thenation--2020-07-03--A Russian Bounty Is Bad. What’s Shocking and Outrageous Is the War.

For coalition forces in Afghanistan , it ’ s always been hard to tell who ’ s trying to kill them .
In two decades of war , the US military and its allies have battled Al Qaeda , the Taliban , the Haqqani Network , Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin , Lashkar-e-Taiba , and the Islamic State , to name a few groups .
Tribal warlords , sometimes friend and sometimes foe , control small armies .
Some former militant leaders have ascended to powerful positions in the Afghan government , leaving coalition intelligence puzzling at those leaders ’ enduring ties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to insurgents , especially from Iran and Pakistan , is commonplace ; reports that Russia may be arming the Taliban came not last week but in early 2018 .
What learned last week is that Russian operatives might also have paid militants bounties for killing US and coalition troops in 2019 , according to a report by The New York Times that was quickly confirmed by the Associated Press and others .
Reporting initially indicated that Donald Trump was told in the spring and did nothing , while also lobbying for Russia to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pursuant outrage has played out as if by script .
News organizations have scrambled to determine what the president knew and when he knew it .
Righteous op-eds were written .
And on television , commentators said it was a “ new low ” for the president , words that are getting awfully old .
Former vice president Joe Biden , Trump ’ s presumptive opponent this fall , added his bit : “ Donald Trump ’ s entire presidency has been a gift to Putin , but this is beyond the pale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s a betrayal of the most sacred duty we bear as a nation , to protect and equip our troops when we send them into harm ’ s way.
” I deployed twice to Afghanistan , in 2013 and 2014 , as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer assigned to special operations units .
I am not a combat veteran and , like most Americans , I can not imagine the anger these developments may trigger for those who are , much less for Gold Star families who lost loved ones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come forward in recent days .
Those groups aside , I ’ m not really buying the outrage .
America ’ s New Uighur Law Is a World First .
What Took So Long ?
Military Leaders Have an Extraordinary Choice to Make as the Nation Protests How the Covid-19 Lockdown Is Reshaping Uighur Activism It ’ s not that , if the reports are true , the bounties aren ’ t bad .
They are , and if Trump knew about them and failed to act it would constitute a clear dereliction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But in view of everything else that is awful and tragic about the Afghan war—which some term a “ forgotten war ” because it has continued while remaining almost absent from the national discourse—the bounties strike me as minor .
It ’ s left me wondering : As we fume , is it because we care about “ our troops ” and the fate of a far-too-long war effort ?
Or is it because , on some level , suddenly , the fact of the troops being in harm ’ s way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American service members died as a result of the Afghan war in 2019 .
Fourteen in 2018 .
Fifteen in 2017 .
And in all the years before that , 2,385 , per Department of Defense figures .
Add to that the deaths of thousands of contractors ( who often outnumber uniformed military in Afghanistan but whose deaths are not included in official estimates ) and hundreds of coalition troops .
The coalition has bumbled from one farcical , ill-fated strategy to the next , failing to gain the trust of the Afghan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on U.S. forces by their Afghan counterparts—so called “ Green on Blue ” attacks—have become a leading cause of death for coalition forces .
This February alone , an Afghan sergeant killed two Americans with a rifle issued to him by the U.S. All war is marked by senseless death .
But in a war that is also marked by poor strategy , willfully repeated for years on end , the losses become indefensible .
For the Afghan public , meanwhile , the war has proved a generational catastrophe , with 43,000 civilians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and accelerated rates of ill health and poverty , according to Brown University ’ s Cost of War Project .
Last year saw the deadliest three-month period in the country in more than a decade .
In December 2019 , The Washington Post published reports based on thousands of pages of previously confidential documents , termed “ the Afghanistan Papers , ” that said in so many words that America ’ s leaders had long believed the war in Afghanistan to be unwinnable and willingly misled the public .
In the words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the papers : “ We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan … We didn ’ t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.
” What ’ s more , the papers showed , waste and fraud were rampant .
One U.S. government review of contracts issued from 2010 to 2012 , which totaled more than $ 100 billion , found that roughly 40 percent of funds wound up in the hands of insurgents , criminal syndicates , or corrupt Afghan officials .
In other words , to the tune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks on itself , routinely .
A Russian bounty seems decidedly less outrageous .
Here ’ s the thing about the Afghanistan Papers , though : To the veterans I know , they weren ’ t news .
For the few days that the Post ’ s reporting made headlines and prompted discussions on nightly news programs , it felt like watching the American public ( or the media , at least ) wake up to something as self-evident as the air we breathe .
Indeed , veterans interviewed by the Post in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We felt that there was no plan , there was no strategy and there was no will to change anything about that , ” one soldier told the Post .
“ It ’ s strangely comforting , ” another said of the papers .
“ I ’ m glad that we were right.
” Trump Is Trying to Remake the Military in His Own Ugly Image National security watchers were similarly nonplussed .
The Afghanistan Papers offered “ vivid details and sometimes shocking assessments , but few surprising insights , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s folly had after all served as inspiration for scores of articles , books , and movies , all while the American public continued to celebrate its veterans at football half-time shows , season in and season out .
That is all to say that it is not only Trump who has grievously failed the troops .
It is America , all of us , for a long time .
Said differently : What puts our troops unduly in harm ’ s way is first and foremost the complacency of a nation that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this point .
Now , with Afghanistan once again in the news , many veterans are once again unfazed .
“ I ’ m not really surprised by Russian ‘ bounties , ’ ” Paul Szoldra , an Afghanistan veteran and editor in chief of the military news site Task & Purpose , wrote on Twitter .
“ We often assumed that the IED in the road was placed by someone who did it because they were a zealot , paid , or coerced.
” Elsewhere , I saw a veteran share a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time ?
” meme downplaying the news .
( “ U.S .
military finds out they have bounties on their heads , ” it reads , over an image of Franco smirking .
“ [ Explosive Ordnance Disposal ] techs : ‘ First time ?
’ ” ) But alas the discourse around the bounties doesn ’ t seem to be about Afghanistan or the systemic failures of America ’ s war effort at all .
For all the tweets and viral videos claiming concern for “ our troops , ” this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for critics to call him unfit for office , as if more evidence of this could possibly be needed , and another opportunity for the president ’ s Republican allies to deflect and dissemble on his behalf .
A rhetorical question : If this involved another country and not Russia , would we be near as upset ?
If we do care about service members in the way we profess to , we might use this moment not just to get another one over on Trump but to begin , finally , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of force abroad .
Across the last three administrations , the troops have been in harm ’ s way in Afghanistan , often needlessly because of our indifference and ineptitude .
How did this happen , and how can we ensure it doesn ’ t again ?
We might also take this opportunity to notice that the Trump administration is negotiating with the Taliban for a swift and uncareful exit from Afghanistan , perceptibly in hopes of benefitting his reelection campaign .
( Whether you believe America should have left Afghanistan many years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America ’ s first foray into the country in the 1980s teaches that how we leave matters . )
But having watched Afghanistan blip into public consciousness many times over the years , I ’ m not holding my breath .
Experience shows that a lot of Americans will keep the yellow-ribbon car magnets , but when the Trump outrage cycle moves on to another fixation so will they .
Afghanistan will then do what it has done well for 19 years : fade from attention .

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For coalition forces in Afghanistan, it’s always been hard to tell who’s shooting at them. In two decades of war, the US military and its allies have battled Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Islamic State, to name a few groups. Tribal warlords, sometimes friend and sometimes foe, control small armies. Some former militant leaders have ascended to powerful positions in the Afghan government, leaving coalition intelligence puzzling at those leaders’ enduring ties to combatants. Foreign interference and aid to insurgents, especially from Iran and Pakistan, is commonplace; reports that Russia may be arming the Taliban came not last week but in early 2018.
What we learned last week is that Russian operatives might also have paid militants bounties for killing US and coalition troops in 2019, according to a report by The New York Times that was quickly confirmed by the Associated Press and others. Reporting initially indicated that Donald Trump was told in the spring and did nothing, while he also lobbied for Russia to be readmitted to the G7.
The pursuant outrage has played out as if by script. News organizations have scrambled to determine what the president knew and when he knew it. Righteous op-eds were written. And on television, commentators said it was a “new low” for the president, words that are getting awfully old. Former vice president Joe Biden, Trump’s presumptive opponent this fall, added his bit, writing on Twitter: “Donald Trump’s entire presidency has been a gift to Putin, but this is beyond the pale. It’s a betrayal of the most sacred duty we bear as a nation, to protect and equip our troops when we send them into harm’s way.”
I was deployed twice to Afghanistan, in 2013 and 2014, as a US Navy intelligence officer assigned to special operations units. I am not a combat veteran and, like most Americans, I cannot imagine the anger these developments may trigger for those who are, much less for Gold Star families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan, some of whom have come forward in recent days. Those groups aside, I’m not really buying the outrage. More From Andrew McCormick Nations Are Nowhere on Their Climate Commitments, and Too Few Journalists Are Holding Them Accountable May 19, 2022 You Can’t Isolate the Food Crisis From the Climate Crisis April 1, 2022 Climate Looms Large Over Biden’s First State of the Union. Will the Coverage Say So? March 1, 2022
It’s not, if the reports are true, that the bounties aren’t bad. They are, and if Trump knew about them and failed to act, it would constitute a clear dereliction of his role as commander in chief. But in view of everything else that is awful and tragic about the Afghan war—which some term a “forgotten war” because it has continued while remaining almost absent from the national discourse—the bounties strike me as minor. It’s left me wondering: As we fume, is it because we care about “our troops” and the fate of a far-too-long war effort? Or is it because, on some level, suddenly, the fact of the troops being in harm’s way makes Donald Trump look bad? Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
Twenty-four American service members died as a result of the Afghan war in 2019. Fourteen in 2018. Fifteen in 2017. And in all the years before that, 2,385, per Department of Defense figures. Add to that the deaths of thousands of contractors (who often outnumber uniformed military in Afghanistan but whose deaths are not included in official estimates) and hundreds of coalition troops.
The coalition has bumbled from one farcical, ill-fated strategy to the next, failing to gain the trust of the Afghan military it created and trained. Attacks on US forces by their Afghan counterparts—so called “Green on Blue” attacks—have become a leading cause of death for coalition forces. This February alone, an Afghan sergeant killed two Americans with a rifle issued to him by the United States. Current Issue View our current issue
All war is marked by senseless death. But in a war that is also marked by poor strategy, willfully repeated for years on end, the losses become indefensible.
For the Afghan public, meanwhile, the war has proved a generational catastrophe, with 43,000 civilians dead, tens of thousands more wounded, and accelerated rates of ill health and poverty, according to Brown University’s Cost of War Project. Last year saw the deadliest three-month period in the country in more than a decade.
In December 2019, The Washington Post published reports based on thousands of pages of previously confidential documents, termed “the Afghanistan Papers,” that said in so many words that America’s leaders had long believed the war in Afghanistan to be unwinnable and willingly misled the public. In the words of one three-star Army general quoted in the papers: “We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan.… We didn’t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.”
What’s more, the papers showed, waste and fraud were rampant. One US government review of contracts issued from 2010 to 2012, which totaled more than $100 billion, found that roughly 40 percent of funds wound up in the hands of insurgents, criminal syndicates, or corrupt Afghan officials. In other words, to the tune of billions of dollars, America was funding attacks on itself, routinely. A Russian bounty seems decidedly less outrageous.
Here’s the thing about the Afghanistan Papers, though: To the veterans I know, they weren’t news. For the few days that the Post’s reporting made headlines and prompted discussions on nightly news programs, it felt like watching the American public (or the media, at least) wake up to something as self-evident as the air we breathe. Indeed, veterans interviewed by the Post in reaction to the revelations expressed as much. “We felt that there was no plan, there was no strategy and there was no will to change anything about that,” one soldier told the Post. “It’s strangely comforting,” another said of the papers. “I’m glad that we were right.” Trump and the Military Trump Is Trying to Remake the Military in His Own Ugly Image Jeet Heer
National security watchers were similarly unimpressed. The Afghanistan Papers offered “vivid details and sometimes shocking assessments, but few surprising insights,” said The Atlantic. The war’s folly had after all served as inspiration for scores of articles, books, and movies, all while the American public continued to celebrate its veterans at football halftime shows, season in and season out.
That is all to say that it is not only Trump who has grievously failed the troops. It is America, all of us, for a long time. Said differently: What puts our troops unduly in harm’s way is first and foremost the complacency of a nation that has allowed the war to continue to this point.
Now, with Afghanistan once again in the news, many veterans are once again unfazed. “I’m not really surprised by Russian ‘bounties,’” Paul Szoldra, an Afghanistan veteran and editor in chief of the military news site Task & Purpose, wrote on Twitter. “We often assumed that the IED in the road was placed by someone who did it because they were a zealot, paid, or coerced.” Elsewhere, I saw a veteran share a version of the James Franco “First time?” meme downplaying the news. (“U.S. military finds out they have bounties on their heads,” it reads, over an image of Franco smirking. “[Explosive Ordnance Disposal] techs: ‘First time?’”)
But, alas, the discourse around the bounties doesn’t seem to be about Afghanistan or the systemic failures of America’s war effort at all. For all the tweets and viral videos claiming concern for “our troops,” this is unfolding essentially as yet another Trump scandal—fodder for critics to call him unfit for office, as if more evidence of this could possibly be needed, and another opportunity for the president’s Republican allies to deflect and dissemble on his behalf. A rhetorical question: If this involved another country and not Russia, would we be nearly as upset?
If we do care about service members in the way we profess to, we might use this moment not just to get another one over on Trump but to begin, finally, a hard conversation about America’s use of force abroad. Across the last three administrations, the troops have been in harm’s way in Afghanistan, often needlessly because of our indifference and ineptitude. How did this happen, and how can we ensure it doesn’t again? We might also take this opportunity to notice that the Trump administration is negotiating with the Taliban for a swift and uncareful exit from Afghanistan, perceptibly in hopes of benefiting the president’s reelection campaign. (Whether you believe America should have left Afghanistan many years ago or not, the history of America’s first foray into the country in the 1980s teaches that how we leave matters.)
But having watched Afghanistan blip into public consciousness many times over the years, I’m not holding my breath. Experience shows that a lot of Americans will keep the yellow-ribbon car magnets, but when the Trump outrage cycle moves on to another fixation, so, probably, will they. Afghanistan will then do what it has done well for 19 years: fade from attention.


thenation--2020-07-03--Barbara Lee Would Make a Great Vice Presidential Nominee

Barbara Lee participated in her first Democratic National Convention in 1972 , as a delegate supporting Shirley Chisholm ’ s groundbreaking bid for the presidency .
Chisholm , the first Black woman elected to Congress , mounted a militant anti-war campaign that stressed the need for economic , social , and racial justice .
With limited resources and in the face of skeptical media , she said her bid that was all about “ sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo.
” Chisholm told Lee , “ These rules , these laws inside were not made for you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me .
So you ’ ve got to get in there and shake things up.
’ ” Lee has done just that , as a state legislator , U.S. Representative , chair of the Congressional Black Caucus , cochair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus , and the current cochair of the House Steering and Policy Committee .
She served as a U.S. representative to the 68th and 70th General Assemblies of the United Nations .
She has drafted Democratic Party platforms in the past—and will do so again this year .
Few members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign and domestic policy .
Fewer members still have been so right so many times on matters of consequence : from LGBTQ rights to abortion rights to climate justice to her early embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement to Lee ’ s courageous 2001 vote to oppose the authorization of the use of military force resolution that George Bush and ensuing presidents have employed as an excuse to wage forever wars .
By any honest measure , Barbara Lee belongs on former vice president Joe Biden ’ s shortlist of vice presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ticket stronger by exciting the party ’ s base while expanding its reach .
Whether party leaders choose to admit it or not , adding a progressive with Lee ’ s record to the ticket would be the best way for the presumptive nominee to signal that he is prepared to abandon the managerial politics of the past and embrace the visionary politics of the future .
Why Are Federal Jurists Cheering on Voter Suppression in Wisconsin ?
There are plenty of folks—Biden champions and Biden critics—who will tell you that this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vice president .
They will claim that this candidate and this party can not possibly be expected to propose a transformational politics , let alone the transformational governance that might extend from it .
The most powerful tendencies within the Democratic Party are still inclined toward caution and compromise , and Joe Biden has always been their candidate .
But Biden is moving , at least a bit , toward a bigger politics , as his approach to the vice presidential selection process indicates .
The challenge now is to move him toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demands .
The former vice president indicated in March that he will pick a woman and , as CNN notes , there is now “ an emerging consensus is that Biden should select a woman of color.
” The case for picking Black woman is strong , as a number of African American women noted in a May opinion piece that appeared in The Washington Post .
“ Though we have propped up the Democratic Party for decades , the return on our investment in the party might as well read , ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote .
“ Those days are over .
We are here to collect .
Very simply , Vice President Biden : You owe us , you need us and you must not take our votes for granted — they must be earned.
” Biden ’ s list is said to include California Senator Kamala Harris , Florida Representative Val Demings , and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice as top contenders with , perhaps , a few others such as 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in the running .
“ This moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman seriously , ” says Nina Turner , a former national cochair for the Bernie Sanders campaign .
“ This moment makes it very clear that a Black woman or another woman of color should be elevated.
” Turner , whose own name has been mentioned as a VP prospect , thinks Lee belongs on the list .
The former Ohio legislator says of the congresswoman from California : “ She has been steadfast… in her grievances against the military-industrial complex—has not flinched on that issue , at all.
” The steadfast nature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and justice is what distinguishes her in the eyes of those who are keeping a serious eye on the vice-presidential selection process .
Sarita McCoy Gregory , the chair of the political science and history at Hampton University , mentions Lee ’ s name as part of her argument that Biden needs to consider names that are “ a bit more aspirational and [ that reflects ] my hope that the Biden team is paying attention to the current demands for nationwide police reform and the need to excite and unify the Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ top cops , ” such as Harris and Demings , “ will rally the energy and enthusiasm needed.
” But she notes that Barbara Lee “ has solid progressive politics that would excite the Sanders wing and the West Coast.
” Lee would , indeed , excite the Bernie Sanders wing of the party .
Her positions parallel those of the senator from Vermont and his supporters on issues ranging from the need for a single-payer health care system to her advocacy for a Green New Deal and her determination to forge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been a movement-aligned member of Congress for more than two decades and , now , those movements are a powerful force in our politics .
“ If Biden wants to show he ’ s listening to these voters , ” says Washington Post digital opinion editor James Downie , “ there ’ s one name that apparently isn ’ t on his current vice-presidential shortlist , but should be : Rep. Barbara Lee ( D-Calif. ) .
” Downie argues , “ Adding Lee to the vice-presidential shortlist would signal that Biden is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consensuses .
It could fire up progressive voters who have been lukewarm about the former vice president , and whose turnout will be crucial in the fall .
And it would show that he is willing to admit to and learn from past mistakes—a trait as deeply lacking in our leaders as it is sorely needed.
” While Biden backed the Iraq war , Lee opposed it from the start .
While Biden is not on board with “ Medicare For All , ” Lee is all in .
While Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to put it politely , troublesome , Lee has been working on these issues for decades .
These differences should not disqualify Lee from consideration .
They should move her to the top of the list at a time when Biden and the Democrats desperately need to get in touch with the zeitgeist .
And with the future .
Lee and I have spoken often about the campaign that Shirley Chisholm mounted all those years ago .
The Californian delights in the fact that Chisholm , who was not treated with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now featured on postage stamps and in popular films .
Chisholm ’ s name has become so synonymous with principled politics that even centrist Democrats invoke it on the campaign trail and in convention speeches .
It has been said that Chisholm was ahead of her time .
The truth is that the Democrats of the 1970s were behind the times .
It took them decades to catch up .
It has also been said that Lee is ahead of her time , especially on matters of war and peace .
Instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future , this would be a very good time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to catch up .

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Barbara Lee participated in her first Democratic National Convention in 1972, as a delegate supporting Shirley Chisholm’s groundbreaking bid for the presidency. Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, mounted a militant anti-war campaign that stressed the need for economic, social, and racial justice. With limited resources and in the face of skeptical media, she said her bid was all about “sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo.” Chisholm told Lee, “These rules, these laws inside were not made for you, they weren’t made for me. So you’ve got to get in there and shake things up.’”
Lee has done just that, as a state legislator, US representative, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, cochair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and the current cochair of the House Steering and Policy Committee. She served as a US representative to the 68th and 70th General Assemblies of the United Nations. She has drafted Democratic Party platforms in the past—and will do so again this year.
Few members of Congress are so well experienced in both foreign and domestic policy. Fewer members still have been so right so many times on matters of consequence: from LGBTQ rights to abortion rights to climate justice to her early embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement to her courageous 2001 vote to oppose the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force that George Bush and ensuing presidents have employed as an excuse to wage forever wars.
By any honest measure, Barbara Lee belongs on former vice president Joe Biden’s short list of vice presidential prospects. Lee would make the Democratic ticket stronger by exciting the party’s base while expanding its reach. Whether party leaders choose to admit it or not, adding a progressive with Lee’s record to the ticket would be the best way for the presumptive nominee to signal that he is prepared to abandon the managerial politics of the past and embrace the visionary politics of the future. More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
There are plenty of folks—Biden champions and Biden critics—who will tell you that this is too much to ask of the former vice president. They will claim that this candidate and this party cannot possibly be expected to propose a transformational politics, let alone the transformational governance that might extend from it. The most powerful tendencies within the Democratic Party are still inclined toward caution and compromise, and Biden has always been their candidate. But Biden is moving, at least a bit, toward a bigger politics, as his approach to the vice presidential selection process indicates. The challenge now is to move him toward the even bigger politics that the moment demands. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
The former vice president promised in March that he would pick a woman and, as CNN notes, there is now “an emerging consensus is that Biden should select a woman of color.” The case for picking a Black woman is strong, as a number of African American women noted in a May opinion piece that appeared in The Washington Post. “Though we have propped up the Democratic Party for decades, the return on our investment in the party might as well read, ‘insufficient funds,’” the women wrote. “Those days are over. We are here to collect. Very simply, Vice President Biden: You owe us, you need us and you must not take our votes for granted—they must be earned.”
Biden’s list is said to include California Senator Kamala Harris, Florida Representative Val Demings, and former national security adviser Susan Rice as top contenders with, perhaps, a few others such as 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in the running. Current Issue View our current issue
“This moment forces the Democrats to take a Black woman seriously,” says Nina Turner, a former national cochair for the Bernie Sanders campaign. “This moment makes it very clear that a Black woman or another woman of color should be elevated.”
Turner, whose own name has been mentioned as a VP prospect, thinks Lee belongs on the list. The former Ohio legislator says of the congresswoman from California: “She has been steadfast…in her grievances against the military-industrial complex—has not flinched on that issue, at all.”
The steadfast nature of Lee’s commitment to peace and justice is what distinguishes her in the eyes of those who are keeping a serious eye on the vice-presidential selection process. Sarita McCoy Gregory, the chair of the political science and history department at Hampton University, mentions Lee’s name as part of her argument that Biden needs to consider prospects that are “a bit more aspirational and [that reflect] my hope that the Biden team is paying attention to the current demands for nationwide police reform and the need to excite and unify the Democratic Party base.” Gregory asks whether former “top cops,” such as Harris and Demings, “will rally the energy and enthusiasm needed.” But she notes that Barbara Lee “has solid progressive politics that would excite the Sanders wing and the West Coast.”
Lee would, indeed, excite the Bernie Sanders wing of the party. Her positions parallel those of the senator from Vermont and his supporters on issues ranging from the need for a single-payer health care system to her advocacy for a Green New Deal and her determination to forge a new foreign policy. She has been a movement-aligned member of Congress for more than two decades, and now those movements are a powerful force in our politics. “If Biden wants to show he’s listening to these voters,” says Washington Post digital opinion editor James Downie,
there’s one name that apparently isn’t on his current vice-presidential shortlist, but should be: Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).… Adding Lee to the vice-presidential shortlist would signal that Biden is committed to breaking out of wrongheaded policy consensuses. It could fire up progressive voters who have been lukewarm about the former vice president, and whose turnout will be crucial in the fall. And it would show that he is willing to admit to and learn from past mistakes—a trait as deeply lacking in our leaders as it is sorely needed. Anti-War Champion Representative Barbara Lee: ‘Defund the Pentagon Budget’ John Nichols
While Biden backed the Iraq War, Lee opposed it from the start. While Biden is not on board with “Medicare for All,” Lee is all in. While Biden’s record on criminal justice reform has been, to put it politely, troublesome, Lee has been working on these issues for decades.
These differences should not disqualify Lee from consideration. They should move her to the top of the list at a time when Biden and the Democrats desperately need to get in touch with the zeitgeist. And with the future.
Lee and I have spoken often about the campaign that Shirley Chisholm mounted all those years ago. The Californian delights in the fact that Chisholm, who was not treated with the seriousness her candidacy merited in 1972, is now featured on postage stamps and in popular films. Chisholm’s name has become so synonymous with principled politics that even centrist Democrats invoke it on the campaign trail and in convention speeches.
It has been said that Chisholm was ahead of her time. The truth is that the Democrats of the 1970s were behind the times. It took them decades to catch up.
It has also been said that Lee is ahead of her time, especially on matters of war and peace. Instead of waiting to praise her in the future, this would be a very good time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to catch up.


thenation--2020-07-03--Socialists Are Beating Jeff Bezos in Seattle (Again)

The grassroots Tax Amazon movement in Seattle is on the cusp of winning a historic victory against Jeff Bezos .
Last year , Amazon spent unprecedented corporate cash trying unsuccessfully to unseat the socialists who had led the way on a Seattle big-business tax in 2018 and before that on the $ 15 minimum wage .
While Bezos ’ s bullying efforts were ultimately successful in forcing the 2018 Amazon Tax ’ s repeal , he was roundly defeated by our working-class campaign last year when he attempted to drive me and my socialist City Council office out of City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and now Amazon ’ s CEO and his billionaire friends are wishing they could call a do-over and have that modest 2018 tax back .
Our movement is now poised to win a big business tax that is four times larger .
On July 1 , the Seattle City Council voted 7-2 in its Budget Committee for an Amazon Tax that would raise more than $ 200 million annually .
The tax will apply to the top 3 percent of corporations , with Amazon paying the largest share , and will go toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a city with sky-high rents and a long history of racist gentrification .
How Amazon Used the Pandemic to Amass More Monopoly Power 10 Ways Trump Could Use His Power for Good , Not Evil More in this series The victory was the result of determined class struggle by a democratically organized grassroots campaign led by my organization , Socialist Alternative , and a coalition of workers and progressive organizations and unions , including UAW 4121 , 350 Seattle , Seattle Democratic Socialists of America , Transit Riders Union , SHARE/WHEEL , Nickelsville @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Party , WFSE 1488 , and rank-and-file Seattle Democrats .
The Amazon Tax is perhaps the most important progressive victory in Seattle since socialists and labor unions led the way on the $ 15 minimum wage movement in 2014 , which passed first here and then was won in cities and states around the country .
We hope that once again we can inspire working people and youth nationally and globally to spread this victory to other cities and regions .
We will do everything in our power to assist in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is attempting to force working people to pay for the current crisis of capitalism with massive budget cuts .
Our rallying cry everywhere must be , ‘ NO to austerity under this pandemic and recession !
Tax big business , not working people !
’ The Amazon Tax bill still needs final approval at Monday ’ s City Council session , where it will be voted on by the same nine Council members , and our movement will remain vigilant in fighting against every corporate loophole until the final hour .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority to override Seattle ’ s pro-corporate mayor , if needed .
We are also continuing to go all out gathering signatures for our grassroots Tax Amazon ballot initiative through the Fourth of July weekend .
At an upcoming Action Conference on July 8 , after the final Council vote , our movement will democratically decide whether we ’ ve won a strong enough Amazon Tax to celebrate a victory , or if we wish to take our initiative to the November ballot .
It ’ s the threat of our ballot initiative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ act .
We filed the ballot measure after a series of grassroots democratic “ Action Conferences ” where hundreds of people discussed and voted on the outlines of our initiative and strategy .
In spite of the pandemic and lockdown , we were able to mobilize hundreds of people to gather signatures to get the initiative on the ballot—first online and then in person as we were able to return to safe face-to-face activity with social-distancing practices .
It ’ s no accident this victory comes in the midst of the historic Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the status quo has been utterly smashed by the protest movement , the pandemic , and the deepening crisis of capitalism .
In Seattle , Tax Amazon was widely taken up at the Justice for George Floyd protests where we gathered 20,000 signatures in 20 days .
If , as expected , the Council does pass this legislation next Monday , July 6 , there is still the real danger that big business files a referendum to repeal the Amazon Tax , as it did in 2018 .
If it does , our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
We have not won everything we wanted in this struggle .
The Democratic establishment , with entrenched ties to big business , unfortunately watered down our proposal in a number of ways , including cutting the total amount of the tax in half .
But as I have seen again and again since I was first elected in 2013 , what is won in the Seattle City Council is primarily based on the power of the movement outside City Hall .
Our Tax Amazon movement was strong enough to defeat Jeff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loopholes .
We must build on our momentum .
The movement to Tax Amazon and big business to fund essential services like housing is needed everywhere .
Here in Seattle , we will be immediately directing the energy of this historic victory toward the fight to defund the Seattle police by at least 50 percent—bloated budgets for police departments should face cuts , not education and vital community programs .
The fight for Black liberation will also mean campaigning for elected community oversight boards with full powers over the police , including hiring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to begin to root out police brutality .
We have faced a seemingly endless series of obstacles in this campaign : from the shameful attempts of corporate Democrats in the state legislature to pass a ban on municipal big business taxes , to unfounded delays in the City Council , to a pandemic and lockdown that prevented signature gathering , to relentless attacks in the corporate media in Seattle and nationally .
We are winning because of the determination of workers and socialists to smash obstacles and find a path to victory .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ naming the real power pulling the strings : Amazon .
Many argued that we should not “ antagonize ” big business and instead try to broker a deal , but we know that our power comes from the self-organization of the working class , not from negotiation with the elite .
Don ’ t let anyone tell you in your fight to tax big business in your city that you ’ re being divisive , because class struggle is what gets the goods .

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The grassroots Tax Amazon movement in Seattle is on the cusp of winning a historic victory against Jeff Bezos.
Last year, Amazon spent unprecedented corporate cash trying unsuccessfully to unseat the socialists who had led the way on a Seattle big-business tax in 2018 and before that on the $15 minimum wage. While Bezos’s bullying efforts were ultimately successful in forcing the 2018 Amazon Tax’s repeal, he was roundly defeated by our working-class campaign last year when he attempted to drive me and my socialist City Council office out of City Hall.
Fast forward six months, and now Amazon’s CEO and his billionaire friends are wishing they could call a do-over and have that modest 2018 tax back. Our movement is now poised to win a big business tax that is four times larger.
On July 1, the Seattle City Council voted 7-2 in its Budget Committee for an Amazon Tax that would raise more than $200 million annually. The tax will apply to the top 3 percent of corporations, with Amazon paying the largest share, and will go toward a major expansion of affordable housing in a city with sky-high rents and a long history of racist gentrification. Amazon The Teamsters’ Proposed Agreement With UPS Is a Great Victory by and for the Workers Jane McAlevey Minnesota Enacts Landmark Protections for Amazon Warehouse Workers Abdirahman Muse, Emma Greenman and Erin Murphy There Is No Future for a Labor Movement That Fails to Organize at Amazon Jonathan Rosenblum
The victory was the result of determined class struggle by a democratically organized grassroots campaign led by my organization, Socialist Alternative, and a coalition of workers and progressive organizations and unions, including UAW 4121, 350 Seattle, Seattle Democratic Socialists of America, Transit Riders Union, SHARE/WHEEL, Nickelsville, Working Families Party, Seattle People’s Party, WFSE 1488, and rank-and-file Seattle Democrats.
The Amazon Tax is perhaps the most important progressive victory in Seattle since socialists and labor unions led the way on the $15 minimum wage movement in 2014, which passed first here and then was won in cities and states around the country. We hope that once again we can inspire working people and youth nationally and globally to spread this victory to other cities and regions. We will do everything in our power to assist in this crucial fight against the billionaire class that is attempting to force working people to pay for the current crisis of capitalism with massive budget cuts. Our rallying cry everywhere must be, ‘NO to austerity under this pandemic and recession! Tax big business, not working people!’ Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
The Amazon Tax bill still needs final approval at Monday’s City Council session, where it will be voted on by the same nine Council members, and our movement will remain vigilant in fighting against every corporate loophole until the final hour. At present, the legislation has a veto-proof majority to override Seattle’s pro-corporate mayor, if needed. We are also continuing to go all out gathering signatures for our grassroots Tax Amazon ballot initiative through the Fourth of July weekend. At an upcoming Action Conference on July 8, after the final Council vote, our movement will democratically decide whether we’ve won a strong enough Amazon Tax to celebrate a victory, or if we wish to take our initiative to the November ballot. It’s the threat of our ballot initiative that has pressured the city establishment to act. We filed the ballot measure after a series of grassroots democratic “Action Conferences” where hundreds of people discussed and voted on the outlines of our initiative and strategy. In spite of the pandemic and lockdown, we were able to mobilize hundreds of people to gather signatures to get the initiative on the ballot—first online and then in person as we were able to return to safe face-to-face activity with social-distancing practices. Current Issue View our current issue
It’s no accident this victory comes in the midst of the historic Black Lives Matter rebellion. The legitimacy of the status quo has been utterly smashed by the protest movement, the pandemic, and the deepening crisis of capitalism. In Seattle, Tax Amazon was widely taken up at the Justice for George Floyd protests where we gathered 20,000 signatures in 20 days.
If, as expected, the Council does pass this legislation next Monday, July 6, there is still the real danger that big business files a referendum to repeal the Amazon Tax, as it did in 2018. If it does, our movement will go all out to defeat it.
We have not won everything we wanted in this struggle. The Democratic establishment, with entrenched ties to big business, unfortunately watered down our proposal in a number of ways, including cutting the total amount of the tax in half. But as I have seen again and again since I was first elected in 2013, what is won in the Seattle City Council is primarily based on the power of the movement outside City Hall. Our Tax Amazon movement was strong enough to defeat Jeff Bezos, but not all the corporate loopholes.
We must build on our momentum. The movement to Tax Amazon and big business to fund essential services like housing is needed everywhere. Here in Seattle, we will be immediately directing the energy of this historic victory toward the fight to defund the Seattle police by at least 50 percent—bloated budgets for police departments should face cuts, not education and vital community programs. The fight for Black liberation will also mean campaigning for elected community oversight boards with full powers over the police, including hiring and firing. We need democratic oversight to begin to root out police brutality.
We have faced a seemingly endless series of obstacles in this campaign: from the shameful attempts of corporate Democrats in the state legislature to pass a ban on municipal big business taxes, to unfounded delays in the City Council, to a pandemic and lockdown that prevented signature gathering, to relentless attacks in the corporate media in Seattle and nationally. We are winning because of the determination of workers and socialists to smash obstacles and find a path to victory.
For our fight we were clear-eyed about naming the real power pulling the strings: Amazon. Many argued that we should not “antagonize” big business and instead try to broker a deal, but we know that our power comes from the self-organization of the working class, not from negotiation with the elite. Don’t let anyone tell you in your fight to tax big business in your city that you’re being divisive, because class struggle is what gets the goods.


thenation--2020-07-03--51 Years After Stonewall, New York’s Queer Liberation March Faces Police Violence

At about 4:30 pm on Sunday , June 28 , I was both elated and exhausted .
After marching for two and a half miles as a lead organizer of the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality , I had taken a short break to rest and replenish near our end point , Washington Square Park .
But now I was ready to go back into the post-march celebration in the center of the park .
I saw in the distance that there seemed to be a commotion at the north end of the park , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started to walk toward it .
On my way , I ran into my friend Liz , who told me that the NYPD had pepper-sprayed the tail end of our march and that Sasha Alexander of Black Trans Media , who was running the post-march speak-out at the small stone stage in the middle of the park , had successfully implored the White people viewing the speak-out to form a barrier around the perimeter of the area to protect the Black and Brown and Trans folks speaking and watching .
I glanced over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line of White faces lined up facing any danger that might be on its way and felt proud to be among these people .
Then I headed to the arch .
Soon , I saw people on the ground trying to flush their eyes out and ran into my friend Dinetta , who gave me more details on the police ’ s actions : She had seen cops ramming into protesters with their motor scooters , unleashing pepper spray on the crowd and intentionally escalating tensions .
How had we gotten here ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , held on June 29 , Pride Sunday , 2019 , had been an on a enormous success .
The march ’ s organizers , the Reclaim Pride Coalition ( RPC ) had conceived it as an alternative to the mainstream parade , produced by the organization Heritage of Pride .
We planned a march that wouldn ’ t have the overwhelming presence of the NYPD , whose route wouldn ’ t be fully barricaded , and that would avoid the overweening corporate presence in the traditional Pride parade .
In addition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most marginalized communities among our larger LGBTQ+ family .
After months of negotiation with the NYPD , the mayor ’ s office , and the Parks Department , we had successfully produced a march of 45,000 from Seventh Avenue and Christopher Street to the Great Lawn of Central Park , where a rally featuring speeches and performances from a wide swath of largely Black , Brown , Indigenous , Immigrant , Disabled , Deaf and Hard of Hearing , and Neurodivergent LGBTQ+ activists and performers .
The long-standing history of police violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lasting trauma resulting from it prompted the RPC ’ s insistence on a minuscule NYPD presence at our march and rally .
That goal was with accomplished with no barricading along our march route , which shifted to Sixth Avenue after we departed from Christopher Street , replicating the route of our inspiration , the June 28 , 1970 , Christopher Street Liberation Day March , the first Pride march , conceived and executed by the Gay Liberation Front .
After that extraordinary success and the appreciation we heard from many of New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Reclaim Pride Coalition recognized a mandate to move forward with plans to replicate that success in 2020 .
That is , until some lady named Rona came to town and blew our Pride plans for June to smithereens .
We quickly decided that we would pursue some virtual programming for Pride Sunday .
But by the time we had determined the content we wanted for the livestream , we were hit by a steady stream of shocks to our systems .
First , the inaction in response to Ahmaud Arbery ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Breonna Taylor , then a white woman calling the police on birdwatcher Chris Cooper in the Central Park Ramble , and the one-two gut punches of the death of legendary activist Larry Kramer , less than a year after he had delivered an impassioned speech after our inaugural 2019 Queer Liberation March , and the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police .
Our members and organizers took to the streets in protest .
Soon , there was unanimous agreement that we would reconstitute our Pride march in person , not just virtually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fully intersectional spirit of our organization ’ s founding .
And we had to get all of that done in three and a half weeks .
Somehow , it worked .
After we announced our plans , the NYPD reached out to us through our pro bono attorney , Norman Siegel , who has been a part of our efforts since the fall of 2018 .
Through Norman , we told them we would not be seeking a permit and they replied that they wouldn ’ t interfere .
We planned to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and proceed up to the Village passing the Stonewall Inn and ending in Washington Square Park , but we resolved not to reveal our route publicly and only announced our end point on the Friday before the march .
Bill de Blasio Broke His Promise to New York On Sunday morning , we awoke to sunshine and cloudless skies .
Our team arrived at Foley Square at 11 am to prepare .
There were almost no cops in sight .
We began with brief opening remarks at approximately 12:45 and after pouring libations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , singer Xavier Smith started the march off with a stirring a cappella rendition of the “ Negro national anthem , ” “ Lift Every Voice and Sing.
” We had no difficulties along the march route .
At the front of the march , there was almost no visible police presence beyond a couple of unmarked cars driving a couple of blocks ahead to ensure that the streets ahead of us were clear and an experienced plainclothes police liaison marching ahead of the marshals and staying apprised with our decisions along the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Inn , we looped back on West 10th Street to Fifth Avenue and then down into Washington Square .
Once inside the park , I led the lead marchers over to the small park stage to get things situated for the speak-out .
Afterward I took that replenishing break and then reentered the festivities , only to find that the NYPD had caused the end of the march to descend into chaos .
Once I passed the arch , I was relieved to see that our marshals were still there on Waverly Place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the details .
A truck blaring dance music had joined the rear of the march at some point during the route .
That truck parked just west of the arch entrance and an impromptu dance party ensued along Waverly Place and at the bottom of Fifth Avenue .
At some point shortly after the dancing began , the hordes of cops—many unmasked and improperly masked—invaded the marchers ’ space .
According to several trained RPC marshals who were present throughout the melee , although the NYPD had promised not to interfere with our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a large phalanx of officers in the area north and east of the Fifth Avenue entrance to the park .
Soon they were arresting a man for scribbling with a black Sharpie on the back of a police car parked nearby .
Angered by the sudden police presence after a virtually cop-free march against police brutality , the crowd drew toward the arresting officers chanting , “ Let him go !
” Perhaps recognizing the fundamental illogic of storming into a space filled with hundreds of New Yorkers who are intent on defunding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it exists , the cops began to panic .
They called for backup and began pushing chaotically into the crowd .
Cops on scooters drove directly into marchers .
Using pepper spray , billy clubs , and their fists , they attacked anyone within reach , whacking people on their lower legs to cause them to fall , and generally “ wilding out.
” Fortunately , the trained marshals , led by veteran ACT UP activists Jamie Bauer , Alexis Danzig , and BC Craig , managed to de-escalate the situation , convincing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow people to be able to see .
The cops arrested an additional two people whom they themselves had attacked .
The protesters began chanting , “ Who do you serve ?
Who do you protect ?
” Soon , the marchers gave the cops an exit path going west along Waverly Place and the protesters advanced along with them so as not to cede space .
Once the central arch-adjacent area had been cleared of cops , I joined the marshals in directing folks to get out of the street and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ park .
Just as we had the area calm , scores of cops wearing riot gear trooped in marching from east to west along Waverly .
The marshals kept people from surging back into the street ; but not from reading the riot cops for filth verbally .
Within two or three minutes , the riot cops , realizing that their presence was unnecessary and clearly provoking the protesters , exited in the direction from whence they came .
Order at least temporarily restored , the lead marshals and I departed to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Sixth Precinct house on West 10th Street .
It was only later that we would hear on the news that the NYPD had charged those people they had attacked and arrested with assaulting an officer .
It was going to be a long night .
Late in the day on Monday , June 29 , after over 24 hours in custody , the three arrestees were released , two with desk appearance tickets and one on bond .
But , the further damage to the reputation of the NYPD was undeniable ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brutality and illegal and unwarranted acts of force over the last month have .
In this moment of reckoning that has come in the wake of this spring ’ s police murders of Black Americans , the United States appears to have entered a new phase in the intersectional activism initially prompted by the election of Donald Trump .
The three and a half years of resistance , the Women ’ s March movement , the Dreamer and immigrant rights mMovements , the # MeToo movement , the Extinction Rebellion movement , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the HIV/AIDS and health care equity movements , and the March for Our Lives have paved the way for the multiracial , multiethnic , multifaith , multigender , multiply sexually orientated protests that have swept the nation .
And all of that work builds on the foundations laid 50 or 60 years ago , the last time we had a similarly broad national reckoning that knitted together seemingly disparate movements like the Gay Liberation Front , the women ’ s movement , the civil rights movement , the Black Power movement , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the environmentalist movement .
That period of common-cause activism was allowed to wither and die in the ’ 80s ; but it appears that we may have more stamina in this moment , as well as an ability to connect with each other and maintain our movements digitally in a way that the forces of political and capitalist orthodoxy may not have the wherewithal to undo .
This might be the moment that heralds a true opportunity to dismantle the White supremacist patriarchy upon which this country was founded .
Can we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make progress quickly so that we are not fractured into our constituent parts again ?
Well , I suppose that is up to us .
The only thing I can be certain of is that the third Queer Liberation March will be held on Pride Sunday , June 27 , 2021 .

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At about 4:30 pm on Sunday, June 28, I was both elated and exhausted. After marching for two and a half miles as a lead organizer of the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality, I had taken a short break to rest and replenish near our end point, Washington Square Park. But now I was ready to go back into the post-march celebration in the center of the park. I saw in the distance that there seemed to be a commotion at the north end of the park, near the Washington Square Arch, and started to walk toward it. On my way, I ran into my friend Liz, who told me that the NYPD had pepper-sprayed the tail end of our march and that Sasha Alexander of Black Trans Media, who was running the post-march speak-out at the small stone stage in the middle of the park, had successfully implored the White people viewing the speak-out to form a barrier around the perimeter of the area to protect the Black and Brown and Trans folks speaking and watching. I glanced over at the stage area and saw the line of White faces lined up facing any danger that might be on its way and felt proud to be among these people. Then I headed to the arch. Soon, I saw people on the ground trying to flush their eyes out and ran into my friend Dinetta, who gave me more details on the police’s actions: She had seen cops ramming into protesters with their motor scooters, unleashing pepper spray on the crowd and intentionally escalating tensions. How had we gotten here?
The first Queer Liberation March and rally, held on June 29, Pride Sunday, 2019, had been an on a enormous success. The march’s organizers, the Reclaim Pride Coalition (RPC) had conceived it as an alternative to the mainstream parade, produced by the organization Heritage of Pride. We planned a march that wouldn’t have the overwhelming presence of the NYPD, whose route wouldn’t be fully barricaded, and that would avoid the overweening corporate presence in the traditional Pride parade. In addition, we sought to uplift the voices of the most marginalized communities among our larger LGBTQ+ family. After months of negotiation with the NYPD, the mayor’s office, and the Parks Department, we had successfully produced a march of 45,000 from Seventh Avenue and Christopher Street to the Great Lawn of Central Park, where a rally featuring speeches and performances from a wide swath of largely Black, Brown, Indigenous, Immigrant, Disabled, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Neurodivergent LGBTQ+ activists and performers. The long-standing history of police violence against members of these communities and the lasting trauma resulting from it prompted the RPC’s insistence on a minuscule NYPD presence at our march and rally. That goal was with accomplished with no barricading along our march route, which shifted to Sixth Avenue after we departed from Christopher Street, replicating the route of our inspiration, the June 28, 1970, Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the first Pride march, conceived and executed by the Gay Liberation Front.
After that extraordinary success and the appreciation we heard from many of New York City’s queer communities, the Reclaim Pride Coalition recognized a mandate to move forward with plans to replicate that success in 2020. That is, until some lady named Rona came to town and blew our Pride plans for June to smithereens. We quickly decided that we would pursue some virtual programming for Pride Sunday. But by the time we had determined the content we wanted for the livestream, we were hit by a steady stream of shocks to our systems. First, the inaction in response to Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, then the police execution of Breonna Taylor, then a white woman calling the police on birdwatcher Chris Cooper in the Central Park Ramble, and the one-two gut punches of the death of legendary activist Larry Kramer, less than a year after he had delivered an impassioned speech after our inaugural 2019 Queer Liberation March, and the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Our members and organizers took to the streets in protest. Soon, there was unanimous agreement that we would reconstitute our Pride march in person, not just virtually, one that would be held in the fully intersectional spirit of our organization’s founding. And we had to get all of that done in three and a half weeks. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
Somehow, it worked. After we announced our plans, the NYPD reached out to us through our pro bono attorney, Norman Siegel, who has been a part of our efforts since the fall of 2018. Through Norman, we told them we would not be seeking a permit and they replied that they wouldn’t interfere. We planned to begin in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan and proceed up to the Village passing the Stonewall Inn and ending in Washington Square Park, but we resolved not to reveal our route publicly and only announced our end point on the Friday before the march. Related Article Bill de Blasio Broke His Promise to New York The Editors
On Sunday morning, we awoke to sunshine and cloudless skies. Our team arrived at Foley Square at 11 am to prepare. There were almost no cops in sight. We began with brief opening remarks at approximately 12:45 and after pouring libations to our murdered Black and Brown siblings, singer Xavier Smith started the march off with a stirring a cappella rendition of the “Negro national anthem,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” We had no difficulties along the march route. At the front of the march, there was almost no visible police presence beyond a couple of unmarked cars driving a couple of blocks ahead to ensure that the streets ahead of us were clear and an experienced plainclothes police liaison marching ahead of the marshals and staying apprised with our decisions along the route. After marching past the Stonewall Inn, we looped back on West 10th Street to Fifth Avenue and then down into Washington Square. Once inside the park, I led the lead marchers over to the small park stage to get things situated for the speak-out. Afterward I took that replenishing break and then reentered the festivities, only to find that the NYPD had caused the end of the march to descend into chaos.
Once I passed the arch, I was relieved to see that our marshals were still there on Waverly Place. I spoke to them and got the details. A truck blaring dance music had joined the rear of the march at some point during the route. That truck parked just west of the arch entrance and an impromptu dance party ensued along Waverly Place and at the bottom of Fifth Avenue. At some point shortly after the dancing began, the hordes of cops—many unmasked and improperly masked—invaded the marchers’ space.
According to several trained RPC marshals who were present throughout the melee, although the NYPD had promised not to interfere with our march, they had decided to amass a large phalanx of officers in the area north and east of the Fifth Avenue entrance to the park. Soon they were arresting a man for scribbling with a black Sharpie on the back of a police car parked nearby. Angered by the sudden police presence after a virtually cop-free march against police brutality, the crowd drew toward the arresting officers chanting, “Let him go!” Perhaps recognizing the fundamental illogic of storming into a space filled with hundreds of New Yorkers who are intent on defunding, dismantling, and abolishing policing as it exists, the cops began to panic. They called for backup and began pushing chaotically into the crowd. Cops on scooters drove directly into marchers. Using pepper spray, billy clubs, and their fists, they attacked anyone within reach, whacking people on their lower legs to cause them to fall, and generally “wilding out.” Fortunately, the trained marshals, led by veteran ACT UP activists Jamie Bauer, Alexis Danzig, and BC Craig, managed to de-escalate the situation, convincing the marchers to sit and squat down to allow people to be able to see. The cops arrested an additional two people whom they themselves had attacked. The protesters began chanting, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?” Soon, the marchers gave the cops an exit path going west along Waverly Place and the protesters advanced along with them so as not to cede space.
Once the central arch-adjacent area had been cleared of cops, I joined the marshals in directing folks to get out of the street and back onto the sidewalks and into the park. Just as we had the area calm, scores of cops wearing riot gear trooped in marching from east to west along Waverly. The marshals kept people from surging back into the street; but not from reading the riot cops for filth verbally. Within two or three minutes, the riot cops, realizing that their presence was unnecessary and clearly provoking the protesters, exited in the direction from whence they came. Order at least temporarily restored, the lead marshals and I departed to go provide jail support for those arrested at the Sixth Precinct house on West 10th Street. It was only later that we would hear on the news that the NYPD had charged those people they had attacked and arrested with assaulting an officer. It was going to be a long night.
Late in the day on Monday, June 29, after over 24 hours in custody, the three arrestees were released, two with desk appearance tickets and one on bond. But, the further damage to the reputation of the NYPD was undeniable; just as the many instances of horrific brutality and illegal and unwarranted acts of force over the last month have. In this moment of reckoning that has come in the wake of this spring’s police murders of Black Americans, the United States appears to have entered a new phase in the intersectional activism initially prompted by the election of Donald Trump. The three and a half years of resistance, the Women’s March movement, the Dreamer and immigrant rights mMovements, the #MeToo movement, the Extinction Rebellion movement, the Indigenous peoples and sacred lands movement, the HIV/AIDS and health care equity movements, and the March for Our Lives have paved the way for the multiracial, multiethnic, multifaith, multigender, multiply sexually orientated protests that have swept the nation. And all of that work builds on the foundations laid 50 or 60 years ago, the last time we had a similarly broad national reckoning that knitted together seemingly disparate movements like the Gay Liberation Front, the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, the farmworkers movement, the anti-war movement, and the environmentalist movement. That period of common-cause activism was allowed to wither and die in the ’80s; but it appears that we may have more stamina in this moment, as well as an ability to connect with each other and maintain our movements digitally in a way that the forces of political and capitalist orthodoxy may not have the wherewithal to undo. This might be the moment that heralds a true opportunity to dismantle the White supremacist patriarchy upon which this country was founded. Can we use our information technology and organizing momentum to make progress quickly so that we are not fractured into our constituent parts again? Well, I suppose that is up to us. The only thing I can be certain of is that the third Queer Liberation March will be held on Pride Sunday, June 27, 2021.