thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--Commentary: When Tyranny Through Bureaucracy Takes Root the Growth of Violence Follows

It ’ s funny how peaceful all this recent protesting for change has been .
In fact , it ’ s so peaceful that average Americans , trying to go about their lives as normally as possible , are simply surrounded by love and feelings of euphoria .
I speak tongue-in-cheek , of course , for the exact opposite seems to be the case .
The video of a Black Lives Matter protest in Utah is only the latest , high-profile example .
According to media reports , the video shows a 60-year-old local driving through Provo during a Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quickly surrounded by protesters , one of whom pulls a gun and shoots through the passenger window .
The injured driver guns it , hightailing it out of the area , while protesters try to stop him , the shooter sending another bullet through the rear passenger window .
Police later arrested 33-year-old Jesse Taggart in connection with the shooting ; reports indicate he also attempted further violence following the incident .
Unfortunately , we can ’ t chalk this up to a one-time incident by a crazed-person in a southwestern town , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experienced similar incidents of violence .
Even CHAZ/CHOP , the allegedly peaceful people ’ s utopia in Seattle , has given way to violence .
Clearing the area on July 1 , officials cited violence as the main reason why the “ unlawful assembly ” can no longer continue : Why all this violence ?
Where will it end ?
And how do we make sense of everything that we ’ re going through right now ?
Philosopher Hannah Arendt pondered similar questions 50 years ago during the riots and social upheaval of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York Review of Books she noted how racial injustice drives violence , but cautioned that “ Violence does not promote causes , ” it only serves to “ dramatize grievances and to bring them to public attention.
” Violence , Arendt theorized , often emerges in heavily bureaucratized societies .
“ The greater the bureaucratization of public life , the greater will be the attraction of violence , ” she declares .
In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left with whom one could argue , to whom one could present @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power could be exerted .
Bureaucracy is the form of government in which everybody is deprived of political freedom , of the power to act ; for the rule by Nobody is not no-rule , and where all are equally powerless we have a tyranny without a tyrant .
The crucial feature in the students ’ rebellions around the world is that they are directed everywhere against the ruling bureaucracy .
It ’ s hard to deny that we live in a bureaucratized state .
Just look at the first few months of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the roost with predictions , models , and dictates on proper protocols for handling the virus .
Or consider the many other bureaucracies which rule our lives through schools , social work , businesses , and more ordinary government regulations .
Perhaps we shouldn ’ t be so surprised when we see society lash back at this form of “ tyranny without a tyrant.
” Yet Arendt cautions that violence which lasts more than a short time can never end well : Still , the danger of the practice of violence , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ framework of short-term goals , will always be that the means overwhelm the end .
If goals are not achieved rapidly , the result will not merely be defeat but the introduction of the practice of violence into the whole body politic .
Action is irreversible , and a return to the status quo in case of defeat is always unlikely .
The practice of violence , like all action , changes the world , but the most probable change is a more violent world .
( Emphasis added . )
Violence and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American life for several weeks now .
The moves to disband CHAZ/CHOP because of this violence show that some leaders are beginning to put their feet down and stand up for law and order , but will such a trend continue ?
If we want to live in a violent society , then according to Arendt , we should just continue the cycle we ’ ve practiced for the last few weeks .
But if we want to once again be a peaceful , productive society , working for the good of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we need to stand against the violence before it ’ s too late to turn back .
Annie Holmquist is editor of Intellectual Takeout , an online magazine and sister publication of Chronicles .
Photo : “ The Rioteers ” by Mstyslav Chernov/Unframe CC3.0 .

by Annie Holmquist
It’s funny how peaceful all this recent protesting for change has been. In fact, it’s so peaceful that average Americans, trying to go about their lives as normally as possible, are simply surrounded by love and feelings of euphoria.
I speak tongue-in-cheek, of course, for the exact opposite seems to be the case. The video of a Black Lives Matter protest in Utah is only the latest, high-profile example.
Video shows vehicle being surrounded by #BlackLivesMatter rioters in Provo Utah and shows protester/rioters shoot into the car multiple times as driver attempts to escape #DezNat pic.twitter.com/GYuWDiXm2o — H O S S DezNat News Man (@NiasDiad) June 30, 2020
According to media reports, the video shows a 60-year-old local driving through Provo during a Black Lives Matter Protest. The vehicle is quickly surrounded by protesters, one of whom pulls a gun and shoots through the passenger window. The injured driver guns it, hightailing it out of the area, while protesters try to stop him, the shooter sending another bullet through the rear passenger window.
Police later arrested 33-year-old Jesse Taggart in connection with the shooting; reports indicate he also attempted further violence following the incident.
Unfortunately, we can’t chalk this up to a one-time incident by a crazed-person in a southwestern town, because many of our largest cities have experienced similar incidents of violence. Even CHAZ/CHOP, the allegedly peaceful people’s utopia in Seattle, has given way to violence. Clearing the area on July 1, officials cited violence as the main reason why the “unlawful assembly” can no longer continue:
[E]nough is enough. The CHOP has become lawless and brutal. Four shootings—two fatal—robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several block area.
Why all this violence? Where will it end? And how do we make sense of everything that we’re going through right now?
Philosopher Hannah Arendt pondered similar questions 50 years ago during the riots and social upheaval of the late 1960s. Writing in The New York Review of Books she noted how racial injustice drives violence, but cautioned that “Violence does not promote causes,” it only serves to “dramatize grievances and to bring them to public attention.”
Violence, Arendt theorized, often emerges in heavily bureaucratized societies. “The greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence,” she declares.
In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left with whom one could argue, to whom one could present grievances, on whom the pressures of power could be exerted. Bureaucracy is the form of government in which everybody is deprived of political freedom, of the power to act; for the rule by Nobody is not no-rule, and where all are equally powerless we have a tyranny without a tyrant. The crucial feature in the students’ rebellions around the world is that they are directed everywhere against the ruling bureaucracy.
It’s hard to deny that we live in a bureaucratized state. Just look at the first few months of COVID-19, in which government agencies ruled the roost with predictions, models, and dictates on proper protocols for handling the virus. Or consider the many other bureaucracies which rule our lives through schools, social work, businesses, and more ordinary government regulations. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised when we see society lash back at this form of “tyranny without a tyrant.”
Yet Arendt cautions that violence which lasts more than a short time can never end well:
Still, the danger of the practice of violence, even if it moves consciously within a non-extremist framework of short-term goals, will always be that the means overwhelm the end. If goals are not achieved rapidly, the result will not merely be defeat but the introduction of the practice of violence into the whole body politic. Action is irreversible, and a return to the status quo in case of defeat is always unlikely. The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world. (Emphasis added.)
Violence and corruption have been a regular part of American life for several weeks now. The moves to disband CHAZ/CHOP because of this violence show that some leaders are beginning to put their feet down and stand up for law and order, but will such a trend continue?
If we want to live in a violent society, then according to Arendt, we should just continue the cycle we’ve practiced for the last few weeks. But if we want to once again be a peaceful, productive society, working for the good of our families, friends, and communities, we need to stand against the violence before it’s too late to turn back.
– – –
Annie Holmquist is editor of Intellectual Takeout, an online magazine and sister publication of Chronicles.
Photo: “The Rioteers” by Mstyslav Chernov/Unframe CC3.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--New Virginia Gun Laws Take Effect Amid Nationwide Unrest

A host of gun control laws , passed months ago and spearheaded by Democratic Virginia Gov .
Ralph Northam , took effect on Wednesday in the commonwealth after months of fierce opposition from pro-firearm groups .
Northam signed the slew of gun restrictions in April after they passed the state ’ s General Assembly , where Democrats hold the majority , USA Today reported .
The lawmakers faced dissent from over 20,000 angry citizens — many of whom were heavily armed — in the state ’ s capital in late January , according to Fox News .
Virginia Citizens Defense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gained thousands of members amid the gun-control deliberations in the assembly , and sued to block one of the regulations , which limited firearm purchasers to one handgun per month .
A judge denied their request last week , the Daily Press reported .
“ We lose too many Virginians to gun violence , and it is past time we took bold , meaningful action to make our communities safer , ” Northam said in a press release in April .
“ I was proud to work with legislators and advocates on these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sign them into law .
These commonsense laws will save lives.
” These regulations come amid nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd , who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight mutes , video showed .
Gun sales have skyrocketed to record levels , following mass violence from demonstrators , according to PBS News .
Here are the new laws passed by Northam : 1 .
Virginians are only allowed one handgun purchase a month .
This is not a new law , but a reinstatement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1993 to 2012 .
The aim is to disallow the stockpiling of pistols and dissuade gun trafficking , according to a press release .
The Extreme Risk Protective Order allows the state to “ temporarily separate a person from their firearms when they represent a danger to themselves or others ” before seeing a judge in court , according to the press release .
3 .
Background checks are mandated on all firearm sales and transfers ( also known as universal background checks ) .
All firearm sellers , including private transactions at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the release said .
4 .
Gun owners have 48 hours to report a lost or stolen firearm .
Gun owners whose firearms were misplaced or stolen can face civil penalties if they don ’ t report the matter to authorities within two days , the release said .
5 .
Guns in households with children must be securely stored .
Gun owners will face a harsher penalty if they “ recklessly ” keep firearms in a home with children under the age of 14 , according to the press release .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 misdemeanor , which carries jail time as a possible penalty .
The law previously was a class 3 misdemeanor with a $ 500 fine .
Northam ’ s law bans “ trigger activators , ” which enable “ more than one shot with the pull of the trigger , ” according to the legislation .
Binary triggers fire a single projectile when the trigger is pulled in addition to another round when a shooter releases their finger from the trigger .
These have been legal to own as they simulate automatic fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firearm fully automatic , according to Gun Mag Warehouse .
The Gun Owners of America , a pro-Second Amendment group said “ The new law DOES NOT prohibit binary triggers , ” according to a statement on their webpage .
Family day homes , care facilities for children that aren ’ t blood related , must lock and secure all firearms during daily operations , according to Virginia legal text .
8 .
Some gun safes are exempt from sales tax .
Gun safes bought for a price less than $ 1,500 will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specified .
9 .
Those under the scrutiny of protective orders are required to promptly surrender their firearms .
Gun owners served with protective orders must turn their weapons over to the state within 24 hours of receiving the notice , another bill detailed .
Protective orders refer to those who the state deems to be unfit to possess firearms or a concealed weapons permit .
10 .
Cities and counties have leeway in regulating firearms .
Different localities can impose their own regulations on where firearms can be carried .
Public parks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and others locations are places that are fair game for banning carry , according to the Daily Press .
Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Jake Dima
A host of gun control laws, passed months ago and spearheaded by Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, took effect on Wednesday in the commonwealth after months of fierce opposition from pro-firearm groups.
Northam signed the slew of gun restrictions in April after they passed the state’s General Assembly, where Democrats hold the majority, USA Today reported. The lawmakers faced dissent from over 20,000 angry citizens — many of whom were heavily armed — in the state’s capital in late January, according to Fox News.
Virginia Citizens Defense League, a Second Amendment group, gained thousands of members amid the gun-control deliberations in the assembly, and sued to block one of the regulations, which limited firearm purchasers to one handgun per month. A judge denied their request last week, the Daily Press reported.
????BREAKING????
A judge has DENIED the gun lobby’s attempt to block the one-handgun-a-month law. A huge win for public safety. Proud we could successfully defend this commonsense law to reduce gun trafficking and keep Virginians safe. — Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) June 25, 2020
“We lose too many Virginians to gun violence, and it is past time we took bold, meaningful action to make our communities safer,” Northam said in a press release in April. “I was proud to work with legislators and advocates on these measures, and I am proud to sign them into law. These commonsense laws will save lives.”
These regulations come amid nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight mutes, video showed. Gun sales have skyrocketed to record levels, following mass violence from demonstrators, according to PBS News.
Here are the new laws passed by Northam:
1. Virginians are only allowed one handgun purchase a month.
This is not a new law, but a reinstatement of an old ordinance, which ran 1993 to 2012. The aim is to disallow the stockpiling of pistols and dissuade gun trafficking, according to a press release.
2. Gun owners are subject to a red flag law.
The Extreme Risk Protective Order allows the state to “temporarily separate a person from their firearms when they represent a danger to themselves or others” before seeing a judge in court, according to the press release.
3. Background checks are mandated on all firearm sales and transfers (also known as universal background checks).
All firearm sellers, including private transactions at gun shows, must run background checks, the release said.
4. Gun owners have 48 hours to report a lost or stolen firearm.
Gun owners whose firearms were misplaced or stolen can face civil penalties if they don’t report the matter to authorities within two days, the release said.
5. Guns in households with children must be securely stored.
Gun owners will face a harsher penalty if they “recklessly” keep firearms in a home with children under the age of 14, according to the press release. The offense was increased to a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries jail time as a possible penalty.
The law previously was a class 3 misdemeanor with a $500 fine.
6. One piece of signed legislation banned “trigger activators.”
Northam’s law bans “trigger activators,” which enable “more than one shot with the pull of the trigger,” according to the legislation.
Binary triggers fire a single projectile when the trigger is pulled in addition to another round when a shooter releases their finger from the trigger. These have been legal to own as they simulate automatic fire and don’t make a semi-automatic firearm fully automatic, according to Gun Mag Warehouse.
The Gun Owners of America, a pro-Second Amendment group said “The new law DOES NOT prohibit binary triggers,” according to a statement on their webpage.
7. Child care facilities must lock down firearms.
Family day homes, care facilities for children that aren’t blood related, must lock and secure all firearms during daily operations, according to Virginia legal text.
8. Some gun safes are exempt from sales tax.
Gun safes bought for a price less than $1,500 will not incur sales tax, one bill specified.
9. Those under the scrutiny of protective orders are required to promptly surrender their firearms.
Gun owners served with protective orders must turn their weapons over to the state within 24 hours of receiving the notice, another bill detailed. Protective orders refer to those who the state deems to be unfit to possess firearms or a concealed weapons permit.
10. Cities and counties have leeway in regulating firearms.
Different localities can impose their own regulations on where firearms can be carried. Public parks, event spaces, government buildings, and others locations are places that are fair game for banning carry, according to the Daily Press.
– – –
Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--LA City Council Okays Replacing Police with Community Responders for Non-Violent Calls

The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure Tuesday that would allow unarmed community responders to step in for uniformed officers on non-violent calls , according to news reports .
The local government ’ s initiative was unanimous and will replace police on calls for drug overdoses and mental health issues , among other non-violent situations , according to CBS Los Angeles .
The city is likely to draw on its health and homeless departments to strategize on the new style of policing .
“ The Los Angeles City Council has just approved the first step in our plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] with community-based , unarmed emergency responders for non-violent calls for service , ” Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson said in a Tuesday tweet .
“ This is the dawn of a new era of public safety in Los Angeles.
” Wesson said the standard method of policing was “ not working.
” Calls to both reform and limit the scope of law enforcement have followed the death of George Floyd , who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes , a viral video showed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place all over the country .
New York City officials slashed the New York Police Department ‘ s budget by over $ 1 billion Wednesday after hundreds of protesters occupied the streets outside of city hall , according to Syracuse.com , and some city councilmen wanted to strip the police force of even more funding .
“ To everyone who is disappointed that we did not go farther , I want to be very honest and candid , I am disappointed as well , I wanted us to go deeper , ” New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the final vote , according to Syracuse.com .
Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .
Photo “ Los Angeles Police Officers ” by Michael Dorausch .
CC BY-SA 2.0 .

by Jake Dima
The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure Tuesday that would allow unarmed community responders to step in for uniformed officers on non-violent calls, according to news reports.
The local government’s initiative was unanimous and will replace police on calls for drug overdoses and mental health issues, among other non-violent situations, according to CBS Los Angeles. The city is likely to draw on its health and homeless departments to strategize on the new style of policing.
“The Los Angeles City Council has just approved the first step in our plan to replace [the Los Angeles Police Department] with community-based, unarmed emergency responders for non-violent calls for service,” Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson said in a Tuesday tweet. “This is the dawn of a new era of public safety in Los Angeles.”
Wesson said the standard method of policing was “not working.”
The bottom line is that the way things have been going is not working for our communities. This last month has made that crystal clear. We have a responsibility to listen to our people, and our people have spoken. I look forward to continuing this work alongside @BLMLA. — Herb J. Wesson, Jr. (@HerbJWesson) June 30, 2020
Calls to both reform and limit the scope of law enforcement have followed the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, a viral video showed. Drastic police reforms have since taken place all over the country.
New York City officials slashed the New York Police Department‘s budget by over $1 billion Wednesday after hundreds of protesters occupied the streets outside of city hall, according to Syracuse.com, and some city councilmen wanted to strip the police force of even more funding.
“To everyone who is disappointed that we did not go farther, I want to be very honest and candid, I am disappointed as well, I wanted us to go deeper,” New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said before the final vote, according to Syracuse.com.
– – –
Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Los Angeles Police Officers” by Michael Dorausch. CC BY-SA 2.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--Analysis: A Deeper Look at Black Lives Matter and Its Impact

Standing behind vandals who attempted to pull down the bronze statue of Andrew Jackson near the White House last week is a loosely configured , increasingly well-funded network of Black Lives Matter activists bent on constraining and defunding law enforcement .
An area called Black Lives Matter Plaza became the staging ground for more than 100 demonstrators , many of them egging on the vandalism before police intervened .
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser , a Democrat , gave the official name to the two-block section of 16th Street NW two weeks earlier .
Bowser had city workers neatly paint “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in yellow , using large capital letters , and put up new street signs identifying Black Lives Matter Plaza .
Groups across the country say they identify with the movement .
A centralized organization called Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation , however , has more than a dozen official chapters in the U.S. and Canada—including the District of Columbia—with shared goals and objectives .
In an interview with The Daily Signal , a leader of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Denver said the chapters operate independently and pursue agendas that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are other groups that don ’ t follow guiding principles , and we don ’ t endorse those as part of the global network , ” spokesperson Apryl Alexander said in the interview .
“ Those chapters listed on the website are following guiding principles , but they each operate independently , and in Denver we have our own organizational structure.
” As previously reported by The Daily Signal , the declared principles of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation include advancing the LGBT political agenda and abolishing the nuclear family .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is “ looking at nontraditional or kinship families.
” Such goals may or may not be why demonstrators across America carry signs and wear accessories declaring that “ Black Lives Matter ” and spray-paint the initials BLM on defaced or toppled statues .
For such a young movement , its impact appears to be everywhere .
Corporations and foundations are shoveling money its way , perhaps without understanding the movement ’ s broader stated goals .
Here ’ s a closer look at the history , structure , and financing of Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the 167-year-old statue of Jackson , the war hero who became the nation ’ s seventh president , began as another protest in Lafayette Square of the May 25 death of George Floyd , a black man , at the hands of a white police officer during his arrest in Minneapolis , Minnesota .
Although Black Lives Matter is back in the media eye since Floyd ’ s death , the movement ’ s organization , structure , and finances remain somewhat nebulous .
The main website identifies 12 state chapters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s capital , and three in Canada .
Besides the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation , variations of the name include Black Lives Matter Foundation and the Movement for Black Lives .
The regional chapters provide insight into how the self-described “ collective group of liberators ” working to “ eradicate white supremacy ” connects with a larger organization .
The chapter in Washington , D.C. , for instance , identifies Aaron Goggans as a co-creator who has posted online articles under the banner of “ personal reflections , ” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emerging analysis of the movement.
” Various media outlets have identified Goggans as a Black Lives Matter organizer .
Goggans has worked with the Latino Economic Development Center , the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development , and the Employment Justice Center , according to Influence Watch .
In media interviews , he described the problem of black-on-black crime as a “ myth.
” The D.C. chapter ’ s website includes a lengthy appeal for money that attacks President Donald Trump as a “ white nationalist ” and Attorney General William Barr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Daily Signal emailed the D.C. chapter asking about its relationship with the larger Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation , how many members it has , and whether online donations go directly to the chapter or are sent to another entity .
The chapter had not responded as of publication of this report .
Black Lives Matter , which has taken center stage in media coverage of protests against police tactics and “ systemic racism , ” first gained notoriety after the 2012 fatal shooting in Sanford , Florida , of Trayvon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
George Zimmerman , then a 28-year-old neighborhood watch coordinator for his gated community , argued that he acted in self-defense in shooting Martin , 17 .
A jury acquitted Zimmerman of all charges in 2013 .
Three activists who opposed the Zimmerman verdict popularized the phrase “ Black Lives Matter ” by using the hashtag # BlackLivesMatter on social media .
The group resurfaced in 2014 following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown , 18 , in Ferguson , Missouri .
After reviewing the evidence , a grand jury decided not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot Brown , who was black , shortly after Brown tried to grab the officer ’ s revolver in his police cruiser .
President Barack Obama ’ s Justice Department cleared the officer of any civil rights violations and found that he acted in self-defense , but the # BlackLivesMatter hashtag reemerged as a popular social media tool , as USA Today reported .
In cities across the nation , demonstrators carrying Black Lives Matter signs called for the killing of police officers—and a surge of deadly ambushes against officers followed the Ferguson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Lives Matter Detroit is sponsored by Allied Media Projects , and Black Lives Matter 5280 in Denver by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center .
Donations made to the two chapters are routed through and reported as donations to these fiscal sponsors , writes Robert Stilson of Capital Research Center , a Washington-based nonprofit that examines how foundations and charities spend money .
Allied Media Projects is a left-leaning nonprofit media strategy group based in Detroit .
The nonprofit Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center says it is dedicated to “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Daily Signal sought comment from both organizations on their financial relationships with Black Lives Matter .
Neither had responded by publication time .
Stilson , who runs specialized projects for Capital Research Center , explains in a recent report why it is important to flush out such financial relationships .
“ Fiscal sponsorship is an arrangement through which an organization that does not have its own IRS tax-exempt status can operate as a “ project of an organization that does , ” Stilson writes .
“ In the case of 501 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ projects , this allows for tax-deductible donations.
” Capital Research Center ’ s team has published several recent reports analyzing how Black Lives Matter is structured .
The Daily Signal sent a message via Facebook to the Denver chapter and an email to the Detroit chapter asking about their affiliations with the larger Black Lives Matter network and how many members the chapters have .
The Detroit chapter did not respond , but the Denver chapter put The Daily Signal in touch with Alexander as its spokesperson .
Alexander , a clinical and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the University of Denver , discussed the chapter ’ s objectives and organizational structure in a phone interview .
Black Lives Matter 5280 , she said , has about a dozen members and derives its name from Denver ’ s elevation of 5,280 feet above sea level .
The Denver chapter scored a significant victory June 19 when Colorado Gov .
Jared Polis , a Democrat , signed into law a “ police accountability bill ” ending “ qualified immunity , ” a concept used to protect police officers from litigation .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s been happening nationwide , ” Alexander told The Daily Signal .
“ We ’ ve been assisting in this effort in the past few weeks and with the bill signed into law , one of our demands has been answered.
” She said the Denver chapter of Black Lives Matter has three divisions : community wellness , economic justice , and education .
The “ education squad , ” Alexander said , works to dismantle what she calls the school-to-prison pipeline .
It examines how education policies and procedures funnel “ students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system .
Alexander points to another Colorado measure , signed by Polis in March , that prohibits discrimination based on a person ’ s hairstyle .
“ The bill recognizes that people , especially in black communities , are being fired from their jobs or displaced from schools for wearing their hair naturally , ” Alexander said , adding : In Denver , Black Lives Matter 5280 updated a list of demands on its Facebook page that includes “ no more violent attacks against protesters , ” “ immediate abolishment of ICE , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ privately owned detention facilities.
” Alexander also is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed June 25 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado against Denver and Denver County .
The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of Alexander , eight others , and Black Lives Matter 5280 , following demonstrations in late May and early June .
The ACLU “ challenges the use of tear gas and ‘ less-lethal ’ weapons that police unleashed against nonviolent protesters who were demonstrating over the killings of Black men and women at the hands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Colorado affiliate says on its website : Most of the U.S. and Canadian chapters have not updated or refreshed their websites to comment on events such as the spread of Floyd-related protests , calls to defund police , and vandalism of statues and monuments , with some exceptions .
Black Lives Matter Detroit , for example , announced a new “ Virtual Event Schedule ” and noted : The Detroit chapter also offers a definition of what is meant by “ Black Lives Matter ” : The Detroit chapter ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ III as co-lead organizers , describing Renee as “ a legal observer ” and Sloan as an actor , musician , and director .
It notes allied organizations such as Detroit Justice Center , which posts bail for those in need .
Capital Research Center ’ s Stilson concluded that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is “ probably the central Black Lives Matter organization , ” since it operates the main website and identifies itself with the three main co-founders of the movement .
He also determined that Black Lives Matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is Thousand Currents , a left-of-center grantmaking nonprofit based in Berkeley , California .
This relationship is what ultimately opened the door for the various Black Lives Matter chapters to begin receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from other left-leaning foundations .
In 2016 , the global network “ approached ” Thousand Currents about fiscal sponsorship , according to the latter ’ s website .
“ BLM Global Network Foundation stands out as the closest thing to an organizational standard-bearer for the very decentralized Black Lives Matter movement that exists , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an email .
“ It operates the BlackLivesMatter.com website , claims the movement ’ s co-founders as its own co-founders , and functions as the center of officially affiliated Black Lives Matter chapters.
” Alexander , spokesperson for the Denver chapter , confirmed that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the central organization .
“ We follow guiding principles , ” she said , “ but we also have our own agenda that we abide by in this current climate with our own demands.
” Alexander said the shared principles include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , restorative practices , black families and villages , queer and transgender affirming , and globalism .
The Daily Signal sought comment from Thousand Currents by phone and email about its financial relationship with Black Lives Matter , but the foundation did not respond by publication .
The W.K .
Kellogg Foundation , based in Battle Creek , Michigan , used Thousand Currents as a conduit to provide Black Lives Matters chapters with a three-year grant totaling $ 900,000 , according to Influence Watch , a project of Capital Research Center .
Thousand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NoVo Foundation and Borealis Philanthropy to funnel donations to Black Lives Matter .
Tax records show NoVo Foundation donated more than $ 1.5 million from 2015 to 2019 and Borealis donated $ 343,000 from 2016 to 2018 .
Influence Watch identifies the Ford Foundation as one of the largest donors to Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation—although the donation was made indirectly .
In 2016 , it says , Ford gave about $ 100 million to something called the Black-Led Movement Fund , administered through Borealis Philanthropy , and the fund provided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funding ” on several occasions since .
The Daily Signal sought comment from the Kellogg Foundation , the NoVo Foundation , Borealis Philanthropy , and the Ford Foundation on their financial support for Black Lives Matter .
At publication time , only the Ford Foundation had responded .
Ford Foundation spokeswoman Amanda Simon said Thursday in a two-sentence email : “ To clarify , the Ford Foundation does not currently fund the Black-Led Movement Fund ( BLMF ) .
In 2015 , we gave a one-year grant of $ 1.3 million to BLMF.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears to be well positioned to bring in substantial sums .
On June 11 , the global network announced a $ 6.5 million fund to support “ grassroots organizing work.
” Some of the money is available to all of the chapters , which it said could apply for grants of up to $ 500,000 beginning July 1 .
By email , The Daily Signal asked the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation to clarify how it differs from other organizations that make use of the “ Black Lives Matter ” moniker .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ made to identified chapters went to the global network or stayed with the local chapters .
The network had not responded at publication time .
In recent posts , the Black Lives Matter chapter in Los Angeles commits itself to defunding police , and the Toronto chapter offers a list of demands .
In addition to defunding police agencies and reducing the “ scope of the police , ” the Toronto chapter says it favors decriminalization of “ poverty , drugs , HIV , and sex work.
” In the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agitate against law enforcement .
The topic of a new Call to Action : “ Protect Black Youth in D.C. ” The chapter claims that on June 22 , Metro Transit Police “ detained unarmed and harmless Black youth at the U street Metro stop.
” It says it remains committed to “ dismantling White Supremacy , Patriarchy , Capitalism , Imperialism and the role the state plays in supporting them.
” Whatever activism Black Lives Matter and various chapters pursue going forward , ample money apparently will be on hand , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an online post updated June 9 that it would donate $ 10 million to a slew of left-leaning groups , including Black Lives Matter .
Intel announced May 31 that it is making a $ 1 million donation to “ address social justice and racism ” that includes Black Lives Matter .
And Microsoft pledged to donate $ 250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and to other groups the tech giant views as advancing “ social justice.
” In terms of finances , Stilson finds that Thousand Currents played @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter off the ground as a viable organization .
“ BLM Global Network Foundation ’ s sponsorship by Thousand Currents lets us see some of the numbers behind their operations , including some of the nonprofits and foundations that have contributed to it , ” Stilson said in an email to The Daily Signal .
“ With fiscally sponsored projects you rarely get the complete financial picture , but you can piece together parts of it.
” Although it remains difficult to assemble a complete picture of Black Lives Matter finances and structure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and historical antecedents are becoming more clear .
Scott Walter , president of Capital Research Center , just published a report highlighting the radical history of Susan Rosenberg , vice chairwoman of Thousand Currents ’ board of directors .
Walter writes : Walter says in his report that Thousand Currents scrubbed its website shortly after Capital Research Center published its expose on Rosenberg , but the details remain archived here .
The Daily Signal sought comment from Thousand Currents , including on Capital Research Center ’ s report , but it did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mantle of Black Lives Matter without any official connection to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation .
These include the Movement for Black Lives and the Black Lives Matter Foundation in California .
The Movement for Black Lives has a policy platform that may be found here .
Although the Denver chapter of Black Lives Matter isn ’ t officially affiliated with the Movement for Black Lives , Alexander said , it used that group ’ s “ Week of Action ” as a model for its own “ Week of Action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Movement for Black Lives appears to function more as an organizing coalition for independent organizations that share a common objective and agenda within the broader Black Lives Matter movement , ” Stilson told The Daily Signal in an email .
“ It accepts donations directly through its fiscal sponsor , the Alliance for Global Justice , but so do its constituent members via their own tax-exempt status or that of their respective fiscal sponsors.
” Kevin Mooney is an investigative reporter for The Daily Signal .

by Kevin Mooney
Standing behind vandals who attempted to pull down the bronze statue of Andrew Jackson near the White House last week is a loosely configured, increasingly well-funded network of Black Lives Matter activists bent on constraining and defunding law enforcement.
An area called Black Lives Matter Plaza became the staging ground for more than 100 demonstrators, many of them egging on the vandalism before police intervened.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, gave the official name to the two-block section of 16th Street NW two weeks earlier. Bowser had city workers neatly paint “Black Lives Matter” on the pavement in yellow, using large capital letters, and put up new street signs identifying Black Lives Matter Plaza.
Groups across the country say they identify with the movement. A centralized organization called Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, however, has more than a dozen official chapters in the U.S. and Canada—including the District of Columbia—with shared goals and objectives.
In an interview with The Daily Signal, a leader of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Denver said the chapters operate independently and pursue agendas that are particular to their location.
“There are other groups that don’t follow guiding principles, and we don’t endorse those as part of the global network,” spokesperson Apryl Alexander said in the interview. “Those chapters listed on the website are following guiding principles, but they each operate independently, and in Denver we have our own organizational structure.”
As previously reported by The Daily Signal, the declared principles of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation include advancing the LGBT political agenda and abolishing the nuclear family.
Alexander readily acknowledged that the Denver chapter is “looking at nontraditional or kinship families.”
Such goals may or may not be why demonstrators across America carry signs and wear accessories declaring that “Black Lives Matter” and spray-paint the initials BLM on defaced or toppled statues.
For such a young movement, its impact appears to be everywhere. Corporations and foundations are shoveling money its way, perhaps without understanding the movement’s broader stated goals.
Here’s a closer look at the history, structure, and financing of Black Lives Matter.
Chapters in 12 States Plus D.C.
What devolved into an attack on the 167-year-old statue of Jackson, the war hero who became the nation’s seventh president, began as another protest in Lafayette Square of the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white police officer during his arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Although Black Lives Matter is back in the media eye since Floyd’s death, the movement’s organization, structure, and finances remain somewhat nebulous.
The main website identifies 12 state chapters in the U.S., one in the nation’s capital, and three in Canada. Besides the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, variations of the name include Black Lives Matter Foundation and the Movement for Black Lives.
The regional chapters provide insight into how the self-described “collective group of liberators” working to “eradicate white supremacy” connects with a larger organization.
The chapter in Washington, D.C., for instance, identifies Aaron Goggans as a co-creator who has posted online articles under the banner of “personal reflections,” “lessons learned,” and an “emerging analysis of the movement.” Various media outlets have identified Goggans as a Black Lives Matter organizer.
Goggans has worked with the Latino Economic Development Center, the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, and the Employment Justice Center, according to Influence Watch. In media interviews, he described the problem of black-on-black crime as a “myth.”
The D.C. chapter’s website includes a lengthy appeal for money that attacks President Donald Trump as a “white nationalist” and Attorney General William Barr as a “white supremacist”:
Now that an explicit white nationalist is in office and a known white supremacist is running the Department of Justice, our work and our growing ecosystem must continue to expand in its scope and depth. We must continue to actively and publicly resist along with taking the long view. We must be prepared spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.
The Daily Signal emailed the D.C. chapter asking about its relationship with the larger Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, how many members it has, and whether online donations go directly to the chapter or are sent to another entity. The chapter had not responded as of publication of this report.
A Short History
Black Lives Matter, which has taken center stage in media coverage of protests against police tactics and “systemic racism,” first gained notoriety after the 2012 fatal shooting in Sanford, Florida, of Trayvon Martin, a black high school student.
George Zimmerman, then a 28-year-old neighborhood watch coordinator for his gated community, argued that he acted in self-defense in shooting Martin, 17. A jury acquitted Zimmerman of all charges in 2013.
Three activists who opposed the Zimmerman verdict popularized the phrase “Black Lives Matter” by using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media.
The group resurfaced in 2014 following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Missouri. After reviewing the evidence, a grand jury decided not to indict the white police officer who shot Brown, who was black, shortly after Brown tried to grab the officer’s revolver in his police cruiser.
President Barack Obama’s Justice Department cleared the officer of any civil rights violations and found that he acted in self-defense, but the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag reemerged as a popular social media tool, as USA Today reported.
In cities across the nation, demonstrators carrying Black Lives Matter signs called for the killing of police officers—and a surge of deadly ambushes against officers followed the Ferguson officer’s acquittal.
Today, Black Lives Matter Detroit is sponsored by Allied Media Projects, and Black Lives Matter 5280 in Denver by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center.
Donations made to the two chapters are routed through and reported as donations to these fiscal sponsors, writes Robert Stilson of Capital Research Center, a Washington-based nonprofit that examines how foundations and charities spend money.
Allied Media Projects is a left-leaning nonprofit media strategy group based in Detroit. The nonprofit Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center says it is dedicated to “radically progressive personal and social change.”
The Daily Signal sought comment from both organizations on their financial relationships with Black Lives Matter. Neither had responded by publication time.
Stilson, who runs specialized projects for Capital Research Center, explains in a recent report why it is important to flush out such financial relationships.
“Fiscal sponsorship is an arrangement through which an organization that does not have its own IRS tax-exempt status can operate as a “project of an organization that does,” Stilson writes. “In the case of 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored projects, this allows for tax-deductible donations.”
Capital Research Center’s team has published several recent reports analyzing how Black Lives Matter is structured.
Activism in Denver
The Daily Signal sent a message via Facebook to the Denver chapter and an email to the Detroit chapter asking about their affiliations with the larger Black Lives Matter network and how many members the chapters have.
The Detroit chapter did not respond, but the Denver chapter put The Daily Signal in touch with Alexander as its spokesperson.
Alexander, a clinical and forensic psychologist who is a professor at the University of Denver, discussed the chapter’s objectives and organizational structure in a phone interview.
Black Lives Matter 5280, she said, has about a dozen members and derives its name from Denver’s elevation of 5,280 feet above sea level.
The Denver chapter scored a significant victory June 19 when Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed into law a “police accountability bill” ending “qualified immunity,” a concept used to protect police officers from litigation.
“That’s a discussion that’s been happening nationwide,” Alexander told The Daily Signal. “We’ve been assisting in this effort in the past few weeks and with the bill signed into law, one of our demands has been answered.”
She said the Denver chapter of Black Lives Matter has three divisions: community wellness, economic justice, and education.
The “education squad,” Alexander said, works to dismantle what she calls the school-to-prison pipeline. It examines how education policies and procedures funnel “students of color” into the criminal justice system.
Alexander points to another Colorado measure, signed by Polis in March, that prohibits discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle.
“The bill recognizes that people, especially in black communities, are being fired from their jobs or displaced from schools for wearing their hair naturally,” Alexander said, adding:
This has been happening all over our country. Kids are being kicked out of school because policies were created to discriminate against their hair and displace them from school. When we displace kids from school, then what do they do? They might gravitate toward gangs or be placed in alternative schools with kids with more severe behavioral problems.
In Denver, Black Lives Matter 5280 updated a list of demands on its Facebook page that includes “no more violent attacks against protesters,” “immediate abolishment of ICE,” and the “closing of all privately owned detention facilities.”
Alexander also is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed June 25 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado against Denver and Denver County. The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of Alexander, eight others, and Black Lives Matter 5280, following demonstrations in late May and early June.
The ACLU “challenges the use of tear gas and ‘less-lethal’ weapons that police unleashed against nonviolent protesters who were demonstrating over the killings of Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement,” the legal group’s Colorado affiliate says on its website:
Dr. Alexander witnessed police officers launching tear gas into protesters without warning. A few hours later, she found herself trapped between two clouds of gas, coughing, eyes and throat burning and disoriented. A day and a half later her face continued to burn. The police attack forced her to leave the demonstration, cutting short her ability to exercise her First Amendment rights.
‘Saddened and Angered’ in Detroit
Most of the U.S. and Canadian chapters have not updated or refreshed their websites to comment on events such as the spread of Floyd-related protests, calls to defund police, and vandalism of statues and monuments, with some exceptions.
Black Lives Matter Detroit, for example, announced a new “Virtual Event Schedule” and noted:
We are saddened, angered, but unfortunately unsurprised by recent police actions against Black Americans. While we did not organize last weekend’s protest actions, we fully support the Detroiters who came to speak truth to power.
The Detroit chapter also offers a definition of what is meant by “Black Lives Matter”:
We mean that the current societal intersection of governance and commerce was built upon a legacy of implicit bias; one that values the lives of Black bodies as inherently less than our white counterparts. Or, said a different way: Our Society was built to be intentionally racist! Our society was built this way—not our systems of government, commerce, or policing independently—but our entire way of being (and, if you think we’re wrong, take a moment to re-read the Constitution).
The Detroit chapter’s website lists Curtis Renee and John Sloan III as co-lead organizers, describing Renee as “a legal observer” and Sloan as an actor, musician, and director. It notes allied organizations such as Detroit Justice Center, which posts bail for those in need.
Central Organization
Capital Research Center’s Stilson concluded that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is “probably the central Black Lives Matter organization,” since it operates the main website and identifies itself with the three main co-founders of the movement.
He also determined that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s fiscal sponsor is Thousand Currents, a left-of-center grantmaking nonprofit based in Berkeley, California.
This relationship is what ultimately opened the door for the various Black Lives Matter chapters to begin receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from other left-leaning foundations.
In 2016, the global network “approached” Thousand Currents about fiscal sponsorship, according to the latter’s website.
“BLM Global Network Foundation stands out as the closest thing to an organizational standard-bearer for the very decentralized Black Lives Matter movement that exists,” Stilson told The Daily Signal in an email. “It operates the BlackLivesMatter.com website, claims the movement’s co-founders as its own co-founders, and functions as the center of officially affiliated Black Lives Matter chapters.”
Alexander, spokesperson for the Denver chapter, confirmed that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the central organization.
“We follow guiding principles,” she said, “but we also have our own agenda that we abide by in this current climate with our own demands.”
Alexander said the shared principles include collective value, loving engagement, empathy, restorative practices, black families and villages, queer and transgender affirming, and globalism.
The Daily Signal sought comment from Thousand Currents by phone and email about its financial relationship with Black Lives Matter, but the foundation did not respond by publication.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, based in Battle Creek, Michigan, used Thousand Currents as a conduit to provide Black Lives Matters chapters with a three-year grant totaling $900,000, according to Influence Watch, a project of Capital Research Center.
Thousand Currents also served as a vehicle for the NoVo Foundation and Borealis Philanthropy to funnel donations to Black Lives Matter. Tax records show NoVo Foundation donated more than $1.5 million from 2015 to 2019 and Borealis donated $343,000 from 2016 to 2018.
No Response
Influence Watch identifies the Ford Foundation as one of the largest donors to Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation—although the donation was made indirectly.
In 2016, it says, Ford gave about $100 million to something called the Black-Led Movement Fund, administered through Borealis Philanthropy, and the fund provided the global network with “general operating funding” on several occasions since.
The Daily Signal sought comment from the Kellogg Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, Borealis Philanthropy, and the Ford Foundation on their financial support for Black Lives Matter. At publication time, only the Ford Foundation had responded.
Ford Foundation spokeswoman Amanda Simon said Thursday in a two-sentence email: “To clarify, the Ford Foundation does not currently fund the Black-Led Movement Fund (BLMF). In 2015, we gave a one-year grant of $1.3 million to BLMF.”
Looking ahead, Black Lives Matter appears to be well positioned to bring in substantial sums. On June 11, the global network announced a $6.5 million fund to support “grassroots organizing work.” Some of the money is available to all of the chapters, which it said could apply for grants of up to $500,000 beginning July 1.
By email, The Daily Signal asked the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation to clarify how it differs from other organizations that make use of the “Black Lives Matter” moniker.
The Daily Signal also asked whether donations made to identified chapters went to the global network or stayed with the local chapters. The network had not responded at publication time.
In recent posts, the Black Lives Matter chapter in Los Angeles commits itself to defunding police, and the Toronto chapter offers a list of demands.
In addition to defunding police agencies and reducing the “scope of the police,” the Toronto chapter says it favors decriminalization of “poverty, drugs, HIV, and sex work.”
In the nation’s capital, the local chapter continues to agitate against law enforcement. The topic of a new Call to Action: “Protect Black Youth in D.C.”
The chapter claims that on June 22, Metro Transit Police “detained unarmed and harmless Black youth at the U street Metro stop.” It says it remains committed to “dismantling White Supremacy, Patriarchy, Capitalism, Imperialism and the role the state plays in supporting them.”
Pledging Cash
Whatever activism Black Lives Matter and various chapters pursue going forward, ample money apparently will be on hand, including donations from big corporations.
Amazon announced in an online post updated June 9 that it would donate $10 million to a slew of left-leaning groups, including Black Lives Matter. Intel announced May 31 that it is making a $1 million donation to “address social justice and racism” that includes Black Lives Matter.
And Microsoft pledged to donate $250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and to other groups the tech giant views as advancing “social justice.”
In terms of finances, Stilson finds that Thousand Currents played a key role in getting Black Lives Matter off the ground as a viable organization.
“BLM Global Network Foundation’s sponsorship by Thousand Currents lets us see some of the numbers behind their operations, including some of the nonprofits and foundations that have contributed to it,” Stilson said in an email to The Daily Signal. “With fiscally sponsored projects you rarely get the complete financial picture, but you can piece together parts of it.”
Although it remains difficult to assemble a complete picture of Black Lives Matter finances and structure, the organization’s ideological underpinnings and historical antecedents are becoming more clear.
Scott Walter, president of Capital Research Center, just published a report highlighting the radical history of Susan Rosenberg, vice chairwoman of Thousand Currents’ board of directors. Walter writes:
If there were any question whether Black Lives Matter has ideological ties to the Communist terrorists of the 1960s, the story of Susan Rosenberg should put that issue to bed. Rosenberg, who started out as a member of the 1960s revolutionary group Weather Underground, graduated into even more violent, and arguably successful, forms of terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s—including bombings at an FBI field office in Staten Island, the Navy Yard Officers’ Club in Washington, D.C., and even the U.S. Capitol building, where she damaged a representation of the greatest of the Democrat defenders of slavery, John C. Calhoun.
Related Organizations
Walter says in his report that Thousand Currents scrubbed its website shortly after Capital Research Center published its expose on Rosenberg, but the details remain archived here.
The Daily Signal sought comment from Thousand Currents, including on Capital Research Center’s report, but it did not respond.
Other organizations also claim the mantle of Black Lives Matter without any official connection to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. These include the Movement for Black Lives and the Black Lives Matter Foundation in California.
The Movement for Black Lives has a policy platform that may be found here. Although the Denver chapter of Black Lives Matter isn’t officially affiliated with the Movement for Black Lives, Alexander said, it used that group’s “Week of Action” as a model for its own “Week of Action” from June 1-7.
“The Movement for Black Lives appears to function more as an organizing coalition for independent organizations that share a common objective and agenda within the broader Black Lives Matter movement,” Stilson told The Daily Signal in an email. “It accepts donations directly through its fiscal sponsor, the Alliance for Global Justice, but so do its constituent members via their own tax-exempt status or that of their respective fiscal sponsors.”
He continued:
The BLM Global Network Foundation has insisted it has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Foundation based in Santa Clarita, California. But this is confusing in light of the fact that BLM Global Network Foundation’s fiscal sponsor, Thousand Currents, reported over $90,000 in grants to the Black Lives Matter Foundation in its 2017 and 2018 tax filings. The key point to remember is that ‘Black Lives Matter’ as a movement can encompass a wide range of organizations with varying purposes and objectives, but at the same time there are also groups that operate exclusively within that movement’s framework.
– – –
Kevin Mooney is an investigative reporter for The Daily Signal.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--STUDY: Anti-Malarial Drug Used to Treat Lupus Helped COVID-19 Patients Survive, Despite Media Claims

An anti-malarial drug that President Donald Trump hyped as a potential therapy for the coronavirus helped some patients survive the disease while in the hospital , according to research published Wednesday .
Some of those who received hydroxychloroquine before acute symptoms began were much less likely to die from the virus , according to researchers at Henry Ford Health System in Michigan .
Their findings come after other studies determined that the experimental drug provided little or no benefit to people struggling with the coronavirus , or COVID-19 .
“ Overall crude mortality rates were 18.1 % in the entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone group , 20.1 % among those receiving hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin , 22.4 % among the azithromycin alone group , and 26.4 % for neither drug , ” researchers at Henry Ford wrote in a report published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases .
Other researchers are skeptical about the Henry Ford Health System ’ s findings .
The use of the steroid dexamethasone might account for the better survival of some patients , especially those that received the steroid alongside the drug , one researcher argued in the same journal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that 26 % of people not given hydroxychloroquine died , compared to 13 % of patients who received the drug .
Dr. Marcus Zervos , division head of infection disease for Henry Ford Health System , and his team looked at everyone treated in the hospital system since March .
“ Our results do differ from some other studies , ” Zervos said during a news conference , CNN reported .
“ What we think was important in ours … is that patients were treated early .
For hydroxychloroquine to have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the patients begin to suffer some of the severe immune reactions that patients can have with Covid , ” Zervos added .
Dr. Steven Kalkanis , CEO of Henry Ford Medical Group , suggested during the press conference that the drug , in the right settings , “ could be a lifesaver for patients.
” “ As the Henry Ford Health System became more experienced in treating patients with COVID-19 , survival may have improved , regardless of the use of specific therapies , ” Dr. Todd Lee of the Royal Victoria Hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a commentary in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases .
Lee and his colleagues noted that the team did not randomly treat patients .
“ Finally , concomitant steroid use in patients receiving hydroxychloroquine was more than double the non-treated group .
This is relevant considering the recent RECOVERY trial that showed a mortality benefit with dexamethasone , ” Lee noted .
Dexamethasone is a steroid that can reduce inflammation .
One observational study published in June in the The New England Journal of Medicine determined that hydroxychloroquine “ was not associated with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk ” of death .
“ Randomized , controlled trials of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19 are needed , ” the author ’ s said .
One study that warned about the anti-malarial drug has since been retracted .
Researchers with medical journal Lancet said in a press statement in June that they “ can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources , ” and “ due to this unfortunate development , the authors request that the paper be retracted.
” Lancet ’ s May study claimed there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients with COVID-19 , and that the drug “ was associated with an increased hazard for clinically significant occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias and increased risk of in-hospital death with COVID-19.
” The drug became a hot-button topic after Trump sang its praises , telling reporters in April that hydroxychloroquine is showing “ tremendous promise ” in helping treat the novel virus .
The media mocked him for expressing optimism for an untested drug .
COVID-19 originated in China before spreading to the United States , where it has reportedly killed more than 129,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Chris White
An anti-malarial drug that President Donald Trump hyped as a potential therapy for the coronavirus helped some patients survive the disease while in the hospital, according to research published Wednesday.
Some of those who received hydroxychloroquine before acute symptoms began were much less likely to die from the virus, according to researchers at Henry Ford Health System in Michigan. Their findings come after other studies determined that the experimental drug provided little or no benefit to people struggling with the coronavirus, or COVID-19.
“Overall crude mortality rates were 18.1% in the entire cohort, 13.5% in the hydroxychloroquine alone group, 20.1% among those receiving hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin, 22.4% among the azithromycin alone group, and 26.4% for neither drug,” researchers at Henry Ford wrote in a report published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Other researchers are skeptical about the Henry Ford Health System’s findings. The use of the steroid dexamethasone might account for the better survival of some patients, especially those that received the steroid alongside the drug, one researcher argued in the same journal.
The study tested 2,541 hospitalized patients and found that 26% of people not given hydroxychloroquine died, compared to 13% of patients who received the drug. Dr. Marcus Zervos, division head of infection disease for Henry Ford Health System, and his team looked at everyone treated in the hospital system since March.
“Our results do differ from some other studies,” Zervos said during a news conference, CNN reported.
“What we think was important in ours … is that patients were treated early. For hydroxychloroquine to have a benefit, it needs to begin before the patients begin to suffer some of the severe immune reactions that patients can have with Covid,” Zervos added.
Dr. Steven Kalkanis, CEO of Henry Ford Medical Group, suggested during the press conference that the drug, in the right settings, “could be a lifesaver for patients.”
Some researchers criticized Kalkanis’ group’s methods.
“As the Henry Ford Health System became more experienced in treating patients with COVID-19, survival may have improved, regardless of the use of specific therapies,” Dr. Todd Lee of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Canada, wrote in a commentary in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Lee and his colleagues noted that the team did not randomly treat patients.
“Finally, concomitant steroid use in patients receiving hydroxychloroquine was more than double the non-treated group. This is relevant considering the recent RECOVERY trial that showed a mortality benefit with dexamethasone,” Lee noted. Dexamethasone is a steroid that can reduce inflammation.
One observational study published in June in the The New England Journal of Medicine determined that hydroxychloroquine “was not associated with either a greatly lowered or an increased risk” of death. “Randomized, controlled trials of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19 are needed,” the author’s said.
One study that warned about the anti-malarial drug has since been retracted.
Researchers with medical journal Lancet said in a press statement in June that they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources,” and “due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted.”
Lancet’s May study claimed there was no benefit from using hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with COVID-19, and that the drug “was associated with an increased hazard for clinically significant occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias and increased risk of in-hospital death with COVID-19.”
The drug became a hot-button topic after Trump sang its praises, telling reporters in April that hydroxychloroquine is showing “tremendous promise” in helping treat the novel virus. The media mocked him for expressing optimism for an untested drug.
COVID-19 originated in China before spreading to the United States, where it has reportedly killed more than 129,000 people.
– – –
Chris White is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--Supreme Court to Determine Whether Congress Can See Redactions in the Mueller Report

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear a case that will decide whether Congress can see redacted portions of former special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election .
The case ’ s arguments will most likely be heard in the fall after the presidential election , and the Supreme Court will likely reach a decision in 2021 , The New York Times reported .
The case came after the House Judiciary Committee requested grand jury documents the Department of Justice redacted from the Mueller report .
After an emergency request from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temporarily blocked House Democrats from gaining access to the grand jury documents on May 20 .
The court gave the Trump administration until July 1 to file their petition for review .
The ’ temporary block came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the House of Representatives could obtain the redacted information March 10 .
“ I am disappointed by the Court ’ s decision to prolong this case further , but I am confident we will prevail , ” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump and Attorney General Barr are continuing to try to run out the clock on any and all accountability , ” the New York Democrat added .
“ While I am confident their legal arguments will fail , it is now all the more important for the American people to hold the President accountable at the ballot box in November.
” Mueller ’ s did not find evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with Russians .
The Mueller report also was unable to conclude whether President Donald Trump interfered with the investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Justice did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller News Foundation .
Mary Rose Corkery is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation .

by Mary Rose Corkery
The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear a case that will decide whether Congress can see redacted portions of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The case’s arguments will most likely be heard in the fall after the presidential election, and the Supreme Court will likely reach a decision in 2021, The New York Times reported. The case came after the House Judiciary Committee requested grand jury documents the Department of Justice redacted from the Mueller report.
After an emergency request from the Trump administration, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked House Democrats from gaining access to the grand jury documents on May 20. The court gave the Trump administration until July 1 to file their petition for review.
The’ temporary block came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the House of Representatives could obtain the redacted information March 10.
“I am disappointed by the Court’s decision to prolong this case further, but I am confident we will prevail,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, President Trump and Attorney General Barr are continuing to try to run out the clock on any and all accountability,” the New York Democrat added. “While I am confident their legal arguments will fail, it is now all the more important for the American people to hold the President accountable at the ballot box in November.”
Mueller’s did not find evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with Russians. The Mueller report also was unable to conclude whether President Donald Trump interfered with the investigation.
The Supreme Court and the Department of Justice did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
– – –
Mary Rose Corkery is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--American Greatness Ad in New York Times Calls for Yale to be Renamed After Jeremiah Dummer

The New York Times on Thursday published an advertisement calling for Yale to be renamed after someone who was not a brutal , white supremacist slave-trader .
A Harvard man named Jeremiah Dummer ( pictured above ) fits the bill , New Criterion editor and American Greatness contributor Roger Kimball argues .
In the oped , first published at American Greatness , Kimball adds his voice to a growing cacophony of conservative voices seeking to # CancelYale .
In the ad , Kimball writes , “ if the Left can deface or destroy statues of George Washington , Christopher Columbus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , shouldn ’ t we insist that they live up to their own ideals and cancel racially tainted liberal institutions like Yale ?
” He adds : “ I think an example should be made of corrupt institutions like Yale and craven leaders like Peter Salovey , the university ’ s president.
” Kimball points out that Yale decided to change the name of Calhoun College a few years ago because its namesake , John C. Calhoun , was a slave owner .
Calhoun was a Yale graduate and valedictorian who served his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secretary of war , secretary of state , and vice president .
A man of his times , he also argued that owning slaves was a “ positive good ” because slave owners could provide better for slaves than they could themselves .
Unlike Calhoun , Kimball argues in the ad that Yale ’ s namesake has no redeeming qualities that should prevent him from being “ canceled ” in 2020 America .
As far as I have been able to determine , Elihu Yale never set foot in New Haven .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ £800 helped found Yale College , not Yale University .
And whereas the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica praises Calhoun for his “ just and kind ” treatment of slaves and the “ stainless integrity ” of his character , Elihu Yale had slaves flogged , hanged a stable boy for stealing a horse , and was eventually removed from his post in India for corruption .
In Calhoun ’ s day , although one could own slaves , participating in the international slave trade was a capital crime .
Yale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deeply involved in the slave trade .
He always made sure that ships leaving his jurisdiction for Europe carried at least 10 slaves .
Is all that not “ fundamentally at odds ” with the mission of Peter Salovey ’ s Yale ?
Kimball suggests that a better name for the university would be “ Dummer , ” named after Jeremiah Dummer , “ the Harvard chap ” who induced Elihu Yale to help found Yale with a massive benefaction .
“ By all means , cancel Yale .
Remove the horrid name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Kimball .
“ But replace it with a more honorable name : Dummer .
Dummer University .
The Dummer School of Law .
The Dummer School of Art .
A Dummer degree.
” This advertisement in the NYTs was paid for by the Center for American Greatness :

by Debra Heine
The New York Times on Thursday published an advertisement calling for Yale to be renamed after someone who was not a brutal, white supremacist slave-trader. A Harvard man named Jeremiah Dummer (pictured above) fits the bill, New Criterion editor and American Greatness contributor Roger Kimball argues.
In the oped, first published at American Greatness, Kimball adds his voice to a growing cacophony of conservative voices seeking to #CancelYale.
In the ad, Kimball writes, “if the Left can deface or destroy statues of George Washington, Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and countless others, shouldn’t we insist that they live up to their own ideals and cancel racially tainted liberal institutions like Yale?”
He adds: “I think an example should be made of corrupt institutions like Yale and craven leaders like Peter Salovey, the university’s president.”
Kimball points out that Yale decided to change the name of Calhoun College a few years ago because its namesake, John C. Calhoun, was a slave owner. Calhoun was a Yale graduate and valedictorian who served his country as a congressman, senator, secretary of war, secretary of state, and vice president. A man of his times, he also argued that owning slaves was a “positive good” because slave owners could provide better for slaves than they could themselves.
Unlike Calhoun, Kimball argues in the ad that Yale’s namesake has no redeeming qualities that should prevent him from being “canceled” in 2020 America.
As far as I have been able to determine, Elihu Yale never set foot in New Haven. His benefaction of some books and goods worth £800 helped found Yale College, not Yale University. And whereas the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica praises Calhoun for his “just and kind” treatment of slaves and the “stainless integrity” of his character, Elihu Yale had slaves flogged, hanged a stable boy for stealing a horse, and was eventually removed from his post in India for corruption. In Calhoun’s day, although one could own slaves, participating in the international slave trade was a capital crime. Yale, as an administrator in India, was deeply involved in the slave trade. He always made sure that ships leaving his jurisdiction for Europe carried at least 10 slaves. Is all that
not “fundamentally at odds” with the mission of Peter Salovey’s Yale?
Kimball suggests that a better name for the university would be “Dummer,” named after Jeremiah Dummer, “the Harvard chap” who induced Elihu Yale to help found Yale with a massive benefaction.
“By all means, cancel Yale. Remove the horrid name from clothing and other merchandise,” said Kimball. “But replace it with a more honorable name: Dummer. Dummer University. The Dummer School of Law. The Dummer School of Art. A Dummer degree.”
This advertisement in the NYTs was paid for by the Center for American Greatness:
– – –
Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--Republicans Invoke Independence Day In Opposition to Walz’s Coronavirus Response

Gov .
Tim Walz recently filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him regarding his use of emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic .
The lawsuit was filed on May 28 by four members of the New House Republican Caucus , the Free Minnesota Coalition , and at least eight businesses across the state .
The complaint argues that the governor does not have the authority to “ suspend the constitutional rights of Minnesotans.
” Another argument in the lawsuit claims that Minnesota law does not authorize the governor to invoke emergency powers for public health purposes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the governor ’ s coronavirus-related executive orders are illegitimate because the statutory authority he relied upon ( Minnesota Statutes 12.31 ) is unconstitutional .
The statute is unconstitutional because it authorizes a legislative veto on the extension of peacetime emergencies , but the Minnesota Constitution does not provide for legislative veto powers .
The lawsuit also accuses Walz of violating the “ non-delegation doctrine , ” since his executive orders are an “ exercise of pure legislative power without judicial oversight.
” Nine additional Republican lawmakers added their names to the lawsuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency declaration for another 30 days .
The courts ordered the Walz administration to provide legal justification for its actions no later than June 18 .
According to Republicans , Walz did not address many of the arguments presented in their lawsuit , but claimed that his actions were constitutional because the pandemic was an “ act of nature ” rather than a public health crisis .
On behalf of the governor , Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last week .
In a statement released on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House Republican Caucus said Minnesotans now find themselves “ in the strange position of celebrating our freedoms when many of them have been taken away , not by COVID-19 , but by the actions of our government in response to COVID-19.
” On March 13 , 2020 , Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-01 declaring a peacetime emergency under Minnesota Statutes 12.31 .
Since then , the Governor has issued 76 peacetime emergency executive orders , dealing with nearly every facet of the daily lives of Minnesotans personal and working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of businesses resulting in the destruction of livelihoods and has selectively allowed others to open only under an immense regulatory burden , threat of fines , and worse .
But apart from the economic impact of these actions by Governor Walz is the way that they have impacted our civil liberties .
The Governor has dictated how and where we can gather , in churches , high school graduation ceremonies , weddings , and funerals .
Now , months after anti-COVID 19 measures were first put in place , a funeral still has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Elective surgeries were postponed for months ( except for abortions ) with continuing impacts on the lives and well-being of Minnesotans .
In question is not merely the Governor ’ s leadership during this crisis but also the legal construct upon which his emergency powers are based .
Chapter 12 of Minnesota Statutes and particularly 12.31 are unconstitutional .
This is not a partisan view , as the law and changes to it were passed under both DFL and GOP legislatures and administrations .
But these laws are fundamentally flawed because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minnesota constitution : strong statements about the separation of powers , the prohibitions of one branch usurping another ’ s powers , the delegation of powers , and that there is no legislative veto .
If these parts of the constitution have been re-interpreted in practice so far as to be meaningless , we have a much bigger problem as a state and a free people .
For these and other reasons , we joined a lawsuit challenging these injuries to our rights and freedoms .
We also challenged the Governor ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by usurping the powers granted to those institutions in the Minnesota Constitution .
As legislators , we are especially aware of the Governor ’ s ability to extend his powers because of the partisan division between House and Senate , all the while complaining that the Legislature isn ’ t enacting policies he wants when he calls it into session .
Arguments about the Legislature ’ s inability to act in a timely manner misrepresent the truth when the Governor can call it back into session any time and has been able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extended another 30 days .
We have just submitted our response to Attorney General Keith Ellison ’ s motion to dismiss with these and other arguments and hope to see our view sustained in the courts .
On the eve of this Independence Day , Governor Walz has announced that he is contemplating mandating the wearing of masks by all healthy Minnesotans despite the mixed evidence that they have done anything to prevent the spread of COVID .
He ’ s already told us why wearing masks is important – as a show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health regulations .
Americans reject propaganda and empty symbolic gestures .
They value reason , logic and authenticity .
We trust that those qualities will guide us through this dark chapter in our state ’ s history.
” Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star .
Follow Anthony on Twitter .
Email tips to [ email protected ] .
Photo “ Minnesota State Representatives Steve Drazkowski , Cal Bahr , Tim Miller , and Jeremy Munson ” by Minnesota State Representatives Steve Drazkowski , Cal Bahr , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ Gov Tim Walz ” is by Gov Tim Walz .

Gov. Tim Walz recently filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him regarding his use of emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed on May 28 by four members of the New House Republican Caucus, the Free Minnesota Coalition, and at least eight businesses across the state. The complaint argues that the governor does not have the authority to “suspend the constitutional rights of Minnesotans.”
Another argument in the lawsuit claims that Minnesota law does not authorize the governor to invoke emergency powers for public health purposes.
Additionally, the lawsuit argues that all of the governor’s coronavirus-related executive orders are illegitimate because the statutory authority he relied upon (Minnesota Statutes 12.31) is unconstitutional. The statute is unconstitutional because it authorizes a legislative veto on the extension of peacetime emergencies, but the Minnesota Constitution does not provide for legislative veto powers.
The lawsuit also accuses Walz of violating the “non-delegation doctrine,” since his executive orders are an “exercise of pure legislative power without judicial oversight.”
Nine additional Republican lawmakers added their names to the lawsuit last month after Walz extended his peacetime emergency declaration for another 30 days.
The courts ordered the Walz administration to provide legal justification for its actions no later than June 18. According to Republicans, Walz did not address many of the arguments presented in their lawsuit, but claimed that his actions were constitutional because the pandemic was an “act of nature” rather than a public health crisis.
On behalf of the governor, Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last week.
In a statement released on the eve of Independence Day, the New House Republican Caucus said Minnesotans now find themselves “in the strange position of celebrating our freedoms when many of them have been taken away, not by COVID-19, but by the actions of our government in response to COVID-19.”
The statement continued:
On March 13, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-01 declaring a peacetime emergency under Minnesota Statutes 12.31. Since then, the Governor has issued 76 peacetime emergency executive orders, dealing with nearly every facet of the daily lives of Minnesotans personal and working lives. He has mandated the closure of businesses resulting in the destruction of livelihoods and has selectively allowed others to open only under an immense regulatory burden, threat of fines, and worse. But apart from the economic impact of these actions by Governor Walz is the way that they have impacted our civil liberties. The Governor has dictated how and where we can gather, in churches, high school graduation ceremonies, weddings, and funerals. Now, months after anti-COVID 19 measures were first put in place, a funeral still has more restrictions than a big box store. Elective surgeries were postponed for months (except for abortions) with continuing impacts on the lives and well-being of Minnesotans. In question is not merely the Governor’s leadership during this crisis but also the legal construct upon which his emergency powers are based. Chapter 12 of Minnesota Statutes and particularly 12.31 are unconstitutional. This is not a partisan view, as the law and changes to it were passed under both DFL and GOP legislatures and administrations. But these laws are fundamentally flawed because they conflict with basic concepts enshrined in the Minnesota constitution: strong statements about the separation of powers, the prohibitions of one branch usurping another’s powers, the delegation of powers, and that there is no legislative veto. If these parts of the constitution have been re-interpreted in practice so far as to be meaningless, we have a much bigger problem as a state and a free people. For these and other reasons, we joined a lawsuit challenging these injuries to our rights and freedoms. We also challenged the Governor’s attack on the Legislature and the Judiciary by usurping the powers granted to those institutions in the Minnesota Constitution. As legislators, we are especially aware of the Governor’s ability to extend his powers because of the partisan division between House and Senate, all the while complaining that the Legislature isn’t enacting policies he wants when he calls it into session. Arguments about the Legislature’s inability to act in a timely manner misrepresent the truth when the Governor can call it back into session any time and has been able to do it when he wants his powers extended another 30 days. We have just submitted our response to Attorney General Keith Ellison’s motion to dismiss with these and other arguments and hope to see our view sustained in the courts. On the eve of this Independence Day, Governor Walz has announced that he is contemplating mandating the wearing of masks by all healthy Minnesotans despite the mixed evidence that they have done anything to prevent the spread of COVID. He’s already told us why wearing masks is important – as a show of solidarity that we are complying with health regulations. Americans reject propaganda and empty symbolic gestures. They value reason, logic and authenticity. We trust that those qualities will guide us through this dark chapter in our state’s history.”
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Minnesota State Representatives Steve Drazkowski, Cal Bahr, Tim Miller, and Jeremy Munson” by Minnesota State Representatives Steve Drazkowski, Cal Bahr, Tim Miller, and Jeremy Munson; and “Gov Tim Walz” is by Gov Tim Walz.


thetennesseestar--2020-07-05--Cleveland Indians Look into Changing Name Amid Pressure

CLEVELAND , Ohio ( AP ) — They ’ ve been known as the Cleveland Indians since 1915 .
Those days could be over .
Amid new pressure sparked by a national movement to correct racial wrongdoings , the Indians said Friday night they will review their long-debated nickname which has been in place for 105 years .
“ We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality , ” the team said in a statement that came just hours after the NFL ’ s Washington Redskins announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fully recognizes our team name is among the most visible ways in which we connect with the community.
” The move mirrors the one made by the Redskins , who are embarking on a “ thorough review ” of their name , which has been deemed as offensive by Native American groups for decades .
The Redskins ’ decision came in the wake of FedEx , which paid $ 205 million for naming rights to the team ’ s stadium , and other corporate partners calling for the team to change its nickname @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get the Indians to rename themselves .
But following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and other examples of police brutality against Black people in the U.S. , there has been a major move nationwide to eradicate racially insensitive material .
In 2018 , the Indians removed the contentious Chief Wahoo logo from their game jerseys and caps .
The grinning , red-faced mascot , however , is still present on merchandise that can be purchased at Progressive Field and other team shops in Northeast Ohio .
Nothing has been decided , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least discuss the possibility of a name change is new .
There will certainly be backlash from some Cleveland fans , but the team is sensitive to doing the right thing in these changing times .
“ We have had ongoing discussions organizationally on these issues , ” the Indians said .
“ The recent social unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice .
With that in mind , we are committed to engaging our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best path forward with regard to our team name.
” “ While the focus of the baseball world shifts to the excitement of an unprecedented 2020 season , we recognize our unique place in the community and are committed to listening , learning , and acting in the manner that can best unite and inspire our city and all those who support our team , ” the club said .
Before their named was changed in 1915 to Indians — a nickname picked after sports writers solicited readers — Cleveland ’ s baseball @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Spiders , Blues , Bronchos and Naps , a name to honor Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie .
Tom Withers is a Sports Writer for The Associated Press .
About the Headline Photo : The new logo for the 2019 All-Star Game is displayed , Tuesday , Aug. 7 , 2018 , in Cleveland .
The Indians are reviewing their contentious nickname .
The team released a statement on Friday , July 3 , 2020 saying it is committed to “ making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The club said it plans to review a nickname it has had since 1905 .
( AP Photo/Tony Dejak , file )

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — They’ve been known as the Cleveland Indians since 1915. Those days could be over.
Amid new pressure sparked by a national movement to correct racial wrongdoings, the Indians said Friday night they will review their long-debated nickname which has been in place for 105 years.
“We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality,” the team said in a statement that came just hours after the NFL’s Washington Redskins announced a similar move. “Our organization fully recognizes our team name is among the most visible ways in which we connect with the community.”
The move mirrors the one made by the Redskins, who are embarking on a “thorough review” of their name, which has been deemed as offensive by Native American groups for decades. The Redskins’ decision came in the wake of FedEx, which paid $205 million for naming rights to the team’s stadium, and other corporate partners calling for the team to change its nickname.
There have been previous efforts to get the Indians to rename themselves. But following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and other examples of police brutality against Black people in the U.S., there has been a major move nationwide to eradicate racially insensitive material.
In 2018, the Indians removed the contentious Chief Wahoo logo from their game jerseys and caps. The grinning, red-faced mascot, however, is still present on merchandise that can be purchased at Progressive Field and other team shops in Northeast Ohio.
Nothing has been decided, but the Indians’ decision to at least discuss the possibility of a name change is new. There will certainly be backlash from some Cleveland fans, but the team is sensitive to doing the right thing in these changing times.
“We have had ongoing discussions organizationally on these issues,” the Indians said. “The recent social unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice. With that in mind, we are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.”
“While the focus of the baseball world shifts to the excitement of an unprecedented 2020 season, we recognize our unique place in the community and are committed to listening, learning, and acting in the manner that can best unite and inspire our city and all those who support our team,” the club said.
Before their named was changed in 1915 to Indians — a nickname picked after sports writers solicited readers — Cleveland’s baseball team was called the Forest Citys, the Spiders, Blues, Bronchos and Naps, a name to honor Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie.
– – –
Tom Withers is a Sports Writer for The Associated Press.
About the Headline Photo: The new logo for the 2019 All-Star Game is displayed, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, in Cleveland. The Indians are reviewing their contentious nickname. The team released a statement on Friday, July 3, 2020 saying it is committed to “making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality.” The club said it plans to review a nickname it has had since 1905.(AP Photo/Tony Dejak, file)