truthout--2020-06-16--From Trans Rights to Black Lives Matter, Trump Supporters Are Outnumbered

The year 2020 has been… been… Jesus H. Thesaurus Christ , what words would suffice to encapsulate all this ?
Bad ?
Horrible ?
Sucks ?
Our modern lexis lacks proper teeth for the occasion .
An older vocabulary would call this year a jakes , a bodkin to the crumpet , an immedicable gyve twice and thrice over , forsooth .
That ’ s how I feel , anyway , even as a spate of recent events have poured a dram of hope into this tired old heart .
I have been made to wonder , however , how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current situation .
I am no particular expert on the topic ; all efforts to pour myself through that particular looking glass have left me with a bumped and bloody nose , and none the wiser .
That being said , I can hazard a few grimly educated guesses .
An F-5 tornado has roared through Trumpland , the rural/exurban village where Trump ’ s base resides with Fox News playing on one channel and OANN on the other .
A great many stout oaks in the square , long-standing and seemingly eternal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ historic wind , their roots exposed to rain and rot while the soil beneath is freshly turned from the sheer velocity of the collapse .
Their revered and beloved president seemed well placed to cruise to victory against a fractured Democratic Party on the tailwind of a strong economy only months ago .
Now ?
He stands revealed as both fraud and farce , undone by his chronic and ongoing mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis .
Few of the devoted would ever admit this out loud , but a green worm of doubt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their hearts , especially among those who finally know someone who has gotten sick or died .
For many long weeks , Trump clarioned the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine , the “ miracle cures ” he himself claimed to be taking .
Yesterday , the Federal Drug Administration ( FDA ) yanked its emergency use authorization for those “ miracles.
” They did so because “ it is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19 , nor is it reasonable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks.
” That has to burn .
The Chosen One and his miracle cure , slapped down by pointy-headed medical types who clearly haven ’ t been listening to Sean Hannity like they should be .
The immediate refuge for Trump ’ s people , when confronted with science or other nettlesome details that cut against the grain of orthodoxy , is to blame conveniently nebulous forces acting with nefarious intent .
They have mastered this talent with bleak efficiency , deploying in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Government is bad , the FDA is government , thus the FDA is bad government , a.k.a .
the dreaded “ deep state.
” This limp mental construct is deployed with dreary regularity , often serving to scramble the debate for just long enough to corrupt another news cycle .
It is , however , a thin coat of paint over a vividly expanding mural .
Trump ’ s rush to reopen the country , aided and abetted by rural supporters who believe COVID is overblown because it hasn ’ t reached them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ) , has led to a dramatic spike in new cases within those very regions .
In moments like this , it is helpful to the ideological cause to have a practiced liar like Mike Pence on hand .
“ Vice President Mike Pence urged the nation ’ s governors to share misleading facts about ongoing coronavirus outbreaks in some states during a private call on Monday , ” reports HuffPost .
“ The call comes as the Trump administration continues to downplay the rise in coronavirus cases in some parts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continues to promulgate unfettered , self-serving bullshit .
“ If we stop testing right now , ” he said only yesterday , “ we ’ d have very few cases , if any.
” This is the same logic my daughter would deploy while playing hide-and-seek when she was three : If she closed her eyes , she believed I could not see her .
She grew up .
For Trump devotees , matters are even more grim beyond the medical realm .
The white police state , long the bulwark of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The televised murder of George Floyd has unleashed a tide of outraged humanity in all 50 states and around the world , sweeping politicians and corporations along with it as it seeks to wash away more than 400 years of violence and systemic injustice .
Fox News and OANN desperately labor to paint the massive national protests as the work of fringe factions — “ antifa !
” Weeks into the ever-growing uprising , however , the truth must have begun to dawn on even the most stalwart of Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ From the Insult-to-Injury department : Kneeling during the anthem is now allowed during NFL games , per the edict from league commissioner Roger Goodell .
Another refuge — the untouchable sanctity of the flag and the opportunity to rise in faux dudgeon at its alleged desecration — erased .
There ’ s even talk of notorious kneeler Colin Kaepernick getting signed to a team after three years in the wilderness of being right the first time .
The Supreme Court has upheld the right of transgender people not to be fired for being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch , who was shoehorned onto the high court by Mitch McConnell after Obama nominee Merrick Garland was shamelessly broomed without a hearing .
Trump ’ s reliable evangelical supporters stand aghast .
Justice Souter , your table is ready , again .
The justices , on the same day , turned down several opportunities to make the U.S. even more of a gun-happy zone , to the consternation of Second Amendment zealots from sea to shining sea .
That did not stop heavily-armed militia members in Albuquerque @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endeavoring to pull down the statue of a genocidal Spanish conquistador .
All across the globe , right-wing protesters who deliberately expose themselves to COVID in order to “ own the libs ” are met with scorn and derision .
Protesters braving the same pandemic for far more noble reasons , by comparison , are hailed as heroes , including Patrick Hutchinson , the Black Lives Matter protester in London who bodily hauled an injured right-wing counter-protester to safety during a melee in the street .
Bleak times indeed for the Trump faithful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The same Supreme Court that upheld the rights of transgender people is poised to rule on abortion rights , and whether the executive branch of the federal government stands beyond the reach of congressional oversight and subpoena .
If the court eviscerates Roe and puts Trump above the rule of law , his supporters will have staged the legal equivalent of a 12-run rally in the bottom of the ninth .
Even that , however , stands in doubt .
Chief Justice Roberts specifically assigned the writing of the trans rights ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Roberts is deeply sensitive about the high court being perceived as partisan , especially whenever it is brazenly so .
Having Gorsuch — a Trump justice — write the assent can be interpreted as a public warning from Roberts that his court is not going to play the season ’ s white-hot political games in the way the president and his people hope they will .
The year has been a bodkin to the crumpet , all right … but at least I ’ m not a Trump supporter .
Many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most , will stay with him until the bitter end .
This is tragic farce , you see , played in several acts which have only just begun .

The year 2020 has been… been… Jesus H. Thesaurus Christ, what words would suffice to encapsulate all this? Bad? Horrible? Sucks? Our modern lexis lacks proper teeth for the occasion. An older vocabulary would call this year a jakes, a bodkin to the crumpet, an immedicable gyve twice and thrice over, forsooth. That’s how I feel, anyway, even as a spate of recent events have poured a dram of hope into this tired old heart.
I have been made to wonder, however, how hardcore Trump supporters are dealing with the current situation. I am no particular expert on the topic; all efforts to pour myself through that particular looking glass have left me with a bumped and bloody nose, and none the wiser. That being said, I can hazard a few grimly educated guesses.
An F-5 tornado has roared through Trumpland, the rural/exurban village where Trump’s base resides with Fox News playing on one channel and OANN on the other. A great many stout oaks in the square, long-standing and seemingly eternal, have been blown down by the historic wind, their roots exposed to rain and rot while the soil beneath is freshly turned from the sheer velocity of the collapse.
Their revered and beloved president seemed well placed to cruise to victory against a fractured Democratic Party on the tailwind of a strong economy only months ago. Now? He stands revealed as both fraud and farce, undone by his chronic and ongoing mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis. Few of the devoted would ever admit this out loud, but a green worm of doubt has worked its way into the apple of their hearts, especially among those who finally know someone who has gotten sick or died.
For many long weeks, Trump clarioned the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, the “miracle cures” he himself claimed to be taking. Yesterday, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) yanked its emergency use authorization for those “miracles.” They did so because “it is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19, nor is it reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks.”
That has to burn. The Chosen One and his miracle cure, slapped down by pointy-headed medical types who clearly haven’t been listening to Sean Hannity like they should be.
The immediate refuge for Trump’s people, when confronted with science or other nettlesome details that cut against the grain of orthodoxy, is to blame conveniently nebulous forces acting with nefarious intent. They have mastered this talent with bleak efficiency, deploying in their defense the syllogism of the damned: Government is bad, the FDA is government, thus the FDA is bad government, a.k.a. the dreaded “deep state.” This limp mental construct is deployed with dreary regularity, often serving to scramble the debate for just long enough to corrupt another news cycle.
It is, however, a thin coat of paint over a vividly expanding mural. Trump’s rush to reopen the country, aided and abetted by rural supporters who believe COVID is overblown because it hasn’t reached them yet (and because they listen to Trump), has led to a dramatic spike in new cases within those very regions.
In moments like this, it is helpful to the ideological cause to have a practiced liar like Mike Pence on hand. “Vice President Mike Pence urged the nation’s governors to share misleading facts about ongoing coronavirus outbreaks in some states during a private call on Monday,” reports HuffPost. “The call comes as the Trump administration continues to downplay the rise in coronavirus cases in some parts of the country.”
The year has been a bodkin to the crumpet, alright … but at least I’m not a Trump supporter.
Meanwhile, Trump himself continues to promulgate unfettered, self-serving bullshit. “If we stop testing right now,” he said only yesterday, “we’d have very few cases, if any.” This is the same logic my daughter would deploy while playing hide-and-seek when she was three: If she closed her eyes, she believed I could not see her. She grew up.
For Trump devotees, matters are even more grim beyond the medical realm. The white police state, long the bulwark of a racist status quo, has been exposed. The televised murder of George Floyd has unleashed a tide of outraged humanity in all 50 states and around the world, sweeping politicians and corporations along with it as it seeks to wash away more than 400 years of violence and systemic injustice.
Fox News and OANN desperately labor to paint the massive national protests as the work of fringe factions — “antifa!” Weeks into the ever-growing uprising, however, the truth must have begun to dawn on even the most stalwart of Trump’s brigade: They are badly outnumbered.
From the Insult-to-Injury department: Kneeling during the anthem is now allowed during NFL games, per the edict from league commissioner Roger Goodell. Another refuge — the untouchable sanctity of the flag and the opportunity to rise in faux dudgeon at its alleged desecration — erased. There’s even talk of notorious kneeler Colin Kaepernick getting signed to a team after three years in the wilderness of being right the first time.
The Supreme Court has upheld the right of transgender people not to be fired for being who they are. The 6-3 decision was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was shoehorned onto the high court by Mitch McConnell after Obama nominee Merrick Garland was shamelessly broomed without a hearing. Trump’s reliable evangelical supporters stand aghast. Justice Souter, your table is ready, again.
The justices, on the same day, turned down several opportunities to make the U.S. even more of a gun-happy zone, to the consternation of Second Amendment zealots from sea to shining sea. That did not stop heavily-armed militia members in Albuquerque from opening fire on protesters who were endeavoring to pull down the statue of a genocidal Spanish conquistador.
All across the globe, right-wing protesters who deliberately expose themselves to COVID in order to “own the libs” are met with scorn and derision. Protesters braving the same pandemic for far more noble reasons, by comparison, are hailed as heroes, including Patrick Hutchinson, the Black Lives Matter protester in London who bodily hauled an injured right-wing counter-protester to safety during a melee in the street.
Bleak times indeed for the Trump faithful, yet all is not yet lost. The same Supreme Court that upheld the rights of transgender people is poised to rule on abortion rights, and whether the executive branch of the federal government stands beyond the reach of congressional oversight and subpoena. If the court eviscerates Roe and puts Trump above the rule of law, his supporters will have staged the legal equivalent of a 12-run rally in the bottom of the ninth.
Even that, however, stands in doubt. Chief Justice Roberts specifically assigned the writing of the trans rights ruling to Gorsuch, perhaps as a signal. Roberts is deeply sensitive about the high court being perceived as partisan, especially whenever it is brazenly so. Having Gorsuch — a Trump justice — write the assent can be interpreted as a public warning from Roberts that his court is not going to play the season’s white-hot political games in the way the president and his people hope they will.
The year has been a bodkin to the crumpet, all right … but at least I’m not a Trump supporter. Many of his most ardent followers, if not most, will stay with him until the bitter end. This is tragic farce, you see, played in several acts which have only just begun.
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--2020-06-16--Militia Member Opens Fire on Protester Demanding Removal of Conquistador Statue

A demonstrator at a peaceful protest in Albuquerque demanding the removal of a statue of a controversial Spanish conquistador was shot by a right-wing militia group member on Monday night .
The militia group , whose members appeared at the event carrying semiautomatic rifles and wearing other tactical gear , calls itself the New Mexico Civil Guard .
They had come to the protest in order to protect the statue of “ La Jornada , ” better known as Juan de Oñate , a conquistador who in 1599 had decimated a village of Indigenous people in the territory that became @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a village of 2,000 survived the onslaught of Oñate ’ s forces in what is known as the Acoma Massacre .
Indigenous men who survived had one foot amputated and were enslaved for 20 years after the event .
Children were captured , and sent off to be raised by missionaries , with many likely becoming enslaved themselves .
On the 400th anniversary of that incident , Native activists cut off the right foot of a bronze Oñate statue installed on that occasion in Alcalde , New Mexico .
As protesters engaged in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oñate , one took out a pickaxe .
Members of the New Mexico Civil Guard responded , and that ’ s when tensions escalated , according to reporting from The Albuquerque Journal .
A scuffle broke out , and a man in a blue shirt , who appeared to have engaged in violence against protesters earlier , fell to the ground .
Demonstrators confronted the man , who then pulled out pepper spray from his pocket .
After that , he pulled out a gun , firing five bullets toward those confronting him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual is currently in serious but stable condition , The Washington Post reported .
According to the group ’ s Facebook page , which appears to have been removed or made private since the event took place , the New Mexico Civil Guard aims to be an organization that provides “ rapid local lawful response to emergency and dangerous situations , including Natural disaster , humanitarian crisis , civil disturbances , and civil [ defense ] .
” Many of its members are former military and/or law enforcement personnel .
O ’ Rion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ captain , claimed last week that members would use non-lethal force against protesters at demonstrations taking place in the city , resorting to violence only when they deemed it necessary .
Gov .
Michelle Lujan Grisham criticized the group ’ s presence at the event , and their use of violence and intimidation against protesters .
“ Although we are still learning more about the situation , I am horrified and disgusted beyond words by the reports of violence at a protest Monday night in Albuquerque , ” the governor said in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who flaunted themselves at the protest , calling themselves a ‘ civil guard , ’ were there for one reason : To menace protesters , to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force.
” In a series of tweets late Monday , Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller responded to the shooting by announcing the statue would be removed from its current site .
“ Our hearts go out [ to ] the victim , his family , and witnesses whose lives were needlessly threatened tonight .
This sculpture has now become an urgent matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ In order to contain the public safety risk , the City will be removing the statue until the appropriate civic institutions can determine next steps .
”

A demonstrator at a peaceful protest in Albuquerque demanding the removal of a statue of a controversial Spanish conquistador was shot by a right-wing militia group member on Monday night.
The militia group, whose members appeared at the event carrying semiautomatic rifles and wearing other tactical gear, calls itself the New Mexico Civil Guard. They had come to the protest in order to protect the statue of “La Jornada,” better known as Juan de Oñate, a conquistador who in 1599 had decimated a village of Indigenous people in the territory that became New Mexico.
Only 200 individuals from a village of 2,000 survived the onslaught of Oñate’s forces in what is known as the Acoma Massacre. Indigenous men who survived had one foot amputated and were enslaved for 20 years after the event. Children were captured, and sent off to be raised by missionaries, with many likely becoming enslaved themselves. On the 400th anniversary of that incident, Native activists cut off the right foot of a bronze Oñate statue installed on that occasion in Alcalde, New Mexico.
As protesters engaged in a peaceful demonstration against the statue of Oñate, one took out a pickaxe. Members of the New Mexico Civil Guard responded, and that’s when tensions escalated, according to reporting from The Albuquerque Journal.
A scuffle broke out, and a man in a blue shirt, who appeared to have engaged in violence against protesters earlier, fell to the ground. Demonstrators confronted the man, who then pulled out pepper spray from his pocket. After that, he pulled out a gun, firing five bullets toward those confronting him, hitting a single man. That individual is currently in serious but stable condition, The Washington Post reported.
According to the group’s Facebook page, which appears to have been removed or made private since the event took place, the New Mexico Civil Guard aims to be an organization that provides “rapid local lawful response to emergency and dangerous situations, including Natural disaster, humanitarian crisis, civil disturbances, and civil [defense].” Many of its members are former military and/or law enforcement personnel.
O’Rion Petty, the local group’s captain, claimed last week that members would use non-lethal force against protesters at demonstrations taking place in the city, resorting to violence only when they deemed it necessary.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham criticized the group’s presence at the event, and their use of violence and intimidation against protesters.
“Although we are still learning more about the situation, I am horrified and disgusted beyond words by the reports of violence at a protest Monday night in Albuquerque,” the governor said in a statement. “The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a ‘civil guard,’ were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force.”
In a series of tweets late Monday, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller responded to the shooting by announcing the statue would be removed from its current site.
“Our hearts go out [to] the victim, his family, and witnesses whose lives were needlessly threatened tonight. This sculpture has now become an urgent matter of public safety,” Keller wrote. “In order to contain the public safety risk, the City will be removing the statue until the appropriate civic institutions can determine next steps.”
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--2020-06-16--Black Trans Women Push for Justice and Visibility Amid Police Violence

At least 15,000 people marched through Brooklyn Sunday to protest violence against Black transgender people , particularly women , who face disproportionate levels of violence at the hands of police and on the streets .
The protest came as two more Black trans women were killed last week , in Ohio and Pennsylvania .
They are believed to be at least the 13th and 14th violent deaths of transgender people in the United States this year .
We speak with journalist Imara Jones , creator of TransLash , who says the trans rights movement currently has “ tremendous visibility ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to turn now to the massive march in Brooklyn that took place Sunday .
It brought out at least 15,000 people to the streets to protest violence against Black transgender people , particularly women , who face disproportionate levels of violence at the hands of police and on the streets .
Demonstrators wore white and flooded the front of the Brooklyn Museum and surrounding blocks .
Journalist and activist Raquel Willis addressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protest came as two more Black trans women were killed last week .
In Ohio , 25-year-old Riah Milton was shot and killed last Tuesday during a robbery in Liberty Township , according to local authorities .
Two people have been arrested and charged with her murder .
Milton worked as a home healthcare aide and attended the University of Cincinnati .
One day earlier , Dominique “ Rem ’ mie ” Fells was found dead in Philadelphia .
An investigation is underway .
Friends remember her as a social butterfly .
Fells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to become a fashion designer .
The killings are believed to be at least the 13th and 14th violent deaths of transgender people this year .
The American Medical Association has declared the killings of trans women of color an epidemic .
For more , we ’ re going to Imara Jones , who was there on the stage , creator of TransLash , at the Brooklyn protest .
Can you talk about the significance of what is taking place right now , also the murder of Tony McDade in Tallahassee ?
IMARA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of so many different forces right now that are grinding together and , I think , creating this moment of intensity , that both is leading to this ongoing crisis and deaths of Black trans women and also leading more than 50,000 — I ’ m sorry , 15,000 people out on the streets .
These events are together .
And it was significant , because I personally couldn ’ t remember a gathering for Black trans lives that large .
I would be shocked if it wasn ’ t the largest ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest gathering for trans rights , overall , in American history .
And so , that ’ s significant .
And , you know , we have these two forces that are at work right now , where we have tremendous visibility , tremendous realization of the presence of trans people , the need for trans rights , our power , our contributions both now and throughout history , and at the same time a tremendous backlash , that is very real , that is funded , that is coordinated , that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things are colliding .
And that ’ s the significance of this moment , that we have to hold the reality of both of these things occurring at the same time .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Imara , I wonder if you could talk , as well , about the story of Layleen Polanco , the Afro-Latinx transgender woman who was found dead in a jail cell at Rikers Island last June ?
She was held in solitary confinement .
And a new video shows that guards tried to wake her for approximately 90 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assistance .
IMARA JONES : I mean , there are so many things that are tragic about the death of Layleen Polanco , besides the fact that she was a beautiful human being .
The tragedy in her case is the fact that she was in jail waiting for a $ 500 bail .
The fact is that her death could have been prevented if Rikers , you know , the worst of the worst prisons , the largest jail in the world , had followed its own rules about monitoring people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own rules about calling for medical attention , as you mentioned .
And all of this ties to the fact that she was viewed as less than a human being .
One of the things that is really clear on the tape is that when guards found her and were taking her body out , that they were laughing , making light of the fact that she had died , making light of her appearance .
And that dehumanization is at the core of so much of our mistreatment .
And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have to be equally focused on overturning .
And I think that ’ s why the clip that you played for Aimee Stephens is so powerful in that , that at the end of the day , regardless of how different we may appear to other people or the way they may or may not understand who we are , that at the end of the day our humanity is equal to theirs , and therefore we deserve to have the same access and be availed of the same rights as everybody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to turn to the renowned scholar , activist Angela Davis , speaking on a panel about abolition , hosted by Dream Defenders , Sunday .
ANGELA DAVIS : If we want to develop an intersectional perspective , the trans community is showing us the way .
And we can ’ t only point to — and we need to point to cases such as the murder of Tony McDade , for example .
But we have to go beyond that and recognize that we support the trans community precisely because this community has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is totally accepted as normal .
And I don ’ t think we would be where we are today , encouraging ever larger numbers of people to think within an abolitionist frame , had not the trans community taught us that it is possible to effectively challenge that which is considered the very foundation of our sense of normalcy .
So if it is possible to challenge the gender binary , then we can certainly effectively resist prisons and jails and police .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s Angela Davis .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hour with her last Friday , go to democracynow.org , as she talked about defunding police and abolition and Tulsa and so much more .
But , Imara Jones , if you can talk about the centering of Black trans lives in the Black Lives Matter movement , in this uprising that ’ s going on , not only around the United States , but around the world right now ?
IMARA JONES : Well , I would say that it ’ s not yet centered .
I think that it is beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that what ’ s really powerful about what happened on Saturday is that it was the culmination of a lot of knowledge in our community , the fact that even though Black and Brown trans women started the fight for LGBTQ liberation at Stonewall , that we were pushed out of it and have not benefited from the movement that we helped to start .
And we are saying that that ’ s not going to happen , that we understand from history that when we try to — as Dr. Davis was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prioritize some rights over others , when we try to prioritize certain groups of people over others , historically , we know that all the rights that are gained that way are fragile , that they don ’ t last very long .
And so , the bottom line is that we all go , or nobody goes .
And what we ’ re saying is that we ’ re going .
And it ’ s really important against the context of Black Lives Matter itself , because , of course , Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the three founders are LGBTQ women .
Trans rights are one of the stated goals of Black Lives Matter .
And so , what we ’ re saying is that we have to make sure that these movements learn from history , that we have to make sure that these movements return to their roots , and that we all go , or nobody goes .
And that was such a powerful thing that I saw when I was on the stage — actually , covering it for TransLash , not there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that moment , is that we ’ re not going to be left out .
AMY GOODMAN : Imara Jones , I want to thank you so much for being with us , journalist and founder of TransLash , and Chase Strangio , deputy director for transgender justice with the ACLU ’ s LGBT & HIV Project .
When we come back , as more monuments celebrating the nation ’ s racist history are toppled or removed , we ’ ll speak with Bree Newsome , the woman who five years ago shimmied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grounds in South Carolina and removed the Confederate flag .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ # StayStrong : A Love Song to Freedom Fighters ” by our next guest , Bree Newsome .

At least 15,000 people marched through Brooklyn Sunday to protest violence against Black transgender people, particularly women, who face disproportionate levels of violence at the hands of police and on the streets. The protest came as two more Black trans women were killed last week, in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They are believed to be at least the 13th and 14th violent deaths of transgender people in the United States this year. We speak with journalist Imara Jones, creator of TransLash, who says the trans rights movement currently has “tremendous visibility” but also faces a “tremendous backlash.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to turn now to the massive march in Brooklyn that took place Sunday. It brought out at least 15,000 people to the streets to protest violence against Black transgender people, particularly women, who face disproportionate levels of violence at the hands of police and on the streets. Demonstrators wore white and flooded the front of the Brooklyn Museum and surrounding blocks. Journalist and activist Raquel Willis addressed the crowd.
RAQUEL WILLIS: I believe in my power. CROWD: I believe in my power. Related Story Op-Ed | LGBTQ Rights Beyond Workplace Rights, SCOTUS Ruling Defangs Trump Attack on Trans Health Care It’s clear that the Trump administration has no ground to stand on when it comes to anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Truthout RAQUEL WILLIS: I believe in your power. CROWD: I believe in your power. RAQUEL WILLIS: I believe in our power. CROWD: I believe in our power. RAQUEL WILLIS: I believe in Black trans power. CROWD: I believe in Black trans power.
AMY GOODMAN: The protest came as two more Black trans women were killed last week. In Ohio, 25-year-old Riah Milton was shot and killed last Tuesday during a robbery in Liberty Township, according to local authorities. Two people have been arrested and charged with her murder. Milton worked as a home healthcare aide and attended the University of Cincinnati. One day earlier, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells was found dead in Philadelphia. An investigation is underway. Friends remember her as a social butterfly. Fells was a dancer and artist who hoped to become a fashion designer. The killings are believed to be at least the 13th and 14th violent deaths of transgender people this year. The American Medical Association has declared the killings of trans women of color an epidemic.
For more, we’re going to Imara Jones, who was there on the stage, creator of TransLash, at the Brooklyn protest. Can you talk about the significance of what is taking place right now, also the murder of Tony McDade in Tallahassee?
IMARA JONES: It’s the mash-up of so many different forces right now that are grinding together and, I think, creating this moment of intensity, that both is leading to this ongoing crisis and deaths of Black trans women and also leading more than 50,000 — I’m sorry, 15,000 people out on the streets. These events are together.
And it was significant, because I personally couldn’t remember a gathering for Black trans lives that large. I would be shocked if it wasn’t the largest ever. And it may actually be the largest gathering for trans rights, overall, in American history. And so, that’s significant.
And, you know, we have these two forces that are at work right now, where we have tremendous visibility, tremendous realization of the presence of trans people, the need for trans rights, our power, our contributions both now and throughout history, and at the same time a tremendous backlash, that is very real, that is funded, that is coordinated, that is on the march. And these two things are colliding. And that’s the significance of this moment, that we have to hold the reality of both of these things occurring at the same time.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Imara, I wonder if you could talk, as well, about the story of Layleen Polanco, the Afro-Latinx transgender woman who was found dead in a jail cell at Rikers Island last June? She was held in solitary confinement. And a new video shows that guards tried to wake her for approximately 90 minutes, before they called for medical assistance.
IMARA JONES: I mean, there are so many things that are tragic about the death of Layleen Polanco, besides the fact that she was a beautiful human being. The tragedy in her case is the fact that she was in jail waiting for a $500 bail. The fact is that her death could have been prevented if Rikers, you know, the worst of the worst prisons, the largest jail in the world, had followed its own rules about monitoring people who had epilepsy, if they had followed their own rules about calling for medical attention, as you mentioned.
And all of this ties to the fact that she was viewed as less than a human being. One of the things that is really clear on the tape is that when guards found her and were taking her body out, that they were laughing, making light of the fact that she had died, making light of her appearance. And that dehumanization is at the core of so much of our mistreatment. And that’s one of the things that we have to be equally focused on overturning. And I think that’s why the clip that you played for Aimee Stephens is so powerful in that, that at the end of the day, regardless of how different we may appear to other people or the way they may or may not understand who we are, that at the end of the day our humanity is equal to theirs, and therefore we deserve to have the same access and be availed of the same rights as everybody else.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to the renowned scholar, activist Angela Davis, speaking on a panel about abolition, hosted by Dream Defenders, Sunday.
ANGELA DAVIS: If we want to develop an intersectional perspective, the trans community is showing us the way. And we can’t only point to — and we need to point to cases such as the murder of Tony McDade, for example. But we have to go beyond that and recognize that we support the trans community precisely because this community has taught us how to challenge that which is totally accepted as normal. And I don’t think we would be where we are today, encouraging ever larger numbers of people to think within an abolitionist frame, had not the trans community taught us that it is possible to effectively challenge that which is considered the very foundation of our sense of normalcy. So if it is possible to challenge the gender binary, then we can certainly effectively resist prisons and jails and police.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Angela Davis. If you’d like to see our hour with her last Friday, go to democracynow.org, as she talked about defunding police and abolition and Tulsa and so much more. But, Imara Jones, if you can talk about the centering of Black trans lives in the Black Lives Matter movement, in this uprising that’s going on, not only around the United States, but around the world right now?
IMARA JONES: Well, I would say that it’s not yet centered. I think that it is beginning to be centered. And I think that what’s really powerful about what happened on Saturday is that it was the culmination of a lot of knowledge in our community, the fact that even though Black and Brown trans women started the fight for LGBTQ liberation at Stonewall, that we were pushed out of it and have not benefited from the movement that we helped to start. And we are saying that that’s not going to happen, that we understand from history that when we try to — as Dr. Davis was alluding to, when we try to prioritize some rights over others, when we try to prioritize certain groups of people over others, historically, we know that all the rights that are gained that way are fragile, that they don’t last very long.
And so, the bottom line is that we all go, or nobody goes. And what we’re saying is that we’re going. And it’s really important against the context of Black Lives Matter itself, because, of course, Black Lives Matter was started — two out of the three founders are LGBTQ women. Trans rights are one of the stated goals of Black Lives Matter. And so, what we’re saying is that we have to make sure that these movements learn from history, that we have to make sure that these movements return to their roots, and that we all go, or nobody goes. And that was such a powerful thing that I saw when I was on the stage — actually, covering it for TransLash, not there speaking — and that struck me in that moment, is that we’re not going to be left out.
AMY GOODMAN: Imara Jones, I want to thank you so much for being with us, journalist and founder of TransLash, and Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project.
When we come back, as more monuments celebrating the nation’s racist history are toppled or removed, we’ll speak with Bree Newsome, the woman who five years ago shimmied up a flagpole on the state Capitol grounds in South Carolina and removed the Confederate flag. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “#StayStrong: A Love Song to Freedom Fighters” by our next guest, Bree Newsome.


truthout--2020-06-16--GOP Purges Right-Wing Members From Congress in Favor of More Radical Candidates

Under cover of the coronavirus chaos and amid our national uprising , Republicans have quietly uprooted some of their most controversial right-wing members of Congress — only to replace them with even more radical contenders for federal office , including devotees of the nonsensical QAnon conspiracy theory , ahead of this fall ’ s election .
More than 10 years after the Tea Party movement gave rise to the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus by targeting longtime incumbent Republicans who were deemed insufficiently right-wing , a recent set of wins by insurgent candidates over some of the most radical Republicans in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now passed every off-ramp on the road to extremism .
While the mass Republican retirements ahead of the 2018 midterm elections greatly weakened the GOP , this cycle ’ s purging of incumbents in safe red districts , will likely serve to further radicalize the GOP caucus .
On Saturday , in a novel case of voter suppression , a small group of Republicans in Virginia ’ s 5th district voted to oust Rep. Denver Riggleman , a far-right Freedom Caucus member who voted with President Trump nearly 95 % of the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Democratic wave .
An Air Force veteran who favors the legalization of marijuana , but can hardly be described as a moderate , Riggleman ran afoul of his fellow Republicans when his libertarian leanings led him to officiate a same-sex wedding ceremony for two former campaign volunteers last year .
“ I ’ d have been a coward if I didn ’ t , ” Riggleman told NPR .
“ The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln , we ’ re the party of individual liberty.
” “ The Republican Party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect civil liberties and religious liberties , could be the most inclusive party in the country , ” Riggleman said on the campaign trail .
“ And you know , why aren ’ t we a big-tent party ?
Why aren ’ t we looking at liberties first ?
Why aren ’ t we allowing people to live the way they want to live and stopping the government from reaching into every aspect of our lives ?
” Instead , after losing every statewide race in the past decade and losing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that fighting equal rights for the LGBTQ community was the hill to die on , during Pride month no less .
Due to the coronavirus , and in a process Riggleman claims was engineered to hurt his campaign , roughly 2,500 party activists cast ballots in a drive-through format in a parking lot .
Although the district is larger than New Jersey , Republicans only allowed voting at one location — a church in the winner ’ s home area .
Bob Good , who defeated Riggleman in that primary , is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Jerry Falwell ’ s Liberty University .
Good essentially ran for office because he was upset by Riggleman ’ s involvement in a gay wedding , calling Riggleman “ out of step with the base of the party.
” A born-again evangelical Christian and staunch social conservative , Good wants to end birthright citizenship and opposes abortion for any reason — even if the mother ’ s life is in danger .
Republicans have a six-point registration edge in Virginia ’ s rural 5th district , so in all likelihood Good will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ introduces wild bills that go nowhere .
But there is a slim chance that Good won ’ t even make the general election ballot this fall , as the Washington Post explains : This may just be Republicans shooting themselves in the foot .
The district has been re-gerrymandered to offset declines in rural populations and growth in urban populations in the last two cycles because it ’ s been harder and harder to maintain as a “ safe ” seat for the GOP each cycle .
After Riggleman ’ s loss this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will move the Virginia 5th from “ Likely Republican ” to “ Lean Republican.
” If the GOP had just left this seat alone , it would have taken a lot for a Democrat to unseat Riggleman , even in another wave election .
Good winning this primary means that there ’ s a slightly better chance for this seat to flip than there was before .
It ’ s also conceivable Riggleman runs as a write-in Libertarian candidate , even just to play spoiler since he views the primary process as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ King of Iowa is another right-wing incumbent who has already been booted from office this cycle .
King , who has represented Iowa ’ s 4th district in the northwestern part of the state since 2013 , suffered a nearly double-digit defeat at the hands of state Sen. Randy Feenstra , who outraised King in the first quarter of the year by nearly $ 400,000 .
It was the first defeat of King ’ s career , who has long been outspoken about his radical views .
He warned on Twitter that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and cautioned that Americans can not “ restore our civilization with somebody else ’ s babies.
” After winning re-election by only three points in a deep red district in 2018 , the nine-term Republican congressman was finally removed from three committee assignments by the leaders in his own party after he questioned the offensiveness of the term “ white supremacist ” in an interview with The New York Times .
Feenstra did not attack King for his racism , however , instead touting his A+ rating from the National Rifle Association @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , former Iowa governor Terry Branstad and the National Right to Life Committee .
With King ’ s loss , the chances for a Republican pick-up appear further out of reach .
Republicans also appear poised to send at least one QAnon believer to Congress this fall .
Roughly 50 QAnon supporters are running for Congress this year , according to Media Matters .
In May , Jo Rae Perkins won the Republican Senate primary in Oregon with more 49 % of the vote against three other candidates .
She told the New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Q ” conspiracy theories , that “ as people put together more and more pieces of the puzzle , they can see , yeah , this is real.
” She ’ s been endorsed by Republicans in the state legislature and by the Republican candidate vying for Oregon ’ s 4th congressional district .
“ Q is a patriot , ” said Marjorie Taylor Greene in a YouTube video posted in 2017 , referencing the anonymous seeder of the online theory that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a cabal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Greene beat six Republican candidates running for the seat left vacated by retiring Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia , qualifying for an August runoff against an an opponent she led in the first round by 20 points .
The district is a safe Republican seat , and Greene claims to have the endorsement of Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio , one of the leading House Republicans .
These Republican candidates — who believe in a satanic , pedophile deep state , and want to purge any member who even participates in a same-sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and leadership , as well as the party ’ s voters .
Forget what that says about these particular individuals and their campaigns — what does it say about the Republican Party ?

Under cover of the coronavirus chaos and amid our national uprising, Republicans have quietly uprooted some of their most controversial right-wing members of Congress — only to replace them with even more radical contenders for federal office, including devotees of the nonsensical QAnon conspiracy theory, ahead of this fall’s election.
More than 10 years after the Tea Party movement gave rise to the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus by targeting longtime incumbent Republicans who were deemed insufficiently right-wing, a recent set of wins by insurgent candidates over some of the most radical Republicans in Congress makes clear that the GOP has now passed every off-ramp on the road to extremism. While the mass Republican retirements ahead of the 2018 midterm elections greatly weakened the GOP, this cycle’s purging of incumbents in safe red districts, will likely serve to further radicalize the GOP caucus.
On Saturday, in a novel case of voter suppression, a small group of Republicans in Virginia’s 5th district voted to oust Rep. Denver Riggleman, a far-right Freedom Caucus member who voted with President Trump nearly 95% of the time since winning a competitive 2018 race amid a Democratic wave.
An Air Force veteran who favors the legalization of marijuana, but can hardly be described as a moderate, Riggleman ran afoul of his fellow Republicans when his libertarian leanings led him to officiate a same-sex wedding ceremony for two former campaign volunteers last year.
“I’d have been a coward if I didn’t,” Riggleman told NPR. “The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln, we’re the party of individual liberty.”
“The Republican Party, when you look at the creed to protect civil liberties and religious liberties, could be the most inclusive party in the country,” Riggleman said on the campaign trail. “And you know, why aren’t we a big-tent party? Why aren’t we looking at liberties first? Why aren’t we allowing people to live the way they want to live and stopping the government from reaching into every aspect of our lives?”
Instead, after losing every statewide race in the past decade and losing the entire General Assembly, Virginia Republicans decided that fighting equal rights for the LGBTQ community was the hill to die on, during Pride month no less. Due to the coronavirus, and in a process Riggleman claims was engineered to hurt his campaign, roughly 2,500 party activists cast ballots in a drive-through format in a parking lot. Although the district is larger than New Jersey, Republicans only allowed voting at one location — a church in the winner’s home area.
Bob Good, who defeated Riggleman in that primary, is a fundamentalist zealot and a former athletics director at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. Good essentially ran for office because he was upset by Riggleman’s involvement in a gay wedding, calling Riggleman “out of step with the base of the party.” A born-again evangelical Christian and staunch social conservative, Good wants to end birthright citizenship and opposes abortion for any reason — even if the mother’s life is in danger.
Republicans have a six-point registration edge in Virginia’s rural 5th district, so in all likelihood Good will take office as an extremist backbencher who introduces wild bills that go nowhere. But there is a slim chance that Good won’t even make the general election ballot this fall, as the Washington Post explains:
Good missed the Tuesday deadline for filing a key form related to his candidacy, but he hand-delivered the form to the state elections office on Friday afternoon, election officials said. The board of elections routinely offers extensions in cases like these, and changing election dates due to the coronavirus may have created confusion about the deadline.
This may just be Republicans shooting themselves in the foot. The district has been re-gerrymandered to offset declines in rural populations and growth in urban populations in the last two cycles because it’s been harder and harder to maintain as a “safe” seat for the GOP each cycle. After Riggleman’s loss this weekend, the Cook Political Report announced it will move the Virginia 5th from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.” If the GOP had just left this seat alone, it would have taken a lot for a Democrat to unseat Riggleman, even in another wave election. Good winning this primary means that there’s a slightly better chance for this seat to flip than there was before. It’s also conceivable Riggleman runs as a write-in Libertarian candidate, even just to play spoiler since he views the primary process as so rigged.
The notorious Rep. Steve King of Iowa is another right-wing incumbent who has already been booted from office this cycle. King, who has represented Iowa’s 4th district in the northwestern part of the state since 2013, suffered a nearly double-digit defeat at the hands of state Sen. Randy Feenstra, who outraised King in the first quarter of the year by nearly $400,000.
It was the first defeat of King’s career, who has long been outspoken about his radical views. He warned on Twitter that “cultural suicide by demographic transformation must end” and cautioned that Americans cannot “restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”
After winning re-election by only three points in a deep red district in 2018, the nine-term Republican congressman was finally removed from three committee assignments by the leaders in his own party after he questioned the offensiveness of the term “white supremacist” in an interview with The New York Times.
Feenstra did not attack King for his racism, however, instead touting his A+ rating from the National Rifle Association and endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce, former Iowa governor Terry Branstad and the National Right to Life Committee. With King’s loss, the chances for a Republican pick-up appear further out of reach.
Republicans also appear poised to send at least one QAnon believer to Congress this fall. Roughly 50 QAnon supporters are running for Congress this year, according to Media Matters.
In May, Jo Rae Perkins won the Republican Senate primary in Oregon with more 49% of the vote against three other candidates. She told the New York Times, referring to the “Q” conspiracy theories, that “as people put together more and more pieces of the puzzle, they can see, yeah, this is real.” She’s been endorsed by Republicans in the state legislature and by the Republican candidate vying for Oregon’s 4th congressional district.
“Q is a patriot,” said Marjorie Taylor Greene in a YouTube video posted in 2017, referencing the anonymous seeder of the online theory that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a cabal of pedophile political elites.
On Tuesday, Greene beat six Republican candidates running for the seat left vacated by retiring Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia, qualifying for an August runoff against an an opponent she led in the first round by 20 points. The district is a safe Republican seat, and Greene claims to have the endorsement of Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the leading House Republicans.
These Republican candidates — who believe in a satanic, pedophile deep state, and want to purge any member who even participates in a same-sex wedding — are supported by Republican officials and leadership, as well as the party’s voters. Forget what that says about these particular individuals and their campaigns — what does it say about the Republican Party?
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--2020-06-16--Barbara Lee Unveils Plan to Cut Up to $350 Billion From Pentagon

Demanding that Congress “ prioritize our safety and our future , not more war , ” Rep. Barbara Lee on Monday unveiled a resolution proposing up to $ 350 billion in cuts to the Pentagon budget by closing U.S. military bases overseas , ending ongoing conflicts , scrapping weapons programs , and eliminating President Donald Trump ’ s Space Force .
“ Redundant nuclear weapons , off-books spending accounts , and endless wars in the Middle East don ’ t keep us safe , ” the California Democrat said in a statement .
“ Especially at a time when families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bills — including more than 16,000 military families on food stamps — we need to take a hard look at every dollar and reinvest in people .
It ’ s time to cut weapons of war and prioritize the well-being of our troops , anti-poverty programs , public health initiatives , and diplomacy.
” Lee ’ s resolution ( pdf ) comes as the House of Representatives is scheduled to begin marking up the National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA ) for fiscal year 2021 next week .
The Senate version of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in military spending , a budget Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) has proposed cutting by 10 % .
“ We can not continue to prioritize funding for a department known for its waste , fraud , abuse , and failure to pass an audit , ” said Lee , “ especially when the money to ‘ protect national security ’ is failing to protect our most vulnerable citizens.
” • $ 90 billion by shuttering 60 % of U.S. military bases overseas ; • $ 66 billion by ending funding for ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by freezing operations and maintenance budgets ; and • $ 23 billion by cutting U.S. presence in Afghanistan in half .
“ Congress supports moves to reduce the priority given to war in our foreign policy and our current war-based national economy by using significant cuts , up to $ 350,000,000,000 as detailed above , from current budget plans , while using the funds to increase our diplomatic capacity and for domestic programs that will keep our Nation and our people safer , ” the resolution reads .
Lee ’ s office noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s budget for fiscal year 2020 — $ 738 billion — was the “ largest on record ” and came “ at the expense of healthcare , education , infrastructure spending , and public health research.
” “ For years , our government has failed to invest in programs that actually keep our country safe and healthy , ” said Lee .
“ By over-prioritizing the Pentagon and military solutions , our country is drastically underprepared for any crisis that needs a non-military solution .
”

Demanding that Congress “prioritize our safety and our future, not more war,” Rep. Barbara Lee on Monday unveiled a resolution proposing up to $350 billion in cuts to the Pentagon budget by closing U.S. military bases overseas, ending ongoing conflicts, scrapping weapons programs, and eliminating President Donald Trump’s Space Force.
“Redundant nuclear weapons, off-books spending accounts, and endless wars in the Middle East don’t keep us safe,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “Especially at a time when families across the country are struggling to pay the bills — including more than 16,000 military families on food stamps — we need to take a hard look at every dollar and reinvest in people. It’s time to cut weapons of war and prioritize the well-being of our troops, anti-poverty programs, public health initiatives, and diplomacy.”
Lee’s resolution (pdf) comes as the House of Representatives is scheduled to begin marking up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 next week. The Senate version of the NDAA calls for $740.5 billion in military spending, a budget Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has proposed cutting by 10%.
“We cannot continue to prioritize funding for a department known for its waste, fraud, abuse, and failure to pass an audit,” said Lee, “especially when the money to ‘protect national security’ is failing to protect our most vulnerable citizens.”
The California Democrat’s measure proposes saving:
$68 billion by eliminating the Overseas Contingency Operations account;
$90 billion by shuttering 60% of U.S. military bases overseas;
$66 billion by ending funding for ongoing U.S. wars;
$57.9 billion by eliminating “obsolete, excessive, and dangerous” weapons;
$38 billion by cutting military overhead by 15%;
$26 billion by slashing private service contracting by 15%;
$2.6 billion by dashing Trump’s Space Force proposal;
$18 billion by “ending use-it-or-lose-it contract spending”;
$6 billion by freezing operations and maintenance budgets; and
$23 billion by cutting U.S. presence in Afghanistan in half.
“Congress supports moves to reduce the priority given to war in our foreign policy and our current war-based national economy by using significant cuts, up to $350,000,000,000 as detailed above, from current budget plans, while using the funds to increase our diplomatic capacity and for domestic programs that will keep our Nation and our people safer,” the resolution reads.
Lee’s office noted in a press release that the Pentagon’s budget for fiscal year 2020 — $738 billion — was the “largest on record” and came “at the expense of healthcare, education, infrastructure spending, and public health research.”
“For years, our government has failed to invest in programs that actually keep our country safe and healthy,” said Lee. “By over-prioritizing the Pentagon and military solutions, our country is drastically underprepared for any crisis that needs a non-military solution.”
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--2020-06-16--We Are Witnessing an Uprising Against a World Built on Anti-Blackness

How we understand the current uprising in the wake of multiple police killings is critical .
It is not only a protest .
If we are fortunate , it stays an uprising — against a whole system built on anti-Blackness .
This is not about a few “ bad apples , ” but an entire institution that has a monopoly on the definition of “ justice.
” It is about people ’ s psychic , emotional and economic investments in a heavily resourced system that functions to protect white supremacy through anti-Black violence .
It is about George Floyd , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grant , Sandra Bland , Rekia Boyd and so many others , as well as the hundreds of years ’ worth of violence against Black communities .
As such , and as the world is witnessing — because of the gravity and depth — every strategy to disturb , let alone upend this world , will be taken .
But in recent days , I have received too many messages and phone calls that essentially ask , “ I know you ’ re against police violence , but are you in support of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and depending upon my mood , I will talk about how the United States is built upon the looting of land , resources and human life from Indigenous peoples .
I will emphasize that this nation is made possible through the theft of Black humans , life , labor , cultures and families — through the legacy of chattel slavery , the prison-industrial complex , the child welfare system , the medical-industrial complex , the educational system , and the culture vultures who love all things Black but have been extremely quiet during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I simply say , “ Black lives over property every day.
” Sometimes , people ask why the uprising is happening .
I am forced to recall that the U.S. educational system has done an incredible job in inducing historical amnesia and reproducing multicultural white nationalism while policing Black youth and Black culture .
As a former educator , I don ’ t remember teaching about the depth , breadth , gravity and ongoing implications of the transatlantic slave trade , the genocide of Native Americans , nor the U.S. occupation and colonial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Hawaii , Samoa , Laos , Cambodia and elsewhere .
I am reminded that this schooling system does not teach about the legacy of anti-Black violence , including the 1951 “ We Charge Genocide : The Crime of Government Against the Negro People ” petition , which was submitted to the United Nations .
This petition documented 152 killings and 344 other acts of violence against Black communities in the U.S. between 1945–1951 .
We have barely learned about the important work of the Chicago-based We Charge Genocide campaign that continued in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation learned about the history of the Chicago Police Department with torture and the brilliant organizing to win reparations for the more than 100 victims , most of whom are Black men .
Instead , I am aware of the ongoing history lessons and political science courses that drill down the importance of the Constitution and of the history of the U.S. ’ s purported greatness .
I am also reminded that schools do not only help craft a white nationalist narrative and identities , but the policies and practices have historically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are we taught that anti-Black violence is enacted by and makes white supremacy possible .
We know this through the transatlantic slave trade , red-lining and racial covenants , the Tulsa massacre , policing and incarceration , educational and health disparities , and more .
These forms of violence are committed by individuals and institutions in order to delineate and protect the supremacy of whiteness and its borders .
Unfortunately , communities that consciously or unconsciously subscribe to the nation ’ s values and systems that are built upon anti-Blackness are implicated in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upend it .
When people ask why this uprising is happening , I am also forced to painfully recall a willful ignorance that is made possible through privilege and safety .
For way too long , people — particularly non-Black communities — have benefited from anti-Blackness ( and albeit differently , anti-Indigeneity ) .
There is a ( real or imagined ) privilege in being able to believe in , let alone to realistically rely on , the police .
There is an Amy Cooper , who so easily called on the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tears , in every workplace and predominantly white neighborhood .
She readily weaponizes her white womanhood to incriminate and punish Black communities .
This violent form of comfort and reliance upon criminalization makes police violence possible .
There is also a relative ease in the ways that so many non-Black communities love and wear Black culture , but are either silent or only perform solidarity in the war against Black death .
The ways that their forms of support do not help to create substantial systemic change instead fulfills their own guilts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of creating change or centering Black rage or leadership , corporations and institutions clamor to declare solidarity as a trend .
Instead of redistributing funds , helping to house gentrified and displaced communities , helping to advance campaigns to defund and abolish police , or deeply invest in community-based economies , they capitalize off of grief with empty letters of support and new marketing strategies .
This uprising demands for everyone to actively divest from all forms of policing , to redistribute resources and help create conditions for communities to thrive .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happening , they fail to realize that this was all a work in progress .
Organizers and educators have long worked to prepare us for this moment .
This work is in response to a system and world ready to implode because too many have been invested and profited from Black deaths .
There are civilians , non-police officers , who have also committed anti-Black violence in their neighborhoods or schools ; populations of people who appropriate Blackness but scoff at movements to acknowledge Black suffering , let alone share their resources .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ destruction of businesses , but do not work to systematically welcome Black communities into their own .
None of this means that people have to experience violence , but it does mean that lives are built upon anti-Blackness , and people should not have the luxury of deciding when or where they will participate in working to end that violence .
Anti-Black violence isn ’ t only about police violence .
It is systemic .
It takes place through other state institutions and is interpersonal .
These layers of violence and the silence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an uprising against “ business as usual ” — figuratively and literally .
When people argue that the uprisings have negatively impacted businesses and corporations , we have to know that many of these businesses have been historically and contemporarily built upon so much bloodshed .
More than 100,000 people have died — many of them Black , Latinx , Indigenous and other communities of color — from COVID-19 .
Meanwhile , Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ’ s fortune grows by $ 24 billion as his company ’ s workers and other essential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus .
All of this incites justifiable rage .
When someone says that the shutting down of businesses will cause people to lose their jobs , one can not help but say , the job that makes $ 15 an hour or less , while corporate executives make hundreds of thousands more ?
People are long exhausted of a system that does not fail them but systematically robs them of health , their lives , their labor and too much more .
The U.S. has benefited those who are financially resourced and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working to debilitate others , particularly Black communities .
While there is ongoing resistance and defiance , this moment is when we are able to witness , support and participate in a collective uprising .
Because when people ask what this is about , it is not only about the violence of the police — the entity that needs to be defunded so that resources can be redirected toward historically neglected communities , including Black , Indigenous , low-income communities of color — it is about an entire nation that was built upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looting of Black ( and Indigenous ) communities .
This can not be a time in which people are interested in saving themselves , especially not when we are in the middle of a global pandemic that is decimating entire populations .
This is not the time to try to save this violent nation or anything that it once was .
It is a time to create an entirely different world because Black lives depend upon it .
There can be no going back .

How we understand the current uprising in the wake of multiple police killings is critical. It is not only a protest. If we are fortunate, it stays an uprising — against a whole system built on anti-Blackness. This is not about a few “bad apples,” but an entire institution that has a monopoly on the definition of “justice.” It is about people’s psychic, emotional and economic investments in a heavily resourced system that functions to protect white supremacy through anti-Black violence. It is about George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Oscar Grant, Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd and so many others, as well as the hundreds of years’ worth of violence against Black communities. As such, and as the world is witnessing — because of the gravity and depth — every strategy to disturb, let alone upend this world, will be taken.
But in recent days, I have received too many messages and phone calls that essentially ask, “I know you’re against police violence, but are you in support of looting?” Before a long pause and depending upon my mood, I will talk about how the United States is built upon the looting of land, resources and human life from Indigenous peoples. I will emphasize that this nation is made possible through the theft of Black humans, life, labor, cultures and families — through the legacy of chattel slavery, the prison-industrial complex, the child welfare system, the medical-industrial complex, the educational system, and the culture vultures who love all things Black but have been extremely quiet during this time. On other days, I simply say, “Black lives over property every day.”
Sometimes, people ask why the uprising is happening. I am forced to recall that the U.S. educational system has done an incredible job in inducing historical amnesia and reproducing multicultural white nationalism while policing Black youth and Black culture. As a former educator, I don’t remember teaching about the depth, breadth, gravity and ongoing implications of the transatlantic slave trade, the genocide of Native Americans, nor the U.S. occupation and colonial wars in Vietnam, Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, Samoa, Laos, Cambodia and elsewhere. I am reminded that this schooling system does not teach about the legacy of anti-Black violence, including the 1951 “We Charge Genocide: The Crime of Government Against the Negro People” petition, which was submitted to the United Nations. This petition documented 152 killings and 344 other acts of violence against Black communities in the U.S. between 1945–1951. We have barely learned about the important work of the Chicago-based We Charge Genocide campaign that continued in the legacy of resistance. Nor has the nation learned about the history of the Chicago Police Department with torture and the brilliant organizing to win reparations for the more than 100 victims, most of whom are Black men. Instead, I am aware of the ongoing history lessons and political science courses that drill down the importance of the Constitution and of the history of the U.S.’s purported greatness. I am also reminded that schools do not only help craft a white nationalist narrative and identities, but the policies and practices have historically and foundationally been anti-Black.
Very rarely are we taught that anti-Black violence is enacted by and makes white supremacy possible. We know this through the transatlantic slave trade, red-lining and racial covenants, the Tulsa massacre, policing and incarceration, educational and health disparities, and more. These forms of violence are committed by individuals and institutions in order to delineate and protect the supremacy of whiteness and its borders. Unfortunately, communities that consciously or unconsciously subscribe to the nation’s values and systems that are built upon anti-Blackness are implicated in the violence until we all work to upend it.
When people ask why this uprising is happening, I am also forced to painfully recall a willful ignorance that is made possible through privilege and safety. For way too long, people — particularly non-Black communities — have benefited from anti-Blackness (and albeit differently, anti-Indigeneity).
There is a (real or imagined) privilege in being able to believe in, let alone to realistically rely on, the police. There is an Amy Cooper, who so easily called on the police to attend to her manufactured white fear and tears, in every workplace and predominantly white neighborhood. She readily weaponizes her white womanhood to incriminate and punish Black communities. This violent form of comfort and reliance upon criminalization makes police violence possible.
Schools not only help craft a white nationalist narrative and identities, but the policies and practices have historically and foundationally been anti-Black.
There is also a relative ease in the ways that so many non-Black communities love and wear Black culture, but are either silent or only perform solidarity in the war against Black death. The ways that their forms of support do not help to create substantial systemic change instead fulfills their own guilts or comforts their own sadness. Instead of creating change or centering Black rage or leadership, corporations and institutions clamor to declare solidarity as a trend. Instead of redistributing funds, helping to house gentrified and displaced communities, helping to advance campaigns to defund and abolish police, or deeply invest in community-based economies, they capitalize off of grief with empty letters of support and new marketing strategies. This uprising demands for everyone to actively divest from all forms of policing, to redistribute resources and help create conditions for communities to thrive.
When people ask about why the uprising is happening, they fail to realize that this was all a work in progress. Organizers and educators have long worked to prepare us for this moment. This work is in response to a system and world ready to implode because too many have been invested and profited from Black deaths. There are civilians, non-police officers, who have also committed anti-Black violence in their neighborhoods or schools; populations of people who appropriate Blackness but scoff at movements to acknowledge Black suffering, let alone share their resources. There are many who rail against the destruction of businesses, but do not work to systematically welcome Black communities into their own. None of this means that people have to experience violence, but it does mean that lives are built upon anti-Blackness, and people should not have the luxury of deciding when or where they will participate in working to end that violence.
Anti-Black violence isn’t only about police violence. It is systemic. It takes place through other state institutions and is interpersonal. These layers of violence and the silence or disregard for their impacts beg for an uprising against “business as usual” — figuratively and literally.
Instead of creating change or centering Black rage or leadership, corporations and institutions clamor to declare solidarity as a trend.
When people argue that the uprisings have negatively impacted businesses and corporations, we have to know that many of these businesses have been historically and contemporarily built upon so much bloodshed.
More than 100,000 people have died — many of them Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other communities of color — from COVID-19. Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s fortune grows by $24 billion as his company’s workers and other essential workers continue to be dangerously exposed to the virus.
All of this incites justifiable rage. When someone says that the shutting down of businesses will cause people to lose their jobs, one cannot help but say, the job that makes $15 an hour or less, while corporate executives make hundreds of thousands more?
People are long exhausted of a system that does not fail them but systematically robs them of health, their lives, their labor and too much more. The U.S. has benefited those who are financially resourced and those with racial capital — while systematically working to debilitate others, particularly Black communities. While there is ongoing resistance and defiance, this moment is when we are able to witness, support and participate in a collective uprising.
Because when people ask what this is about, it is not only about the violence of the police — the entity that needs to be defunded so that resources can be redirected toward historically neglected communities, including Black, Indigenous, low-income communities of color — it is about an entire nation that was built upon and continues to build upon the ongoing looting of Black (and Indigenous) communities. This cannot be a time in which people are interested in saving themselves, especially not when we are in the middle of a global pandemic that is decimating entire populations. This is not the time to try to save this violent nation or anything that it once was. It is a time to create an entirely different world because Black lives depend upon it. There can be no going back.
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.
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truthout--2020-06-16--Henry Giroux: Black Lives Matter Rebellions Are Pushing for Structural Change

In this interview , Henry A. Giroux argues that the current rebellions taking place across the globe offer new hope for both educating people about the interrelated registers of racism , militarism , neoliberalism and scandalous inequality .
This is a diverse political rebellion inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement that is arguing not simply against police violence , but for real structural change that begins with defunding the police to changing the totalizing infrastructures of power and injustice that have been used against people of color since the time of slavery .
The interview explores what is distinctive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might take for them to become organized as mass , international political movements against what they recognize , especially in the United States , as a fascist government .
Giroux also talks about the need for rethinking the meaning of politics and the need for a radical vision that denounces capitalism , while offering insights about what a democratic socialist society would look like in the future .
He stresses the need for a new narrative that is comprehensive in its political understanding and brings together the different threads of protests under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democracy .
Central to such a task , is reclaiming the notion of civic literacy , critical education , and the ability to speak with and to people in a language in which they can recognize themselves in order to rethink the problems in which they find themselves .
At issue is the ability to move away from the depoliticizing neoliberal pedagogical practice of collapsing the public into the private , normalizing the notion that all problems are a matter solely of personal responsibility , and erasing larger systemic and institutional considerations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ make education central to politics as part of a broader struggle over language , identity , values and agency .
Central to such a task is the challenge to speak , write , organize and produce in a language , medium and narrative that connects matters of politics and power and everyday troubles in ways that make them meaningful in order to make them critical and transformative .
Finally , he talks about a growing international movement among youth that raises new hopes for rethinking what kind of future they might want and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make it happen .
He stresses the need to make power visible , engage in an anti-fascist struggle and develop political formations outside of the traditional political parties .

Part of the Series The Public Intellectual
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
In this interview, Henry A. Giroux argues that the current rebellions taking place across the globe offer new hope for both educating people about the interrelated registers of racism, militarism, neoliberalism and scandalous inequality. This is a diverse political rebellion inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement that is arguing not simply against police violence, but for real structural change that begins with defunding the police to changing the totalizing infrastructures of power and injustice that have been used against people of color since the time of slavery.
The interview explores what is distinctive about the current rebellions and what it might take for them to become organized as mass, international political movements against what they recognize, especially in the United States, as a fascist government. Giroux also talks about the need for rethinking the meaning of politics and the need for a radical vision that denounces capitalism, while offering insights about what a democratic socialist society would look like in the future. He stresses the need for a new narrative that is comprehensive in its political understanding and brings together the different threads of protests under the banner of the struggle for a radical democracy. Central to such a task, is reclaiming the notion of civic literacy, critical education, and the ability to speak with and to people in a language in which they can recognize themselves in order to rethink the problems in which they find themselves. At issue is the ability to move away from the depoliticizing neoliberal pedagogical practice of collapsing the public into the private, normalizing the notion that all problems are a matter solely of personal responsibility, and erasing larger systemic and institutional considerations.
Giroux raises the question of how we make education central to politics as part of a broader struggle over language, identity, values and agency. Central to such a task is the challenge to speak, write, organize and produce in a language, medium and narrative that connects matters of politics and power and everyday troubles in ways that make them meaningful in order to make them critical and transformative. Finally, he talks about a growing international movement among youth that raises new hopes for rethinking what kind of future they might want and what it will take for them to make it happen. He stresses the need to make power visible, engage in an anti-fascist struggle and develop political formations outside of the traditional political parties.
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.