck a savage blow against @ realDonaldTrump .
All across America teens ordered tickets to this event .
The fools on the campaign bragged about a million tickets .
lol .
@ ProjectLincoln .
— Steve Schmidt ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Others responded to Schmidt ’ s tweets , saying they or their kids had also made fake ticket reservations .
The movement appears to have been launched by Mary Jo Laupp , a 51-year-old teacher from Iowa , who had worked on Pete Buttigieg ’ s campaign , CNN reported .
She explained her idea in a TikTok video that had 700,000 likes by late Saturday .
On Saturday night , Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) tweeted at Parscale , saying he got “ ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The congresswoman also hailed “ K-Pop allies , ” saying : “ We see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice , too.
” Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID Shout out to Zoomers .
Y ’ all make me so proud .
☺ https : //t.co/jGrp5bSZ9T — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( @ AOC ) June 21 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the plot , but may have misjudged its reach .
Erin Perrine , principle deputy communications director for the Trump campaign , told CNN last week it was no big concern .
“ Leftists do this all the time , ” she said .
“ They think if they sign up for tickets that will leave empty seats .
Not the case at all .
Always way more ticket requests than seats available at a rally .
All they are doing is giving us access to their contact information.
” Usually , tickets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the campaign told CNN .
But the situation was different for the Tulsa event , because reservations included a legal disclaimer that participants wouldn ’ t sue Trump or the campaign if they contracted COVID-19 at the rally .
And without a reservation , there would be no legal waiver for attendees to agree to beforehand .
When videos from the event showed huge swathes of empty blue seats at the BOK Center where Trump spoke , which holds 19,000 people , TikTok users were thrilled .

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Members of Generation Z are claiming on social media that the “Zoomers” are at least partially responsible for a number of empty seats at President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night.
As part of a campaign organized on social media, they reserved masses of tickets to the rally that they had no intention of using.
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The rally-busting movement involved young TikTok users and K-Pop fans around the nation, according to the prank participants who posted their (unused) ticket confirmations or commented (and celebrated) online after the rally.
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Political strategist Steve Schmidt boasted on Twitter that his daughter and her friends in Park City, Utah, signed up for “hundreds” of free tickets to the rally they had absolutely no intention of attending. “You have been rolled by America’s teens,” Schmidt mocked Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale in a tweet.
My 16 year old daughter and her friends in Park City Utah have hundreds of tickets. You have been rolled by America’s teens. @realDonaldTrump you have been failed by your team. You have been deserted by your faithful. No one likes to root for the losing team. @ProjectLincoln https://t.co/VM5elZ57Qp — Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2020
This is what happened tonight. I’m dead serious when I say this. The teens of America have struck a savage blow against @realDonaldTrump. All across America teens ordered tickets to this event. The fools on the campaign bragged about a million tickets. lol. @ProjectLincoln. — Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2020
Others responded to Schmidt’s tweets, saying they or their kids had also made fake ticket reservations.
Omg my 13 year old told me about teens getting tickets to keep the stands empty. Man do I love this generation! I am finally getting optimistic about our future. — BeMerrie (@F2FNetwork) June 20, 2020
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My 3 cats each have tickets 👍🏻 — ℍ𝕆𝕃𝕐 𝕊ℂℍℕ𝕀𝕂𝔼𝕊 🏳🌈 (@aWomanResisting) June 20, 2020
The movement appears to have been launched by Mary Jo Laupp, a 51-year-old teacher from Iowa, who had worked on Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, CNN reported. She explained her idea in a TikTok video that had 700,000 likes by late Saturday.
On Saturday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted at Parscale, saying he got “ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign” with fake reservations. The congresswoman also hailed “K-Pop allies,” saying: “We see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice, too.”
She added a “shout out to Zoomers. Y’all make me so proud.”
Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID
Shout out to Zoomers. Y’all make me so proud. ☺ https://t.co/jGrp5bSZ9T — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 21, 2020
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KPop allies, we see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice too 😌 — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 21, 2020
Trump’s campaign had heard of the plot, but may have misjudged its reach. Erin Perrine, principal deputy communications director for the Trump campaign, told CNN last week it was no big concern.
“Leftists do this all the time,” she said. “They think if they sign up for tickets that will leave empty seats. Not the case at all. Always way more ticket requests than seats available at a rally. All they are doing is giving us access to their contact information.”
Usually, tickets aren’t required for campaign rallies, the campaign told CNN. But the situation was different for the Tulsa event, because reservations included a legal disclaimer that participants wouldn’t sue Trump or the campaign if they contracted COVID-19 at the rally. And without a reservation, there would be no legal waiver for attendees to agree to beforehand.
When videos from the event showed huge swathes of empty blue seats at the BOK Center where Trump spoke, which holds 19,000 people, TikTok users were thrilled.
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“What did you guys do?” a stunned Laupp asked in a video Saturday after seeing the empty seats. “Like, seriously? Are you kidding me right now?”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--House Judiciary Chairman: Calls For Barr's Impeachment Are 'Waste Of Time'

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler ( D-N.Y. ) said Sunday that calls from his Democratic colleagues to impeach Attorney General William Barr are a “ waste of time ” because Senate Republicans would not remove him no matter what .
Barr has come under fire in recent days regarding the firing of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman , whose office was investigating associates of President Donald Trump .
On Friday , the Justice Department announced that Berman was stepping down from the U.S. Attorney ’ s Office for the Southern District of New York .
Berman said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement released later that night .
The next day , Barr notified Berman that Trump had fired him .
Nadler announced Saturday that his committee would immediately open an investigation into Berman ’ s ouster .
But he said Sunday that calls for Barr ’ s impeachment , including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
, were futile .
“ I don ’ t think calls for his impeachment are premature any more than calls for the president ’ s impeachment were premature , ” Nadler said during an appearance on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Union.
” Nadler added : “ But they are a waste of time at this point because we know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate , which will not consider an impeachment no matter what the evidence and no matter what the facts.
” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says calls for the impeachment of AG Bill Barr are “ a waste of time at this point because we know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate which will not consider an impeachment no matter what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State of the Union ( @ CNNSotu ) June 21 , 2020 Asked if he was calling all 51 Senate Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during the impeachment trial corrupt , Nadler said yes .
Nadler has suggested Barr was attempting to hamper ongoing investigations into Trump ’ s conduct by the Southern District of New York .
“ We ’ ve seen a pattern of the president opposing , of Barr corruptly impeding , those investigations , ” Nadler said Sunday .
“ This is just more of the same.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold a hearing with Justice Department whistleblowers on Wednesday .
Nadler said Berman was invited to testify but that he isn ’ t sure yet whether Berman will come before the committee that day .
Sen. Mark Warner ( D-Va. ) , vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee , told CBS ’ “ Face the Nation ” Sunday that there ’ s speculation Berman had been investigating Trump ’ s personal attorney , Rudy Giuliani .
Warner did not confirm whether this was true .
“ There seems to be a pattern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his henchman , Mr. Barr , are willing to get rid of anyone that ’ s investigating people who get close to Donald Trump , ” Warner said .
`` There 's a pattern in this administration that the president and his henchmen , Mr. Barr , are willing to get rid of anyone that gets close to Donald Trump , '' @ Markwarner says of pattern of firings related to probes of the Trump organization and White Househttps : //t.co/rAXl4z5P9i pic.twitter.com/leUPyGyxuw — Face The Nation ( @ FaceTheNation ) June 21 , @

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that calls from his Democratic colleagues to impeach Attorney General William Barr are a “waste of time” because Senate Republicans would not remove him no matter what.
Barr has come under fire in recent days regarding the firing of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman, whose office was investigating associates of President Donald Trump.
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On Friday, the Justice Department announced that Berman was stepping down from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Berman said he was doing no such thing in a statement released later that night. The next day, Barr notified Berman that Trump had fired him.
Nadler announced Saturday that his committee would immediately open an investigation into Berman’s ouster. But he said Sunday that calls for Barr’s impeachment, including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), were futile.
“I don’t think calls for his impeachment are premature any more than calls for the president’s impeachment were premature,” Nadler said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Nadler added: “But they are a waste of time at this point because we know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate, which will not consider an impeachment no matter what the evidence and no matter what the facts.”
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House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says calls for the impeachment of AG Bill Barr are “a waste of time at this point because we know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate which will not consider an impeachment no matter what the evidence” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/9GACiXIvDO — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) June 21, 2020
Asked if he was calling all 51 Senate Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during the impeachment trial corrupt, Nadler said yes.
Nadler has suggested Barr was attempting to hamper ongoing investigations into Trump’s conduct by the Southern District of New York.
“We’ve seen a pattern of the president opposing, of Barr corruptly impeding, those investigations,” Nadler said Sunday. “This is just more of the same.”
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing with Justice Department whistleblowers on Wednesday. Nadler said Berman was invited to testify but that he isn’t sure yet whether Berman will come before the committee that day.
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Nadler said House Democrats are working to withhold $50 million from Barr’s “personal budget” in response to Berman’s removal.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that there’s speculation Berman had been investigating Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Warner did not confirm whether this was true.
“There seems to be a pattern from this administration that the president and his henchman, Mr. Barr, are willing to get rid of anyone that’s investigating people who get close to Donald Trump,” Warner said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--Investing In Harm Reduction Must Be Included In The Movement To Defund Police

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced earlier this month that police will no longer be the first to respond to calls involving the homeless , mental health crises and conflicts among neighbors .
Members of the Los Angeles City Council are pushing to do the same .
House Democrats unveiled legislation aimed at not just curbing police brutality , but establishing a grant program “ to help communities to re-imagine and develop concrete , just and equitable public safety approaches.
” Implementing these policies would contribute to the work that harm reductionists have been doing with little support for over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduction is that looking at people not as criminals , but individuals experiencing a public health crisis , leads to better outcomes .
Syringe exchange programs have proven to reduce both infectious diseases and lethal overdoses .
Medication-assisted therapy is shown to successfully help individuals overcome opioid and alcohol addiction .
Harm reduction groups have long been on the front lines of feeding and finding shelter for the homeless .
“ In the 30-year history of harm reduction in this country , it has always been in the shadow of policing , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planning and policy at the Harm Reduction Coalition .
“ We ’ ve had to find our way , working despite all of the heavy systemic pressures that the layers of criminalization and incarceration have imposed on people who use drugs.
” While it ’ s often associated with things like drug use , homelessness or sex work , society accepts that government harm reduction programs are necessary for things like driving a car .
It would be safer to never get in a vehicle at all , but people do it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the risks .
“ This is a trope in the harm reduction community right now , but we all like to put on a seatbelt when we get into the car , and that is harm reduction , ” said Niki Jones , an activist and harm reduction advocate based in Sacramento , California .
“ We brush our teeth , and that ’ s harm reduction.
” One prime example is clean needle exchanges , which allow people to turn in used needles and get clean ones .
Those programs , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Los Angeles — despite the controversies surrounding them — as well as small ones like Chico and Fresno in California , have proven to significantly decrease the spread of infectious diseases .
We ’ ve put a lot of money and support into making our police departments like the military , but we haven ’ t even put a fraction of that money into deescalation and trauma-informed care .
Barbara DiPietro of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council In San Francisco ’ s Tenderloin District ― an area historically associated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a victim of gentrification ― St. James Infirmary provides harm reduction for sex workers by sex workers , in the form of hormone therapy , mental health support , STI and HIV tests and counseling and needle exchange services .
Organizations like The Burrito Project in Los Angeles and People ’ s Breakfast Oakland provide food and other services to the unhoused .
“ We know that most programs are only able to directly reach a fraction of the people that could use that support and community , ” Raymond said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially for people of color who use drugs , is around policing.
” Laws criminalizing people experiencing homelessness have multiplied over the last ten years .
In Sacramento , for example , the city is actively trying to get a restraining order against its own unhoused residents .
In Seattle , one in five people booked into jail are homeless .
Research suggests that 15 % of incarcerated people experienced homelessness the year before being put in jail or prison .
“ We ’ re asking police officers to address and solve a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Barbara DiPietro , senior director of policy at National Health Care for the Homeless Council .
“ We ’ ve put a lot of money and support into making our police departments like the military , but we haven ’ t even put a fraction of that money into deescalation and trauma-informed care.
” “ It ’ s a delusional situation we ’ re in , ” Jones said last week , while icing her fractured hand after scuffling with police in one of Sacramento ’ s more heated police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are working so hard to take care of one another and to keep each other safe , and this week has shown us that that is not what the police are out here doing .
”

LOADING ERROR LOADING
When police respond to 911 calls about people experiencing homelessness or mental health crises, the results can be lethal. As protests against police brutality continue to grip the nation, cities are beginning to acknowledge that law enforcement isn’t well equipped to handle these cases.
Instead, there’s growing momentum not just for defunding police, but for investing in harm reduction practices — ones that don’t criminalize people experiencing homelessness or substance misuse, but approach these issues as public health matters that are best handled with communal resources.
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San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced earlier this month that police will no longer be the first to respond to calls involving the homeless, mental health crises and conflicts among neighbors. Members of the Los Angeles City Council are pushing to do the same. House Democrats unveiled legislation aimed at not just curbing police brutality, but establishing a grant program “to help communities to re-imagine and develop concrete, just and equitable public safety approaches.” Implementing these policies would contribute to the work that harm reductionists have been doing with little support for over 30 years.
The idea behind harm reduction is that looking at people not as criminals, but individuals experiencing a public health crisis, leads to better outcomes. Syringe exchange programs have proven to reduce both infectious diseases and lethal overdoses. Medication-assisted therapy is shown to successfully help individuals overcome opioid and alcohol addiction. Harm reduction groups have long been on the front lines of feeding and finding shelter for the homeless.
“In the 30-year history of harm reduction in this country, it has always been in the shadow of policing,” said Daniel Raymond, deputy director of planning and policy at the Harm Reduction Coalition. “We’ve had to find our way, working despite all of the heavy systemic pressures that the layers of criminalization and incarceration have imposed on people who use drugs.”
“This is an important time to ask the question, ‘What if we could move into the sunlight?’”
Harm Reduction Defined
Harm reduction is relatively simple. Just instructing people to abstain from certain behavior often doesn’t work. Harm reduction, which began as a grassroots effort in the 1980s to combat HIV and hepatitis B infections, is based on recognizing that fact and finding ways to minimize dangers.
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While it’s often associated with things like drug use, homelessness or sex work, society accepts that government harm reduction programs are necessary for things like driving a car. It would be safer to never get in a vehicle at all, but people do it, and society has found ways to lower the risks.
“This is a trope in the harm reduction community right now, but we all like to put on a seatbelt when we get into the car, and that is harm reduction,” said Niki Jones, an activist and harm reduction advocate based in Sacramento, California. “We brush our teeth, and that’s harm reduction.”
One prime example is clean needle exchanges, which allow people to turn in used needles and get clean ones. Those programs, which exist in major cities like New York and Los Angeles — despite the controversies surrounding them — as well as small ones like Chico and Fresno in California, have proven to significantly decrease the spread of infectious diseases.
“We’ve put a lot of money and support into making our police departments like the military, but we haven’t even put a fraction of that money into deescalation and trauma-informed care.” - Barbara DiPietro of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council
In San Francisco’s Tenderloin District ― an area historically associated with rampant crime rather than its status as a victim of gentrification ― St. James Infirmary provides harm reduction for sex workers by sex workers, in the form of hormone therapy, mental health support, STI and HIV tests and counseling and needle exchange services. Organizations like The Burrito Project in Los Angeles and People’s Breakfast Oakland provide food and other services to the unhoused.
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In Sacramento, Jones and other activists pass out blankets, tarps, clean water, toothbrushes, hand sanitizer, soap and other necessities to unhoused people or people who use drugs ― two populations who have more than their share of experience with law enforcement.
“It’s about quality of life,” Jones said, which means, in part, helping people live without constant fear of arrest or police harassment ― especially for people of color, who often avoid harm reduction resources out of concern for police presence.
“We know that most programs are only able to directly reach a fraction of the people that could use that support and community,” Raymond said. “And that the overwhelming reason, especially for people of color who use drugs, is around policing.”
Police Presence Doesn’t Solve These Issues
Police spend a lot of time responding to and cracking down on homelessness and drug use, reflecting how budget line items play out in real life.
In 2018, there were over 1.5 million drug-related arrests in the U.S. Drug offenses “are still a defining characteristic of the federal [prison] system,” according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-partisan mass incarceration research group. According to its 2020 status report:
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There are people in prison for violent offenses who were also convicted of drug offenses, but they are included only in the ‘violent’ category in the data. This makes it hard to grasp the complexity of criminal events, such as the role drugs may have played in violent or property offenses.”
Access to harm reduction services and substance treatment is therefore a direct way to limit violence, and lower violent crime rates, in communities.
Laws criminalizing people experiencing homelessness have multiplied over the last ten years. In Sacramento, for example, the city is actively trying to get a restraining order against its own unhoused residents. In Seattle, one in five people booked into jail are homeless. Research suggests that 15% of incarcerated people experienced homelessness the year before being put in jail or prison.
Cities also put significantly more money toward the police than solving the housing crisis. For 2020, the New York City Public Housing budget is around $3 billion. Its police budget is twice that amount.
Meanwhile, nearly 20 million people in the U.S. experienced substance abuse in 2017, and over half a million people are estimated to be experiencing homelessness on a given night.
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“We’re asking police officers to address and solve a problem that our community has not solved,” said Barbara DiPietro, senior director of policy at National Health Care for the Homeless Council. “We’ve put a lot of money and support into making our police departments like the military, but we haven’t even put a fraction of that money into deescalation and trauma-informed care.”
Jailing or imprisoning people can exacerbate other issues: Formerly incarcerated people are 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than everyone else, and drug use among formerly incarcerated Black Americans is also extremely high, causing a hard-to-stop cycle of homelessness, drug use and incarceration.
A world that’s led by the principles of harm reduction would mean that “wellness checks” are done with naloxone (a medication used to treat drug overdoses) and a bottle of water rather than a taser and a gun.
That’s why, for many advocates in the world of harm reduction like Jones, police are antithetical to the vision they have for a better future, because the police themselves are causing harm.
“It’s a delusional situation we’re in,” Jones said last week, while icing her fractured hand after scuffling with police in one of Sacramento’s more heated police brutality protests. “So many people are working so hard to take care of one another and to keep each other safe, and this week has shown us that that is not what the police are out here doing.”
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But divesting from police is one small part of greater systematic change ― along with expanded health care and affordable housing and education ― that needs to be made, Raymond said.
“If we think that all of these broader community needs can be met solely by reinvesting dollars from the police, then I think that we’re setting ourselves up for a relatively smaller, narrow vision,” he said.
Still, progress around defunding police is “really exciting.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--Millions Are Unemployed. Crises Abound. Is It Time To Guarantee Public Service Jobs?

Tcherneva is a key figure in the movement known as Modern Monetary Theory , or MMT , which popularized the idea that inflation is the only real limit to federal spending ― that there is no way for the federal government to go broke when it prints its own money .
In much the same way that the question of how to pay for the $ 2 trillion stimulus package Congress passed earlier this year was tertiary to its effects on people ’ s lives , I kept my hourlong interview with Tcherneva focused on the effects of guaranteeing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important question of how affordable it is .
( For more on that , you can read economist Stephanie Kelton ’ s new book on the subject , or watch this talk she recently gave with my colleague Zach Carter , or start reading researcher Nathan Tankus ’ s newsletter or check out the various MMT explainers online . )
The job creation is not so much the complicated problem .
You want to have a robust public sector , an adequately staffed [ Food and Drug Administration ] and [ Environmental Protection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , if something happens to you , and you need a job , you need to be able to walk into an unemployment center and walk out with one .
It ’ s not terribly difficult to imagine a model in which we just solicit proposals from large community groups that already do work on an ongoing basis .
There are different ways in which you could run this .
The way I ’ m proposing it is from the ground up , a bottom-up approach where in every community you have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have food kitchens , homeless shelters .
They try to do this on a voluntary basis , but they are always under pressure and understaffed .
So these kinds of things are ongoing .
You have the whole problem where you have police officers dealing with mental health issues when that shouldn ’ t be their job .
Imagine somebody can call a mental health crisis line .
First , there ’ s a dispatcher ― someone has to man that line , right ?
Then there is a whole service of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with these problems .
It ’ s also true with intimate partner violence ; the police may not be the right people to respond to this .
It should be some trained professionals that know how to do trauma interventions .
In almost every aspect of public life ― if you ’ re driving with a broken light ― why should you have an interaction with police ?
It could be just a public servant who , instead of giving you a ticket violation , is there as a public service to flag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homeless people who are sleeping under bridges or intoxication , none of these problems should be attended by over-militarized police .
A job guarantee is essentially a program through which we can foster all those additional non-police public services .
The labor market as it is right now is a Catch-22 for many people .
It ’ s not that everyone has an opportunity .
In fact , the circumstances are stacked against most folks .
You have a last-in , first-out problem , where folks who are always the last ones to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay in good jobs for very long , and they ’ re the first to lose them .
They tend to be people of color , elderly , people with disabilities .
Their unemployment rate was the last one to recover .
The way the labor market works , it always improves the conditions of whoever private firms think is the most employable person .
And right now the folks who actually need the jobs are the ones that are scrambling , and they end up working in the most terrible working conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paradoxes .
Jobs are pitted against technology .
That need not happen .
It ’ s only because we have accepted and tolerated unemployment .
We should embrace technology .
Like , let ’ s automate meatpacking , right ?
We don ’ t want to have well-paid folks working in dangerous conditions .
To me , technology can improve our lives , but right now it is being used to create more precarity .
It ’ s the Uberization of jobs .
You don ’ t want that .
But maybe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ autonomous driving machines and people won ’ t be driving for 10 hours across the states .
I ’ m less convinced of the technological Armageddon argument , that somehow all jobs are going to disappear .
But we should be arguing for reduced working hours , that ’ s long overdue .
This is not about jobs at all cost .
It ’ s about making the good life and providing one aspect of economic security .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
“Is there a limit to how much we can care for each other?”
That’s the radical question at the heart of economist Pavlina Tcherneva’s timely new book, ”The Case for a Job Guarantee,” due to be published this month.
The 128-page book went to print in December when the U.S. unemployment rate was near a postwar low of 3.5%. Yet that figure obscured the harsh realities of the economy it’s so often used to describe. Hallowed growth of the economy was less a rising tide than a wave that pummeled most and allowed a select few to surf.
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Average real incomes for the bottom 90% of families fell from 2009 to 2012, the first three years of the post-Great Recession recovery. By 2017, that average was 2.2% lower than in 1997. And as wages continued their decades-long stagnation, planet-heating emissions soared and storms and fires grew more extreme, displacing thousands and threatening to send millions more fleeing in the years ahead.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic. By the end of May, 40.8 million Americans had filed jobless claims, representing roughly 1 in 4 workers in the labor force. As the virus ripped through nursing homes, the policy response in many states was to protect the private companies that run such facilities from liability. As the origins of the virus were revealed to be from wild animals ― offering yet another example of the threats rampant habitat and biodiversity loss pose to humans ― governments around the world, particularly the Trump administration, gutted environmental protections in a bid to spur private industries’ recovery.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Tcherneva makes the case that delivering on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s nearly century-old promise of a job for every American who wants one would both set a modern living standard and marshal the power of the nation’s workforce to do work that so desperately needs doing. Rather than provide dubiously enforceable incentives for for-profit businesses to meet urgent societal needs, pay Americans directly to do those jobs. Then, during cycles of economic growth, allow the private sector to pay higher wages and reap the benefits of workers with new on-the-job training.
The concept is popular. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) backed versions of a job guarantee during the Democratic presidential primary. When the left-leaning think tank Data for Progress polled the issue last summer, 55% of eligible voters supported guaranteeing a federally funded job to anyone who wants one, while just 23% opposed the proposal.
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Tcherneva is a key figure in the movement known as Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT, which popularized the idea that inflation is the only real limit to federal spending ― that there is no way for the federal government to go broke when it prints its own money. In much the same way that the question of how to pay for the $2 trillion stimulus package Congress passed earlier this year was tertiary to its effects on people’s lives, I kept my hourlong interview with Tcherneva focused on the effects of guaranteeing a job rather than the theoretical and debatably important question of how affordable it is. (For more on that, you can read economist Stephanie Kelton’s new book on the subject, or watch this talk she recently gave with my colleague Zach Carter, or start reading researcher Nathan Tankus’s newsletter or check out the various MMT explainers online.)
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
To start, let me just read the opening line of your first chapter: “Unemployment? What unemployment?” What a difference a few months make.
Yes, indeed. In the way, I’m very glad that I wrote it in an environment of a very low unemployment rate because I was hoping to shake people’s kind of view of how we’ve normalized just millions out of work. And then the coronavirus crisis just forced many people to wrestle with this idea and consider, “You know, what if it’s me? What if it’s somebody I know?”
Workers clean an oil spill on a California beach. There's plenty more work where that came from. Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
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Briefly outline for us what exactly a federal job guarantee is?
In simplest terms, it’s a public option for jobs that provide base wages and benefits. If you’re not able to find work for one reason or another, you can be assured that you can go to the unemployment office, and you will be guaranteed a menu of options in public service that you can pick from and there will be an employment opportunity there.
What would it look like if you were implementing a job guarantee today?
Look, we have a very large-scale problem today. So all manner of employment and hiring is needed. We have some very concrete things to tackle, like the COVID crisis, that require public service. Dealing with a public health issue requires that it not be for commercial return. It requires a strong public sector to put in place logistical systems ― everyone talks about contract tracing ― but it is everything; schools reorganize, workplaces reorganize. We have to make sure the elderly are taken care of and health centers are adequately staffed. We need centers for the homeless and shelters for those escaping their abusers. It is the whole wide range.
But even before this pandemic, we’ve had a lot of communities in distress. We have folks that live in awful conditions and polluted communities that don’t have clean water. What I’m saying is that the public service has been neglected for so long that we need a very robust public sector just to match these needs.
Surely, at some point, you get through the backlog. What happens, theoretically, in five or 10 years? How do you maintain a program of this size?
The job creation is not so much the complicated problem. You want to have a robust public sector, an adequately staffed [Food and Drug Administration] and [Environmental Protection Agency]. But the job guarantee is, if something happens to you, and you need a job, you need to be able to walk into an unemployment center and walk out with one. It’s not terribly difficult to imagine a model in which we just solicit proposals from large community groups that already do work on an ongoing basis. There are different ways in which you could run this. The way I’m proposing it is from the ground up, a bottom-up approach where in every community you have environmental groups, you have nonprofits, you have food kitchens, homeless shelters. They try to do this on a voluntary basis, but they are always under pressure and understaffed. So these kinds of things are ongoing.
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But imagine also opening up new possibilities. We could have community theaters, urban farms, tool sheds, remediating and reclaiming materials. The way I put it: Is there a limit to which we can care for each other? Is there a limit to which we can provide services to each other? To which we can create some public value? I think the answer is probably no.
A lot of care work comes to mind, especially with an aging population.
The elderly are sheltered in isolation right now. But that is a problem all the time, where people who have reached the zenith of their life and may not have anyone to care for them, they’re left to these various private institutions that are run for profit and are inadequately staffed. I mean, that is a public purpose. We need to have some sort of infrastructure that adequately cares for the elder, for the young, for teachers stretched thin.
A chart from the think tank Data for Progress shows widespread support for a job guarantee. Data for Progress
One thing that came to mind as I was reading this is this debate unfolding right now about how to radically change or disband police departments. Guard labor, in general, makes up a growing percentage of the workforce in many U.S. cities ― I think Orlando was at the top ― which says a lot about the society we’re building. How would a program like this lend itself to reversing that trend?
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You have the whole problem where you have police officers dealing with mental health issues when that shouldn’t be their job. Imagine somebody can call a mental health crisis line. First, there’s a dispatcher ― someone has to man that line, right? Then there is a whole service of folks who have the experience to deal with these problems. It’s also true with intimate partner violence; the police may not be the right people to respond to this. It should be some trained professionals that know how to do trauma interventions. In almost every aspect of public life ― if you’re driving with a broken light ― why should you have an interaction with police? It could be just a public servant who, instead of giving you a ticket violation, is there as a public service to flag this problem. Whether it’s homeless people who are sleeping under bridges or intoxication, none of these problems should be attended by over-militarized police. A job guarantee is essentially a program through which we can foster all those additional non-police public services.
What is your response to concerns that a job guarantee will create untenable competition with the private sector, making it impossible to have low-skilled jobs that have historically paid less than what some of these guaranteed jobs would pay?
The labor market as it is right now is a Catch-22 for many people. It’s not that everyone has an opportunity. In fact, the circumstances are stacked against most folks. You have a last-in, first-out problem, where folks who are always the last ones to catch this job train, they never stay in good jobs for very long, and they’re the first to lose them. They tend to be people of color, elderly, people with disabilities. Their unemployment rate was the last one to recover. The way the labor market works, it always improves the conditions of whoever private firms think is the most employable person. And right now the folks who actually need the jobs are the ones that are scrambling, and they end up working in the most terrible working conditions.
Because of this cruel game of musical chairs, we don’t have enough employment opportunities for everyone and enough good employment opportunities for everyone. So unemployment always looms in every negotiation, and firms use this to reduce costs, which means difficult working conditions. Is this a world that we want to reproduce? Don’t we want to move away from this kind of system that creates precarity? I’m not saying a job guarantee is a panacea, but it lifts up the floor and says, look, this is the standard for jobs. There’s really no reason why anyone who’s working should live in poverty. It’s just a basic commitment to living standards.
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You also see in there this thinly veiled argument for the right of firms to pay poverty wages, or else mom-and-pop shops will go out of business because now they have to pay $15 an hour. But mom-and-pop shops like to pay good wages to their employees. It’s things like the meatpacking industry that are depending on low wages and migrant labor to be profitable. And that’s a model that has to end. The job guarantee is an alternative.
It’s a paradoxical argument because all the free-marketeers love competition. A job guarantee provides competition, another option in the marketplace for good jobs. So let them compete and may the best firms survive. We want to change the nature of work and make it more stable and better paid. So what we need is a firm standard.
Would you need a role for price controls? How do you address the potential inflation from a program like this?
We’ve had experiences like this. In 1948, we nearly doubled the minimum wage at a time when the economy was pretty much at full employment. We didn’t see inflation. What the job guarantee does is serve as an anti-cyclical stabilizer. When the private sector is booming, folks are transitioning from these living-wage jobs into better-paid employment opportunities. The stimulus that this program provides in a downturn decreases in an upturn. So it’s the same thing that unemployment does now, except you keep people in employment. It’s counter-cyclical.
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So assuming a program were implemented like this in the United States, what would be the international effect, living in a globalized society?
The U.S. will be a much better place overall to live and invest in, instead of having this patchwork of depressed communities. This is what the unemployment numbers hide. If you look geographically at how unemployment moves, there are communities that are permanently depressed. They are not just in Detroit. They’re across the whole country. They’re in Washington, they’re in California. So you could have a far more vibrant overall community to invest in.
After World War II, it was understood that the benefits from trade are reaped when we have full employment. It’s not the case that countries that have lower unemployment rates are necessarily suffering in the global competition because they have low unemployment rates and a decent standard of living. And if you have, as I conclude in the book, a global Marshall Plan for full employment across the globe, these would be the foundations on which free trade is supposed to take place.
There’s certainly plenty of infrastructure and nature restoration work that lies ahead of us. But I wonder whether, at a certain point, you risk a program like this increasing emissions by needing to stimulate additional activity for individuals as opposed to, say, providing a basic income?
I think the opposite. If you do community work, and it’s local, and you cut out on all the commuting, and you do care work ...
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt first proposed a job guarantee in the 1940s. Bettmann via Getty Images
Then it’s low carbon.
Exactly. The whole purpose of the job guarantee is actually to improve the environment. Now UBI [a universal basic income] has this promise that it will reduce carbon. But if you’re still dependent on the current supply chains and the current extractive system, then you’re just the consumer. There’s nothing inherent in the UBI that transforms the way we do things. It’s just a hypothetical. With the job guarantee, we’re saying very clearly and very explicitly, we have environmental work to do, so let’s put the two together.
In doing it locally, the one thing that kind of struck me is the ways in which different states currently administer unemployment benefits. Certain states, particularly conservative ones, are very adept at erecting barriers. So how do you allow a program like this to be locally administered and avoid, at the same time, their ability to obstruct it?
This is a serious question. We see how deliberately the current welfare system is being sabotaged. It doesn’t mean that the job guarantee is immune to this, of course. But the way I propose it is that we want to use all aspects of civil society to put this in place. In some circumstances, you could circumvent. Community groups and nonprofits could propose directly to the Department of Labor for funds. It creates buy-in from the community.
How would you expect immigration and the debate around it to change? Would this defuse some of the xenophobic arguments against immigration that we see right now?
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This clearly has to be coupled with some sort of comprehensive immigration reform. In an ideal world, the point of the job guarantee is to provide dignified work to anyone.
How would you pitch a job guarantee to a conservative?
Jobs are not a partisan issue. We’ve surveyed the job guarantee, and it polls extremely high in deep-red Republican states.
They saw what happened after 2008 and that it took such a long time to dig out of this hole. For many, many people still living in a recession, their incomes have not been increasing. So the possibility of somebody saying, ‘Hey, do you want to work? And there’s something to do right here in the community’ ― that is a winning message with anyone.
What do you say to somebody who is afraid of what this will change and the potential disruption, when they feel they’ve carved out a decent place for themselves in the status quo?
I’d say it doesn’t necessarily concern them. If you’re happy with your life, that’s beautiful. Would you also be happy with having a new hiking trail in your community? Or maybe, you know, additional clean-up? I’m sure there’s something in your community that you drive by and you don’t like and you say, “Oh, why wasn’t that fixed?” Everybody experiences these things in our lives. If we just open up our minds to addressing that neglect and realizing improvements can be made, then folks needing good jobs can get them.
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What is the relationship of a job guaranteed to the, you know, continued investment in and development of automation tools?
This is another one of those paradoxes. Jobs are pitted against technology. That need not happen. It’s only because we have accepted and tolerated unemployment. We should embrace technology. Like, let’s automate meatpacking, right? We don’t want to have well-paid folks working in dangerous conditions. To me, technology can improve our lives, but right now it is being used to create more precarity. It’s the Uberization of jobs. You don’t want that. But maybe, at some point, we will have autonomous driving machines and people won’t be driving for 10 hours across the states. I’m less convinced of the technological Armageddon argument, that somehow all jobs are going to disappear. But we should be arguing for reduced working hours, that’s long overdue. This is not about jobs at all cost. It’s about making the good life and providing one aspect of economic security.
I realize that, generally speaking, there isn’t much cause for optimism at the moment. But what makes you most optimistic that something like this could be realized?
There is an enormous appetite. There is conversation. The job guarantee is starting to pop up more and more in the conversation in the popular press. When we get a lot of different corners calling for the same thing, then hopefully that’ll be enough pressure for change on the policy level.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-22--'Walk Of Shame': Deflated Trump's Lonely Helicopter Walk Becomes Biting New Meme

President Donald Trump ’ s walk back to the White House from Marine One after his Saturday night rally in Tulsa presented an image very different from the one he usually projects .
The Tulsa rally was meant to restart his 2020 reelection campaign , as it was his first big event since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most large gatherings .
But the crowd that turned out was much smaller than anticipated , and Trump returned to the White House with an open shirt and an undone necktie as he clutched one of his campaign ’ s signature red @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump looked dejected ― and some even added music to the moment : I fixed it !
!
I ’ m💀 🤣😂 Trump Returning home after his disappointing Rally !
Cover , Foreigner - ' I Want To Know What Love Is ' ( SOUND UP ) pic.twitter.com/n18LRatRap — Just Vent ( @ JustVent6 ) June 21 , 2020 This is the look of defeat .
This is the true # WalkofShame .
This is glorious to see .
pic.twitter.com/J8SHhzp3O3 — Devin Nunes Mom ( @ NotDevinsMom ) June 21 , 2020 Disheveled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dog and pony show of racism , xenophobia , corruption and lies is getting old ; he was undermined , outclassed and embarrassed by teenagers across the nation who coordinated mass purchases of tickets .
Bad night for him and his cult !
— Fátima Ptacek ( @ FatimaPtacek ) June 21 , 2020 There ’ s a drag in his stagger A teeter in his totter A hitch in his giddyup A gig in his rigmarole A ruffle in his shuffle And an amble in his shamble.
# WalkofShame pic.twitter.com/7wmB9a94sz — Bleeding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June 21 , 2020 This turned out almost too tragic to post .
I 'm very very sorry @ realDonaldTrump # EverybodyHurts pic.twitter.com/d3nlAL1WAT — Krister Johnson ( @ KristerJohnson ) June 21 , 2020 Think about this : Trump looks worse coming off of Marine One after one poorly attended rally than he 's looked at any point during this pandemic or economic crisis .
He does n't care about you , # MAGA .
He just doesn't.
# EveryonesLaughingAtYouDonaldpic.twitter.com/UIE3s1LJYv — Holly Figueroa O'Reilly ( @ AynRandPaulRyan ) June 21 , 2020 This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pic.twitter.com/GfoZGkn7pY — Rick Wilson ( @ TheRickWilson ) June 21 , 2020 A liitle mood music for Bunker Boy Trump who risked 6,200 people 's lives hope a Klan rally would lift his changes and his dangerous emotional state via pic.twitter.com/aZX127y6BI — ☇RiotWomenn☇ ( @ riotwomennn ) June 21 , 2020 Wow .
Look at this .
I 've never seen this look from Trump .
Dejected .
Broken .
Small .
Wounded .
Chime in - what do you see ?
https : //t.co/YgsZe68lQ1 — MadDogPAC ( @ maddogpac ) June 21 @ @

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President Donald Trump’s walk back to the White House from Marine One after his disappointing Saturday night rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, presented an image very different from the one he usually projects.
The rally was meant to restart his 2020 reelection campaign, stalled since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most large gatherings.
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But the crowd that turned out was much smaller than anticipated, and Trump returned to the White House with an open shirt and an undone necktie as he clutched one of his campaign’s signature red caps.
On Twitter, critics said Trump looked dejected ― and some even added music to the moment:
I fixed it!! I’m💀 🤣😂 Trump Returning home after his disappointing Rally! Cover, Foreigner - 'I Want To Know What Love Is' (SOUND UP) pic.twitter.com/n18LRatRap — Just Vent (@JustVent6) June 21, 2020
This is the look of defeat.
This is the true #WalkofShame.
This is glorious to see. pic.twitter.com/J8SHhzp3O3 — Devin Nunes Mom (@NotDevinsMom) June 21, 2020
The walk of shame. pic.twitter.com/u0GRFnnKeY — The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 21, 2020
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This song has so many uses pic.twitter.com/PkfG80CaYL — Comfortably Numb🏠 (@YGalanter) June 21, 2020
Disheveled, defeated, humiliated. His pathetic dog and pony show of racism, xenophobia, corruption and lies is getting old; he was undermined, outclassed and embarrassed by teenagers across the nation who coordinated mass purchases of tickets. Bad night for him and his cult! — Fátima Ptacek (@FatimaPtacek) June 21, 2020
There’s a drag in his stagger
A teeter in his totter
A hitch in his giddyup
A gig in his rigmarole
A ruffle in his shuffle
And an amble in his shamble.#WalkofShame pic.twitter.com/7wmB9a94sz — Bleeding Heart Liberal Marine (@zaharako) June 21, 2020
People heading for the 7 Train after a 12-1 loss at citi field pic.twitter.com/03DwK2Hv9U — Richard Staff (@Staff7998) June 21, 2020
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This turned out almost too tragic to post. I'm very very sorry @realDonaldTrump #EverybodyHurts pic.twitter.com/d3nlAL1WAT — Krister Johnson (@KristerJohnson) June 21, 2020
Think about this:
Trump looks worse coming off of Marine One after one poorly attended rally than he's looked at any point during this pandemic or economic crisis.
He doesn't care about you, #MAGA.
He just doesn't.#EveryonesLaughingAtYouDonaldpic.twitter.com/UIE3s1LJYv — Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) June 21, 2020
This one is my favorite so far. pic.twitter.com/GfoZGkn7pY — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 21, 2020
“I just want to cry in MyPillow.” — The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) June 22, 2020
A liitle mood music for Bunker Boy Trump who risked 6,200 people's lives hope a Klan rally would lift his changes and his dangerous emotional state
via
pic.twitter.com/aZX127y6BI — ☇RiotWomenn☇ (@riotwomennn) June 21, 2020
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Walking into work Monday morning like pic.twitter.com/erfDFiPW5z — Sam Clench (@SamClench) June 21, 2020
Dear @MerriamWebster , I have found your 2020 pictorial selection for the word "defeated" — Mike Peerson (@Mikepeerson) June 21, 2020
Wow. Look at this. I've never seen this look from Trump. Dejected. Broken. Small. Wounded.
Chime in - what do you see? https://t.co/YgsZe68lQ1 — MadDogPAC (@maddogpac) June 21, 2020
...quick drawing today to celebrate the Impeached *president’s post Tulsa WALK OF SHAME last night...
Disclaimer: I drew this super fast...not worth spending quality time on it.
Charcoal/pastels drawing #TulsaFlop #TrumpsCoronavirusRally #TulsaRallyFail #TrumpRallyFail pic.twitter.com/2qBFoJtVL7 — Jon Lion Fine Art 😷✊🏽 (@jonlionfineart2) June 21, 2020
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--Noose Found In Garage Used By NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace

A noose was found in the garage stall used by NASCAR ’ s Bubba Wallace , less than two weeks after the racing body banned the display of the Confederate flag at all its events and properties .
Wallace , the only Black driver in the sport ’ s top level , had called for the flag — a symbol long linked to America ’ s history of racism — to be prohibited earlier this month as protests over police brutality and systemic inequality raged across the country .
But the decision sparked controversy among the sport ’ s mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the flag isn ’ t a racist symbol but a part of their heritage .
The noose was found in the garage stall for the No .
43 car racing team , which is owned by Richard Petty Motorsports .
It ’ s unclear who has access to the stalls .
Nooses are one of the most powerful symbols of hate directed toward Black Americans and tied to the history of lynchings in the South , according to the Anti-Defamation League .
“ Today ’ s despicable act of racism and hatred leaves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism , ” Wallace said in a statement on Twitter .
NASCAR condemned the act later Sunday , saying it was “ angry and outraged ” and couldn ’ t “ state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act.
” It said whoever was found responsible would be ejected from the body .
“ We have launched an immediate investigation , and will do everything we can to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and eliminate them from the sport , ” the company said .
“ As we have stated unequivocally , there is no place for racism in NASCAR , and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.
” The sport banned the Confederate flag shortly after Wallace issued his own call to do so , saying the symbol ran “ contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans , our competitors and our industry.
” The driver had said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the symbol and had come to the conclusion it did not represent anything but hate .
Wallace wrote Sunday that he had been overwhelmed by the support he ’ d received after his call to bar the Confederate flag , and said the sport had made “ a commitment to driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone.
” He said he would not be deterred by the racist act .
“ This will not break me , I will not give in nor will I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citing words of encouragement from his mother .
“ I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in .

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A noose was found in the garage stall used by NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace on Sunday, less than two weeks after the racing body banned the display of the Confederate flag at all its events and properties.
Wallace, the only Black driver in the sport’s top level, had called for the flag — a symbol long linked to America’s history of racism — to be prohibited earlier this month as protests over police brutality and systemic inequality raged across the country. But the decision sparked controversy among the sport’s mostly white, Southern fan base who argued the flag isn’t a racist symbol but a part of their heritage.
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The noose was found in the garage stall for the No. 43 car racing team, which is owned by Richard Petty Motorsports. It’s unclear who has access to Wallace’s stall, which is located in Talladega, Alabama.
The FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are investigating, U.S. Attorney Jay Town said Monday.
“Regardless of whether federal charges can be brought, this type of action has no place in our society,” Town said.
Nooses are one of the most powerful symbols of hate directed toward Black Americans and are tied to the history of lynchings in the South, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
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“Today’s despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism,” Wallace said in a statement on Twitter.
NASCAR condemned the act later Sunday, saying it was “angry and outraged” and couldn’t “state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act.” It said whoever was found responsible would be ejected from the body.
“We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport,” the company said. “As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.”
The sport banned the Confederate flag shortly after Wallace issued his own call to do so, saying the symbol ran “contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry.” The driver had said he had to reckon with his own relationship to the symbol and had come to the conclusion it did not represent anything but hate.
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Just days later, he raced the No. 43 car with a new paint scheme featuring Black Lives Matter logos and calls for unity.
Wallace wrote Sunday that he had been overwhelmed by the support he’d received after his call to bar the Confederate flag, and said the sport had made “a commitment to driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone.” He said he would not be deterred by the racist act.
“This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down,” he said, citing words of encouragement from his mother. “I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in.
In a statement issued Monday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) called the incident “vile” and said she was “shocked and appalled” to hear of it. She apologized to Wallace, who was born in Mobile, on behalf of all Alabamians.
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“There is no place for this disgusting display of hatred in our state,” Ivey said. “Racism and threats of this nature will not be condoned nor tolerated, and I commit to assisting in any way possible to ensure that the person responsible for this is caught and punished.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--TikTok Users, K-Pop Fans Say They Sabotaged Trump Rally By Inflating Registrations

Social media users on platforms including the popular video-sharing app have said they completed the free online registration for the rally with no intention of going .
Prior to the event , Trump ’ s campaign manager Brad Parscale said there had been more than one million requests to attend .
However , the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena had many empty seats on Saturday evening and Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled speeches to an expected “ overflow ” area outside .
Trump ’ s campaign advisers had seen the rally as a way to rejuvenate his base and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him trailing his Democratic rival , former vice president Joe Biden .
Oklahoma has reported a surge in new coronavirus cases , and the state ’ s department of health had warned those planning on attending the event that they faced an increased risk of catching the virus .
“ Leftists always fool themselves into thinking they ’ re being clever .
Registering for a rally only means you ’ ve RSVPed with a cellphone number , ” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement .
“ But we thank them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a statement the campaign weeds out bogus phone numbers and did this with “ tens of thousands ” at the Tulsa event in calculating possible attendance .
“ Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID , ” she tweeted on Saturday .
“ KPop allies , we see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice too , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that a TikTok video posted by Mary Jo Laupp , who uses the hashtag # TikTokGrandma , was helping lead the charge .
The video now has more than 700,000 likes .
Two K-pop fans who spoke to Reuters in Skype and phone interviews on Sunday said they had each registered for two spots , not using their real names and numbers .
Raq , a 22-year-old student and Democratic voter in Minnesota who only wanted to be identified by her nickname , said a key reason she took part was that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the country ’ s bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against Black Americans some 100 years ago .
“ I heard it first from just BTS fans and then once I saw that it got to TikTok , I was like , oh yeah , this is going to blow up , ” she said , referring to a popular South Korean boy-band .
Em , a 17-year-old student in Kansas who only wanted to be identified by her username , said she had first heard about the effort on TikTok .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information about the rally had been deleted .
“ I think it was partially the TikTokers and the K-pop fans but also people are not as interested in Trump as he thinks they are , ” she said .
Fans of K-pop have rallied around the Black Lives Matter movement on social media in recent weeks , taking over hashtags that opposed the movement and spamming a Dallas police department app that asked for evidence of illegal activity during the protests .
A Reuters reporter said police did temporarily close the access gates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but state troopers helped clear the area and the gates were reopened some three hours before the rally began .

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(Reuters) - TikTok users and fans of Korean pop music took partial credit for inflating attendance expectations at a less-than-full arena at President Donald Trump’s first political rally in months, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday.
Social media users on platforms including the popular video-sharing app have said they completed the free online registration for the rally with no intention of going.
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Prior to the event, Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale said there had been more than one million requests to attend. However, the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena had many empty seats on Saturday evening and Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled speeches to an expected “overflow” area outside.
The Tulsa Fire Department tallied the crowd at about 6,200 people.
Trump’s campaign advisers had seen the rally as a way to rejuvenate his base and demonstrate support when opinion polls have shown him trailing his Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden.
Oklahoma has reported a surge in new coronavirus cases, and the state’s department of health had warned those planning on attending the event that they faced an increased risk of catching the virus.
The Trump campaign said entry was on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis and no one was issued an actual ticket.
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“Leftists always fool themselves into thinking they’re being clever. Registering for a rally only means you’ve RSVPed with a cellphone number,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement. “But we thank them for their contact information.”
President Donald Trump supporters attend a campaign rally at the BOK Center, Saturday, June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Okla. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Parscale said in a statement the campaign weeds out bogus phone numbers and did this with “tens of thousands” at the Tulsa event in calculating possible attendance.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, responded with derision to a Twitter post by Parscale that blamed the media for discouraging attendees and cited bad behavior by demonstrators outside.
“Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID,” she tweeted on Saturday. “KPop allies, we see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice too,” she added.
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CNN had reported Tuesday that a TikTok video posted by Mary Jo Laupp, who uses the hashtag #TikTokGrandma, was helping lead the charge. The video now has more than 700,000 likes.
Two K-pop fans who spoke to Reuters in Skype and phone interviews on Sunday said they had each registered for two spots, not using their real names and numbers.
Raq, a 22-year-old student and Democratic voter in Minnesota who only wanted to be identified by her nickname, said a key reason she took part was that the rally was in Tulsa, the site of the country’s bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against Black Americans some 100 years ago.
“I heard it first from just BTS fans and then once I saw that it got to TikTok, I was like, oh yeah, this is going to blow up,” she said, referring to a popular South Korean boy-band.
Em, a 17-year-old student in Kansas who only wanted to be identified by her username, said she had first heard about the effort on TikTok. She said many of the original tweets sharing information about the rally had been deleted.
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“I think it was partially the TikTokers and the K-pop fans but also people are not as interested in Trump as he thinks they are,” she said.
Fans of K-pop have rallied around the Black Lives Matter movement on social media in recent weeks, taking over hashtags that opposed the movement and spamming a Dallas police department app that asked for evidence of illegal activity during the protests.
On Saturday, there were some shouting matches and scuffles outside the event between around 30 Black Lives Matter demonstrators and some Trump supporters waiting to enter.
A Reuters reporter said police did temporarily close the access gates after protesters arrived at the rally perimeter, but state troopers helped clear the area and the gates were reopened some three hours before the rally began.
The Biden campaign denied having any role in the social media registration effort.
“Donald Trump has abdicated leadership and it is no surprise that his supporters have responded by abandoning him,” said a campaign spokesman, Andrew Bates.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-21--Tom Petty's Family Demands Trump Stop Using 'I Won't Back Down' In 'Campaign Of Hate'

The family of the late rocker Tom Petty has demanded that Donald Trump stop using the musician ’ s song “ I Won ’ t Back Down ” for the president ’ s “ campaign of hate.
” The 1989 hit was blasted from speakers at the BOK Center during Trump ’ s lackluster rally Saturday in Tulsa , Oklahoma .
“ I know what ’ s right , ” Petty sings in his song .
“ I got just one life .
In a world that keeps pushin ’ me around , I ’ ll stand my ground .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ His family has issued a cease-and-desist notice to the campaign to stop the use of the music .
“ Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind , ” a statement from Petty ’ s family said .
“ Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind .
Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate .
He likes to bring people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we believe in democracy .
But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideas of either , ” it added .
“ We would hate for fans who have been marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage .
The statement was signed by Petty ’ s daughters Adria and Annakim , his first wife , Jane Petty , and his widow , Dana Petty .
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench also posted the family statement on his Instagram account .
Tench noted in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way ” approves of Trump “ even whistling any piece of music associated with our band.
” Several musicians have clashed with Trump about his use of their songs without permission and against their wishes .
He has helped himself to music from complaining artists , including Neil Young , Adele , Rihanna , the Rolling Stones , Aerosmith and Elton John — and Prince ’ s estate last year .
Twitter last year removed a Trump campaign video from the president ’ s account after Queen complained about unauthorized use of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rock You.
” A doctored video featuring “ Photograph ” by Nickelback posted by Trump was also taken down .
Mike Mills , the bass player for the now-defunct rock band R.E.M.
, said earlier this year that members of the band were “ exploring all legal avenues ” to prevent Trump from using their songs after the president ’ s reelection campaign helped itself to “ Everybody Hurts ” and “ Losing My Religion.
” We are aware that the President* @ realDonaldTrump continues to use our music at his rallies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevent this , but if that ’ s not possible please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man .
— Mike Mills 🌿 ( @ m_millsey ) January 15 , 2020

The family of the late rocker Tom Petty has demanded that Donald Trump stop using the musician’s song “I Won’t Back Down” for the president’s “campaign of hate.”
The 1989 hit was blasted from speakers at the BOK Center during Trump’s lackluster rally Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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“I know what’s right,” Petty sings in his song. “I got just one life. In a world that keeps pushin’ me around, I’ll stand my ground. I won’t back down.”
His family has issued a cease-and-desist notice to the campaign to stop the use of the music.
“Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” a statement from Petty’s family said.
“Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He likes to bring people together.”
People are free to vote for candidates of their choosing, the statement emphasized.
“We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideas of either,” it added. “We would hate for fans who have been marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage.
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The statement was signed by Petty’s daughters Adria and Annakim, his first wife, Jane Petty, and his widow, Dana Petty.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench also posted the family statement on his Instagram account. Tench noted in a separate post that he in “no way” approves of Trump “even whistling any piece of music associated with our band.”
Petty died in 2017 at the age of 66 of an accidental drug overdose.
Several musicians have clashed with Trump about his use of their songs without permission and against their wishes. He has helped himself to music from complaining artists, including Neil Young, Adele, Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Elton John — and Prince’s estate last year.
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Twitter last year removed a Trump campaign video from the president’s account after Queen complained about unauthorized use of the band’s song “We Will Rock You.” A doctored video featuring “Photograph” by Nickelback posted by Trump was also taken down.
Mike Mills, the bass player for the now-defunct rock band R.E.M., said earlier this year that members of the band were “exploring all legal avenues” to prevent Trump from using their songs after the president’s reelection campaign helped itself to “Everybody Hurts” and “Losing My Religion.”
Mills called Trump a “fraud” and “con man,” saying the band does “not condone the use of our music” by him. HuffPost has reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.
We are aware that the President* @realDonaldTrump continues to use our music at his rallies. We are exploring all legal avenues to prevent this, but if that’s not possible please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man. — Mike Mills 🌿 (@m_millsey) January 15, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-22--Michelle Obama Shares Sweet Family Throwback Photo For Father's Day

“ Thank you for the way you love our girls — and all the young people in this country , no matter who they are or where they come from , ” the former first lady wrote on social media alongside the old image of her husband , former President Barack Obama and their daughters Malia , 21 , and Sasha , 19 .
“ We feel your warmth and generosity today and everyday .
Happy Father ’ s Day , Barack !
” Last year , she also celebrated Father ’ s Day with a bit of nostalgia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ husband and daughters : And the year before that , she paid tribute to her own father Fraser Robinson , who died in 1991 .
She reflected that Barack Obama , like her father , instilled values in his daughters of working hard , being trustworthy and living a life full of laughter : The Obamas have been isolating together as a family during the coronavirus pandemic , she told Ellen DeGeneres in March .
She said the girls were completing college coursework online , and the four of them were enjoying time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s forced us to continue to sit down with each other , have real conversations , really ask questions and figure out how to keep ourselves occupied without just TV or computers , ” she said at the time .
She and the former president have certainly kept busy ; the two have performed a number of virtual speaking engagements , including earlier this month , when they empowered 2020 high school graduates to harness turbulent times ― amid nationwide anti-racism protests and the coronavirus pandemic ― as a motivator to lead @ @ @ @ @

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Michelle Obama shared the sweetest throwback photo of her family to mark Father’s Day.
“Thank you for the way you love our girls — and all the young people in this country, no matter who they are or where they come from,” the former first lady wrote on social media alongside the old image of her husband, former President Barack Obama and their daughters Malia, 21, and Sasha, 19. “We feel your warmth and generosity today and everyday. Happy Father’s Day, Barack!”
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Last year, she also celebrated Father’s Day with a bit of nostalgia, posting an even older throwback of her husband and daughters:
And the year before that, she paid tribute to her own father Fraser Robinson, who died in 1991. She reflected that Barack Obama, like her father, instilled values in his daughters of working hard, being trustworthy and living a life full of laughter:
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The Obamas have been isolating together as a family during the coronavirus pandemic, she told Ellen DeGeneres in March. She said the girls were completing college coursework online, and the four of them were enjoying time together as a family.
“It’s forced us to continue to sit down with each other, have real conversations, really ask questions and figure out how to keep ourselves occupied without just TV or computers,” she said at the time.