thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Larry Kudlow Says Next Coronavirus Stimulus Draft Will Include A Second $1,200 Check

As the financial fallout from the pandemic is set to enter a troubling new phase , White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said a new coronavirus relief bill will include a second $ 1,200 stimulus payment for eligible Americans .
Kudlow made the comments in an interview with CNN ’ s Jake Tapper on Sunday amid ongoing negotiations between lawmakers and the White House over how to support the American economy .
“ I just want to add , Jake , I just want to add we are talking about employment benefits and so forth , ” Kudlow said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a $ 1,200 check coming that is going to be part of the new package.
” If a stimulus bill is passed , it would be the second direct payment sent to millions of Americans since the pandemic began .
The original Coronavirus Aid , Relief and Economic Security ( CARES ) Act paid up to $ 1,200 per eligible American adult .
It ’ s unclear what income limits or other qualifications a second round of checks would include , although the previous payment went out in full to those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 75,000 individually per year .
Kudlow called the upcoming draft bill a “ very well rounded package ” and said it would provide “ a great safety net ” until the pandemic eases .
`` You 're in a housing boom right now .
You 're in a retail sales boom right now .
You 're in an auto , car boom right now '' -- with unemployment over 11 percent , Larry Kudlow wants you to believe the economy is great pic.twitter.com/62Dh6Lti5t — Aaron Rupar ( @ atrupar ) July 26 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Senate Republicans ’ draft relief bill would be released Monday .
He also mentioned a proposal for a second round of payments .
The GOP bill is expected to cost about $ 1 trillion and will reportedly include an extension to some unemployment benefits and protections for businesses .
The draft does not include the payroll tax cut that President Donald Trump wanted .
“ The direct payments are a much quicker way of effectively giving everybody a tax cut , and is much quicker than the payroll tax cut , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” During the interview with Kudlow , Tapper repeatedly pressed him about the ongoing economic fallout linked to the pandemic , particularly in states that have been forced to rein in their reopening plans due to surging infection rates .
But Kudlow pushed back , claiming the economy was improving despite the surge in COVID-19 cases .
“ You ’ re in a housing boom right now .
You ’ re in a retail sales boom right now .
You ’ re in an auto , car boom right now .
Manufacturing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in some hotspots there would be a limited recovery .
“ On the whole , the picture is very positive and I still think the V-shaped recovery is in place , ” Kudlow added .
However , with the initial round of stimulus benefits set to expire , millions of Americans are on the cusp of financial ruin .
A survey by the Census Bureau said 22 % of households don ’ t expect to be able to pay their next mortgage or rent payments and many are facing eviction in the coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration was planning to lengthen the federal eviction moratorium amid widespread concern millions of Americans could lose their homes .
The eviction ban , as well as an additional $ 600 in weekly unemployment benefits , expires on July 31 .

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As the financial fallout from the pandemic is set to enter a troubling new phase, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said a new coronavirus relief bill will include a second $1,200 stimulus payment for eligible Americans.
Kudlow made the comments in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday amid ongoing negotiations between lawmakers and the White House over how to support the American economy.
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“I just want to add, Jake, I just want to add we are talking about employment benefits and so forth,” Kudlow said. “Don’t forget, there’s a $1,200 check coming that is going to be part of the new package.”
If a stimulus bill is passed, it would be the second direct payment sent to millions of Americans since the pandemic began. The original Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act paid up to $1,200 per eligible American adult. It’s unclear what income limits or other qualifications a second round of checks would include, although the previous payment went out in full to those who qualified and made less than $75,000 individually per year.
Kudlow called the upcoming draft bill a “very well rounded package” and said it would provide “a great safety net” until the pandemic eases.
"You're in a housing boom right now. You're in a retail sales boom right now. You're in an auto, car boom right now" -- with unemployment over 11 percent, Larry Kudlow wants you to believe the economy is great pic.twitter.com/62Dh6Lti5t — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 26, 2020
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that the Senate Republicans’ draft relief bill would be released Monday. He also mentioned a proposal for a second round of payments. The GOP bill is expected to cost about $1 trillion and will reportedly include an extension to some unemployment benefits and protections for businesses. The draft does not include the payroll tax cut that President Donald Trump wanted.
“The direct payments are a much quicker way of effectively giving everybody a tax cut, and is much quicker than the payroll tax cut,” Mnuchin told “Fox News Sunday.”
During the interview with Kudlow, Tapper repeatedly pressed him about the ongoing economic fallout linked to the pandemic, particularly in states that have been forced to rein in their reopening plans due to surging infection rates. But Kudlow pushed back, claiming the economy was improving despite the surge in COVID-19 cases.
“You’re in a housing boom right now. You’re in a retail sales boom right now. You’re in an auto, car boom right now. Manufacturing,” Kudlow said, later noting that in some hotspots there would be a limited recovery.
“On the whole, the picture is very positive and I still think the V-shaped recovery is in place,” Kudlow added.
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However, with the initial round of stimulus benefits set to expire, millions of Americans are on the cusp of financial ruin. A survey by the Census Bureau said 22% of households don’t expect to be able to pay their next mortgage or rent payments and many are facing eviction in the coming months.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Vietnam Vet Sprayed In The Face By Trump's Federal Agents In Portland

A Vietnam veteran shouting at a line of federal law enforcement agents in Portland , Oregon was sprayed in the face during the ongoing protests in the city .
President Donald Trump sent the federal agents to Portland , claiming protesters there were “ anarchists who hate our Country.
” But footage from the incident showed former Army medic Mike Hastie presenting no threat ; he was just speaking his mind in the street when an unidentified fatigue-clad agent sprayed him in the face with what appeared to be pepper spray or a similar substance .
The scene , captured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed a federal agent holding the canister just inches from Hastie ’ s face , then shoving him out of the way : Another photographer on the scene said Hastie “ was incapacitated for a good amount of time and needed several flushes of water before he could start walking.
” In one of the clips , Hastie said he was born in 1945 , making him either 74 or 75 years old .
Veterans for Peace said Hastie was a member of their organization and a lifelong activist , and urged federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among a number of cities where protesters have been demonstrating against police violence on Black people since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis .
Trump has responded to the demonstrations by attacking the protesters , calling them “ radical-left criminals ” and ordering federal agents to restore peace while dressed in combat gear .
The president has also threatened to send up to 75,000 agents to other cities .
Last week , more than two dozen Democrats in the Senate sent Trump a letter demanding answers about his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests in Portland .
“ Critically , it remains unclear what legal authorities the federal government has invoked for its militarized interventions in American cities , ” the letter noted .

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A Vietnam veteran shouting at a line of federal law enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon was sprayed in the face during the ongoing protests in the city.
President Donald Trump sent the federal agents to Portland, claiming protesters there were “anarchists who hate our Country.” But footage from the incident showed former Army medic Mike Hastie presenting no threat; he was just speaking his mind in the street when an unidentified fatigue-clad agent sprayed him in the face with what appeared to be pepper spray or a similar substance.
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The scene, captured on video by journalist Andrew Kimmel, showed a federal agent holding the canister just inches from Hastie’s face, then shoving him out of the way:
Feds pepper sprayed this Vietnam Veteran/photographer right in the face. His name is Mike Hastie. He was an Army medic. #PortlandProtests pic.twitter.com/CLZwKvuTxH — Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 26, 2020
Another photographer on the scene said Hastie “was incapacitated for a good amount of time and needed several flushes of water before he could start walking.”
In one of the clips, Hastie said he was born in 1945, making him either 74 or 75 years old.
Veterans for Peace said Hastie was a member of their organization and a lifelong activist, and urged federal forces to #StandDown:
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VFP member Mike Hastie speaking out against the history of unjust and unlawful orders. #Standdown https://t.co/o2JK0oRkhF — Veterans For Peace (@VFPNational) July 26, 2020
The anti-Trump progressive veterans group VoteVets also shared the footage:
This is NOT how we should treat our veterans.
pic.twitter.com/PTkphsIbnM — VoteVets (@votevets) July 26, 2020
Portland is among a number of cities where protesters have been demonstrating against police violence on Black people since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
Trump has responded to the demonstrations by attacking the protesters, calling them “radical-left criminals” and ordering federal agents to restore peace while dressed in combat gear. The president has also threatened to send up to 75,000 agents to other cities.
Last week, more than two dozen Democrats in the Senate sent Trump a letter demanding answers about his decision to send federal agents to squash protests in Portland.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--The NYPD Can See Millions Of Arrest Records That Were Supposed To Be Sealed

For over 40 years , it has been illegal for police in New York state to access a person ’ s sealed arrest records .
Details of arrests of people who were charged but not convicted or whose cases were dismissed ― as well as juveniles or people who completed drug treatment programs or committed noncriminal offenses ― aren ’ t supposed to influence law enforcement in any way should police encounter those people again .
Instead of destroying or returning arrest records to the accused if a case is terminated in their favor , as is required by law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of them .
The filing revealed that sealed records are housed inside the department ’ s Domain Awareness System , or DAS , a vast system of databases developed by the police department and Microsoft that is installed on each officer ’ s phone for easy access .
When the law went into effect , the legislators were considering fingerprints and mug shots stored in manila folders in filing cabinets .
They had little to no concept of computerized data .
When it comes to this digitized content that the police are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police are just doing what they want.
” The month Vassell was killed , Bronx Defenders filed its lawsuit , claiming the NYPD is violating the sealing statute in the 1976 law .
In the initial complaint , the plaintiffs estimated that between 2014 and 2016 , the NYPD maintained hundreds of the thousands of sealed records — more than 80 % of which involve Black and Latinx people .
But this latest admission from the NYPD brings into focus how many millions of sealed records the department actually has in its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They Want ’ During discovery in R.C.
’ s case , the prosecutors for the Bronx DA ’ s office revealed that police had used a photo from a sealed arrest record from a more than four-year-old case that the DA ’ s office had declined to prosecute R.C .
on .
He told HuffPost that he thought the photo had been deleted because his lawyer in the previous case had made a point to request that those records be erased and he had received assurances that it had happened .
In November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were ultimately dropped .
He said he felt relief and has since started to get his life back on track .
However , according to the lawsuit , R.C .
and his lawyers believe the NYPD is still keeping his sealed records , which could open the door to police yet again accessing them and targeting him as a suspect .
How Big Tech And Police Set Up A Vast Surveillance System Since unveiling the DAS , Microsoft and the NYPD have marketed the technology to other police departments around the country and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Brennan Center for Justice , they have sold it to police departments in Brazil , Singapore , and Washington , D.C .
This month , the Intercept reported that the Atlanta Police Department has been using the DAS since 2019 .
Microsoft and the NYPD share the profits from these deals , with the NYPD getting 30 % .
But it may not shed more light on the NYPD ’ s use of sealed records .
The POST Act is focused on providing a mechanism for the police to share with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using , but the new law focuses on the systems themselves rather than what data those systems use .

ILLUSTRATION; ISABELLA CARAPELLA/ HUFFPOST; PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
For over 40 years, it has been illegal for police in New York state to access a person’s sealed arrest records. Details of arrests of people who were charged but not convicted or whose cases were dismissed ― as well as juveniles or people who completed drug treatment programs or committed noncriminal offenses ― aren’t supposed to influence law enforcement in any way should police encounter those people again.
But new court documents obtained by HuffPost show that the New York City Police Department has been breaking that law for years, on a massive scale that has been previously unreported.
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According to the documents, the NYPD has digitally warehoused more than 6.9 million sealed arrest records of more than 3.5 million New Yorkers. Worse, every cop on the street has instant access to those records through their smartphones.
The court documents are part of a 2018 class-action lawsuit against the NYPD. That lawsuit alleges the police department has violated the state law, which is supposed to protect people from being harassed by police based strictly on past interactions — a matter that primarily affects Black people and other people of color.
The revelations are particularly explosive and damaging for the NYPD in light of the anti-racist protests that have occurred nationwide following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Instead of destroying or returning arrest records to the accused if a case is terminated in their favor, as is required by law, the NYPD admitted it has kept millions of them. The filing revealed that sealed records are housed inside the department’s Domain Awareness System, or DAS, a vast system of databases developed by the police department and Microsoft that is installed on each officer’s phone for easy access.
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According to the NYPD’s court filing, the DAS “can access a copy of each sealed arrest report that exists in the Crime Data Warehouse.”
“Instead of destroying or returning arrest records to the accused if a case is terminated in their favor, as is required by law, the NYPD admitted it has kept millions of them.”
It’s a “horrifying” admission, said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, an attorney from Bronx Defenders who represents the plaintiffs in the case.
“The court already said the NYPD isn’t allowed to use these documents and share them with its officers,” Borchetta said. “Yet they’re still sharing them and on a mass scale.”
The NYPD’s “Crime Data Warehouse contained 6,908,699 sealed arrest reports containing the arrest information of 3,576,113 unique individuals, as of November 20, 2019,” according to the court filing.
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Experts believe this will be hard to defend in court. Hermann Walz, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College and former prosecutor in Brooklyn and Queens, told HuffPost, “The law is clear. Sealed is sealed.”
“The black letter of the law seems to support the Bronx Defenders’ case,” Walz said.
The NYPD has defended its policy of maintaining these millions of records, claiming in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the sealed records law only meant to shield a person’s information from “stigma in employment, education, licensing, and insurance,” while still allowing law enforcement to access the records.
A New York state judge rejected that argument from the NYPD in 2019, calling it “strained” and “without precedence.” The judge ruled that any NYPD officer who wishes to access a sealed record must get a court order.
The case is currently in the discovery phase and the plaintiffs are seeking more information from the NYPD on the sealed records.
Borchetta, the Bronx Defenders attorney suing the department, says that the NYPD just doesn’t want to follow the law. “The NYPD is acting as if the law doesn’t apply to them,” she said.
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The NYPD and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office declined to comment since the litigation is pending.
A Troubling History Of Abuse
In 1976, the New York state legislature passed a law that says if a case “is terminated in a person’s favor or results in a non-criminal violation,” the records of the case shall be “sealed” and any photographs or fingerprints destroyed or returned to the accused.
When the law went into effect, the legislators were considering fingerprints and mug shots stored in manila folders in filing cabinets. They had little to no concept of computerized data. When it comes to this digitized content that the police are collecting, Walz said, “Obviously the police are just doing what they want.”
“Here’s the ultimate problem ― The law is from 1976. I had a rotary phone then. The world has changed dramatically. The law needs to be updated,” he said.
The NYPD has claimed it can maintain a fair process in which police and prosecutors responsibly share relevant sealed records from investigations to seek a criminal conviction. However, in 2018, the NYPD leaked sealed records to the New York Post of Saheed Vassel, a man with a bipolar diagnosis, after police shot and killed him when he was spotted waving a metal pipe on a Brooklyn street.
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The month Vassell was killed, Bronx Defenders filed its lawsuit, claiming the NYPD is violating the sealing statute in the 1976 law. In the initial complaint, the plaintiffs estimated that between 2014 and 2016, the NYPD maintained hundreds of the thousands of sealed records — more than 80% of which involve Black and Latinx people. But this latest admission from the NYPD brings into focus how many millions of sealed records the department actually has in its possession.
“Part of what’s scary about the NYPD’s use of these records is that they’re being used in all different kinds of databases, crunched in algorithms,” Borchetta said, referencing the NYPD’s statement in its filing that the sealed records can be accessed in the department’s Domain Awareness System.
“Someone can become a suspect simply by virtue of this data being in the system,” she said.
‘They Can Do Whatever They Want’
In April 2015, two men held up a livery car driver in the Bronx.
Initially, the victim was unable to identify a suspect. But two weeks later, the victim was shown a second photo lineup of suspects. This time, the victim identified a 21-year-old man from the Bronx named R.C. (HuffPost has withheld the man’s full name at his and his attorneys’ request.)
At the time of the robbery, R.C. was living upstate, and on that night, he was at a friend’s house in Danbury, Connecticut. But in the early hours of May 21, while he was sleeping at his mother’s house, the cops arrived to arrest him for robbery.
Over the next year and half, R.C. traveled back and forth from upstate New York to the Bronx to attend court at least 10 times. He said he lost his job and that the frequent trips to court started “making me feel like I’m a person that I’m not.”
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“The people who are supposed to be protecting us, the same people who are arresting us, are the ones breaking laws.” - R.C.
During discovery in R.C.’s case, the prosecutors for the Bronx DA’s office revealed that police had used a photo from a sealed arrest record from a more than four-year-old case that the DA’s office had declined to prosecute R.C. on. He told HuffPost that he thought the photo had been deleted because his lawyer in the previous case had made a point to request that those records be erased and he had received assurances that it had happened.
In November 2016, the charges against R.C. were ultimately dropped. He said he felt relief and has since started to get his life back on track. However, according to the lawsuit, R.C. and his lawyers believe the NYPD is still keeping his sealed records, which could open the door to police yet again accessing them and targeting him as a suspect.
“I guess the police, they can do whatever they want,” R.C. told HuffPost. “The people who are supposed to be protecting us, the same people who are arresting us, are the ones breaking laws.”
How Big Tech And Police Set Up A Vast Surveillance System
The NYPD arrest records are part of a vast surveillance system for the nation’s largest police department that is now used by police departments around the country and world.
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In 2012, Microsoft and the NYPD publicly announced the creation of a Domain Awareness System, initially billed as a tool to fight terrorism — “a sophisticated law enforcement technology solution that aggregates and analyzes public safety data in real time.” The NYPD now refers to the DAS as “one of the world’s largest networks of cameras, license plate readers, and radiological [sensors], designed to detect and prevent terrorist acts, but also of great value in criminal investigations.”
Since unveiling the DAS, Microsoft and the NYPD have marketed the technology to other police departments around the country and the world. According to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice, they have sold it to police departments in Brazil, Singapore, and Washington, D.C. This month, the Intercept reported that the Atlanta Police Department has been using the DAS since 2019. Microsoft and the NYPD share the profits from these deals, with the NYPD getting 30%.
The system’s surveillance tools, particularly facial recognition, have been particularly controversial. Under pressure from employees, Microsoft and a handful of other companies recently declared they would no longer sell facial recognition technology to police unless there’s a federal law regulating its use that is “grounded in the protection of human rights.”
Microsoft received plenty of positive media coverage for its pledge to stop selling facial recognition technology. However, cases like this lawsuit reinforce the idea that police are utilizing many different types of data — like sealed records — to create the most robust system to track people possible.
Microsoft didn’t respond to a request to comment for this story.
The true extent of the NYPD’s technological power should come into clearer focus soon under New York City’s newly implemented POST Act — or the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act — which mandates that the police department disclose to the city what technological tools it uses.
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But it may not shed more light on the NYPD’s use of sealed records. The POST Act is focused on providing a mechanism for the police to share with the public what surveillance systems it is using, but the new law focuses on the systems themselves rather than what data those systems use.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Sen. Tom Cotton Calls Slavery Nation's 'Necessary Evil' In Shocking Interview

The senator told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that slavery was the evil ” upon which the union was built.
” “ We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we can ’ t understand our country , ” Cotton said .
“ As the Founding Fathers said , it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built.
” Cotton also noted that the “ union was built in a way , as Lincoln said , to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ irredeemably corrupt , rotten and racist country , ” the nation should be viewed “ as an imperfect and flawed land , but the greatest and noblest country in the history of mankind , ” he added .
Cotton delved into his twisted view of the history of slavery as he discussed his bill — the Saving American History Act of 2020 — that would cut off federal professional development funds from any school district that teaches a curriculum linked to the 1619 Project .
The 1619 Project — which refers to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colonial America — was a series of pieces by writers for the New York Times Magazine that examines the American history of slavery and its critical role in the nation ’ s founding .
Nikole Hannah-Jones , a Pulitzer Prize-winning Times reporter and director of the 1619 Project , blasted Cotton ’ s comments justifying slavery , “ where it was legal to rape , torture and sell human beings for profit.
” It ’ s “ hard to imagine what can not be justified if it is a means to an end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slavery — heritable , generational , permanent , race-based slavery where it was legal to rape , torture , and sell human beings for profit — were a “ necessary evil ” as @ TomCottonAR says , it ’ s hard to imagine what can not be justified if it is a means to an end .
https : //t.co/yScNxPq6ds — Ida Bae Wells ( @ nhannahjones ) July 26 , 2020 Cotton shot back in a tweet — retweeted by President Donald Trump — that his comments were not “ justifying or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be merely “ describing the views of the Founders.
” More lies from the debunked 1619 Project .
Describing the *views of the Founders* and how they put the evil institution on a path to extinction , a point frequently made by Lincoln , is not endorsing or justifying slavery .
No surprise that the 1619 Project ca n't get facts right .
https : //t.co/nLsb73X3Gi — Tom Cotton ( @ TomCottonAR ) July 26 , 2020 Were the Founders right or wrong , @ TomCottonAR , when they called slavery a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ built ” ?
Because either you agree with their assessment of slavery as necessary or you admit they were lying and it was just an evil and dishonorable choice .
Which ?
https : //t.co/22c94wWhni — Ida Bae Wells ( @ nhannahjones ) July 26 , 2020 In his interview with the Gazette , Cotton criticized the 1619 Project as “ left-wing propaganda , ” and “ factually , historically flawed.
” “ Even a penny is too much to go to the 1619 Project in our public schools , ” Cotton said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be teaching American history to our kids.
” If “ local , left-wing school boards want to fill their children ’ s heads with anti-American rot , that ’ s their regrettable choice , ” said Cotton .
“ But they ought not to benefit from federal tax dollars to teach America ’ s children to hate America.
” The # 1619Project published online today and it is my profound hope that we will reframe for our readers the way we understand our nation , the legacy of slavery , and most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have played in this democracy .
https : //t.co/yXKwnJhAf5 — Ida Bae Wells ( @ nhannahjones ) August 14 , 2019

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Controversial Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called slavery the nation’s “necessary evil” in a new interview published Sunday.
The senator told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that slavery was the evil ”upon which the union was built.”
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He made the stunning comment while discussing how slavery should be taught in schools.
“We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we can’t understand our country,” Cotton said. “As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built.”
Cotton also noted that the “union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction.”
Instead of portraying America as “an irredeemably corrupt, rotten and racist country,” the nation should be viewed “as an imperfect and flawed land, but the greatest and noblest country in the history of mankind,” he added.
Cotton delved into his twisted view of the history of slavery as he discussed his bill — the Saving American History Act of 2020 — that would cut off federal professional development funds from any school district that teaches a curriculum linked to the 1619 Project.
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The 1619 Project — which refers to the year slaves were brought from Africa to colonial America — was a series of pieces by writers for the New York Times Magazine that examines the American history of slavery and its critical role in the nation’s founding.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Times reporter and director of the 1619 Project, blasted Cotton’s comments justifying slavery, “where it was legal to rape, torture and sell human beings for profit.” It’s “hard to imagine what cannot be justified if it is a means to an end,” she added.
If chattel slavery — heritable, generational, permanent, race-based slavery where it was legal to rape, torture, and sell human beings for profit — were a “necessary evil” as @TomCottonAR says, it’s hard to imagine what cannot be justified if it is a means to an end. https://t.co/yScNxPq6ds — Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 26, 2020
Cotton shot back in a tweet — retweeted by President Donald Trump — that his comments were not “justifying or endorsing slavery” because he claimed to be merely “describing the views of the Founders.”
More lies from the debunked 1619 Project.
Describing the *views of the Founders* and how they put the evil institution on a path to extinction, a point frequently made by Lincoln, is not endorsing or justifying slavery.
No surprise that the 1619 Project can't get facts right. https://t.co/nLsb73X3Gi — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) July 26, 2020
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Were the Founders right or wrong, @TomCottonAR, when they called slavery a “necessary evil upon which the Union was built”? Because either you agree with their assessment of slavery as necessary or you admit they were lying and it was just an evil and dishonorable choice. Which? https://t.co/22c94wWhni — Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 26, 2020
Actual historian and scholar of slavery. https://t.co/ebRhR5PYIO https://t.co/FTSXYY6Lg1 — Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 26, 2020
In his interview with the Gazette, Cotton criticized the 1619 Project as “left-wing propaganda,” and “factually, historically flawed.”
“Even a penny is too much to go to the 1619 Project in our public schools,” Cotton said. “The New York Times should not be teaching American history to our kids.”
If “local, left-wing school boards want to fill their children’s heads with anti-American rot, that’s their regrettable choice,” said Cotton. “But they ought not to benefit from federal tax dollars to teach America’s children to hate America.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Michelle Obama Launches Voter Registration Push

Former first lady Michelle Obama launched a national voter registration drive in an upbeat video that was released Sunday .
“ We ’ ve only got 100 days left and we ’ ve got to direct every ounce of energy we have into making sure everyone we know understands the importance of their voice and their vote , ” said Obama .
The election “ could not be more important for the future of our country , ” she added .
“ Every American deserves to have their voice heard .
Every American deserves to have a say in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The message was produced by When We All Vote , a nonpartisan organization Obama co-chairs which is focused on increasing voter registration and closing the race and age gap in voter participation .
The group ’ s website directs future voters on how to register online in their state .
More than 15 million young people have turned 18 since the last presidential election .
Young voters are a huge swath of the electorate , group board member Valerie Jarrett told CNN .
“ Given how close elections tend to be in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tremendous impact on the outcome of not just the presidential race , but congressional races [ and ] local elections , ” Jarrett said .
When We All Vote will host a “ Week of Action ” in late September to mobilize a network of volunteers and boost voter registration .

Former first lady Michelle Obama launched a national voter registration drive in an upbeat video that was released Sunday.
“We’ve only got 100 days left and we’ve got to direct every ounce of energy we have into making sure everyone we know understands the importance of their voice and their vote,” said Obama.
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The election “could not be more important for the future of our country,” she added. “Every American deserves to have their voice heard. Every American deserves to have a say in the future of this country we all love.”
The message was produced by When We All Vote, a nonpartisan organization Obama co-chairs which is focused on increasing voter registration and closing the race and age gap in voter participation. The group’s website directs future voters on how to register online in their state.
More than 15 million young people have turned 18 since the last presidential election. Young voters are a huge swath of the electorate, group board member Valerie Jarrett told CNN.
“Given how close elections tend to be in our country, they could have a tremendous impact on the outcome of not just the presidential race, but congressional races [and] local elections,” Jarrett said.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Workers Will Just 'Sit Home' On Unemployment Aid, Steve Mnuchin Complains

“ It wouldn ’ t be fair to use taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home than they would get working and get a job , ” Mnuchin told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in the video above .
Critics erupted and blasted Mnuchin as an out-of-touch , ultra-wealthy multimillionaire who was grilled at his nomination hearing for shortchanging the same U.S. taxpayers with offshore tax havens sheltering his money .
Many on Twitter pointed out that workers sidelined by the pandemic are taxpayers who expect some protection now from their government .
The weekly $ 600 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standard state unemployment benefits was intended to help workers cover basic costs like food , rent and mortgage payments amid a current unemployment rate of 11.1 % .
It is set to expire at the end of the week .
The plunge in income is expected to result in mortgage defaults and evictions for some 20 million Americans .
It would also damage businesses in an economy overwhelmingly fueled by consumer spending .
Mnuchin signaled that the White House is open to providing some enhancement of benefits , and another round of $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the Trump administration plans to “ lengthen ” the current eviction moratorium that ’ s set to expire Friday — but he provided no details .
Mnuchin ’ s stinginess with wage earners is in marked contrast to his overwhelming support for taxpayer-funded payments to business owners , who can also use some of the nearly $ 600 billion paid out in the federal Paycheck Protection Program to sit home .
Those loans can be forgiven entirely , turning them into grants if the money is used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , utilities and payroll — including for business owners .
Mnuchin last week indicated that a portion of those loans should automatically be forgiven to streamline the process — without tracking compliance .
He has refused even to provide the identity of those who have been given PPP loans under $ 150,000 .
Multimillion-dollar companies , wealthy lobbying and hedge fund operations , large chains , firms owned by foreign companies , federal lawmakers , and several companies with ties to President Donald Trump have been granted substantial loans under the program .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ about unemployed workers .
They pointed out that Mnuchin was a player who raked in profits from the U.S. subprime mortgage debacle that brought the world economy to its knees .
He was paid $ 11 million in severance by CIT Group in 2017 when he left to become Treasury secretary .
Steve Mnuchin : It 'would n't be fair ' to use 'taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home . '
But it 's fair for taxpayers to foot the bill for Trump 's innumerable trips to his golf courses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — Bill Madden ( @ maddenifico ) July 26 , 2020

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin attacked continuing enhanced benefits for unemployed Americans by complaining that workers will “sit home” collecting the money.
“It wouldn’t be fair to use taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home than they would get working and get a job,” Mnuchin told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in the video above.
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Mnuchin made nearly the same comment to reporters on Saturday.
Critics erupted and blasted Mnuchin as an out-of-touch, ultra-wealthy multimillionaire who was grilled at his nomination hearing for shortchanging the same U.S. taxpayers with offshore tax havens sheltering his money.
Many on Twitter pointed out that workers sidelined by the pandemic are taxpayers who expect some protection now from their government.
“This son of a Goldman Sachs banker — literally born sliding into home plate — is calling you lazy,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) tweeted to unemployed American workers.
The weekly $600 in enhanced federal funds on top of standard state unemployment benefits was intended to help workers cover basic costs like food, rent and mortgage payments amid a current unemployment rate of 11.1%. It is set to expire at the end of the week.
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The plunge in income is expected to result in mortgage defaults and evictions for some 20 million Americans. It would also damage businesses in an economy overwhelmingly fueled by consumer spending.
Mnuchin signaled that the White House is open to providing some enhancement of benefits, and another round of $1,200 stimulus checks. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the Trump administration plans to “lengthen” the current eviction moratorium that’s set to expire Friday — but he provided no details.
The Republican-controlled Senate will finally introduce its next package of COVID-19 aid on Monday, Mnuchin told Wallace.
Mnuchin’s stinginess with wage earners is in marked contrast to his overwhelming support for taxpayer-funded payments to business owners, who can also use some of the nearly $600 billion paid out in the federal Paycheck Protection Program to sit home. Those loans can be forgiven entirely, turning them into grants if the money is used on certain expenses, such as rent, utilities and payroll — including for business owners.
Mnuchin last week indicated that a portion of those loans should automatically be forgiven to streamline the process — without tracking compliance. He has refused even to provide the identity of those who have been given PPP loans under $150,000.
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Multimillion-dollar companies, wealthy lobbying and hedge fund operations, large chains, firms owned by foreign companies, federal lawmakers, and several companies with ties to President Donald Trump have been granted substantial loans under the program.
Critics blasted Mnuchin’s demeaning attitude about unemployed workers. They pointed out that Mnuchin was a player who raked in profits from the U.S. subprime mortgage debacle that brought the world economy to its knees. He was paid $11 million in severance by CIT Group in 2017 when he left to become Treasury secretary.
This son of a Goldman Sachs banker — literally born sliding into home plate — is calling you lazy. https://t.co/spOFLwFcmS — Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 26, 2020
Steve Mnuchin made these comments while taking a few minutes away from his job spraying corporate CEOs down with billions of dollars of free government money https://t.co/CdspWfkg0E — David Sirota (@davidsirota) July 26, 2020
I was strangely under the impression that people who receive unemployment *are* taxpayers. They even have to pay taxes on their unemployment benefits, including the additional $600. https://t.co/GtrLczzvJS — Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 26, 2020
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What does Steve Mnuchin know about paying taxes? He's avoided paying his for decades. pic.twitter.com/eXQabdgppl — Maya Contreras (@mayatcontreras) July 26, 2020
Steve Mnuchin: It 'wouldn't be fair' to use 'taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home.'
But it's fair for taxpayers to foot the bill for Trump's innumerable trips to his golf courses while a killer pandemic ravages America? — Bill Madden (@maddenifico) July 26, 2020
Steve Mnuchin’s former employer, CIT, paid him $11 million dollars to stay home. https://t.co/keCUNKzoLP — The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) July 26, 2020
REMINDER -
Americans receiveing unemployment benefits ARE tax payers
& the $$ they receive from the govt IS taxed like ordinary income https://t.co/uBtSt20S2P — Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) July 26, 2020
Steve Mnuchin: “It wouldn’t be fair to use tax payer dollars to pay more people to sit at home.”
Also Steve Mnuchin:https://t.co/3srzMH50FY — Nate Lerner (@NathanLerner) July 26, 2020
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Mike Ditka To Athletes Who Kneel During Anthem: ‘Get The Hell Out Of The Country’

In the wake of months-long nationwide unrest following the police killing of George Floyd and other Black men and women , former Chicago Bears player and coach Mike Ditka again slammed athletes who kneel during the national anthem in protest and told them to “ get the hell out of the country.
” Ditka , who has been an outspoken opponent of NFL players ’ protest during the national anthem in the past , recently became chairman and owner of women ’ s football league X League .
With a growing number of athletes in many leagues taking decisive action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement ― including by kneeling during the anthem ― Ditka was asked in an interview with TMZ Sports whether his new league would allow this type of activism .
If it were up to him , Ditka said , he would say no .
“ If you can ’ t respect our national anthem , get the hell out of the country .
That ’ s the way I feel .
Of course , I ’ m old-fashioned .
So , I ’ m only going to say what I feel , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t protest against the flag and you don ’ t protest against this country who ’ s given you the opportunities to make a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen .
So , I don ’ t want to hear all the crap.
” Athletes have taken a knee during the anthem not to protest the flag or the country but to decry systemic racism , oppression and police brutality in America .
Many professional sportspeople have done so in recent weeks amid widespread unrest following the police killing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first made kneeling protests famous in 2016 , Ditka made similar comments , suggesting that those who “ don ’ t like the country , they don ’ t like our flag ― get the hell out.
” He ’ s been outspoken about his support of President Donald Trump , who has shared similar beliefs on the issue .
Ditka faced harsh backlash and eventually apologized after claiming in 2017 that “ there has been no oppression in the last 100 years that @ @ @ @ @

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In the wake of months-long nationwide unrest following the police killing of George Floyd and other Black men and women, former Chicago Bears player and coach Mike Ditka again slammed athletes who kneel during the national anthem in protest and told them to “get the hell out of the country.”
Ditka, who has been an outspoken opponent of NFL players’ protest during the national anthem in the past, recently became chairman and owner of women’s football league X League. With a growing number of athletes in many leagues taking decisive action in support of the Black Lives Matter movement ― including by kneeling during the anthem ― Ditka was asked in an interview with TMZ Sports whether his new league would allow this type of activism.
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If it were up to him, Ditka said, he would say no.
“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country. That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old-fashioned. So, I’m only going to say what I feel,” he said. “You don’t protest against the flag and you don’t protest against this country who’s given you the opportunities to make a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen. So, I don’t want to hear all the crap.”
Athletes have taken a knee during the anthem not to protest the flag or the country but to decry systemic racism, oppression and police brutality in America. Many professional sportspeople have done so in recent weeks amid widespread unrest following the police killing of Floyd, an unarmed Black man.
When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first made kneeling protests famous in 2016, Ditka made similar comments, suggesting that those who “don’t like the country, they don’t like our flag ― get the hell out.” He’s been outspoken about his support of President Donald Trump, who has shared similar beliefs on the issue.
Ditka faced harsh backlash and eventually apologized after claiming in 2017 that “there has been no oppression in the last 100 years that I know of.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Trump Admin Official Defends Coronavirus Testing Despite Widespread Lab Delays

On Sunday , Admiral Brett Giroir , a member of President Donald Trump ’ s coronavirus task force , refused to admit that the administration is not doing enough to boost testing capacity across the country .
“ ‘ I feel like going somewhere , so I need a test.
’ That is not where we are .
We are in the middle of a serious pandemic that we are trying to control , ” Giroir said .
“ We ’ re not gon na have 300 million tests per day.
” There is no evidence prospective travelers are responsible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the U.S. has the world ’ s highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths , and testing is one of the few ways to know how large the problem really is .
But American laboratories responsible for processing coronavirus tests are buckling under demand for their services .
Mayors of major cities facing large outbreaks , including Phoenix and Atlanta , have said testing delays have made containing the virus nearly impossible ; local health officials back up their claims .
Montana , which has more than 3,300 reported cases of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a leading national testing company , after Quest told state officials that coronavirus results wouldn ’ t be turned around for two or three weeks .
“ Tell me one thing we ’ re not doing with any of these private labs that we ’ re not doing or they ’ re not doing on their own and I ’ m happy to do it , ” Giroir said .
He added that testing is still largely available to people in hospitals , nursing homes and long-term care facilities .
When Tapper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Production Act — which would prioritize the production of essential medical items in the private sector — to open and sustain labs across the country , Giroir responded that the DPA is not a “ magic wand.
” Giroir said the administration looks for “ every opportunity to invoke the DPA ” but claimed most companies wouldn ’ t need a decree from the government to ramp up production because they ’ re already “ highly motivated ” to stop the pandemic .
Despite this hesitancy to intervene , Giroir said the administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” until tests can be turned around within 24 hours .
“ We are not there yet .
We ’ re doing everything we can to do that , ” Giroir said .
The U.S. has faced testing problems since the beginning of the pandemic , and in late June , Trump said that he had asked officials in his administration to “ slow the testing down.
” In an interview last weekend , the president again expressed skepticism about the need for widespread testing in order to stifle the virus .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Health and Human Services official chosen by Trump to lead the administration ’ s testing efforts , assured Tapper that he doesn ’ t shy away from discussing testing with his boss .

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On Sunday, Admiral Brett Giroir, a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, refused to admit that the administration is not doing enough to boost testing capacity across the country.
At one point during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, he attributed widespread frustration over delayed tests to would-be travelers.
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“‘I feel like going somewhere, so I need a test.’ That is not where we are. We are in the middle of a serious pandemic that we are trying to control,” Giroir said. “We’re not gonna have 300 million tests per day.”
There is no evidence prospective travelers are responsible for the surge in tests; rather, the U.S. has the world’s highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths, and testing is one of the few ways to know how large the problem really is. But American laboratories responsible for processing coronavirus tests are buckling under demand for their services.
Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir testifies before a House select committee on efforts to fight the coronavirus in early July. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Contrary to Giroir’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion about millions of tests, local officials are worried more about the ability to conduct just hundreds or thousands.
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Mayors of major cities facing large outbreaks, including Phoenix and Atlanta, have said testing delays have made containing the virus nearly impossible; local health officials back up their claims. Montana, which has more than 3,300 reported cases of COVID-19, ended its contract with Quest Diagnostics, a leading national testing company, after Quest told state officials that coronavirus results wouldn’t be turned around for two or three weeks.
Despite recent news reports about private laboratories struggling to meet demand for testing, Giroir insisted the Trump administration is providing adequate help.
“Tell me one thing we’re not doing with any of these private labs that we’re not doing or they’re not doing on their own and I’m happy to do it,” Giroir said. He added that testing is still largely available to people in hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
When Tapper suggested the Trump administration invoke the Defense Production Act — which would prioritize the production of essential medical items in the private sector — to open and sustain labs across the country, Giroir responded that the DPA is not a “magic wand.”
Giroir said the administration looks for “every opportunity to invoke the DPA” but claimed most companies wouldn’t need a decree from the government to ramp up production because they’re already “highly motivated” to stop the pandemic.
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Despite this hesitancy to intervene, Giroir said the administration is “never going to be happy” until tests can be turned around within 24 hours.
“We are not there yet. We’re doing everything we can to do that,” Giroir said.
CNN’s @jaketapper presses Admiral Brett Giroir about why the Trump administration hasn’t implemented the Defense Production Act more for Covid-19 testing. “We look for every opportunity to invoke the DPA. Now, the DPA isn’t a magic tool,” Giroir says. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/UaLBoVzrle — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) July 26, 2020
The U.S. has faced testing problems since the beginning of the pandemic, and in late June, Trump said that he had asked officials in his administration to “slow the testing down.”
In an interview last weekend, the president again expressed skepticism about the need for widespread testing in order to stifle the virus.
But on Sunday, Giroir, a Department of Health and Human Services official chosen by Trump to lead the administration’s testing efforts, assured Tapper that he doesn’t shy away from discussing testing with his boss.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--White Supremacy Shaped American Christianity, Researcher Says

Along with that , in my day job as CEO of PRRI , we ’ re repeatedly confronted with public opinion data that suggests white Christians really have a blind spot in seeing racial injustice and particularly structural racism .
So it was a combination of really reckoning with my own family ’ s history , together with seeing patterns in the data that just made it so clear that this is not a story of some distant past , but this is very much still in the DNA of white Christianity today .
Along with the good that white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , orphanages and other civic institutions — they have also pronounced the blessings of God on slavery .
They were the main legitimizers of a massive resistance to civil rights and have very consistently been on the wrong side of those issues .
You can certainly point to the abolitionist movement and say , yes , that has Christian roots .
But the bigger picture is that there were many , many more white Christians resisting desegregation than were on the abolitionists ’ side of things .
The legacy of this ― the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public opinion looks like today .
White Christians ― evangelicals , mainline Protestants and Catholics ― are 30 percentage points more likely than religiously unaffiliated whites to say the Confederate flag is more a symbol of Southern pride than a symbol of racism .
If you ask whether the killings of Black men by police are isolated incidents or part of a pattern , white Christians are twice as likely as religiously unaffiliated whites to say these are isolated instances .
They have a very difficult time connecting the dots and seeing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this data gets dismissed by white Christians who say those numbers are muddied because they include people who just claim to be Christian but never darken the door of a church .
But the data refutes that quite soundly .
In fact , among white Christians overall , there ’ s a positive relationship between their religious identity and holding more racist views .
Perhaps most disturbing is that among white evangelicals , the relationship between holding racist views and white Christian identity is actually stronger among more frequent church attenders .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a deep soul-searching among white Christians overall and among white evangelicals in particular .
I think it ’ s helpful to go back and imagine what early church history in the U.S. looked like in the colonies .
There was this sense that white people were God ’ s chosen instruments to civilize the U.S. and the world .
It would not be unusual for white slave owners to bring enslaved people to church with them on Sunday morning .
Whites would sit in the front and enslaved people would sit in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way Christian theology and practices form .
You ’ re not going to preach a lot of liberation , freedom and equality from the pulpit .
You ’ re going to preach more about obedience to the master and fulfilling your roles , those kinds of things .
I think that fundamentally distorted American white Christianity from the beginning .
One of the ways this happened is that salvation became this very hyper-individualized concept .
So it becomes about a person ’ s individual relationship to God through Jesus , and it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ piety .
It was this very privatized and cordoned off way of thinking about spirituality and Christianity .
This developed by necessity and by design , as a way of thinking about salvation that would be consistent with a world that was already committed to the idea of white supremacy .
Jerry Falwell Sr. came out and said that this was not a legitimate thing for a pastor to be doing , that pastors should only be preaching the gospel from the pulpit , that these kinds of organizing things are political and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the church .
Not too many years later , Falwell suddenly changed his mind .
The one thing that really made him change his tune on this was that Bob Jones University , an evangelical university , was threatened with losing its federal funding because it didn ’ t allow interracial relationships .
Evangelicals at the time were making very explicit claims defending the separation of races , and all of a sudden , that was a biblical issue .
It ’ s surprising to me in some ways because if there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian churches emphasize is this idea of repentance .
But repentance , in the biblical sense of the word , is never just about apology .
It ’ s about making things right .
I think the real test of authenticity for white Christians who want to lament this past is whether they ’ re willing to walk through the valley of repair and justice in order to get to that destination of reconciliation or whether they want to skip that part of the journey .
In my home state of Mississippi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Confederate battle flag from the state flag .
Before that happened , the Mississippi Baptist Convention had a press conference and actually called on the legislature to do that .
Now that ’ s a pretty big deal .
But in my view , we can ’ t pretend we ’ ll get on the right side of the battles around symbols without dealing with the way white Christians built white supremacy into their theology and for so many years used Christian theology as a way to legitimize the worldview that put those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Part of what I hope the book will do is help white Christians tell a truer story about themselves .
If it ’ s an older church , the questions are pretty obvious : “ Where were we on the issue of civil rights ?
Where were we on the integration of our own congregation ?
Where are we now on the issue of mass incarceration ?
” Even for newer congregations that are predominantly white , it ’ s worth interrogating things as simple as , “ Are we in an all-white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Has there been a conversation about police killings of African Americans or about Black Lives Matter that isn ’ t just about the dangers of rioting but actually about the pain that African Americans are feeling at this moment ?
”

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Robert Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, comes from a line of white American Christians that stretches back before the Revolutionary War. His ancestors weren’t large plantation owners or Confederate generals, or ― as far as he knows ― active members of the Ku Klux Klan. For much of his life, Jones believed the “unremarkable” nature of his family’s background meant that white supremacy wasn’t a part of their history.
But he’s recently started to tell a different kind of story ― one that acknowledges that white privilege shaped his family’s sojourn on American soil.
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His ancestors were wealthy enough to own slaves, Jones said. The family settled in Georgia on land the government seized from indigenous Creek and Cherokee people. They became Southern Baptists, part of a denomination founded in 1845 on the belief that it was perfectly moral for Christians to be slave owners.
Decades later, after Jones’s great-grandfather was killed in a clay mining accident, co-workers allegedly killed an innocent Black worker in retaliation. Jones still remembers how satisfied his great-uncle appeared while retelling that story, as if this arbitrary and unjustified act of racial violence helped balance the scales after a white man’s death.
It wouldn’t be hard for many white Christians to find examples of white supremacy’s claims on their own family’s trees, Jones said. But white Christians’ image of themselves and their religion has been warped by what Jones calls “white-supremacy-induced amnesia.”
Jones wrestles with that amnesia in his new book, “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.” He argues that white Christians ― from evangelicals in the South to mainline Protestants in the Midwest to Catholics in the Northeast ― weren’t just complacent onlookers while political leaders debated what to do about slavery, segregation and discrimination. White supremacist theology played a key role in shaping the American church from the very beginning, influencing not just the way denominations formed but also white Christians’ theology about salvation itself.
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HuffPost spoke with Jones about his book earlier in July. Just as his own family history would be incomplete without acknowledging the influences of white supremacy, Jones said it’s impossible to talk about American Christianity without recognizing that racism helped shape the church.
Robert Jones is the CEO and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that conducts research on religion, culture and politics. Courtesy of PRRI
How did your own eyes open to the ways that white Christianity and white supremacy are entangled?
I grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. I was deeply immersed in white Southern Baptist evangelical culture. I was that kid who was always at church, four to five times a week. I have a degree from a Southern Baptist college, and I have a Master of Divinity degree from a Southern Baptist seminary. But it wasn’t until I was in grad school in my 30s that I really began to examine the history of my denomination’s direct ties to slavery.
Along with that, in my day job as CEO of PRRI, we’re repeatedly confronted with public opinion data that suggests white Christians really have a blind spot in seeing racial injustice and particularly structural racism. So it was a combination of really reckoning with my own family’s history, together with seeing patterns in the data that just made it so clear that this is not a story of some distant past, but this is very much still in the DNA of white Christianity today.
So what is the story that white Christians tell themselves about the church’s relationship to white supremacy?
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They tell themselves that their version of Christianity is God’s means of bringing salvation to the lost world. That they are the embodiment of everything that is good about America, that they are pillars of the community. But that story doesn’t stand up to very much scrutiny.
Along with the good that white Christian churches have done — building hospitals, orphanages and other civic institutions — they have also pronounced the blessings of God on slavery. They were the main legitimizers of a massive resistance to civil rights and have very consistently been on the wrong side of those issues. You can certainly point to the abolitionist movement and say, yes, that has Christian roots. But the bigger picture is that there were many, many more white Christians resisting desegregation than were on the abolitionists’ side of things.
The legacy of this ― the proof in the pudding ― is what public opinion looks like today. White Christians ― evangelicals, mainline Protestants and Catholics ― are 30 percentage points more likely than religiously unaffiliated whites to say the Confederate flag is more a symbol of Southern pride than a symbol of racism. If you ask whether the killings of Black men by police are isolated incidents or part of a pattern, white Christians are twice as likely as religiously unaffiliated whites to say these are isolated instances. They have a very difficult time connecting the dots and seeing the structural justice issues at stake.
You spend some time in the book explaining that white mainline Protestants and white Catholics were also complicit in white supremacy. Why did you feel that it was important to point that out?
It’s important not to dismiss this as a question of Southern culture. In the book, I developed a racism index, a broad index of 15 different racial attitude questions. I put those into a statistical model that controlled for things like Southern regionalism, Republican identity, education level, all kinds of things that could be driving these attitudes that have nothing to do with Christian identity. Even when I controlled for all of those things, white Christian identity in itself is directly connected to racist attitudes.
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Some of this data gets dismissed by white Christians who say those numbers are muddied because they include people who just claim to be Christian but never darken the door of a church. But the data refutes that quite soundly. In fact, among white Christians overall, there’s a positive relationship between their religious identity and holding more racist views. Perhaps most disturbing is that among white evangelicals, the relationship between holding racist views and white Christian identity is actually stronger among more frequent church attenders. That ought to be a cause for a deep soul-searching among white Christians overall and among white evangelicals in particular.
White evangelicals who attend church frequently are more likely than less frequent attenders to hold racist views, Robert Jones argues in a new book. middelveld via Getty Images
How do you think racism helped shape white American Christians’ theology about salvation?
I think it’s helpful to go back and imagine what early church history in the U.S. looked like in the colonies. There was this sense that white people were God’s chosen instruments to civilize the U.S. and the world. It would not be unusual for white slave owners to bring enslaved people to church with them on Sunday morning. Whites would sit in the front and enslaved people would sit in the back. That context certainly shapes the way Christian theology and practices form. You’re not going to preach a lot of liberation, freedom and equality from the pulpit. You’re going to preach more about obedience to the master and fulfilling your roles, those kinds of things. I think that fundamentally distorted American white Christianity from the beginning.
One of the ways this happened is that salvation became this very hyper-individualized concept. So it becomes about a person’s individual relationship to God through Jesus, and it’s very much about personal morality and piety. It was this very privatized and cordoned off way of thinking about spirituality and Christianity. This developed by necessity and by design, as a way of thinking about salvation that would be consistent with a world that was already committed to the idea of white supremacy.
I’d like to get your thoughts on how white supremacy influenced how white Christians think about the purpose of government. In my own reporting, I’ve seen white evangelical Christians express the idea that, when it comes to issues such as immigration and policing, it’s the government’s God-given duty to keep the country safe, while it’s individual Christians’ duty to be charitable and care for the poor. Do you think this way of thinking has racist roots?
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I do think whenever white Christians declare or draw lines between what is biblical and what is political, I would look for white supremacy to be at work. This kind of boundary drawing is a way of delegitimizing certain kinds of claims and privileging other kinds of claims. One of the most prominent recent examples is from the 1960s, when the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other African American ministers were using churches as places for civil rights organizing.
Jerry Falwell Sr. came out and said that this was not a legitimate thing for a pastor to be doing, that pastors should only be preaching the gospel from the pulpit, that these kinds of organizing things are political and shouldn’t be the concern of the church. Not too many years later, Falwell suddenly changed his mind. The one thing that really made him change his tune on this was that Bob Jones University, an evangelical university, was threatened with losing its federal funding because it didn’t allow interracial relationships. Evangelicals at the time were making very explicit claims defending the separation of races, and all of a sudden, that was a biblical issue.
What is biblical, what is political, often tends to be driven by self-interest. In the case of white Christian churches, I think it’s always appropriate to ask, “What kind of interest is that? Is it an interest that is privileging the position of white Americans over Americans of color?” And if it is, then it’s a straightforwardly white supremacist interest that’s being reflected in those distinctions.
In his new book, Robert Jones argues that racist attitudes have become embedded in the DNA of white Christian identity over time and calls for an honest reckoning with the past. Courtesy of PRRI
There still seems to be a lot of skepticism and resistance in white Christian spaces to words such as “social justice,” “white privilege” and “systemic racism.” At the same time, over the past few weeks, I’ve seen evangelical news sites emphasizing reconciliation, forgiveness, people coming together. Where do you think that comes from?
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The easiest thing for white Christians to reach for is reconciliation. While I think that’s a laudable goal, if it’s reached for too quickly, I think it’s actually disingenuous. Too often, the formula for white Christians is white apology or lament plus Black forgiveness equals reconciliation. What’s missing in that equation is any conversation about justice and repair. If you’re a white Christian, heading straight for reconciliation is the quickest way to protect the status quo without doing the hard work and without really dealing with the past.
It’s surprising to me in some ways because if there’s anything I heard and that white Christian churches emphasize is this idea of repentance. But repentance, in the biblical sense of the word, is never just about apology. It’s about making things right. I think the real test of authenticity for white Christians who want to lament this past is whether they’re willing to walk through the valley of repair and justice in order to get to that destination of reconciliation or whether they want to skip that part of the journey.
How do you think white Christian churches have responded to George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter protests? Do you think the message is sticking, or are you seeing more evidence of what you call in the book the “white Christian shuffle”?
I called it the white Christian shuffle because there does tend to be this one step forward, two steps back movement. Particularly at moments like this one, where there’s a high social expectation that something will be said, something will be done, the question is whether it’s something authentic or something to just check the box and move on.
In my home state of Mississippi, the legislature finally voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state flag. Before that happened, the Mississippi Baptist Convention had a press conference and actually called on the legislature to do that. Now that’s a pretty big deal. But in my view, we can’t pretend we’ll get on the right side of the battles around symbols without dealing with the way white Christians built white supremacy into their theology and for so many years used Christian theology as a way to legitimize the worldview that put those monuments up in the first place.
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What do you think it would it look like if white Christians began reckoning with that theology?
Part of what I hope the book will do is help white Christians tell a truer story about themselves. If it’s an older church, the questions are pretty obvious: “Where were we on the issue of civil rights? Where were we on the integration of our own congregation? Where are we now on the issue of mass incarceration?” Even for newer congregations that are predominantly white, it’s worth interrogating things as simple as, “Are we in an all-white suburb, and if so, why? Has there been a conversation about police killings of African Americans or about Black Lives Matter that isn’t just about the dangers of rioting but actually about the pain that African Americans are feeling at this moment?”
The second step after that reflection is to ask, “How can we be in community with African Americans and other people of color in our communities? How can we be allies on issues of racial justice?” Those conversations themselves will begin to challenge some of the ways in which white Christian theology has blinded white Christians to these issues.
A defensive reaction is a real temptation for white Christians at the moment. One of the biggest moves white Christians could make is to try to find some deep sense of humility and to listen and resist the urge to rebut and defend and to try to take in the witness that our African American brothers and sisters are trying to bring to white Christians.
This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Wearing A Mask Is More Popular — And A Little Less Partisan — Than You Might Expect

All Royalty-Free licenses include global use rights .
via Getty Images In a new HuffPost/YouGov poll , roughly three-quarters of Americans — including 92 % of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans — say people should generally wear face masks around others .
An increasingly broad majority of Americans are wearing masks in public , according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll , which finds far more of a consensus on the benefits of masks than high-profile skirmishing over the issue might suggest .
Democrats , especially , are prone to overstate the level of GOP opposition to masks , the survey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , generally speaking , people should wear face masks around others .
Wearing a mask in public , 70 % say , is more a matter of public health than it is a personal choice .
A similar 71 % say they would favor a government rule where they live requiring people to wear a face mask when in public around other people .
A 71 % majority of Americans now say they always wear a mask or other face covering when out in public and around others , such as at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying they do so most of the time .
A majority also say they mostly wear masks when outside but not around others , such as when taking a walk .
As we ’ ve written previously , these numbers have a few caveats : They rely on people self-reporting their own behavior and each individual ’ s definition of “ most of the time.
” They ’ re also potentially subject to social desirability bias ― people may be inclined to overreport or underreport their mask-wearing if they feel as though their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with what others think they should be doing .
But , with more states implementing some version of a mask requirement , the results do find the acceptance of masks on the rise .
In mid-June , a HuffPost/YouGov poll found that support for government rules requiring face masks stood at 62 % , and a slim 54 % majority of Americans reported always wearing masks around others .
Between June and July , the share saying they always wear a mask in public around others rose 19 points among Democrats , 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ independents .
There are still significant partisan divides : Democrats are 20 points likelier than Republicans to say they always wear masks when in public near others , and 30 points likelier to view the decision as a matter of public health .
But although opposition to masks is concentrated squarely within the GOP , it ’ s distinctly a minority opinion even among Republicans .
Democrats are close to universally supportive , saying by an overwhelming 92 % to 5 % margin that people should generally wear masks when in public around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unanimous but still substantial margin , 68 % to 18 % .
Perhaps for that reason , most Democrats underestimate how much support mask-wearing actually has , particularly among the opposing party .
Only 31 % of Democrats think that most or all Republicans believe that people should wear face masks around others ; a 65 % majority of Republicans think that support for mask-wearing is the majority view within their party .
People often follow the cues of their leaders in determining which political positions are characteristic of someone in their party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ messaging on the topic has been markedly inconsistent .
After months during which he openly resisted appearing with a mask , Trump finally wore one in public during an appearance this month ; he later tweeted a photograph of himself masked , writing that “ many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can ’ t socially distance.
” Since then , he has continued to appear in public unmasked .
That incongruity is enough for partisans to take away widely disparate messages .
A 57 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supports mask-wearing , while only 20 % of Democrats say the same .
Use the widget below to further explore the results of the HuffPost/YouGov survey , using the menu at the top to select survey questions and the buttons at the bottom to filter the data by subgroups .
The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted July 21-23 among U.S. adults , using a sample selected from YouGov ’ s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population .

In a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, roughly three-quarters of Americans — including 92% of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans — say people should generally wear face masks around others. All Royalty-Free licenses include global use rights. via Getty Images
An increasingly broad majority of Americans are wearing masks in public, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, which finds far more of a consensus on the benefits of masks than high-profile skirmishing over the issue might suggest. Democrats, especially, are prone to overstate the level of GOP opposition to masks, the survey finds.
Seventy-seven percent of Americans say that, generally speaking, people should wear face masks around others. Wearing a mask in public, 70% say, is more a matter of public health than it is a personal choice. A similar 71% say they would favor a government rule where they live requiring people to wear a face mask when in public around other people.
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A 71% majority of Americans now say they always wear a mask or other face covering when out in public and around others, such as at the grocery store, with 84% saying they do so most of the time. A majority also say they mostly wear masks when outside but not around others, such as when taking a walk.
As we’ve written previously, these numbers have a few caveats: They rely on people self-reporting their own behavior and each individual’s definition of “most of the time.” They’re also potentially subject to social desirability bias ― people may be inclined to overreport or underreport their mask-wearing if they feel as though their actual behavior isn’t in line with what others think they should be doing.
But, with more states implementing some version of a mask requirement, the results do find the acceptance of masks on the rise. In mid-June, a HuffPost/YouGov poll found that support for government rules requiring face masks stood at 62%, and a slim 54% majority of Americans reported always wearing masks around others.
Between June and July, the share saying they always wear a mask in public around others rose 19 points among Democrats, 11 points among Republicans and 21 points among independents.
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Ariel Edwards-Levy/HuffPost
There are still significant partisan divides: Democrats are 20 points likelier than Republicans to say they always wear masks when in public near others, and 30 points likelier to view the decision as a matter of public health.
But although opposition to masks is concentrated squarely within the GOP, it’s distinctly a minority opinion even among Republicans. Democrats are close to universally supportive, saying by an overwhelming 92% to 5% margin that people should generally wear masks when in public around others. Republicans agree by a less unanimous but still substantial margin, 68% to 18%.
This widespread, bipartisan support for masks is at odds with the heated, frequently partisan debate that’s often surrounded the issue.
Perhaps for that reason, most Democrats underestimate how much support mask-wearing actually has, particularly among the opposing party. Only 31% of Democrats think that most or all Republicans believe that people should wear face masks around others; a 65% majority of Republicans think that support for mask-wearing is the majority view within their party.
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Ariel Edwards-Levy/HuffPost
People often follow the cues of their leaders in determining which political positions are characteristic of someone in their party. But President Donald Trump’s messaging on the topic has been markedly inconsistent. After months during which he openly resisted appearing with a mask, Trump finally wore one in public during an appearance this month; he later tweeted a photograph of himself masked, writing that “many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance.” Since then, he has continued to appear in public unmasked.
That incongruity is enough for partisans to take away widely disparate messages. A 57% majority of Republicans say they believe Trump supports mask-wearing, while only 20% of Democrats say the same.
Use the widget below to further explore the results of the HuffPost/YouGov survey, using the menu at the top to select survey questions and the buttons at the bottom to filter the data by subgroups.
Advertisement
The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted July 21-23 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
HuffPost has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Yoho Resigns From Christian Organization Following Outburst Against Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Ted Yoho ( R-Fla. ) resigned Friday from the board of a prominent Christian advocacy organization after the group asked him to step down in response to his verbal attack on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) earlier in the week .
Bread for the World , a nonpartisan group that seeks to alleviate hunger and poverty through public policy initiatives , announced Yoho ’ s departure in a statement on Saturday .
“ We believe that Rep. Ted Yoho ’ s recent actions and words as reported in the media are not reflective of the ethical standards expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the group said in its statement .
The statement continued : “ Bread sought his resignation as an action that reaffirms our commitment to coming alongside women and people of color , nationally and globally , as they continue to lead us to a more racially inclusive and equitable world.
” The Republican congressman faced intense backlash this week following his reported outburst against Ocasio-Cortez as she was walking up the Capitol steps in Washington on Monday .
He called her “ disgusting ” for suggesting that unemployment and poverty were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York City , according to The Hill reporter Mike Lillis , who witnessed the confrontation .
“ You are out of your freaking mind , ” Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez , who responded by saying that he was being “ rude.
” As she continued to head into the building , Yoho reportedly muttered “ fucking bitch.
” Yoho has insisted that the “ offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues.
” He apologized Wednesday for any “ misunderstanding.
” Ocasio-Cortez excoriated Yoho over his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House floor Thursday , calling his remarks “ dehumanizing.
” “ I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men , ” Ocasio-Cortez said .
“ What Mr. Yoho did was give permission for men to use that language against his daughters.
” “ Having a daughter does not make a man decent .
Having a wife does not make a decent man , ” she continued .
“ Treating people with dignity and respect @ @ @ @ @ @

“I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “What Mr. Yoho did was give permission for men to use that language against his daughters.”
“Having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man,” she continued. “Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man.”