hotair--2020-08-10--The worst mass shooting you never heard about (this year, anyway)

In the early hours of the morning yesterday , there was a massive party taking place on the 3300 block of Dubois Place in Southeast Washington , D.C .
The good times came screeching to a halt when sustained gunfire broke out .
When the smoke cleared , one 17-year-old male was dead and another twenty people had been shot .
Among them was an off-duty police officer who had responded to the violence and was left “ fighting for her life.
” No suspects have been identified .
Here ’ s the curious part about this horrible tale .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ District and were watching the local news , you probably didn ’ t hear about it .
If we all put our heads together , we might be able to figure out why .
( WJLA News , ABC7 , Washington ) A teenage father is dead and 20 people were shot including an off-duty D.C. police officer early Sunday morning at a block party in Southeast Washington .
The victim has been identified as 17-year-old Christopher Brown .
“ I really don ’ t understand how my child ’ s life is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have five boys .
Just an innocent king ’ s life is taken for whatever the reason , ” the teen ’ s mother said Sunday .
His mother says Brown ’ s family isn ’ t handling the news of his passing well and the teen ’ s aunt told reporters that he has a 1-year-old son and another child on the way .
Multiple people were hospitalized , but none were listed as having life-threatening injuries aside from the off-duty police officer .
Perhaps it ’ s a minor blessing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but this was still a serious bloodbath .
I ’ ve been searching the 2020 news archives this morning and as near as I can tell this is the worst mass shooting of the year .
( Well… so far , anyway .
Fingers crossed . )
One might imagine that this would be big news .
I ’ m old enough to remember when our major cable news outlets and newspapers were fixated on mass shootings .
Or at least the ones that fit the matching narratives of “ too many guns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men at war with non-Asian minorities.
” This was particularly true in 2015 and 2016 in the runup to the last presidential election .
But perhaps the media circus has packed up its tent and moved on .
Because of the nature of my job , I tend to have CNN on in my home office ( with the sound muted ) most of the day so I can keep an eye on the chyron .
I suppose it ’ s possible that I missed it but I haven ’ t seen one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do have one article up on their website with a few paragraphs worth of details , so if you knew enough details to search for it you could find something there .
Not so at MSNBC .
No videos of coverage of the story were found and searches of the victim ’ s name or even the phrase “ mass shooting ” returned no results .
The same goes for the main NBC News website .
To their credit , ABC News has a duplicate of the article published by their local affiliate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no additional coverage or commentary .
I was doing a radio hit this morning on WTIC in Connecticut and I brought this story up .
The host , who covers news such as this for a living , hadn ’ t even heard about it .
There ’ s pretty much a media blackout of this story going on .
This is reminiscent of another , similar event that I was beating the drum about back in December of 2017 .
Mass shootings were all over the news that year , with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the Waco , Texas biker gang shootout .
But the third-largest took place in Bunny Friend Park in New Orleans .
Seventeen people were shot at the live filming of a music video , including a ten-year-old boy who was projected to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life after taking a round in the spine .
And unless you were a subscriber to the Times-Picayune newspaper or watched the local news stations , you probably never heard about it .
Why ?
Because Black people shooting other Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strictly “ local news.
” It ’ s not of interest to the national media because it doesn ’ t fit the narratives mentioned above .
Nearly all gang shootings are done with illegal , unregistered handguns , so it doesn ’ t work for the gun control angle .
And if it ’ s not a White person shooting people it doesn ’ t work for the rest of the current messaging plan .
So down the memory hole it goes .
Please send your prayers to the family of 17-year-old Christopher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another on the way .
Somebody should at least remember his name .

In the early hours of the morning yesterday, there was a massive party taking place on the 3300 block of Dubois Place in Southeast Washington, D.C. The good times came screeching to a halt when sustained gunfire broke out. When the smoke cleared, one 17-year-old male was dead and another twenty people had been shot. Among them was an off-duty police officer who had responded to the violence and was left “fighting for her life.” No suspects have been identified.
Here’s the curious part about this horrible tale. Unless you happened to live in the District and were watching the local news, you probably didn’t hear about it. If we all put our heads together, we might be able to figure out why. (WJLA News, ABC7, Washington)
A teenage father is dead and 20 people were shot including an off-duty D.C. police officer early Sunday morning at a block party in Southeast Washington. The victim has been identified as 17-year-old Christopher Brown. “I really don’t understand how my child’s life is gone. 17, my oldest, I have five boys. Just an innocent king’s life is taken for whatever the reason,” the teen’s mother said Sunday. His mother says Brown’s family isn’t handling the news of his passing well and the teen’s aunt told reporters that he has a 1-year-old son and another child on the way.
Multiple people were hospitalized, but none were listed as having life-threatening injuries aside from the off-duty police officer. Perhaps it’s a minor blessing that only one person was killed, but this was still a serious bloodbath. I’ve been searching the 2020 news archives this morning and as near as I can tell this is the worst mass shooting of the year. (Well… so far, anyway. Fingers crossed.)
One might imagine that this would be big news. I’m old enough to remember when our major cable news outlets and newspapers were fixated on mass shootings. Or at least the ones that fit the matching narratives of “too many guns in America” and “dangerous white men at war with non-Asian minorities.” This was particularly true in 2015 and 2016 in the runup to the last presidential election. But perhaps the media circus has packed up its tent and moved on.
Because of the nature of my job, I tend to have CNN on in my home office (with the sound muted) most of the day so I can keep an eye on the chyron. I suppose it’s possible that I missed it but I haven’t seen one segment covering this event yet. They do have one article up on their website with a few paragraphs worth of details, so if you knew enough details to search for it you could find something there. Not so at MSNBC. No videos of coverage of the story were found and searches of the victim’s name or even the phrase “mass shooting” returned no results. The same goes for the main NBC News website.
To their credit, ABC News has a duplicate of the article published by their local affiliate ABC7 News on their website, but no additional coverage or commentary. I was doing a radio hit this morning on WTIC in Connecticut and I brought this story up. The host, who covers news such as this for a living, hadn’t even heard about it. There’s pretty much a media blackout of this story going on.
This is reminiscent of another, similar event that I was beating the drum about back in December of 2017. Mass shootings were all over the news that year, with the two biggest being the San Bernardino massacre and the Waco, Texas biker gang shootout. But the third-largest took place in Bunny Friend Park in New Orleans. Seventeen people were shot at the live filming of a music video, including a ten-year-old boy who was projected to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life after taking a round in the spine. And unless you were a subscriber to the Times-Picayune newspaper or watched the local news stations, you probably never heard about it.
Why? Because Black people shooting other Black people in outbreaks of gang violence remains strictly “local news.” It’s not of interest to the national media because it doesn’t fit the narratives mentioned above. Nearly all gang shootings are done with illegal, unregistered handguns, so it doesn’t work for the gun control angle. And if it’s not a White person shooting people it doesn’t work for the rest of the current messaging plan. So down the memory hole it goes. Please send your prayers to the family of 17-year-old Christopher Brown who already had one child with another on the way. Somebody should at least remember his name.


hotair--2020-08-10--Cuomo: C'mon, we don't need an independent review of my handling of COVID and nursing homes

Yes , why would we need an independent investigation of a governor using state resources to push his COVID-19 propaganda ?
Calls for a probe into Andrew Cuomo ’ s disastrous policy decisions on the pandemic and nursing homes , which led to thousands of perhaps avoidable deaths , are “ political , ” Cuomo insisted .
And even if those calls weren ’ t political , Cuomo would still oppose a probe , he declared at a press conference today .
Cuomo , during a press conference Monday , said he “ wouldn ’ t do an investigation ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus pandemic in the state of New York .
“ I wouldn ’ t do an investigation whether or not it ’ s political , everybody can make that decision for themselves , ” Cuomo said .
“ I think you ’ d have to be blind to realize it ’ s not political.
” He went on to say , “ Just look at where it comes from and look at the sources and look at their political affiliations and look at who wrote the letter in Congress and look at what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ networks raise it.
” So who ’ s calling for a probe into Cuomo ’ s actions ?
That bastion of Empire State conservatism , the New York Daily News , which notes that the state might still be undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes .
They also insist that it ’ s not just Republicans demanding some answers from the Cuomo administration : Unlike other states , New York has only included in its tally deaths that occurred inside nursing home themselves .
Why ?
How many nursing home residents died after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Experts believe at least 1,600 fatalities may be unaccounted for .
Were nursing homes , many now operated by for-profit providers , understaffed during the pandemic , leaving residents neglected ?
Were inspectors doing everything necessary to ensure that state and federal health and safety regulations and infection controls were being followed ?
Whenever these and other questions are raised , Cuomo suggests bad-faith politics are at work .
But many of the people asking tough questions are Democrats .
Let ’ s take a look at another partisan media outfit that still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answers for the debacle in New York .
Four weeks ago , ProPublica was still waiting for information about which nursing homes got infected by Cuomo ’ s march orders : Gov .
Andrew Cuomo ’ s administration has yet to make public the names of dozens of nursing homes whose experiences could shed light on whether the administration ’ s controversial policy of sending hospital patients sick with COVID-19 into the vulnerable homes contributed to the state ’ s staggering loss of life .
Under the policy , more than 6,000 COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homes across the state , a move that scared and enraged many families worried about their loved ones being exposed to the deadly virus .
To date , at least 6,500 nursing home residents have died of the virus , more than 6 % of the state ’ s entire nursing home population .
According to a study released by the administration last week , 58 nursing homes in the state had not seen a case of COVID-19 among staff or residents before the arrival of one of the coronavirus patients from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more about what happened at those homes — how many people had died or become infected , if any , and what role , if any , the arrival of the patients might have played in those outcomes .
Asked repeatedly by ProPublica about the fate of those 58 homes , spokespersons for the governor and his Health Department did not respond .
Needless to say , the Daily News and ProPublica are hardly conservative in any way , shape or form .
Even if that were the case , an independent investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If Cuomo ’ s sure that his actions are defensible , then why oppose an investigation into what clearly is the kind of policy decision that requires the utmost transparency , given its life-and-death nature and the defenselessness of the population put at risk ?
In fairness , it would be tough for Cuomo to add an investigation of his performance into his Covid Mountain Poster of Victory at this point .
By the way , the question itself was framed to suggest that it would allow both Republicans and Democrats to sign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no go , says Cuomo and his press secretary : That ’ s “ kind of incredible , ” but not in the way Cuomo argued .
Perhaps this might be enough to get more scrutiny applied to Cuomo ’ s handling of the pandemic , rather than the media cheerleading that has accompanied Cuomo ’ s disastrous results .

Yes, why would we need an independent investigation of a governor using state resources to push his COVID-19 propaganda? Calls for a probe into Andrew Cuomo’s disastrous policy decisions on the pandemic and nursing homes, which led to thousands of perhaps avoidable deaths, are “political,” Cuomo insisted. And even if those calls weren’t political, Cuomo would still oppose a probe, he declared at a press conference today.
Doesn’t that sound kind of … political?
Cuomo, during a press conference Monday, said he “wouldn’t do an investigation” into the nursing home deaths during the coronavirus pandemic in the state of New York. “I wouldn’t do an investigation whether or not it’s political, everybody can make that decision for themselves,” Cuomo said. “I think you’d have to be blind to realize it’s not political.” He went on to say, “Just look at where it comes from and look at the sources and look at their political affiliations and look at who wrote the letter in Congress and look at what publications raise it and what media outward networks raise it.” He added: “It’s kind of incredible.”
So who’s calling for a probe into Cuomo’s actions? That bastion of Empire State conservatism, the New York Daily News, which notes that the state might still be undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. They also insist that it’s not just Republicans demanding some answers from the Cuomo administration:
Unlike other states, New York has only included in its tally deaths that occurred inside nursing home themselves. Why? How many nursing home residents died after being transferred to hospitals for treatment? Experts believe at least 1,600 fatalities may be unaccounted for. Were nursing homes, many now operated by for-profit providers, understaffed during the pandemic, leaving residents neglected? Were inspectors doing everything necessary to ensure that state and federal health and safety regulations and infection controls were being followed? Whenever these and other questions are raised, Cuomo suggests bad-faith politics are at work. But many of the people asking tough questions are Democrats.
Let’s take a look at another partisan media outfit that still claims that Cuomo needs to provide more answers for the debacle in New York. Four weeks ago, ProPublica was still waiting for information about which nursing homes got infected by Cuomo’s march orders:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has yet to make public the names of dozens of nursing homes whose experiences could shed light on whether the administration’s controversial policy of sending hospital patients sick with COVID-19 into the vulnerable homes contributed to the state’s staggering loss of life. Under the policy, more than 6,000 COVID-19 patients were sent from hospitals to nursing homes across the state, a move that scared and enraged many families worried about their loved ones being exposed to the deadly virus. To date, at least 6,500 nursing home residents have died of the virus, more than 6% of the state’s entire nursing home population. According to a study released by the administration last week, 58 nursing homes in the state had not seen a case of COVID-19 among staff or residents before the arrival of one of the coronavirus patients from the hospital. But the report said nothing more about what happened at those homes — how many people had died or become infected, if any, and what role, if any, the arrival of the patients might have played in those outcomes. Asked repeatedly by ProPublica about the fate of those 58 homes, spokespersons for the governor and his Health Department did not respond.
Needless to say, the Daily News and ProPublica are hardly conservative in any way, shape or form. Even if that were the case, an independent investigation would clear up any lingering suspicions. If Cuomo’s sure that his actions are defensible, then why oppose an investigation into what clearly is the kind of policy decision that requires the utmost transparency, given its life-and-death nature and the defenselessness of the population put at risk?
In fairness, it would be tough for Cuomo to add an investigation of his performance into his Covid Mountain Poster of Victory at this point.
By the way, the question itself was framed to suggest that it would allow both Republicans and Democrats to sign off on the panel. Still a no go, says Cuomo and his press secretary:
(2/2) "Would you support an Independent investigation in order to bridge mutual suspicion about partisanship getting the public a better understanding of what exactly happened in adult facilities and nursing homes?" — Bernadette Hogan (@bern_hogan) August 10, 2020
Second question: “What about a panel of experts who ostensibly would not be political at all-would be trusted by Democrats and Republicans alike to investigate what exactly happened in nursing homes?" You & the Governor said no, bc you think what's been done is sufficient, no? — Bernadette Hogan (@bern_hogan) August 10, 2020
That’s “kind of incredible,” but not in the way Cuomo argued. Perhaps this might be enough to get more scrutiny applied to Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic, rather than the media cheerleading that has accompanied Cuomo’s disastrous results.


hotair--2020-08-10--Report: Big 10 votes to cancel fall college football season, other Power Five conferences on brink

There must be a long unpronounceable German word that describes the feeling of being shocked by something you believed was inevitable .
The commissioners of the Power Five conferences reportedly held an emergency meeting last night , spurred by reports that the Big 10 was about to pull the plug .
The Big 10 apparently wanted to gauge whether other conferences would follow their lead or go their own way .
There ’ s a potential prisoner ’ s dilemma here , after all : If the Big 10 bows out , players in that conference who desperately want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request transfers to schools in conferences that do intend to play .
Even if those transfers can ’ t happen in time for the start of the season , the hard feelings engendered among Big 10 stars who were deprived of a chance to compete this year might trigger a wave of transfers next season .
You would think , then , that if the Power Five were about to take this leap , they ’ d feel obliged to do it together .
But that ’ s not what happened , per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Big 10 is out and the PAC-12 is reportedly set to follow suit tomorrow .
But the ACC , Big 12 , and SEC ?
Undecided as of now .
Reportedly the vote among Big 10 presidents was 12-2 against playing in the fall , with only Nebraska and Iowa dissenting .
“ Well , at least Michigan won ’ t lose to OSU this year , ” said a Twitter pal .
Don ’ t be so sure , though .
Some people involved don ’ t want the season canceled , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it doesn ’ t coincide with an unexpected “ second wave ” of COVID this fall : Nonzero chance that we get to watch Harbaugh and the Wolverines lose by five touchdowns to OSU in May next year instead of November .
“ Nobody wanted to be the first to do it , ” said one coach to ESPN of wanting to postpone the season , “ and now nobody will want to be the last.
” The conference that got the ball rolling was the Mid-American , which pulled the plug on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference that makes big bucks from playing a few games against Power Five opponents — but because the Power Five is sticking to all-conference schedules this year , that payday was off the table .
Emboldened by the Mid-American ’ s move , the Big 10 immediately paused all-pads football practices and began chatting about postponing the season altogether .
Now we ’ re on the brink of having two of the Power Five bow out ( assuming you still consider the PAC-12 a “ power ” conference ) .
What if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV contracts , decides that it ’ s fine occupying the stage alone and invites dissenting teams from shuttered conferences — or dissenting players from shuttered programs — to join them in a fall season ?
Could we have Notre Dame in the SEC ?
Justin Fields transferring back to Georgia ?
Dwayne “ The Rock ” Johnson just bought the dead husk of the XFL with a few business partners for $ 15 million .
Maybe he could rent a few stadiums on the fly , recruit the creme de la creme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have , say , an eight-team league up and running by January .
I ’ d watch the hell out of that .
Surely some TV network will buy the rights to air the games .
To make the situation a little more chaotic , a group of players that includes Clemson start Trevor Lawrence floated this statement last night suggesting that it ’ s time for players to unionize , sort of : The argument against college sports , or college anything , this fall is that students can ’ t feasibly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are cruise ships ” is how one university official described the problem back in March .
The fear with football and other sports isn ’ t so much that players will transmit the virus on the field , in the open air , as that they ’ ll pass it along during the many , many hours they spend together in indoor spaces , be it the locker room , the gym , practice facilities for reviewing game film , etc .
It would take an unusually serious public-health threat to convince schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every fall from college football on the table , but clearly university officials , having looked at the evidence , have concluded that this is unusually serious .
The counterargument comes from Lawrence , who notes that ( a ) many players live lives in which where their health is constantly under serious threat and ( b ) they ’ re more likely to take precautions against infection if they have a good reason to stay healthy .
As we ’ ve seen this summer , many young adults will behave recklessly and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus even when not forced to congregate .
So what ’ s the harm in letting them congregate to play ball ?
This is about to become a political football ( no pun intended ) too since canceling the season would be an unusually stark signal that America has failed to manage its pandemic effectively .
“ Sports are like the reward of a functional society , ” as one MLB player put it earlier this summer .
Postponing one of the country ’ s favorite fall distractions would be a de facto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ functioning well , which isn ’ t a great look for the incumbent and his party shortly before an election .
Three Republicans from football-crazy states are out today with pleas to keep the season going : It ’ s too late for Sasse ’ s and Jordan ’ s home states if the news about the Big 10 backing out is true , but Florida ’ s still hanging in there for now .
Kudos to Rubio for somehow avoiding the standard conspiratorial read on shutting down the season , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by ruining America ’ s fun before the election , and choosing instead the conspiratorial read that this is part of a longstanding vendetta against football due to violence .
Marco ’ s always been a little more creative than the rest of the pack .
Exit question : Will the SEC , ACC , and Big 12 follow the other two Power Five conferences by postponing the season ?
I think the SEC might hang in there .
They ’ re usually in a league of their own anyway .

There must be a long unpronounceable German word that describes the feeling of being shocked by something you believed was inevitable.
The commissioners of the Power Five conferences reportedly held an emergency meeting last night, spurred by reports that the Big 10 was about to pull the plug. The Big 10 apparently wanted to gauge whether other conferences would follow their lead or go their own way. There’s a potential prisoner’s dilemma here, after all: If the Big 10 bows out, players in that conference who desperately want to be on the field this fall could request transfers to schools in conferences that do intend to play. Even if those transfers can’t happen in time for the start of the season, the hard feelings engendered among Big 10 stars who were deprived of a chance to compete this year might trigger a wave of transfers next season.
You would think, then, that if the Power Five were about to take this leap, they’d feel obliged to do it together. But that’s not what happened, per Dan Patrick’s sources. The Big 10 is out and the PAC-12 is reportedly set to follow suit tomorrow. But the ACC, Big 12, and SEC? Undecided as of now.
DP was told an hour ago that the Big 10 and Pac 12 will cancel their football seasons tomorrow… The ACC and the Big 12 are on the fence.. And the SEC is trying to get teams to join them for a season. Watch live: https://t.co/sMaeXQkLfl pic.twitter.com/oSUNGMTEqw — Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 10, 2020
Reportedly the vote among Big 10 presidents was 12-2 against playing in the fall, with only Nebraska and Iowa dissenting. “Well, at least Michigan won’t lose to OSU this year,” said a Twitter pal.
Don’t be so sure, though. Some people involved don’t want the season canceled, just moved to the spring so that it doesn’t coincide with an unexpected “second wave” of COVID this fall:
Sources told ESPN that a vast majority of Big Ten presidents have indicated that they would vote to postpone football season, hopefully to the spring. A Big Ten official confirmed to ESPN that no official vote took place during Saturday’s meeting… A Group of 5 athletic director told ESPN: “I don’t know why we are trying to push to play in the fall. It’s always made more sense to me to just play in the spring.”
Nonzero chance that we get to watch Harbaugh and the Wolverines lose by five touchdowns to OSU in May next year instead of November.
“Nobody wanted to be the first to do it,” said one coach to ESPN of wanting to postpone the season, “and now nobody will want to be the last.” The conference that got the ball rolling was the Mid-American, which pulled the plug on Saturday. They’re a smaller conference that makes big bucks from playing a few games against Power Five opponents — but because the Power Five is sticking to all-conference schedules this year, that payday was off the table. Emboldened by the Mid-American’s move, the Big 10 immediately paused all-pads football practices and began chatting about postponing the season altogether. Now we’re on the brink of having two of the Power Five bow out (assuming you still consider the PAC-12 a “power” conference).
What if the SEC, which has the most lucrative TV contracts, decides that it’s fine occupying the stage alone and invites dissenting teams from shuttered conferences — or dissenting players from shuttered programs — to join them in a fall season? Could we have Notre Dame in the SEC? Justin Fields transferring back to Georgia? Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just bought the dead husk of the XFL with a few business partners for $15 million. Maybe he could rent a few stadiums on the fly, recruit the creme de la creme of college football this year, and have, say, an eight-team league up and running by January. I’d watch the hell out of that. Surely some TV network will buy the rights to air the games.
To make the situation a little more chaotic, a group of players that includes Clemson start Trevor Lawrence floated this statement last night suggesting that it’s time for players to unionize, sort of:
The argument against college sports, or college anything, this fall is that students can’t feasibly maintain social distancing. “The dorms are cruise ships” is how one university official described the problem back in March. The fear with football and other sports isn’t so much that players will transmit the virus on the field, in the open air, as that they’ll pass it along during the many, many hours they spend together in indoor spaces, be it the locker room, the gym, practice facilities for reviewing game film, etc. It would take an unusually serious public-health threat to convince schools to leave the gigantic windfalls they receive every fall from college football on the table, but clearly university officials, having looked at the evidence, have concluded that this is unusually serious.
The counterargument comes from Lawrence, who notes that (a) many players live lives in which where their health is constantly under serious threat and (b) they’re more likely to take precautions against infection if they have a good reason to stay healthy. As we’ve seen this summer, many young adults will behave recklessly and expose the people around them to the virus even when not forced to congregate. So what’s the harm in letting them congregate to play ball?
People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don’t play. Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19 (1) — Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 9, 2020
Players being safe and taking all of the right precautions to try to avoid contracting covid because the season/ teammates safety is on the line. Without the season, as we’ve seen already, people will not social distance or wear masks and take the proper precautions — Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 9, 2020
This is about to become a political football (no pun intended) too since canceling the season would be an unusually stark signal that America has failed to manage its pandemic effectively. “Sports are like the reward of a functional society,” as one MLB player put it earlier this summer. Postponing one of the country’s favorite fall distractions would be a de facto admission that our society isn’t functioning well, which isn’t a great look for the incumbent and his party shortly before an election. Three Republicans from football-crazy states are out today with pleas to keep the season going:
Even before #COVID19 many of those pushing to cancel #CollegeFootball have spent years trying to kill youth & high school football as a way to end the game. They have no interest in getting to yes. Or in an honest cost-benefit analysis of playing versus not playing. — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 10, 2020
America needs college football. — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 10, 2020
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) has drafted a letter that he plans to send to Big Ten presidents, identifying reasons why he believes college football should be played.@SINow obtained a copy. Sasse is a former university president. pic.twitter.com/xrpRjiWREf — Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 10, 2020
It’s too late for Sasse’s and Jordan’s home states if the news about the Big 10 backing out is true, but Florida’s still hanging in there for now. Kudos to Rubio for somehow avoiding the standard conspiratorial read on shutting down the season, which is that Democrats are trying to hurt Trump by ruining America’s fun before the election, and choosing instead the conspiratorial read that this is part of a longstanding vendetta against football due to violence. Marco’s always been a little more creative than the rest of the pack.
Exit question: Will the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 follow the other two Power Five conferences by postponing the season? I think the SEC might hang in there. They’re usually in a league of their own anyway.
Update: Yup, political football.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1292873531382992901


hotair--2020-08-10--Free speech arrested: Hong Kong police arrest pro-democracy publisher for 'collusion' under the nati

Free speech arrested: Hong Kong police arrest pro-democracy publisher for 'collusion' under the national security law

The collapse of free speech continues in Hong Kong under the new national security law .
Today a police raid targeted pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and his newspaper Apple Daily .
After rounding up Lai at his mansion , 200 police officers went to the offices of Apple Daily .
This journalist published a photo of the police filing in : Do they have enough police to handle one newspaper ?
And for some reason , Mr. Lai , who was arrested at his home , was brought to the offices and paraded around in handcuffs .
Hours later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the newsroom of his newspaper , still handcuffed , while more than 200 officers filed into the building and rifled through desks .
Reporters began livestreaming video of the raid , panting as they raced to document a story unfolding in their own offices .
When one asked Mr. Lai about the arrest and the raid , he replied gruffly , “ How should I think about it , dude ?
” … Apple Daily is a fiercely pro-democracy newspaper that regularly criticizes the Hong Kong government and the Chinese leadership .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the protest movement , and runs front page headlines reminding readers of when to take to the streets… The live footage showed a tense scene in the newsroom .
When an editor demanded to know the exact boundaries of the area being searched , he was shoved by shouting officers .
“ Remember his face , ” an inspector said , raising his index finger .
“ If he still behaves like this , give him a warning .
And if he doesn ’ t listen to the warning , arrest him.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are putting on a show to make sure everyone understands who is in charge .
According to CNN , the actual charge against Mr. Lai is collusion with unspecified foreign forces : Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai , known for his support of the city ’ s pro-democracy movement and criticism of China , has been arrested on suspicion of “ colluding ” with foreign forces , according to local police… A police spokesman told CNN earlier in the day that Lai was among them and that he had been arrested on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s sons were also arrested even though they are not involved in Apple Daily .
That will come in handy when police make threats about what will happen to Mr. Lai ’ s family if he doesn ’ t begin to exercise more restraint over his publication ’ s criticism of China .
( In fact , it ’ s similar to the way prosecutors went after Gen. Flynn by threatening to prosecute his son unless he cooperated . )
Because all of this was happening at a newsroom , the entire thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Lai was led away a reporter asked him if he was worried .
“ There ’ s nothing to worry about , ” he said .
He added , “ I will accept what comes my way.
” Here ’ s a response to the arrest from Sec .
State Pompeo : None of this is really a surprise at this point .
At the end of last month , Hong Kong police arrested four students for pro-democracy statements posted online .
At the same time several leading pro-democracy candidates were disqualified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they had not supported the new national security law .
That was the camel ’ s nose under the tent and 10 days later we ’ ve got the whole camel , so to speak .
The police have quickly gone from arresting a few people for social media posts to arresting the leading pro-democracy publisher in the country .
This is what the end of free speech looks like .
This is what China wants for the entire world .

The collapse of free speech continues in Hong Kong under the new national security law. Today a police raid targeted pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and his newspaper Apple Daily. After rounding up Lai at his mansion, 200 police officers went to the offices of Apple Daily. This journalist published a photo of the police filing in:
Do they have enough police to handle one newspaper? And for some reason, Mr. Lai, who was arrested at his home, was brought to the offices and paraded around in handcuffs.
Hours later, Mr. Lai was being led through the newsroom of his newspaper, still handcuffed, while more than 200 officers filed into the building and rifled through desks. Reporters began livestreaming video of the raid, panting as they raced to document a story unfolding in their own offices. When one asked Mr. Lai about the arrest and the raid, he replied gruffly, “How should I think about it, dude?”… Apple Daily is a fiercely pro-democracy newspaper that regularly criticizes the Hong Kong government and the Chinese leadership. It gives extensive coverage in print and online to the protest movement, and runs front page headlines reminding readers of when to take to the streets… The live footage showed a tense scene in the newsroom. When an editor demanded to know the exact boundaries of the area being searched, he was shoved by shouting officers. “Remember his face,” an inspector said, raising his index finger. “If he still behaves like this, give him a warning. And if he doesn’t listen to the warning, arrest him.”
You get the picture. Police are putting on a show to make sure everyone understands who is in charge. According to CNN, the actual charge against Mr. Lai is collusion with unspecified foreign forces:
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, known for his support of the city’s pro-democracy movement and criticism of China, has been arrested on suspicion of “colluding” with foreign forces, according to local police… A police spokesman told CNN earlier in the day that Lai was among them and that he had been arrested on suspicion of collusion.
Mr. Lai’s sons were also arrested even though they are not involved in Apple Daily. That will come in handy when police make threats about what will happen to Mr. Lai’s family if he doesn’t begin to exercise more restraint over his publication’s criticism of China. (In fact, it’s similar to the way prosecutors went after Gen. Flynn by threatening to prosecute his son unless he cooperated.)
Because all of this was happening at a newsroom, the entire thing was livestreamed by the paper. As Mr. Lai was led away a reporter asked him if he was worried. “There’s nothing to worry about,” he said. He added, “I will accept what comes my way.”
Here’s a response to the arrest from Sec. State Pompeo:
I’m deeply troubled by reports of the arrest of @JimmyLaiApple under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law. Further proof that the CCP has eviscerated Hong Kong’s freedoms and eroded the rights of its people. — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 10, 2020
None of this is really a surprise at this point. At the end of last month, Hong Kong police arrested four students for pro-democracy statements posted online. At the same time several leading pro-democracy candidates were disqualified from running for office on the grounds that they had not supported the new national security law. That was the camel’s nose under the tent and 10 days later we’ve got the whole camel, so to speak. The police have quickly gone from arresting a few people for social media posts to arresting the leading pro-democracy publisher in the country.
This is what the end of free speech looks like. This is what China wants for the entire world.


hotair--2020-08-10--Sign of the times: CDC joins World Mask Week

To mask or not mask , that is the question .
It is hard to believe how controversial and fiery the debates are over wearing a face mask but here we are .
Five months into the mitigation period of the coronavirus pandemic in America , the CDC has decided to join World Mask Week .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pandemic Action Network are partnering with more than 40 organizations to host World Mask Week .
The goal is to increase the use of face masks across the globe .
None of the other mitigation efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical community meet the kind of resistance as face masks .
Social distancing , personal hygiene like hand-washing are all important , and wearing a face mask is another part of the recommendations .
The messaging on face masks got off to a bumpy start .
We were told they were not necessary and wouldn ’ t be helpful in flattening the curve , which was the original purpose for mitigation .
We were told that face masks needed to be reserved for medical professionals and first responders .
Then , everyone from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House coronavirus task force flipped the narrative and told us that we need to wear face masks .
The mixed messaging during this plague has been frustrating to everyone .
So , as the coronavirus makes a return appearance in countries thought to have mitigated the disease and new cases stopped being reported , the CDC is participating in World Mask Week .
Wearing a mask doesn ’ t kill the virus , of course , but it helps slow the spread of the virus .
The participating health organizations want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask .
Dr. Ali Nouri , President of the American Federation of Scientists , said the event will help normalize wearing a face mask .
“ If you ’ re not masking , you ’ re not just putting yourself at risk but you ’ re putting other people at risk , ” said Nouri .
“ The more people that understand that and realize that their well-being depends on other people doing the right thing , that ’ s going to generate more pressure , more momentum and more acceptability of masks.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus by blocking the spray of respiratory droplets that come from sneezing , coughing , talking , singing or shouting .
The goal of World Mask Week is to encourage people around the world to embrace the use of face masks until a vaccine is available .
The initiative will be promoted through social media challenges calling on all people , including celebrities , politicians and health care workers , to post a statement , pictures , or videos of themselves wearing a mask with the tag # WorldMaskWeek .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heard since we were told to mask up – your face mask protects others around you and their mask protects you .
Will this campaign help ?
Probably very little .
I think by now the mask wearers versus the non-wearers have a line in the sand that is pretty well established .
Neither side is particularly open to persuasion .
The best that can be done now is for the medical community to put out a consistent message .
Michael Sheldrick , chief policy and government affairs officer at Global Citizen also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but mandates are a hot button issue in the United States .
It certainly is in my own city .
Forbes has an article that lists 10 misconceptions about wearing a face mask .
The list includes everything from masks don ’ t work to wearing a face covering is a risk to the wearer ’ s health .
In order to make face masks cool , the gaming industry will be integrating messaging and images into games .
The argument that requiring face masks is a method to control people is addressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the fact that businesses typically have requirements like no shirt , no shoes , no service , and requiring face masks fall along those lines .
And for those saying requiring face masks is unconstitutional , well , that is disputed , too .
Well , John E. Finn , a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Government at Wesleyan University , where he taught courses in constitutional theory and public law , wrote for The Conversation that the “ The Constitution doesn ’ t have a problem with mask mandates.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask doesn ’ t violate the First Amendment by keeping you from expressing yourself .
If you can ’ t talk while wearing a face covering , the face covering is on way too tight .
Finn also explained how “ the 1905 case of Jacobsen v. Massachusetts shows why mask mandates don ’ t violate any constitutional right to privacy or health or bodily integrity .
In that case , the Supreme Court upheld a smallpox vaccination requirement in Cambridge , Massachusetts.
” Wearing a face mask shouldn ’ t be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it can be .
President Trump is wearing a face mask more frequently in public and the administration hopes his example will encourage his supporters who don ’ t want to follow the mitigation guidelines to do so .
I don ’ t have a lot of hope that a worldwide push will change many minds .
People are pretty well dug in on this issue .
Japanese people , for example , have been using face masks in public places like airports for many years .
I used to see people wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it looked like a good idea , especially for those of us who typically are prone to be mindful about exposure to germs .
Now it is considered standard behavior .

To mask or not mask, that is the question. It is hard to believe how controversial and fiery the debates are over wearing a face mask but here we are. Five months into the mitigation period of the coronavirus pandemic in America, the CDC has decided to join World Mask Week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pandemic Action Network are partnering with more than 40 organizations to host World Mask Week. The goal is to increase the use of face masks across the globe. None of the other mitigation efforts recommended by public health officials and the medical community meet the kind of resistance as face masks. Social distancing, personal hygiene like hand-washing are all important, and wearing a face mask is another part of the recommendations.
The messaging on face masks got off to a bumpy start. We were told they were not necessary and wouldn’t be helpful in flattening the curve, which was the original purpose for mitigation. We were told that face masks needed to be reserved for medical professionals and first responders. Then, everyone from the Surgeon General to the CDC to the White House coronavirus task force flipped the narrative and told us that we need to wear face masks. The mixed messaging during this plague has been frustrating to everyone.
So, as the coronavirus makes a return appearance in countries thought to have mitigated the disease and new cases stopped being reported, the CDC is participating in World Mask Week. Wearing a mask doesn’t kill the virus, of course, but it helps slow the spread of the virus. The participating health organizations want to “normalize” wearing a face mask.
Dr. Ali Nouri, President of the American Federation of Scientists, said the event will help normalize wearing a face mask. “If you’re not masking, you’re not just putting yourself at risk but you’re putting other people at risk,” said Nouri. “The more people that understand that and realize that their well-being depends on other people doing the right thing, that’s going to generate more pressure, more momentum and more acceptability of masks.” Face masks slow the spread of the virus by blocking the spray of respiratory droplets that come from sneezing, coughing, talking, singing or shouting. The goal of World Mask Week is to encourage people around the world to embrace the use of face masks until a vaccine is available. The initiative will be promoted through social media challenges calling on all people, including celebrities, politicians and health care workers, to post a statement, pictures, or videos of themselves wearing a mask with the tag #WorldMaskWeek.
It’s the same message we’ve heard since we were told to mask up – your face mask protects others around you and their mask protects you. Will this campaign help? Probably very little. I think by now the mask wearers versus the non-wearers have a line in the sand that is pretty well established. Neither side is particularly open to persuasion. The best that can be done now is for the medical community to put out a consistent message. Michael Sheldrick, chief policy and government affairs officer at Global Citizen also encourages mandates put forward by local officials but mandates are a hot button issue in the United States. It certainly is in my own city.
“What we will continue to do is promote clear and consistent messaging to encourage governments also to promote public information campaigns around the effectiveness and importance of wearing masks in public,” said Sheldrick. “This will ensure that it’s both a common sense measure and an act of national and global social solidarity.”
Forbes has an article that lists 10 misconceptions about wearing a face mask. The list includes everything from masks don’t work to wearing a face covering is a risk to the wearer’s health. In order to make face masks cool, the gaming industry will be integrating messaging and images into games.
For example, as part of the #PlayApartTogether initiative, the gaming industry will be integrating World Mask Week messages and images into its games. iHeartMedia will be taking similar steps with their programming as well. Ultimately, wearing is more about caring (for other people, that is), which incidentally is a new Twitter handle adopted by a group from Columbia University:
When wearing a mask, you need to avoid touching your face and the front of your mask ❌✋ Otherwise, your hands can easily get contaminated and spread the virus to yourself and others! Visit https://t.co/HyL2mwe38Y to learn the science behind. #COVID19 #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/EF50swcGyc — WearingisCaring (@WearingisCaring) August 5, 2020
The argument that requiring face masks is a method to control people is addressed, too. The Forbes piece points to the fact that businesses typically have requirements like no shirt, no shoes, no service, and requiring face masks fall along those lines. And for those saying requiring face masks is unconstitutional, well, that is disputed, too.
Well, John E. Finn, a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Government at Wesleyan University, where he taught courses in constitutional theory and public law, wrote for The Conversation that the “The Constitution doesn’t have a problem with mask mandates.” He went on to explain that a mask doesn’t violate the First Amendment by keeping you from expressing yourself. If you can’t talk while wearing a face covering, the face covering is on way too tight. Finn also explained how “the 1905 case of Jacobsen v. Massachusetts shows why mask mandates don’t violate any constitutional right to privacy or health or bodily integrity. In that case, the Supreme Court upheld a smallpox vaccination requirement in Cambridge, Massachusetts.”
Wearing a face mask shouldn’t be a political statement but this is 2020 so it can be. President Trump is wearing a face mask more frequently in public and the administration hopes his example will encourage his supporters who don’t want to follow the mitigation guidelines to do so. I don’t have a lot of hope that a worldwide push will change many minds. People are pretty well dug in on this issue. Japanese people, for example, have been using face masks in public places like airports for many years. I used to see people wearing face masks in airports and think that it looked like a good idea, especially for those of us who typically are prone to be mindful about exposure to germs. Now it is considered standard behavior.


hotair--2020-08-10--Looters rampage through Chicago's Magnificent Mile

You know it ’ s bad when a city has to resort to raising its drawbridges to prevent it from being sacked , like some medieval castle : Bus and train service to downtown Chicago was also suspended this morning to prevent more looters from entering the area .
Apparently , as word got around last night that the “ stores were open , ” so to speak , the number swelled : Along the Magnificent Mile , people were seen going in and out of stores carrying shopping bags full of merchandise as well as at a bank , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crowd grew vehicles dropped off more people in the area .
On streets throughout the downtown area , empty cash drawers from stores were strewn about and ATMs were ripped open .
Stores miles from downtown were also ransacked , with parking lots littered with glass and items from inside the stores .
Clothes hangers and boxes that once contained television sets and other electronics were seen — evidence that thieves had taken racks of clothes and removed them from the hangers .
“ This was obviously very orchestrated , ” the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roman Catholic priest and activist on the city ’ s South Side , told WBBM-TV as cameras panned the downtown area .
Ah , Michael Pfleger .
Now there ’ s a name I ’ ve not heard in a long , long time .
Anyway , as you might guess from the name , the Magnificent Mile isn ’ t a poor neighborhood .
It ’ s Chicago ’ s answer to Fifth Avenue , with luxury shops catering to the sort of people who work in the area and can afford @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tribune , a U-Haul van was seen pulling up to one looted store : The Tribune reports that cops were fired on at least once last night , from a passing vehicle circa 4:30 .
No one was killed — but at least one cop was injured in a different incident : A security guard on duty in the Loop was shot overnight and is in critical condition .
I didn ’ t see the presser but this morning the superintendent of Chicago PD claims that officers have been fired at around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days .
As for the looting itself , it was , uh , brazen : “ This was straight up , felony criminal conduct , ” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot .
“ This was an assault on our city.
” More than 100 people have been arrested .
What precipitated this rampage ?
It ’ s , uh , not entirely clear , per WaPo .
The best guess right now is that it was a backlash to an incident that happened on the south side yesterday .
Cops got a report of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found someone matching his description , and he ran .
When they chased him , he fired at them , they say .
They fired back , wounding — but not killing — him .
A crowd began to gather , and police say that “ someone fed false information to the angry group , including that police shot and wounded a child.
” To hear cops tell it , in other words , this was misplaced anger at a justified police shooting that metastasized into a de facto riot .
The AP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that gathered after the south side shooting eventually dispersed .
So who it was who started looting ?
Did word of mouth about a supposedly dubious police shooting bring other people out into the streets ?
Most bad things in the world nowadays start on social media and this may be no exception : Remember that Trump announced a few weeks ago that he was going to “ surge ” federal agents to Chicago to help control crime there .
Lightfoot initially balked , believing that he had a Portland-style “ DHS in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relented when the local U.S. Attorney convinced her that this would be an old-fashioned task-force partnership between the feds and the city .
Watching this fiasco play out this morning , I wonder if Trump is thinking of a Portland operation in Chicago after all .
Last night ’ s riot fits perfectly into his campaign message that electing a Democrat president will only further encourage the breakdown of law and order in Democratic-run cities .
The fact that rioters are still active in Portland despite the feds ’ drawdown there bolsters his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to claim later that the federal presence is the “ root cause ” of the violence .
That ’ s clearly not the case in Oregon .
Surprisingly , though , he hasn ’ t commented on Chicago yet as I write this at 11 a.m .
ET .
And in commenting on Portland , he seems inclined to stick with more traditional means of controlling violence : Biden ’ s sufficiently worried about the politics of violence that he said last week , “ I don ’ t want to defund police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money in order to deal with the things they badly need , from making sure they have access to community policing , that they have also in the departments social workers , psychologists , people who in fact can handle those god-awful problems that a cop has to have four degrees to handle.
” We ’ ll see if his rhetoric starts to trend even more pro-cop after this , to protect his center flank from Trump .
He can only go so far ; to some on the left , job one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Chicago , not confronting it .
I ’ ll leave you with this :

You know it’s bad when a city has to resort to raising its drawbridges to prevent it from being sacked, like some medieval castle:
All bridges heading into downtown except for Lasalle are up. State Police checking ID’s again to get access downtown on expressways. Streets and San trucks blocking many roads. CPD confirming looting is still “not contained.” pic.twitter.com/GYKiEgx86z — Alex Maragos (@AlexMaragosNBC) August 10, 2020
Bus and train service to downtown Chicago was also suspended this morning to prevent more looters from entering the area. Apparently, as word got around last night that the “stores were open,” so to speak, the number swelled:
Along the Magnificent Mile, people were seen going in and out of stores carrying shopping bags full of merchandise as well as at a bank, the Chicago Tribune reported, and as the crowd grew vehicles dropped off more people in the area. On streets throughout the downtown area, empty cash drawers from stores were strewn about and ATMs were ripped open. Stores miles from downtown were also ransacked, with parking lots littered with glass and items from inside the stores. Clothes hangers and boxes that once contained television sets and other electronics were seen — evidence that thieves had taken racks of clothes and removed them from the hangers. “This was obviously very orchestrated,” the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a prominent Roman Catholic priest and activist on the city’s South Side, told WBBM-TV as cameras panned the downtown area.
Ah, Michael Pfleger. Now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a long, long time. Anyway, as you might guess from the name, the Magnificent Mile isn’t a poor neighborhood. It’s Chicago’s answer to Fifth Avenue, with luxury shops catering to the sort of people who work in the area and can afford luxury items:
Looting at family-owned Paul Young jewelers at Dearborn and Randolph. The only thing left is a wall of family photos. @WBBMNewsradio pic.twitter.com/vP5MFLUYAc — Cisco Cotto (@CiscoCotto) August 10, 2020
According to the Chicago Tribune, a U-Haul van was seen pulling up to one looted store:
People were seen running out of a PNC Bank, its windows smashed, at Huron and State streets. Down the block, other stores, including a Sally Beauty Supply, had been cleaned out by vandals. Other parts of downtown, including around Grand and Wabash avenues, were littered with trash. Crowds repeatedly tried to bash in the windows of the Omega watch store at Delaware Place and Michigan Avenue. “The watch store,” one officer said. “They’re gonna get it eventually.”
The Tribune reports that cops were fired on at least once last night, from a passing vehicle circa 4:30. No one was killed — but at least one cop was injured in a different incident:
A security guard on duty in the Loop was shot overnight and is in critical condition. I didn’t see the presser but this morning the superintendent of Chicago PD claims that officers have been fired at around the city on seven of the past nine days.
As for the looting itself, it was, uh, brazen:
SCENE IN CHICAGO LAST NUGHThttps://t.co/HE3KKc4twK — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) August 10, 2020
Looting continues in downtown Chicago as of 5:45am. These people are coming out of the Block 37 mall on Randolph west of State Street. Looting has been going on all over downtown and the Magnificent Mile since around midnight. Police are all over the place. @WBBMNewsradio pic.twitter.com/qrBwm8KCZX — Bernie Tafoya (@BernieTafoya) August 10, 2020
“This was straight up, felony criminal conduct,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “This was an assault on our city.” More than 100 people have been arrested. What precipitated this rampage? It’s, uh, not entirely clear, per WaPo. The best guess right now is that it was a backlash to an incident that happened on the south side yesterday. Cops got a report of a man with a gun; they found someone matching his description, and he ran. When they chased him, he fired at them, they say. They fired back, wounding — but not killing — him. A crowd began to gather, and police say that “someone fed false information to the angry group, including that police shot and wounded a child.” To hear cops tell it, in other words, this was misplaced anger at a justified police shooting that metastasized into a de facto riot.
The AP notes, though, that the crowd that gathered after the south side shooting eventually dispersed. So who it was who started looting? Did word of mouth about a supposedly dubious police shooting bring other people out into the streets? Most bad things in the world nowadays start on social media and this may be no exception:
Looting downtown was in response to man shot by police in Englewood. A crowd gathered on the south side and confronted officers. Fueled by misinformation about shooting. Officers monitored social media and saw posts encouraging people to loot downtown. @cbschicago — Vi Nguyen (@ViNguyen) August 10, 2020
Remember that Trump announced a few weeks ago that he was going to “surge” federal agents to Chicago to help control crime there. Lightfoot initially balked, believing that he had a Portland-style “DHS in camouflage” deployment in mind, but relented when the local U.S. Attorney convinced her that this would be an old-fashioned task-force partnership between the feds and the city. Watching this fiasco play out this morning, I wonder if Trump is thinking of a Portland operation in Chicago after all. Last night’s riot fits perfectly into his campaign message that electing a Democrat president will only further encourage the breakdown of law and order in Democratic-run cities. The fact that rioters are still active in Portland despite the feds’ drawdown there bolsters his case, making it harder for Lightfoot to claim later that the federal presence is the “root cause” of the violence. That’s clearly not the case in Oregon.
Surprisingly, though, he hasn’t commented on Chicago yet as I write this at 11 a.m. ET. And in commenting on Portland, he seems inclined to stick with more traditional means of controlling violence:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1292837084152107010
Biden’s sufficiently worried about the politics of violence that he said last week, “I don’t want to defund police. I want to get police more money in order to deal with the things they badly need, from making sure they have access to community policing, that they have also in the departments social workers, psychologists, people who in fact can handle those god-awful problems that a cop has to have four degrees to handle.” We’ll see if his rhetoric starts to trend even more pro-cop after this, to protect his center flank from Trump. He can only go so far; to some on the left, job one today is minimizing what happened last night in Chicago, not confronting it.
I’ll leave you with this:


hotair--2020-08-10--CNN media analyst: Does the Left even have an anti-Trump media outlet?

Imagine Brian Stelter ’ s shock when someone informs him of the existence of MSNBC .
Or for that matter , Time Magazine , CBS News , and even CNN .
Just before this clip , the host of CNN ’ s Reliable Sources played a succession of clips from conservative commentators attacking Joe Biden ’ s compos mentis-ness , so to speak , and asked , “ What the heck is going on with these programs ?
” He then marveled at the attack-Biden media industry and wondered aloud whether the Left had any analog .
STELTER : Let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ David Zurawik , “ The Baltimore Sun ” media critic .
He ’ s here with me .
Along with Columbia University scholar Nicole Hemmer , she ’ s the author of “ Messenger of Right ” , all about conservative media and American politics .
And also with us , Errin Haines , editor-at-large for “ The 19th ” , the brand-new website covering the intersection of gender and politics .
Nicole , first to you , negative partisanship , it kind of explains everything about what is broken in our media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these media outlet , all of these talk radio stars and TV shows that are just constantly attacking , fueling hatred of the other side .
Am I right to say this happens on the left and the right but it ’ s more severe on the right currently ?
NICOLE HEMMER , AUTHOR , “ MESSENGERS OF THE RIGHT ” : Yes .
I would say it ’ s more severe on the right currently , in part because the right just has a longer tradition of these overtly ideological media outlets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of habit of attacking Democrats that goes pretty far back .
If you look at like the 1990s and the way that Rush Limbaugh and others sort of sharpened their teeth on Bill Clinton , this is the way they built audiences for these decades now .
STELTER : Yeah , I don ’ t want to claim it ’ s new , I just — I ’ m arguing that it ’ s getting worse , it ’ s more severe .
Errin , your view of this , you know , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exist to tear down Joe Biden , is there an equivalent of that on the left , tearing down Trump ?
ERRIN HAINES , EDITOR-AT-LARGE , THE 19TH : There really isn ’ t .
What I would say is it ’ s really a diet of this type of information that a lot of these voters are getting .
A lot of the voters I talk to , I can — when I interview them , I do hear them saying a lot of the talking points that sound very familiar from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to listen to when I ’ m out on the campaign trail or when I ’ m home , watching TV .
So now questioning the mental acuity of a presidential contender is off limits ?
Well , let ’ s just take a brief , non-comprehensive walk down non compos mentis Memory Lane .
Apparently CNN ’ s expert media analysis has forgotten all about the cottage industry that mainstream media outlets made of the 25th Amendment option , even before Donald Trump took office : • January 2017 : Washington Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to state their openness to a “ constitutional coup ” on the basis of poor character .
• February 2017 : CNN ’ s Brianna Keilar asks Rep. Jackie Speier if she believes Trump is incapacitated , in response to Speier ’ s declaration that the 25th Amendment should be invoked because Trump was “ unhinged ” at a press conference .
Not once does Keilar offer a critical word about the idea .
• March 2017 : Time Magazine publishes a column from two Yale Law students demanding that Congress invoke the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : CNN ’ s Don Lemon declares Trump “ unhinged , ” and then asks former DNI James Clapper whether Trump is “ unfit , ” and Clapper responds by suggesting Trump will nuke North Korea as an answer to the question .
• October 2017 : Jeff Flake — Jeff frickin ’ Flake — has to talk CBS anchor Norah O ’ Donnell off of her 25th Amendment/impeachment ledge .
“ If he is dangerous to democracy as you say , ” O ’ Donnell asks , “ should he be removed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : CNN analyst Stephen Collinson questions whether Trump has become incompetent and unfit for office .
“ Conversations about Trump ’ s fitness and mental state have percolated in Washington for months , ” which is at least true among media outlets , as outlined above .
• Also November 2017 : MSNBC host Joe Scarborough demands that the Cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment .
• January 2018 : Scarborough complains publicly that the Washington Post wouldn ’ t allow him to diagnose Trump with dementia in a column .
This doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the media hubbub around Andrew McCabe ’ s claims last year that he pushed for a 25th Amendment action to remove Trump from office , and that it had some agreement among Trump officials .
McCabe later walked that claim back , but at least he sold some books .
Oh , and he also got a job as an analyst — with CNN .
Trump and conservatives are playing by the rules set by media outlets like CNN .
They should be embarrassed by that , and apparently they ’ re embarrassed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Either mental state is a legit political question or it isn ’ t , and the answer is the same in 2020 as it was in 2016 .
This is a deeply shameful and dishonest pose by someone who ’ s supposed to be operating in an ombud role .

Imagine Brian Stelter’s shock when someone informs him of the existence of MSNBC. Or for that matter, Time Magazine, CBS News, and even CNN. Just before this clip, the host of CNN’s Reliable Sources played a succession of clips from conservative commentators attacking Joe Biden’s compos mentis-ness, so to speak, and asked, “What the heck is going on with these programs?” He then marveled at the attack-Biden media industry and wondered aloud whether the Left had any analog.
Are you kidding?
.@brianstelter: "When you see entire media companies essentially exist to tear down Joe Biden, is there an equivalent of that on the left, tearing down Trump?"@emarvelous: "There really isn’t." pic.twitter.com/JlMkqAQeIW — Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 9, 2020
STELTER: Let’s talk more about it with David Zurawik, “The Baltimore Sun” media critic. He’s here with me. Along with Columbia University scholar Nicole Hemmer, she’s the author of “Messenger of Right”, all about conservative media and American politics. And also with us, Errin Haines, editor-at-large for “The 19th”, the brand-new website covering the intersection of gender and politics. Nicole, first to you, negative partisanship, it kind of explains everything about what is broken in our media environment because there’s all of these media outlet, all of these talk radio stars and TV shows that are just constantly attacking, fueling hatred of the other side. Am I right to say this happens on the left and the right but it’s more severe on the right currently? NICOLE HEMMER, AUTHOR, “MESSENGERS OF THE RIGHT”: Yes. I would say it’s more severe on the right currently, in part because the right just has a longer tradition of these overtly ideological media outlets, right? There is this sort of habit of attacking Democrats that goes pretty far back. If you look at like the 1990s and the way that Rush Limbaugh and others sort of sharpened their teeth on Bill Clinton, this is the way they built audiences for these decades now. STELTER: Yeah, I don’t want to claim it’s new, I just — I’m arguing that it’s getting worse, it’s more severe. Errin, your view of this, you know, when you see entire media companies essentially exist to tear down Joe Biden, is there an equivalent of that on the left, tearing down Trump? ERRIN HAINES, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, THE 19TH: There really isn’t. What I would say is it’s really a diet of this type of information that a lot of these voters are getting. A lot of the voters I talk to, I can — when I interview them, I do hear them saying a lot of the talking points that sound very familiar from some of these shows which I try to listen to when I’m out on the campaign trail or when I’m home, watching TV. STELTER: Yeah.
So now questioning the mental acuity of a presidential contender is off limits? Well, let’s just take a brief, non-comprehensive walk down non compos mentis Memory Lane. Apparently CNN’s expert media analysis has forgotten all about the cottage industry that mainstream media outlets made of the 25th Amendment option, even before Donald Trump took office:
January 2017: Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen urged the incoming Cabinet to state their openness to a “constitutional coup” on the basis of poor character.
February 2017: CNN’s Brianna Keilar asks Rep. Jackie Speier if she believes Trump is incapacitated, in response to Speier’s declaration that the 25th Amendment should be invoked because Trump was “unhinged” at a press conference. Not once does Keilar offer a critical word about the idea.
March 2017: Time Magazine publishes a column from two Yale Law students demanding that Congress invoke the 25th Amendment themselves.
August 2017: CNN’s Don Lemon declares Trump “unhinged,” and then asks former DNI James Clapper whether Trump is “unfit,” and Clapper responds by suggesting Trump will nuke North Korea as an answer to the question.
October 2017: Jeff Flake — Jeff frickin’ Flake — has to talk CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell off of her 25th Amendment/impeachment ledge. “If he is dangerous to democracy as you say,” O’Donnell asks, “should he be removed from office?”
November 2017: CNN analyst Stephen Collinson questions whether Trump has become incompetent and unfit for office. “Conversations about Trump’s fitness and mental state have percolated in Washington for months,” which is at least true among media outlets, as outlined above.
Also November 2017: MSNBC host Joe Scarborough demands that the Cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment.
January 2018: Scarborough complains publicly that the Washington Post wouldn’t allow him to diagnose Trump with dementia in a column.
This doesn’t even take into consideration all of the media hubbub around Andrew McCabe’s claims last year that he pushed for a 25th Amendment action to remove Trump from office, and that it had some agreement among Trump officials. McCabe later walked that claim back, but at least he sold some books. Oh, and he also got a job as an analyst — with CNN.
Trump and conservatives are playing by the rules set by media outlets like CNN. They should be embarrassed by that, and apparently they’re embarrassed enough to report dishonestly about it. Either mental state is a legit political question or it isn’t, and the answer is the same in 2020 as it was in 2016. This is a deeply shameful and dishonest pose by someone who’s supposed to be operating in an ombud role.


hotair--2020-08-10--Afghanistan set to release final Taliban prisoners for some reason

The long-anticipated peace talks between the current Afghanistan government and the Taliban appear to finally be getting underway .
The government of President Ashraf Ghani ’ has basically caved in and accepted all of the Taliban ’ s demands in order to come this far .
Having previously released the majority of the prisoners they had been holding , the government will now cut loose the final ones .
The Taliban , in return , has agreed to yet another ceasefire and will accept the release of the final 400 prisoners in exchange for formally beginning the negotiations later this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Taliban ’ s ability to enforce this agreement among their fighters ( assuming they even intend to honor the deal at all ) remain thin at best .
( Associated Press ) A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members , paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan ’ s warring sides .
The declaration read out in both of Afghanistan ’ s official languages of Pashto and Farsi calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease fire .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for talks immediately after their final prisoners were released and that a ceasefire would be one of the first items of negotiations .
The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing its troops home and ending its longest military engagement .
This process began back on March 10th , so it ’ s taken a while for Ghani ’ s government to move the ball this far down the field .
At that time , we discussed the demands of the Taliban and their unwillingness to compromise in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold on his own government was put to the test because they had been holding upwards of 5,000 Taliban prisoners .
In order to get the Taliban to even come to the table , Ghani ordered the immediate release of 1,500 prisoners immediately .
More were cut loose in the following months until they were down to these final 400 .
From the beginning , the Taliban insisted that formal peace talks would not begin until every last one of their prisoners were freed .
It now appears that they got everything they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The ceasefire arranged in March lasted all of three days before Taliban fighters violated it , attacking both American troops and government forces in multiple locations .
But if it leads to lasting peace and a stable Afghanistan government , it was all worth it , right ?
Let ’ s not count our chickens before they ’ ve hatched .
Keep in mind that before these negotiations had even gotten off the ground , a number of Taliban leaders in both their country and Pakistan openly declared that they had no intention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struck .
They planned to keep on fighting until the last of the infidels ( that would be us ) was driven from their lands the same way they eventually drove out the Soviet Union ( with the help of the aforementioned infidels ) several decades ago .
I ’ ve yet to hear from a single foreign policy expert who thinks that this peace process is entirely plausible .
For the most part , I think most people can see how this story ends and it ’ s not pretty .
Once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of the country , the Taliban is going to crush Ghani ’ s government and begin murdering everyone who cooperated with the Americans .
And then Afghanistan will sink back into the past and become the same hell hole , stuck in the 5th century that it ’ s always been .
This is how Afghanistan , under its many names , has always defeated invaders .
They just outlast them and eventually , the foreigners lose patience and leave .
Because honestly , nobody wants that stretch of territory badly enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yes , it ’ s long past time that we get out of there so I ’ m not arguing against the current “ peace ” process .
But we should also be realistic about what ’ s coming when our role in this maniacal play is finished .

The long-anticipated peace talks between the current Afghanistan government and the Taliban appear to finally be getting underway. The government of President Ashraf Ghani’ has basically caved in and accepted all of the Taliban’s demands in order to come this far. Having previously released the majority of the prisoners they had been holding, the government will now cut loose the final ones. The Taliban, in return, has agreed to yet another ceasefire and will accept the release of the final 400 prisoners in exchange for formally beginning the negotiations later this month. Of course, prospects for the Taliban’s ability to enforce this agreement among their fighters (assuming they even intend to honor the deal at all) remain thin at best. (Associated Press)
A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan’s warring sides. The declaration read out in both of Afghanistan’s official languages of Pashto and Farsi calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease fire. The Taliban have said they were ready for talks immediately after their final prisoners were released and that a ceasefire would be one of the first items of negotiations. The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing its troops home and ending its longest military engagement.
This process began back on March 10th, so it’s taken a while for Ghani’s government to move the ball this far down the field. At that time, we discussed the demands of the Taliban and their unwillingness to compromise in the slightest. Ghani’s tenuous hold on his own government was put to the test because they had been holding upwards of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
In order to get the Taliban to even come to the table, Ghani ordered the immediate release of 1,500 prisoners immediately. More were cut loose in the following months until they were down to these final 400. From the beginning, the Taliban insisted that formal peace talks would not begin until every last one of their prisoners were freed. It now appears that they got everything they’d asked for and more. The ceasefire arranged in March lasted all of three days before Taliban fighters violated it, attacking both American troops and government forces in multiple locations.
But if it leads to lasting peace and a stable Afghanistan government, it was all worth it, right? Let’s not count our chickens before they’ve hatched. Keep in mind that before these negotiations had even gotten off the ground, a number of Taliban leaders in both their country and Pakistan openly declared that they had no intention of honoring any peace agreement that was struck. They planned to keep on fighting until the last of the infidels (that would be us) was driven from their lands the same way they eventually drove out the Soviet Union (with the help of the aforementioned infidels) several decades ago.
I’ve yet to hear from a single foreign policy expert who thinks that this peace process is entirely plausible. For the most part, I think most people can see how this story ends and it’s not pretty. Once the American and allied troops are mostly out of the country, the Taliban is going to crush Ghani’s government and begin murdering everyone who cooperated with the Americans. And then Afghanistan will sink back into the past and become the same hell hole, stuck in the 5th century that it’s always been.
This is how Afghanistan, under its many names, has always defeated invaders. They just outlast them and eventually, the foreigners lose patience and leave. Because honestly, nobody wants that stretch of territory badly enough to take and hold it indefinitely. Yes, it’s long past time that we get out of there so I’m not arguing against the current “peace” process. But we should also be realistic about what’s coming when our role in this maniacal play is finished.


hotair--2020-08-10--Nevada shows how mail-in ballots can go spectacularly wrong

As more and more states move toward conducting the November elections entirely by mail , numerous concerns have been raised .
These often have to do with the possibility ( if not probability ) of ballot harvesting or other types of voter fraud .
Even those who believe the chances of fraud taking place are low express concerns over states with little experience in this type of voting messing up the process , leading to massive delays in knowing the results or significant numbers of people simply being able to legally cast a ballot .
But even if everything is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to spare , and the Post Office is up to the task , the state of Nevada has shown us another significant threat lurking in the background .
When Nevada conducted their primary in June , they hastily concocted a system whereby all of the voters would receive their ballots in the mail in a timely fashion .
But there was one major fly in the ointment that nobody seemed to see coming .
As the Free Beacon reports , in Clark County ( the state ’ s largest , which includes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sent to the wrong addresses so the voters never received them .
More than one-sixth of the mail-in ballots sent to voters in Nevada ’ s largest county during the 2020 primary went to outdated addresses , according to a new watchdog report .
The Public Interest Legal Foundation , an election integrity group , reviewed the 1.3 million mail-in ballots Nevada ’ s Clark County sent during the June primary .
It found that more than 223,000 of the ballots were sent to outdated addresses , leading the postal service to designate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots accounted for 17 percent of all ballots mailed to registered voters .
Nearly 75 percent of Nevada ’ s total population resides in the county , which includes Las Vegas .
“ These numbers show how vote by mail fails , ” said J. Christian Adams , PILF ’ s president and general counsel .
“ New proponents of mail balloting don ’ t often understand how it actually works .
So how did Nevada get it so wrong ?
Well… technically they didn ’ t .
Their system generated ballots for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them and got them to the Post Office in time for voters to receive them , complete them and send them back .
The problem is that nearly twenty percent of the people on the voter rolls no longer lived at the address that was listed on the rolls .
As one PILF representative pointed out , the reason that states such as Oregon and Washington do so well with mail-in voting is that they are “ notably aggressive ” in maintaining their voter lists .
The error rates in those two states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the ballots show up at the proper destination .
Not so in Nevada , where all of the ballots heading to incorrect addresses were marked as “ undeliverable ” by the Post Office and eventually returned .
By that point , it was far too late to vote .
Why were nearly one in five of Nevada ’ s addresses of record wrong ?
Well , people move .
People die .
People get married and their names change .
There ’ s any number of factors that can lead to last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ valid this year .
The fact is that recordkeeping for such things is shoddy in many states .
We don ’ t keep track of when people die or when they move .
Only when they are born or originally register to vote .
Some states have so many dead people on the voter rolls that it looks like a season-ending cliffhanger from the Walking Dead .
In order for states like New York or Florida to get their records in order , it would take years of cleanup work and a total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ records .
New laws would be required to ensure that the rolls remain clean , even if they somehow managed to clean them up for one cycle .
This is a preview of what we can expect in November .
Thus far , many media commentators are only focusing on the fact that it may take longer before the official results can be called .
And so what , right ?
We can afford to wait a few weeks .
But if a state like Florida fails to deliver 17 % of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re going to be looking at a complete collapse in voter confidence and the integrity of the election .
And it will be their own fault .

As more and more states move toward conducting the November elections entirely by mail, numerous concerns have been raised. These often have to do with the possibility (if not probability) of ballot harvesting or other types of voter fraud. Even those who believe the chances of fraud taking place are low express concerns over states with little experience in this type of voting messing up the process, leading to massive delays in knowing the results or significant numbers of people simply being able to legally cast a ballot. But even if everything is planned out well and organized with enough time to spare, and the Post Office is up to the task, the state of Nevada has shown us another significant threat lurking in the background.
When Nevada conducted their primary in June, they hastily concocted a system whereby all of the voters would receive their ballots in the mail in a timely fashion. But there was one major fly in the ointment that nobody seemed to see coming. As the Free Beacon reports, in Clark County (the state’s largest, which includes Vegas) more than 200,000 ballots were sent to the wrong addresses so the voters never received them.
More than one-sixth of the mail-in ballots sent to voters in Nevada’s largest county during the 2020 primary went to outdated addresses, according to a new watchdog report. The Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity group, reviewed the 1.3 million mail-in ballots Nevada’s Clark County sent during the June primary. It found that more than 223,000 of the ballots were sent to outdated addresses, leading the postal service to designate them as “undeliverable.” The undeliverable ballots accounted for 17 percent of all ballots mailed to registered voters. Nearly 75 percent of Nevada’s total population resides in the county, which includes Las Vegas. “These numbers show how vote by mail fails,” said J. Christian Adams, PILF’s president and general counsel. “New proponents of mail balloting don’t often understand how it actually works.
So how did Nevada get it so wrong? Well… technically they didn’t. Their system generated ballots for all of the registered voters, printed them and got them to the Post Office in time for voters to receive them, complete them and send them back. The problem is that nearly twenty percent of the people on the voter rolls no longer lived at the address that was listed on the rolls. As one PILF representative pointed out, the reason that states such as Oregon and Washington do so well with mail-in voting is that they are “notably aggressive” in maintaining their voter lists.
The error rates in those two states are very low, so nearly all of the ballots show up at the proper destination. Not so in Nevada, where all of the ballots heading to incorrect addresses were marked as “undeliverable” by the Post Office and eventually returned. By that point, it was far too late to vote.
Why were nearly one in five of Nevada’s addresses of record wrong? Well, people move. People die. People get married and their names change. There’s any number of factors that can lead to last year’s information no longer being valid this year.
The fact is that recordkeeping for such things is shoddy in many states. We don’t keep track of when people die or when they move. Only when they are born or originally register to vote. Some states have so many dead people on the voter rolls that it looks like a season-ending cliffhanger from the Walking Dead. In order for states like New York or Florida to get their records in order, it would take years of cleanup work and a total rethink of how they police such public records. New laws would be required to ensure that the rolls remain clean, even if they somehow managed to clean them up for one cycle.
This is a preview of what we can expect in November. Thus far, many media commentators are only focusing on the fact that it may take longer before the official results can be called. And so what, right? We can afford to wait a few weeks. But if a state like Florida fails to deliver 17% of its ballots to the proper address, you’re going to be looking at a complete collapse in voter confidence and the integrity of the election. And it will be their own fault.


hotair--2020-08-10--Night 74: Portland declares yet another riot -- despite federal withdrawal

At what point does Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon governor Kate Brown apologize for their mischaracterization of the ongoing riots in the Rose City ?
Long after DHS agreed to draw down its extra deployment of federal law enforcement , the city has declared riots the last two ights as its own police forces come under attack .
Local CBS affiliate KOIN points out called it Night 73 , while the Oregonian counted it as Night 74 — long preceding DHS ’ manpower boost at the federal courthouse , and showing no sign of abating since : Commercial grade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Portland Police Bureau officers during Sunday night ’ s protest resulting in multiple injuries and another riot declaration .
Two officers were hit by fireworks thrown by protesters around 10 p.m. , prompting PPB to declare another riot .
One officer was burned on her neck and her face mask melted .
Another officer standing 10 feet away was injured in the leg by a piece of the firework striking his leg .
By the end of the night , at least 16 people were arrested .
All were booked into the Multnomah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smaller this time , but the mission appeared to be the same — to assault law enforcement officers and buildings .
This time the rioters took aim at a police union building : The event came a day after protests Saturday night in the same area that were mostly peaceful until a small group of people lit a fire inside the police union building .
Saturday ’ s standoff , which lasted into early morning hours Sunday , prompted police to declare a riot and advance on the crowd using impact munitions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s unfolded on several recent nights in which a small group provoke police by damaging property and throwing objects at officers .
Sunday set up a potential repeat of the prior night ’ s hostilities , though with a smaller crowd .
About 200 people marched from Kenton Park to the Portland Police Association office on North Lombard Street shortly before 10 p.m. Minutes after protesters arrived outside the union office , police warned demonstrators via loudspeaker not to participate in criminal activities .
The warning also was posted on Twitter .
Demonstrators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street and Fenwick Avenue using dumpsters and fences dragged into the street from nearby .
At least one dumpster was set on fire .
Shortly before 10 p.m. , police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly .
Minutes later , police in riot gear advanced on the crowd , which began to retreat down North Denver Avenue .
Video showed officers hit by small thrown objects .
At one point , a large firework exploded between the police line and the retreating protesters .
Police also fired crowd-control munitions .
The crowds are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comfort to the people of Portland , at least those who aren ’ t shooting rockets at police .
The ongoing violence makes it clear that these riots had little to do with extra DHS law enforcement at the courthouse , and everything to do with extremists exploiting anger over George Floyd ’ s homicide to burn down representative government altogether and to impose mob rule instead .
Which , by the way , was the exact same purpose when extremists attacked the federal courthouse .
Wheeler and Brown tried to shift blame @ @ @ @ @ @ @ onto DHS for reacting to that lack of order .
The withdrawal of extra DHS law enforcement has stripped that fig leaf off Wheeler and Brown .
So when will they admit being naked ?

At what point does Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon governor Kate Brown apologize for their mischaracterization of the ongoing riots in the Rose City? Long after DHS agreed to draw down its extra deployment of federal law enforcement, the city has declared riots the last two ights as its own police forces come under attack. Local CBS affiliate KOIN points out called it Night 73, while the Oregonian counted it as Night 74 — long preceding DHS’ manpower boost at the federal courthouse, and showing no sign of abating since:
Commercial grade fireworks and a mortar were used against Portland Police Bureau officers during Sunday night’s protest resulting in multiple injuries and another riot declaration. Two officers were hit by fireworks thrown by protesters around 10 p.m., prompting PPB to declare another riot. One officer was burned on her neck and her face mask melted. Another officer standing 10 feet away was injured in the leg by a piece of the firework striking his leg. By the end of the night, at least 16 people were arrested. All were booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center.
The crowd was smaller this time, but the mission appeared to be the same — to assault law enforcement officers and buildings. This time the rioters took aim at a police union building:
The event came a day after protests Saturday night in the same area that were mostly peaceful until a small group of people lit a fire inside the police union building. Saturday’s standoff, which lasted into early morning hours Sunday, prompted police to declare a riot and advance on the crowd using impact munitions and physical force, a pattern that’s unfolded on several recent nights in which a small group provoke police by damaging property and throwing objects at officers. Sunday set up a potential repeat of the prior night’s hostilities, though with a smaller crowd. About 200 people marched from Kenton Park to the Portland Police Association office on North Lombard Street shortly before 10 p.m. Minutes after protesters arrived outside the union office, police warned demonstrators via loudspeaker not to participate in criminal activities. The warning also was posted on Twitter. Demonstrators blocked off blocked access at North Lombard Street and Fenwick Avenue using dumpsters and fences dragged into the street from nearby. At least one dumpster was set on fire. Shortly before 10 p.m., police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly. Minutes later, police in riot gear advanced on the crowd, which began to retreat down North Denver Avenue. Video showed officers hit by small thrown objects. At one point, a large firework exploded between the police line and the retreating protesters. Police also fired crowd-control munitions.
The crowds are smaller, but that’s small comfort to the people of Portland, at least those who aren’t shooting rockets at police. The ongoing violence makes it clear that these riots had little to do with extra DHS law enforcement at the courthouse, and everything to do with extremists exploiting anger over George Floyd’s homicide to burn down representative government altogether and to impose mob rule instead.
Which, by the way, was the exact same purpose when extremists attacked the federal courthouse. Wheeler and Brown tried to shift blame for their own failure to keep order onto DHS for reacting to that lack of order. The withdrawal of extra DHS law enforcement has stripped that fig leaf off Wheeler and Brown. So when will they admit being naked?