truthout--2020-07-06--Trump’s Reelection Kick-Off Fell Flat. Does He Really Want to Be President?

A twin-bill tantrum by a petulant president served as a shabby replacement for actual fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend , as Donald Trump delivered a spectacle of divisive balderdash at the headstone of manifest destiny in South Dakota and at his own house of ill repute in Washington , D.C .
Between Mt .
Rushmore and the White House lawn , Trump grabbed the American flag in his grubby hands and screamed , “ Mine !
Mine !
Mine !
” After more than three years spent demanding respect for that flag , Trump disgraced it — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are Trump ’ s people now , entirely according to him .
Armed COVID deniers are his people .
The rest of us — we , the massive majority — are apparently an “ angry mob ” of “ far-left fascists , ” whatever the hell that is .
If you can believe it , this weekend was Trump ’ s re-election campaign kick-off , finally .
His pathetic Tulsa event came and went with the bored murmur of hollow ballroom silence punctuated by the cackling of observing sparrows in the rafters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , precisely as exciting as an Irish wake on a Monday morning for a dead guy nobody liked .
Rushmore and the White House : A weekend for this failed president to vent his spleen while on stolen Indigenous ground and under the flitting shadows of overflying war weapons that , blessedly , drowned out his belligerent and bigoted prattle for mercifully long formations of time .
It is manifestly evident this president intends to go to rhetorical ( for now , at least ) war against most of the people who live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintain the fealty of that small segment of the populace who love their guns more than their children and believe equal rights for others is the same as diminished rights for themselves .
He will speak at maximum volume to the minimum crowd , because they love him for his blaring incoherence , as it so ineloquently matches their own .
The majority that believes systemic racism is a scourge to be excised from the body politic ?
“ Marxists.
” The majority that believes policing in this country needs to be defunded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ongoing murder of Black people ?
“ Terrorists.
” The vast majority that knows Trump ’ s bungling of the COVID crisis has put their lives and livelihoods in peril ?
“ An anarchist mob.
” This is Republican political campaigning in the 21st century , Trump ’ s paean to the necessity of his reelection , and it is ruinous farce .
The people he is screaming at are not enough to salvage his prospects at the ballot booth , and his allies in the Senate — now trembling in fear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the Faustian bargain they made to get all those right-wing judges for the steep price of tolerating his ceaseless , clarion bullshit was maybe not worth the cost .
I think of Wile E. Coyote , six feet past the edge of the cliff astride a dead rocket , holding up a sign reading “ Was This Trip Really Necessary ?
” before plummeting to the canyon floor below .
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden , to date , has only been required to lay back in a shiver of VP-prospect files @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign paradise : “ Dear America : Not that guy !
Love , Joe.
” Biden may set the record for least calories burned in an election , if he hasn ’ t already .
It does raise the question : Does this doofus really want the job anymore ?
Trump has clearly had no fun in the gig since Tulsa , if not before , and enjoying the job was the only reason he showed up to begin with .
Mike Pence is just sitting there like a duck that has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not ?
“ I shall not seek , and will not accept , ” is the LBJ formula for saying “ Nope ” to the nomination .
It really is just that easy .
In that circumstance , Trump will have from now until late January while still under the shroud of presidential protection to organize his legal defense for the shitstorm that awaits him .
If he wants to start the OANN-style “ news ” network he was talking about before he accidentally won in 2016 , he has a ready-made audience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s raving over this weekend of continued COVID horror could also be considered the commercial announcement of his intended network content , and the segment of the populace who still rally to his banner will watch it as if Jesus Himself held the remote .
Trump would be set for life , even if he had to broadcast from a studio on the Volga River to avoid prosecution in New York State , where a President Pence ’ s pardons would not apply .
The normal-world alternative , of course , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if he is defeated in November .
Raise your hand , please , if you remember what “ normal ” looks like .
Yeah , me neither .
Former Colorado Democratic Sen. Timothy Wirth laid out on Friday an implausible but far from impossible scenario in which Trump cries fraud over the mail-in ballots in November and connives with Republican state legislatures to remain in office .
Wirth ’ s warning is based on the script from a TV show , and as Trump is Captain Television , that connection unfortunately makes the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely .
At present , Donald Trump is getting run off the campaign road by a quiescent Biden , entirely due to Trump ’ s own glaring failures and gruesome behavior .
This matters not at all under the warm July sun , alas ; between the assumed COVID disruptions of election rights and the GOP ’ s concerted effort to attack the vote , this monstrous incumbent president has to be seen as a November gamer at all times .
In the end , I side with the great James Baldwin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than any other country in the world and , exactly for this reason , I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.
” Any agency , organization or government that claims “ greatness ” had better goddamn display it .
This nation has fallen far short of greatness since the first European boot touched this soil , and certainly since our national sense of inflated moralism was inscribed on parchment in Philadelphia .
This is happening in a way all the advertisers and propagandists can no longer conceal or ignore , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the millions because of it .
We the people are painting these self-evident truths on the streets in front of the citadels of power in broad daylight , at long last .
It is Trump ’ s bad luck that the reckoning for this long , long crime spree has come on his watch , but there it is .
The uprising showed who is really in charge of this country ; when push comes to shove comes to baton and rubber bullet and taser , it is the people who own the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
Trump laid down his marker on stolen land this weekend , and intimidated precisely nobody .

A twin-bill tantrum by a petulant president served as a shabby replacement for actual fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend, as Donald Trump delivered a spectacle of divisive balderdash at the headstone of manifest destiny in South Dakota and at his own house of ill repute in Washington, D.C.
Between Mt. Rushmore and the White House lawn, Trump grabbed the American flag in his grubby hands and screamed, “Mine! Mine! Mine!” After more than three years spent demanding respect for that flag, Trump disgraced it — and himself — once again.
Confederate racists are Trump’s people now, entirely according to him. Armed COVID deniers are his people. The rest of us — we, the massive majority — are apparently an “angry mob” of “far-left fascists,” whatever the hell that is.
If you can believe it, this weekend was Trump’s re-election campaign kick-off, finally. His pathetic Tulsa event came and went with the bored murmur of hollow ballroom silence punctuated by the cackling of observing sparrows in the rafters. His follow-on rally in Arizona was exactly, precisely as exciting as an Irish wake on a Monday morning for a dead guy nobody liked.
Rushmore and the White House: A weekend for this failed president to vent his spleen while on stolen Indigenous ground and under the flitting shadows of overflying war weapons that, blessedly, drowned out his belligerent and bigoted prattle for mercifully long formations of time.
It is manifestly evident this president intends to go to rhetorical (for now, at least) war against most of the people who live here. He will do this to maintain the fealty of that small segment of the populace who love their guns more than their children and believe equal rights for others is the same as diminished rights for themselves. He will speak at maximum volume to the minimum crowd, because they love him for his blaring incoherence, as it so ineloquently matches their own.
The majority that believes systemic racism is a scourge to be excised from the body politic? “Marxists.” The majority that believes policing in this country needs to be defunded and reformed, so as to stop the ongoing murder of Black people? “Terrorists.” The vast majority that knows Trump’s bungling of the COVID crisis has put their lives and livelihoods in peril? “An anarchist mob.”
Confederate racists are Trump’s people now, entirely according to him. Armed COVID deniers are his people. The rest of us — we, the massive majority — are an “angry mob” of “far-left fascists,” whatever the hell that is.
This is Republican political campaigning in the 21st century, Trump’s paean to the necessity of his reelection, and it is ruinous farce. The people he is screaming at are not enough to salvage his prospects at the ballot booth, and his allies in the Senate — now trembling in fear of late-Autumn unemployment — are all wondering if the Faustian bargain they made to get all those right-wing judges for the steep price of tolerating his ceaseless, clarion bullshit was maybe not worth the cost.
I think of Wile E. Coyote, six feet past the edge of the cliff astride a dead rocket, holding up a sign reading “Was This Trip Really Necessary?” before plummeting to the canyon floor below.
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, to date, has only been required to lay back in a shiver of VP-prospect files and fire off the occasional postcard from campaign paradise: “Dear America: Not that guy! Love, Joe.” Biden may set the record for least calories burned in an election, if he hasn’t already.
It does raise the question: Does this doofus really want the job anymore? Trump has clearly had no fun in the gig since Tulsa, if not before, and enjoying the job was the only reason he showed up to begin with. Mike Pence is just sitting there like a duck that has been hit on the head, so why not?
“I shall not seek, and will not accept,” is the LBJ formula for saying “Nope” to the nomination. It really is just that easy.
In that circumstance, Trump will have from now until late January while still under the shroud of presidential protection to organize his legal defense for the shitstorm that awaits him. If he wants to start the OANN-style “news” network he was talking about before he accidentally won in 2016, he has a ready-made audience waiting for the first broadcast.
Trump’s raving over this weekend of continued COVID horror could also be considered the commercial announcement of his intended network content, and the segment of the populace who still rally to his banner will watch it as if Jesus Himself held the remote. Trump would be set for life, even if he had to broadcast from a studio on the Volga River to avoid prosecution in New York State, where a President Pence’s pardons would not apply.
The normal-world alternative, of course, is that Trump leaves office in good order if he is defeated in November.
Raise your hand, please, if you remember what “normal” looks like. Yeah, me neither.
Former Colorado Democratic Sen. Timothy Wirth laid out on Friday an implausible but far from impossible scenario in which Trump cries fraud over the mail-in ballots in November and connives with Republican state legislatures to remain in office. Wirth’s warning is based on the script from a TV show, and as Trump is Captain Television, that connection unfortunately makes the scenario more, rather than less, likely.
At present, Donald Trump is getting run off the campaign road by a quiescent Biden, entirely due to Trump’s own glaring failures and gruesome behavior. This matters not at all under the warm July sun, alas; between the assumed COVID disruptions of election rights and the GOP’s concerted effort to attack the vote, this monstrous incumbent president has to be seen as a November gamer at all times.
In the end, I side with the great James Baldwin, who wrote, “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
We the people are painting these self-evident truths on the streets in front of the citadels of power in broad daylight, at long last.
Any agency, organization or government that claims “greatness” had better goddamn display it. This nation has fallen far short of greatness since the first European boot touched this soil, and certainly since our national sense of inflated moralism was inscribed on parchment in Philadelphia.
This is happening in a way all the advertisers and propagandists can no longer conceal or ignore, and there is a body count in the millions because of it. We the people are painting these self-evident truths on the streets in front of the citadels of power in broad daylight, at long last.
It is Trump’s bad luck that the reckoning for this long, long crime spree has come on his watch, but there it is. The uprising showed who is really in charge of this country; when push comes to shove comes to baton and rubber bullet and taser, it is the people who own the day and the night in all 50 states. Trump laid down his marker on stolen land this weekend, and intimidated precisely nobody.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-07-06--Frederick Douglass Statue Torn Down on Anniversary of Famous July 4 Speech

A statue of Frederick Douglass , a formerly enslaved Black abolitionist in the mid-1800s who helped to transport other enslaved people seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad , was removed from its pedestal in a park in Rochester , New York , by vandals over the weekend .
The statue was vandalized on the July 4 weekend , which , in addition to being a national holiday , is also the anniversary of a famous speech delivered by Douglass entitled , “ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July ?
” The speech , given in 1852 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a time when the country still practiced slavery .
It ’ s often re-read on the July 4 weekend to remind others of the continued struggles against racial violence that exist for Black Americans to this day .
Erected in 2018 in Maplewood Park , which runs along part of the path of the Underground Railroad , the statue was found about 50 feet away from its base near the Genesee River gorge .
There was damage to the statue at the base , as well as to one of its fingers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizers of the project that brought the statue to the park , said it ’ s possible the statue was damaged in response to other uprisings happening across the country , where monuments to leaders of the Confederacy have been forcibly removed by demonstrators in support of racial equality .
“ Is this some type of retaliation because of the national fever over Confederate monuments right now ?
Very disappointing , it ’ s beyond disappointing , ” Eison told the CBS affiliate in Rochester .
Several right-wing voices on social media — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and dubious claims attempting to assign blame to protesters involved in uprisings against police brutality and other societal inequalities directed toward Black Americans .
“ This shows that these anarchists have no bounds !
” Trump said in a tweet on Monday morning .
An investigation into the statue ’ s desecration is underway , and there ’ s no evidence that suggests the opinions of Trump and other conservatives online are accurate .
Indeed , as CNN commentator Keith Boykin pointed out , this isn ’ t the first time the statue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , two white male college students in Rochester were arrested for vandalizing [ the ] statue of Frederick Douglass , ” Boykin wrote on Twitter .
One witness of that act said he heard racial slurs spoken before the vandalization occurred .
The two students later pleaded guilty and took part in a restorative justice program in which they learned more about Frederick Douglass .
Rev .
Julius Jackson Jr. , a pastor at nearby Trinity Emmanuel , told the CBS affiliate said it wouldn ’ t surprise him if the latest instance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ act committed by people upset about the recent progress made in removing symbols of white supremacy from public spaces in the U.S. “ It wouldn ’ t surprise me if it ’ s some retaliatory , something going on , ” he said .
Writer and social activist Zellie Imani also responded to the desecration of the statue .
“ This is sickening , ” he wrote on Twitter .
Wesley Lowery , a correspondent for “ 60 Minutes ” and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist , expressed outrage in response to right-wing attempts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vandalized a statue of Douglass , suggesting instead that this was likely a racist action .
“ I ’ m very confused by folks who , upon hearing that a Frederick Douglass statue has been vandalized , think ‘ must be left wing protesters ! '
” Lowery wrote in a social media post .
“ I mean , I guess that could have been it .
But also , you all know black monuments are defaced all the time , right ?
Typically not by lefties.
” The speech by Douglass recited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describes how Independence Day is not an event that commemorates freedoms for all .
Originally given nearly a decade before the start of the Civil War , Douglass asked , in a speech to other abolitionists at the time , “ What have I , or those I represent , to do with your national independence ?
” “ Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice , embodied in that Declaration of Independence , extended to us ?
” Douglass added .
The abolitionist went on to state in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one that included Black Americans .
“ I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary !
Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us , ” Douglass said in 1852 .
“ The blessings in which you , this day , rejoice , are not enjoyed in common .
The rich inheritance of justice , liberty , prosperity and independence , bequeathed by your fathers , is shared by you , not by me .
The sunlight that brought life and healing to you , has brought stripes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ of ] July is yours , not mine .
You may rejoice , I must mourn .
”

The landmark 1852 speech by the Black abolitionist was titled, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
A statue of Frederick Douglass, a formerly enslaved Black abolitionist in the mid-1800s who helped to transport other enslaved people seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad, was removed from its pedestal in a park in Rochester, New York, by vandals over the weekend.
The statue was vandalized on the July 4 weekend, which, in addition to being a national holiday, is also the anniversary of a famous speech delivered by Douglass entitled, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
The speech, given in 1852, disparaged the celebration of freedom and liberty at a time when the country still practiced slavery. It’s often re-read on the July 4 weekend to remind others of the continued struggles against racial violence that exist for Black Americans to this day.
Erected in 2018 in Maplewood Park, which runs along part of the path of the Underground Railroad, the statue was found about 50 feet away from its base near the Genesee River gorge. There was damage to the statue at the base, as well as to one of its fingers.
Carvin Eison, one of the organizers of the project that brought the statue to the park, said it’s possible the statue was damaged in response to other uprisings happening across the country, where monuments to leaders of the Confederacy have been forcibly removed by demonstrators in support of racial equality.
“Is this some type of retaliation because of the national fever over Confederate monuments right now? Very disappointing, it’s beyond disappointing,” Eison told the CBS affiliate in Rochester.
Several right-wing voices on social media — including President Donald Trump — made ungrounded and dubious claims attempting to assign blame to protesters involved in uprisings against police brutality and other societal inequalities directed toward Black Americans.
“This shows that these anarchists have no bounds!” Trump said in a tweet on Monday morning.
An investigation into the statue’s desecration is underway, and there’s no evidence that suggests the opinions of Trump and other conservatives online are accurate.
Indeed, as CNN commentator Keith Boykin pointed out, this isn’t the first time the statue has been targeted. “In 2018, two white male college students in Rochester were arrested for vandalizing [the] statue of Frederick Douglass,” Boykin wrote on Twitter. One witness of that act said he heard racial slurs spoken before the vandalization occurred. The two students later pleaded guilty and took part in a restorative justice program in which they learned more about Frederick Douglass.
Rev. Julius Jackson Jr., a pastor at nearby Trinity Emmanuel, told the CBS affiliate said it wouldn’t surprise him if the latest instance of vandalization turns out to be an act committed by people upset about the recent progress made in removing symbols of white supremacy from public spaces in the U.S.“It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s some retaliatory, something going on,” he said.
Writer and social activist Zellie Imani also responded to the desecration of the statue. “This is sickening,” he wrote on Twitter.
Wesley Lowery, a correspondent for “60 Minutes” and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, expressed outrage in response to right-wing attempts to suggest that anti-racist protesters would have vandalized a statue of Douglass, suggesting instead that this was likely a racist action.
“I’m very confused by folks who, upon hearing that a Frederick Douglass statue has been vandalized, think ‘must be left wing protesters!'” Lowery wrote in a social media post. “I mean, I guess that could have been it. But also, you all know black monuments are defaced all the time, right? Typically not by lefties.”
The speech by Douglass recited annually on the Fourth of July weekend describes how Independence Day is not an event that commemorates freedoms for all. Originally given nearly a decade before the start of the Civil War, Douglass asked, in a speech to other abolitionists at the time, “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?”
“Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” Douglass added.
The abolitionist went on to state in his speech that the holiday was not one that included Black Americans.
“I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us,” Douglass said in 1852. “The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-07-06--Sanders Calls on “Do-Nothing” Senate to Pass Sweeping COVID Stimulus Legislation

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday slammed the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate for refusing to act to address the coronavirus-induced public health and economic crises that continue to intensify , throwing millions more out of work , overwhelming hospitals , and endangering countless lives .
“ As you read this , the number of Covid-19 cases is skyrocketing in this country to levels far greater than at any point in this crisis , ” Sanders wrote in an email to supporters Sunday evening .
“ The United States — with just 4 percent of the world ’ s population — accounts for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus cases and deaths .
And the Republican Senate is doing nothing.
” Last Thursday , the Senate departed the nation ’ s capital for a two-week recess without taking any action on Covid-19 relief — even amid dire warnings that millions of additional workers could lose their jobs if Congress doesn ’ t urgently approve aid to state and local governments .
The Senate is not expected to return to session until July 20 , just 11 days before the $ 600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits is set to expire .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ R-Ky. ) has focused on other issues in recent weeks , such as an annual defense policy bill and confirming President Trump ’ s nominees , ” the Washington Post reported Monday .
“ When the Senate comes back into session July 20 , McConnell plans to turn his attention back to the coronavirus , giving lawmakers just three weeks to negotiate and pass a big rescue bill before they adjourn again through Labor Day.
” McConnell said last week that he has no intention of delaying the August 10 recess .
Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ in the midst of these unprecedented crises ” and noted that the pandemic has been made worse by “ a president who thinks the coronavirus will just ‘ disappear ’ and that he has a ‘ natural ability ’ to understand this deadly virus.
” “ It will not , and he does not , ” the Vermont senator said .
“ People are dying every day because of his lies and incompetence.
” Upon its return , Sanders wrote , the Senate must approve sweeping Covid-19 stimulus legislation that : • @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paychecks and prevent more layoffs ; • Provides emergency funding to prevent the collapse of the U.S .
Postal Service ; • Sends a $ 2,000 monthly check to every working-class person in the U.S. until the end of the pandemic ; • Cancels rent and mortgage payments until the end of the pandemic ; • Requires the federal government to manufacture and distribute free face masks to everyone in the U.S .
The Vermont senator urged his supporters to sign a petition pressuring the Senate to “ act and pass legislation to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American people.
” “ These are ideas that the American people support , and it is time that the do-nothing Senate implement them , ” Sanders wrote .
“ But this I know : nothing will happen unless the American people stand up , fight back , and demand , in overwhelming numbers , that the Senate act .
”

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday slammed the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate for refusing to act to address the coronavirus-induced public health and economic crises that continue to intensify, throwing millions more out of work, overwhelming hospitals, and endangering countless lives.
“As you read this, the number of Covid-19 cases is skyrocketing in this country to levels far greater than at any point in this crisis,” Sanders wrote in an email to supporters Sunday evening. “The United States — with just 4 percent of the world’s population — accounts for 25% of the world’s coronavirus cases and deaths. And the Republican Senate is doing nothing.”
Last Thursday, the Senate departed the nation’s capital for a two-week recess without taking any action on Covid-19 relief — even amid dire warnings that millions of additional workers could lose their jobs if Congress doesn’t urgently approve aid to state and local governments.
The Senate is not expected to return to session until July 20, just 11 days before the $600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits is set to expire.
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has focused on other issues in recent weeks, such as an annual defense policy bill and confirming President Trump’s nominees,” the Washington Post reported Monday. “When the Senate comes back into session July 20, McConnell plans to turn his attention back to the coronavirus, giving lawmakers just three weeks to negotiate and pass a big rescue bill before they adjourn again through Labor Day.”
McConnell said last week that he has no intention of delaying the August 10 recess.
Sanders condemned the Senate for dragging its feet “in the midst of these unprecedented crises” and noted that the pandemic has been made worse by “a president who thinks the coronavirus will just ‘disappear’ and that he has a ‘natural ability’ to understand this deadly virus.”
“It will not, and he does not,” the Vermont senator said. “People are dying every day because of his lies and incompetence.”
Upon its return, Sanders wrote, the Senate must approve sweeping Covid-19 stimulus legislation that:
Uses federal funds to cover workers’ paychecks and prevent more layoffs;
Extends the $600-per-week boost in unemployment benefits;
Expands Medicare to cover the uninsured;
Provides emergency funding to prevent the collapse of the U.S. Postal Service;
Sends a $2,000 monthly check to every working-class person in the U.S. until the end of the pandemic;
Cancels rent and mortgage payments until the end of the pandemic;
Increases federal nutrition benefits; and
Requires the federal government to manufacture and distribute free face masks to everyone in the U.S.
The Vermont senator urged his supporters to sign a petition pressuring the Senate to “act and pass legislation to protect the health and economic well-being of the American people.”
“These are ideas that the American people support, and it is time that the do-nothing Senate implement them,” Sanders wrote. “But this I know: nothing will happen unless the American people stand up, fight back, and demand, in overwhelming numbers, that the Senate act.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-07-06--Trump’s Racist Mt. Rushmore Celebration Violated Indigenous Sovereignty

Amid ongoing protests against systemic racism and state violence , Trump attacked protesters , vowed to defend statues of colonizers and white supremacists , and ignored Indigenous sovereignty over the area , when he held an Independence Day rally at Mount Rushmore , sparking even more protests that led to 15 arrests .
“ The Black Hills , or what we know as He Sápa , is the cultural center of our universe as Lakota people , ” says Indigenous scholar and activist Nick Estes , a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and assistant professor of American studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ More than 50 different Indigenous nations actually have origin stories or ties or spiritual connections to the Black Hills.
” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : As many marked this year ’ s Fourth of July weekend by staying home to stop the spread of COVID-19 , President Donald Trump hosted two back-to-back events , in South Dakota and at the White House , over the weekend , where he stoked racial divisions , attacked Black Lives Matter protesters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and falsely claimed that 99 % of coronavirus cases in the United States are , quote , “ harmless.
” Despite the warnings of public health officials and a U.S. death toll of nearly 130,000 — a quarter of the deaths in the world — few wore masks at both Trump events .
At Mount Rushmore , a crowd of thousands did not socially distance .
At least 15 Indigenous activists and allies were arrested after blocking a highway heading to the rally .
Mount Rushmore is a monument carved into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was designed by a sculptor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan .
The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe had ordered Trump to cancel Friday ’ s event .
This is President Trump addressing the crowd of thousands in front of Mount Rushmore Friday .
AMY GOODMAN : And this is President Trump speaking in Washington , D.C. , Saturday , where he compared the , quote , “ radical left ” to Nazis .
AMY GOODMAN : The same day of Trump ’ s White House address , protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statue of Christopher Columbus .
They then dragged the statue several blocks and dumped it into the city ’ s harbor .
For more , we go to Albuquerque , New Mexico , where we ’ re joined by Nick Estes , citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe , assistant professor of American studies at the University of New Mexico .
Welcome back to Democracy Now !
, Professor Estes .
It ’ s great to have you with us .
Let ’ s talk about the significance of this moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
July 3rd , in honor of Independence Day , he goes to Mount Rushmore , named for a gold speculator and New York attorney , designed by a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan , even as leaders of Indigenous nations in the United States demanded he not come to the Black Hills .
Talk about the significance of Mount Rushmore for Indigenous people , and that whole area .
Yes , this is a very kind of important history to talk about , because , as you mentioned in the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what we know as He Sápa , is the cultural kind of like center of our universe as Lakota people , but more than 50 different Indigenous nations actually have origin stories or ties or spiritual connections to the Black Hills .
And the Lakota people , as well as the Cheyenne and Arapaho people , when they signed the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty , became the caretakers of that land .
And so , back in 1980 , there was a Supreme Court decision that ruled that the Black Hills itself had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that the Supreme Court itself could only reward a monetary compensation , because the courts can ’ t actually award land back to the tribes .
And so , since 1980 , the tribes have been refusing to accept money for — they can ’ t put a price tag on the Black Hills , so they ’ ve been refusing to accept money .
But at the same time , the Black Hills themselves has become a hot spot of the kind of cultural war that Trump is trying to stir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there are about 2 million visitors per year that go to Mount Rushmore .
And with the kind of new guidelines about social distancing , we can see that this is only further exacerbating the COVID-19 pandemic and tribes ’ responses to it .
And so , when Trump announced that he was coming to this particular area , he wasn ’ t invited by the tribes .
The tribes actually asked him to seek an invitation to respect their sovereignty .
And if you listen to the audio clip , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tribes opposed his visit there .
So , this is a very contentious issue for Lakota people .
AMY GOODMAN : All of the protesters who were arrested in South Dakota Friday have been released , except for Nick Tilsen , who we interviewed Friday , president of the NDN Collective and a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota , currently being held without bond .
This is what he had to say on our broadcast .
AMY GOODMAN : So , that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family , his great-grandmother Meridel Le Sueur , his grandfather , his parents all deeply active in Indigenous rights activism , his parents leading a march that was one of the largest in the Black Hills region in the early ’ 80s .
Only larger was what ?
The Ku Klux Klan march there in the 1920s .
Do you have the latest news on Nick Tilsen and why he alone is continuing to be held , Nick Estes ?
NICK ESTES : Yeah .
So , first of all , the arrests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the blockade , they were treaty defenders , right ?
So , when Trump is talking about erasing history , he ’ s actually suppressing history .
The people who were arrested at this particular blockade were arrested because they were representing the true histories , right ?
And so , Nick Tilsen was charged with several things .
One of them is a serious charge .
It ’ s a second-degree robbery charge , which in the state of South Dakota is a Class 4 felony , which is punishable up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this morning in several hours , at about 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time , before a judge .
And it has yet to be seen whether or not Tilsen himself will be charged with the new riot boosting laws that Kristi Noem signed into law earlier this year , something that Nick himself has successfully sued the state of South Dakota over in the past , and the courts have sided with him , saying that it is a violation of First Amendment rights .
The state went back and rewrote the laws @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question about whether or not he ’ s going to be charged with these new riot boosting laws that were created and drafted in preparation for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline , something that NDN Collective and Nick himself has been adamantly opposed to because it violates , again , the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty , because it trespasses through the heart of our treaty lands and skirts around two major reservations , the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as well as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe .
So , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of South Dakota has one of the highest rates of incarceration of Native people .
There are about 10 % — we ’ re about 10 % of the state ’ s population , but we make up about 30 % of the jail population .
And in a place like Pennington County , where Nick ’ s being held right now , I think it ’ s around 50 to 75 % jail population are Native right now .
So , this is more than just about his arrest at Mount Rushmore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treaty claim .
And I think Nick would agree with me on this , that this is about treaty rights .
Right ?
He ’ s a treaty defender .
And it ’ s unclear why all 15 other protesters were released , but not Nick himself .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to go back to this history , because a number of people seem surprised by the whole history of Mount Rushmore , you know , having the four sculpted heads of Presidents Washington , Jefferson , Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1927 and 1941 by 400 workers , directed by Gutzon Borglum .
Earlier , he was recruited by the Daughters of the Confederacy to carve the huge Stone Mountain memorial to Confederate leaders in Georgia .
He left that project in a dispute , but that allowed him to hone his mountain-carving skills , enabling the Rushmore monument .
Borglum , close to the KKK , might even have been a member of the KKK .
And this weekend also , the march on Stone Mountain by leaders demanding it be taken down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mount Rushmore , and who is carved into the ancient granite , Nick Estes , and what he means in Indigenous history — what they mean ?
NICK ESTES : Right .
So , it ’ s important to remember that Stone Mountain was a meeting place for the Ku Klux Klan .
It ’ s actually where the Klan re-formed and reconstituted itself at a particular moment in time .
So that site was chosen because of that particular significance .
And so , while there ’ s speculation about whether or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Klan , it ’ s not as important as the fact that , like , he ’ s creating these symbols at a time of Jim Crow segregation laws .
So , when he comes to a place like the Black Hills , this is part of a larger kind of effort to intimidate and also to lay claim on the Black Hills in spite of these treaty claims , right ?
So , if we look at the more recent history — so , for example , on June 25th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican congressman , introduced a bill to prevent the destruction of Mount Rushmore , the renaming of the mountain or the monument itself .
But in that bill , it says nothing of the Fort Laramie Treaty , the very document that was signed in 1868 to protect the Black Hills for the Lakota people in perpetuity .
And why would he — why would Dusty Johnson — you know , I ’ m a historian .
There ’ s no coincidences in dates .
Why would Dusty Johnson choose June 25th as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect this symbol of white supremacy ?
Well , for Lakota people , for Cheyenne and Arapaho people , we celebrate June 25th as Victory Day , because in 1876 an alliance of Lakota , Dakota , Cheyenne and Arapaho defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn , or the Battle of Greasy Grass .
And that was a victory that was kind of mounted against the United States right before it tried to celebrate its 100-year anniversary of signing of the Declaration of Independence , a document that was written @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the figures , who wrote in that document “ merciless Indian savages ” to describe Indigenous people .
And it ’ s important to note that on that date that Trump read his speech at Mount Rushmore , he said , “ Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history , defame our heroes , erase our values and indoctrinate our children.
” We don ’ t think it ’ s coincidence that he used that language , the same language that Thomas Jefferson used .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ George Washington was named town destroyer by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy for his scorched-earth campaigns against the Iroquois Nation prior to the Revolution , but also during the Revolutionary War itself .
Abraham Lincoln was responsible for multiple things , such as the passage of the Morrill Act , which created modern land-grant universities , that dispossessed — that used dispossessed Indigenous land to create the modern university system , as well as the 1862 Homestead Act , which carved out 270 million acres of Indigenous territory and basically gave it away for free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ excluded , of course , Indigenous and Black folks , as well .
But also he oversaw the 1862 hanging of 38 Dakota patriots in the state of Minnesota , as well as the Navajo Long Walk , which imprisoned Navajo people , as well as Apache people , at Bosque Redondo , and oversaw also the — you know , he was the commander-in-chief when the Colorado militias massacred the Cheyenne people at Sand Creek in 1864 .
And then , lastly , you know , the bust of Teddy Roosevelt is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind seen as the father of the modern kind of conservation movement and the creation of national parks .
Well , for this settler nation to enjoy nature , Indigenous people had to be removed from it .
And so he carved out millions of acres in what we now know as the kind of national monuments , the natural national monuments or natural wonders of the West , the iconic kind of vistas of the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park .
Those were created under Teddy Roosevelt ’ s watch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they removed Indigenous peoples from these lands so that white settlers could enjoy them in peace .
AMY GOODMAN : Nick Estes , we ’ re going to break and then come back .
I want to ask you about a number of issues — COVID in South Dakota and other places , for example , where you are , in New Mexico ; the standoff with the governor of South Dakota , a Trump ally , Governor Noem , going after Indigenous leaders for setting up checkpoints to check for COVID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sports teams , from the Redskins to the Cleveland Indians .
Stay with us .
This is Nick Estes .
He ’ s a professor at University of New Mexico .

Amid ongoing protests against systemic racism and state violence, Trump attacked protesters, vowed to defend statues of colonizers and white supremacists, and ignored Indigenous sovereignty over the area, when he held an Independence Day rally at Mount Rushmore, sparking even more protests that led to 15 arrests. “The Black Hills, or what we know as He Sápa, is the cultural center of our universe as Lakota people,” says Indigenous scholar and activist Nick Estes, a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and assistant professor of American studies at the University of New Mexico. “More than 50 different Indigenous nations actually have origin stories or ties or spiritual connections to the Black Hills.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: As many marked this year’s Fourth of July weekend by staying home to stop the spread of COVID-19, President Donald Trump hosted two back-to-back events, in South Dakota and at the White House, over the weekend, where he stoked racial divisions, attacked Black Lives Matter protesters, defended statues of colonizers and white supremacists, and falsely claimed that 99% of coronavirus cases in the United States are, quote, “harmless.” Despite the warnings of public health officials and a U.S. death toll of nearly 130,000 — a quarter of the deaths in the world — few wore masks at both Trump events. At Mount Rushmore, a crowd of thousands did not socially distance.
At least 15 Indigenous activists and allies were arrested after blocking a highway heading to the rally. Mount Rushmore is a monument carved into the sacred Black Hills on unceded Lakota territory. It was designed by a sculptor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe had ordered Trump to cancel Friday’s event.
This is President Trump addressing the crowd of thousands in front of Mount Rushmore Friday.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Make no mistake: This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution. … To make this possible, they are determined to tear down every statue, symbol and memory of our national heritage. Related Story Interview | Racial Justice Indigenous Leadership Points the Way Out of the COVID Crisis Indigenous communities already operate informal economies set up to sustain them amid government ineptitude and neglect. Truthout
AMY GOODMAN: And this is President Trump speaking in Washington, D.C., Saturday, where he compared the, quote, “radical left” to Nazis.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters and people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing. … In every age, there have always been those who seek to lie about the past in order to gain power in the present. Those that are lying about our history, those who want us to be ashamed of who we are, are not interested in justice or in healing. Their goal is demolition. Our goal is not to destroy the greatest structure on Earth, what we have built.
AMY GOODMAN: The same day of Trump’s White House address, protesters in Baltimore, Maryland, pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus. They then dragged the statue several blocks and dumped it into the city’s harbor.
For more, we go to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we’re joined by Nick Estes, citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, assistant professor of American studies at the University of New Mexico.
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Professor Estes. It’s great to have you with us. Let’s talk about the significance of this moment that President Trump chose to seize on. July 3rd, in honor of Independence Day, he goes to Mount Rushmore, named for a gold speculator and New York attorney, designed by a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan, even as leaders of Indigenous nations in the United States demanded he not come to the Black Hills. Talk about the significance of Mount Rushmore for Indigenous people, and that whole area.
NICK ESTES: Good morning, Amy.
Yes, this is a very kind of important history to talk about, because, as you mentioned in the news brief, the Black Hills, or what we know as He Sápa, is the cultural kind of like center of our universe as Lakota people, but more than 50 different Indigenous nations actually have origin stories or ties or spiritual connections to the Black Hills. And the Lakota people, as well as the Cheyenne and Arapaho people, when they signed the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, became the caretakers of that land.
And so, back in 1980, there was a Supreme Court decision that ruled that the Black Hills itself had been illegally taken from the Lakota Nation and that the Supreme Court itself could only reward a monetary compensation, because the courts can’t actually award land back to the tribes. And so, since 1980, the tribes have been refusing to accept money for — they can’t put a price tag on the Black Hills, so they’ve been refusing to accept money.
But at the same time, the Black Hills themselves has become a hot spot of the kind of cultural war that Trump is trying to stir up across the nation. For example, there are about 2 million visitors per year that go to Mount Rushmore. And with the kind of new guidelines about social distancing, we can see that this is only further exacerbating the COVID-19 pandemic and tribes’ responses to it. And so, when Trump announced that he was coming to this particular area, he wasn’t invited by the tribes. The tribes actually asked him to seek an invitation to respect their sovereignty. And if you listen to the audio clip, not once does he mention the fact that the tribes opposed his visit there. So, this is a very contentious issue for Lakota people.
AMY GOODMAN: All of the protesters who were arrested in South Dakota Friday have been released, except for Nick Tilsen, who we interviewed Friday, president of the NDN Collective and a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, currently being held without bond. This is what he had to say on our broadcast.
NICK TILSEN: This is an act of violence and aggression against us, and it’s also pushing this falsehood narrative about American democracy, when we actually really should be uplifting the truths of what happened throughout history and how those truths are directly connected to the disparities that exist today in society amongst Indigenous people.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s Nick Tilsen, from an illustrious Indigenous family, his great-grandmother Meridel Le Sueur, his grandfather, his parents all deeply active in Indigenous rights activism, his parents leading a march that was one of the largest in the Black Hills region in the early ’80s. Only larger was what? The Ku Klux Klan march there in the 1920s. Do you have the latest news on Nick Tilsen and why he alone is continuing to be held, Nick Estes?
NICK ESTES: Yeah. So, first of all, the arrests that happened of those 15 people at the blockade, they were treaty defenders, right? So, when Trump is talking about erasing history, he’s actually suppressing history. The people who were arrested at this particular blockade were arrested because they were representing the true histories, right?
And so, Nick Tilsen was charged with several things. One of them is a serious charge. It’s a second-degree robbery charge, which in the state of South Dakota is a Class 4 felony, which is punishable up to 10 years in prison. He appears this morning in several hours, at about 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, before a judge. And it has yet to be seen whether or not Tilsen himself will be charged with the new riot boosting laws that Kristi Noem signed into law earlier this year, something that Nick himself has successfully sued the state of South Dakota over in the past, and the courts have sided with him, saying that it is a violation of First Amendment rights. The state went back and rewrote the laws. But now it’s a question about whether or not he’s going to be charged with these new riot boosting laws that were created and drafted in preparation for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, something that NDN Collective and Nick himself has been adamantly opposed to because it violates, again, the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, because it trespasses through the heart of our treaty lands and skirts around two major reservations, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as well as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
So, it’s important to remember that already the state of South Dakota has one of the highest rates of incarceration of Native people. There are about 10% — we’re about 10% of the state’s population, but we make up about 30% of the jail population. And in a place like Pennington County, where Nick’s being held right now, I think it’s around 50 to 75% jail population are Native right now. So, this is more than just about his arrest at Mount Rushmore. It’s about a long-standing treaty claim. And I think Nick would agree with me on this, that this is about treaty rights. Right? He’s a treaty defender. And it’s unclear why all 15 other protesters were released, but not Nick himself.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go back to this history, because a number of people seem surprised by the whole history of Mount Rushmore, you know, having the four sculpted heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt blasted out of the ancient granite between 1927 and 1941 by 400 workers, directed by Gutzon Borglum. Earlier, he was recruited by the Daughters of the Confederacy to carve the huge Stone Mountain memorial to Confederate leaders in Georgia. He left that project in a dispute, but that allowed him to hone his mountain-carving skills, enabling the Rushmore monument. Borglum, close to the KKK, might even have been a member of the KKK. And this weekend also, the march on Stone Mountain by leaders demanding it be taken down. The connection between Stone Mountain and Mount Rushmore, and who is carved into the ancient granite, Nick Estes, and what he means in Indigenous history — what they mean?
NICK ESTES: Right. So, it’s important to remember that Stone Mountain was a meeting place for the Ku Klux Klan. It’s actually where the Klan re-formed and reconstituted itself at a particular moment in time. So that site was chosen because of that particular significance.
And so, while there’s speculation about whether or not Gutzon Borglum himself was a member of the Klan, it’s not as important as the fact that, like, he’s creating these symbols at a time of Jim Crow segregation laws. So, when he comes to a place like the Black Hills, this is part of a larger kind of effort to intimidate and also to lay claim on the Black Hills in spite of these treaty claims, right?
So, if we look at the more recent history — so, for example, on June 25th, Dusty Johnson, who is a Republican congressman, introduced a bill to prevent the destruction of Mount Rushmore, the renaming of the mountain or the monument itself. But in that bill, it says nothing of the Fort Laramie Treaty, the very document that was signed in 1868 to protect the Black Hills for the Lakota people in perpetuity. And why would he — why would Dusty Johnson — you know, I’m a historian. There’s no coincidences in dates. Why would Dusty Johnson choose June 25th as the date that he introduces this bill to protect this symbol of white supremacy? Well, for Lakota people, for Cheyenne and Arapaho people, we celebrate June 25th as Victory Day, because in 1876 an alliance of Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn, or the Battle of Greasy Grass.
And that was a victory that was kind of mounted against the United States right before it tried to celebrate its 100-year anniversary of signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document that was written by Thomas Jefferson, who’s one of the figures, who wrote in that document “merciless Indian savages” to describe Indigenous people. And it’s important to note that on that date that Trump read his speech at Mount Rushmore, he said, “Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children.” We don’t think it’s coincidence that he used that language, the same language that Thomas Jefferson used.
It’s also important to note that George Washington was named town destroyer by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy for his scorched-earth campaigns against the Iroquois Nation prior to the Revolution, but also during the Revolutionary War itself.
Abraham Lincoln was responsible for multiple things, such as the passage of the Morrill Act, which created modern land-grant universities, that dispossessed — that used dispossessed Indigenous land to create the modern university system, as well as the 1862 Homestead Act, which carved out 270 million acres of Indigenous territory and basically gave it away for free to white families, and it categorically excluded, of course, Indigenous and Black folks, as well. But also he oversaw the 1862 hanging of 38 Dakota patriots in the state of Minnesota, as well as the Navajo Long Walk, which imprisoned Navajo people, as well as Apache people, at Bosque Redondo, and oversaw also the — you know, he was the commander-in-chief when the Colorado militias massacred the Cheyenne people at Sand Creek in 1864.
And then, lastly, you know, the bust of Teddy Roosevelt is incredibly important, because he’s kind seen as the father of the modern kind of conservation movement and the creation of national parks. Well, for this settler nation to enjoy nature, Indigenous people had to be removed from it. And so he carved out millions of acres in what we now know as the kind of national monuments, the natural national monuments or natural wonders of the West, the iconic kind of vistas of the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park. Those were created under Teddy Roosevelt’s watch, but it was also under his watch that they removed Indigenous peoples from these lands so that white settlers could enjoy them in peace.
AMY GOODMAN: Nick Estes, we’re going to break and then come back. I want to ask you about a number of issues — COVID in South Dakota and other places, for example, where you are, in New Mexico; the standoff with the governor of South Dakota, a Trump ally, Governor Noem, going after Indigenous leaders for setting up checkpoints to check for COVID; and about the renaming of the sports teams, from the Redskins to the Cleveland Indians. Stay with us. This is Nick Estes. He’s a professor at University of New Mexico.


truthout--2020-07-06--Court Orders Shutdown and Removal of Oil From the Dakota Access Pipeline

A federal judge has ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to shut down and remove all oil within 30 days , a huge win for Standing Rock Sioux Tribe , the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe , and the other plaintiffs .
In a 24-page order , U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote that he was “ mindful of the disruption ” that shutting down the pipeline would cause , but that it must be done within 30 days .
The order comes after Boesberg said in April that a more extensive review was necessary than what the U.S. Army Corps of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would consider whether the pipeline would have to be shuttered during the new assessment .
“ Following multiple twists and turns in this long-running litigation , this Court recently found that Defendant U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it granted an easement to Defendant-Intervenor Dakota Access , LLC to construct and operate a segment of that crude-oil pipeline running beneath the lake , ” said the opinion from Boasberg .
“ The Court does not reach its decision with blithe disregard for the lives it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It readily acknowledges that , even with the currently low demand for oil , shutting down the pipeline will cause significant disruption to DAPL , the North Dakota oil industry , and potentially other states .
This doesn ’ t appear to be the first time Boasberg has reversed or rescinded a previous judgment .
According to BallotPedia , since 2018 the judge has ruled against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detaining asylum seekers more than seven days and also stopped states from implementing work requirements for Medicaid programs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dakota Petroleum Council , called the ruling “ shocking ” and noted that the pipeline is moving 570,000 barrels of Bakken oil a day .
“ I think there ’ s a lot of questions about the authority of this liberal district court judge to make such a significant ruling , ” Ness said of Boasberg , who was appointed by former President Barack Obama .
“ There is no doubt that the lawyers are all gearing up and looking at every possibility of a stay or an appeal or something.
” From @ @ @ @ @ @ @ construction , Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith said the tribe stood against the project .
“ Today is a historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many people who have supported us in the fight against the pipeline , ” Faith said .
“ This pipeline should have never been built here .
We told them that from the beginning.
” The pipeline extends more than 1,000 miles from North Dakota to Illinois – but the issue is the portion of the project that is buried under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tribe said a leak will contaminate their drinking water and sacred landsThis story is developing and will be updated .
Late in the Obama administration the Corps of Army Engineers announced it would suspend approval of the project while an Environmental Impact Statement was prepared .
“ A few months later , however , following the change of administration in January 2017 and a presidential memorandum urging acceleration of the project , the Corps again reconsidered and decided to move forward , ” the opinion said .
“ It granted the sought permit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commenced flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline.
” This the court found was a substantial error and a violation of the National Environmental Environmental Policy Act .
The bottom line : “ The Corps had not been able to substantiate its decision to publish ” only an Environmental Assessment and not an Environmental Impact Statement .
“ Dakota Access ’ s central and strongest argument … is that shutting down the pipeline would cause it , and the industries that rely on it , significant economic harm , including substantial job losses , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s decision is the latest and possibly final ruling on what has been a years long court battle .
Earthjustice Attorney Jan Hasselman , who represents the tribe , said despite the long court process , justice for the tribes has been served .
“ If the events of 2020 have taught us anything , it ’ s that health and justice must be prioritized early on in any decision-making process if we want to avoid a crisis later on , ” Hasselman said .
The pipeline company said it could lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 2020 and $ 1.4 billion in 2021 if shut down .
The court said : “ All of these financial losses would be absorbed by the owners of Dakota Access , ” particularly Energy Transfer Partners , the current parent company of DAPL after a merger with Sunoco.
” Energy Transfer last year proposed increasing the pipeline ’ s capacity to as much as 1.1 million barrels to meet growing demand for oil from North Dakota , without the need for additional pipelines or rail shipments .
Before the coronavirus pandemic devastated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ production in North Dakota – the nation ’ s No .
2 oil producer behind Texas – was at a near-record 1.45 million barrels daily .
The state ’ s output slipped to below 1 million barrels daily in May amid low energy prices and sparse demand .
Permits for the project were originally rejected by the Obama administration , and the Army Corps of Engineers prepared to conduct a full environmental review .
In February 2017 , shortly after President Donald Trump took office , the Corps scrapped the review and granted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the Missouri River posed no significant environmental issues .
The Corps said that opinion was validated after an additional year of review , as ordered by Boasberg in 2017 .
Boasberg had ruled then that the Corps “ largely complied ” with environmental law when permitting the pipeline but ordered more review because he said the agency did not adequately consider how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect the Standing Rock Sioux ’ s fishing and hunting rights , or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Corps ’ NEPA error , the impossibility of a simple fix , the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly , and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates , the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease , ” Boasberg ’ s ruling stated .
In a statement , the Indigenous Environmental Network is celebrating all the prayers and support the # NoDAPL movement has received over the years .
While Boasberg ’ s opinion clearly states the flow of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prepared to fight to see that through .
“ The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes have shown the world that treaty rights and environmental justice are not token concepts without merit , but rather tangible arguments that inherently protect the sacredness of mother earth .
We will continue to fight until DAPL is stopped completely , ” the statement said .
Note : This story has been updated .

The ruling is a major victory for the Standing Rock Sioux, the Cheyenne River Sioux and other plaintiffs.
A federal judge has ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to shut down and remove all oil within 30 days, a huge win for Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the other plaintiffs.
In a 24-page order, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote that he was “mindful of the disruption” that shutting down the pipeline would cause, but that it must be done within 30 days. The order comes after Boesberg said in April that a more extensive review was necessary than what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had already conducted and that he would consider whether the pipeline would have to be shuttered during the new assessment.
“Following multiple twists and turns in this long-running litigation, this Court recently found that Defendant U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it granted an easement to Defendant-Intervenor Dakota Access, LLC to construct and operate a segment of that crude-oil pipeline running beneath the lake,” said the opinion from Boasberg.
“The Court does not reach its decision with blithe disregard for the lives it will affect,” Boasberg wrote Monday. “It readily acknowledges that, even with the currently low demand for oil, shutting down the pipeline will cause significant disruption to DAPL, the North Dakota oil industry, and potentially other states.
This doesn’t appear to be the first time Boasberg has reversed or rescinded a previous judgment.
According to BallotPedia, since 2018 the judge has ruled against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detaining asylum seekers more than seven days and also stopped states from implementing work requirements for Medicaid programs.
Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, called the ruling “shocking” and noted that the pipeline is moving 570,000 barrels of Bakken oil a day.
“I think there’s a lot of questions about the authority of this liberal district court judge to make such a significant ruling,” Ness said of Boasberg, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. “There is no doubt that the lawyers are all gearing up and looking at every possibility of a stay or an appeal or something.”
From the outset of the pipeline’s construction, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith said the tribe stood against the project.
“Today is a historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many people who have supported us in the fight against the pipeline,” Faith said. “This pipeline should have never been built here. We told them that from the beginning.”
The pipeline extends more than 1,000 miles from North Dakota to Illinois – but the issue is the portion of the project that is buried under the Missouri River. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe said a leak will contaminate their drinking water and sacred landsThis story is developing and will be updated.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and millions of others who fought against the Dakota Access Pipeline showed us the power of standing together against injustice. We can create a future where a clean environment and indigenous rights matter more than Big Oil’s profits. https://t.co/8Ato13OTWp — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 6, 2020
Late in the Obama administration the Corps of Army Engineers announced it would suspend approval of the project while an Environmental Impact Statement was prepared. “A few months later, however, following the change of administration in January 2017 and a presidential memorandum urging acceleration of the project, the Corps again reconsidered and decided to move forward,” the opinion said. “It granted the sought permit, construction was completed, and oil commenced flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline.”
This the court found was a substantial error and a violation of the National Environmental Environmental Policy Act.
The bottom line: “The Corps had not been able to substantiate its decision to publish” only an Environmental Assessment and not an Environmental Impact Statement.
“Dakota Access’s central and strongest argument … is that shutting down the pipeline would cause it, and the industries that rely on it, significant economic harm, including substantial job losses,” the court said.
The court’s decision is the latest and possibly final ruling on what has been a years long court battle. Earthjustice Attorney Jan Hasselman, who represents the tribe, said despite the long court process, justice for the tribes has been served.
“If the events of 2020 have taught us anything, it’s that health and justice must be prioritized early on in any decision-making process if we want to avoid a crisis later on,” Hasselman said.
The pipeline company said it could lose $643 million in the second half of 2020 and $1.4 billion in 2021 if shut down. The court said: “All of these financial losses would be absorbed by the owners of Dakota Access,” particularly Energy Transfer Partners, the current parent company of DAPL after a merger with Sunoco.”
Energy Transfer last year proposed increasing the pipeline’s capacity to as much as 1.1 million barrels to meet growing demand for oil from North Dakota, without the need for additional pipelines or rail shipments.
Before the coronavirus pandemic devastated the U.S. oil industry, daily oil production in North Dakota – the nation’s No. 2 oil producer behind Texas – was at a near-record 1.45 million barrels daily. The state’s output slipped to below 1 million barrels daily in May amid low energy prices and sparse demand.
Permits for the project were originally rejected by the Obama administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers prepared to conduct a full environmental review. In February 2017, shortly after President Donald Trump took office, the Corps scrapped the review and granted permits, concluding that running the pipeline under the Missouri River posed no significant environmental issues.
The Corps said that opinion was validated after an additional year of review, as ordered by Boasberg in 2017.
Boasberg had ruled then that the Corps “largely complied” with environmental law when permitting the pipeline but ordered more review because he said the agency did not adequately consider how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect the Standing Rock Sioux’s fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community.
“Yet, given the seriousness of the Corps’ NEPA error, the impossibility of a simple fix, the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly, and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates, the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease,” Boasberg’s ruling stated.
This is a monumental victory! Thank you to all of the indigenous and environmental activists for your tireless work on the frontlines to stop this. Green energy is the future—we must fight against the fossil fuel industry at every turn. ✊🏽 https://t.co/xCvAXJ9Mv9 — Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) July 6, 2020
In a statement, the Indigenous Environmental Network is celebrating all the prayers and support the #NoDAPL movement has received over the years. While Boasberg’s opinion clearly states the flow of oil must stop, the organization is prepared to fight to see that through.
“The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes have shown the world that treaty rights and environmental justice are not token concepts without merit, but rather tangible arguments that inherently protect the sacredness of mother earth. We will continue to fight until DAPL is stopped completely,” the statement said.
Note: This story has been updated.
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