motherjones--2020-05-25--We Are Combat Vets, and We Want America to Reboot Memorial Day

Pandemic or no , resilient Americans will celebrate Memorial Day together .
Be it through Zoom or spaced six feet apart from ten or less loved ones at backyard cookouts , folks will find a way .
In these peculiar gatherings , is it still considered cynical to wonder if people will spare much actual thought for American soldiers still dying abroad—or question the utility of America ’ s forever wars ?
Etiquette aside , we think it ’ s obscene not to .
Just as the coronavirus has exposed systemic rot , this moment also reveals how obsolete common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions about the holiday devoted to its sacrifices .
The truth is that today ’ s “ way of war ” is so abstract , distant , and short on ( at least American ) casualties as to be nearly invisible to the public .
With little to show for it , Washington still directs bloody global campaigns , killing thousands of locals .
America has no space on its calendar to memorialize these victims : even the children among them .
Eighteen years ago , as a cadet and young marine officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day—both brimming with enthusiasm for the wars we knew lay ahead .
In the intervening decades , for individual yet strikingly similar reasons , we ultimately chose paths of dissent .
Since then , we ’ ve penned critical editorials around Memorial Days .
These challenged the wars ’ prospects , questioned the efficacy of the volunteer military , and encouraged citizens to honor the fallen by creating fewer of them .
Little has changed , except how America fights .
But that ’ s the point : outsourcing combat to machines , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opaque that Washington wages it absent public oversight or awareness—and empathy .
That ’ s the formula for forever war .
In recent years , U.S. troops were killed not only in Iraq and Afghanistan , but also Syria , Kenya , Somalia , Yemen , and Niger .
Few Americans could locate these countries on a map ; fewer knew its soldiers fought there .
Additionally , Pentagon pilots and proxies killed people in Libya , Pakistan , and elsewhere in West Africa without losing a single soldier .
The campaigns in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ casualty inequity of modern American warfare .
In the former , only a few U.S. service members have been killed in an 18-year intervention .
Conversely , hundreds of thousands of Somalis died or were displaced as a direct or indirect result ( an exacerbated famine , for example ) of a largely U.S.-catalyzed war .
In Yemen , just one American soldier died in combat , compared to more than 100,000 locals—including 85,000 children starved to death—in a terror campaign the Saudis couldn ’ t wage without U.S. complicity .
No one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but a death disparity so stark stretches classic definitions of combat .
Yet for locals , it likely feels a whole lot like “ real ” war on the business end of U.S. bombs and bullets .
So this year , given the stark reality that even a deadly pandemic—and pleas for global ceasefire—hasn ’ t slowed Washington ’ s war machine , it ’ s reasonable to question the very concept of Memorial Day .
There are also important parallels with Labor Day—the holiday bookend to today ’ s seasonal kick off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obscenely lopsided battle deaths is increasingly indecent , a federal holiday devoted to a labor movement the government has aggressively eviscerated is deeply troubling .
With unemployment sky-rocketing to Great Depression rates , and income inequality at Gilded Age levels , both holidays now “ celebrate ” egregious blood and treasure disparity .
For example , sifting through the Department of Labor ’ s statistics reveals that some 8,000 contractors have been killed in America ’ s war zones .
That outnumbers U.S. military fatalities .
Since Washington has progressively privatized and outsourced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ observe a Mercenary Memorial Day .
Widening the aperture unveils thousands more “ non-combat ” —but war-related—uniformed deaths in desperate need of memorializing .
From 2006-2018 alone , 3,540 active-duty service members took their own lives—just a fraction of the 15-20 daily veteran suicides—and another 640 died in accidents involving substance-abuse .
Each death is unique , but studies demonstrate that the combined effects of PTSD and moral injury—these wars ’ “ signature wound “ —contributed to this massive loss of life .
On a personal level , at least four soldiers under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as have several friends .
These are real folks who left behind real loved ones .
Faced with unrecognizable brands of war , most people substitute nostalgia and myth .
Grappling with war ’ s reality has implications that are too disturbing .
Far simpler and more satisfying is to commemorate long past sacrifices at Normandy and Iwo Jima , rather than more confounding losses in Niger and Iraq .
The temptation persists even as the last World War II veterans pass ; old notions of what combat is die with them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and strategic way .
Riddled with a virus that has now killed more Americans than the Revolutionary , Mexican , Spanish , Indian , Philippine , Vietnam , Persian Gulf , Iraq , and Afghan Wars combined , this nation requires serious soul-searching .
Reimagining its bookended summer celebrations might be a good start ; but it won ’ t be easy .
In a new take on an old tradition , perhaps it ’ s proper to not only pack away the whites , but don black as a memorial to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a member of the advisory boards of Expose Facts , Veterans For Peace and World Beyond War .
He previously served in Iraq with a State Department team and with the U.S. Marines .
He is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy .
Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer and contributing editor at antiwar.com .
He served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at West Point .
He is the author of a memoir of the Iraq War , Ghostriders of Baghdad : Soldiers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Surge .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Pandemic or no, resilient Americans will celebrate Memorial Day together. Be it through Zoom or spaced six feet apart from ten or less loved ones at backyard cookouts, folks will find a way. In these peculiar gatherings, is it still considered cynical to wonder if people will spare much actual thought for American soldiers still dying abroad—or question the utility of America’s forever wars? Etiquette aside, we think it’s obscene not to.
Just as the coronavirus has exposed systemic rot, this moment also reveals how obsolete common conceptions of U.S. warfare truly are—raising core questions about the holiday devoted to its sacrifices. The truth is that today’s “way of war” is so abstract, distant, and short on (at least American) casualties as to be nearly invisible to the public. With little to show for it, Washington still directs bloody global campaigns, killing thousands of locals. America has no space on its calendar to memorialize these victims: even the children among them.
“Just as the coronavirus exposed much internal systemic rot, this moment also reveals how obsolete common conceptions of U.S. warfare truly are.”
Eighteen years ago, as a cadet and young marine officer, we celebrated the first post-9/11 Memorial Day—both brimming with enthusiasm for the wars we knew lay ahead. In the intervening decades, for individual yet strikingly similar reasons, we ultimately chose paths of dissent. Since then, we’ve penned critical editorials around Memorial Days. These challenged the wars’ prospects, questioned the efficacy of the volunteer military, and encouraged citizens to honor the fallen by creating fewer of them.
Little has changed, except how America fights. But that’s the point: outsourcing combat to machines, mercenaries, and militias rendered war so opaque that Washington wages it absent public oversight or awareness—and empathy. That’s the formula for forever war.
In recent years, U.S. troops were killed not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen, and Niger. Few Americans could locate these countries on a map; fewer knew its soldiers fought there. Additionally, Pentagon pilots and proxies killed people in Libya, Pakistan, and elsewhere in West Africa without losing a single soldier.
The campaigns in Somalia and Yemen best expose the absurd casualty inequity of modern American warfare. In the former, only a few U.S. service members have been killed in an 18-year intervention. Conversely, hundreds of thousands of Somalis died or were displaced as a direct or indirect result (an exacerbated famine, for example) of a largely U.S.-catalyzed war. In Yemen, just one American soldier died in combat, compared to more than 100,000 locals—including 85,000 children starved to death—in a terror campaign the Saudis couldn’t wage without U.S. complicity.
No one wants to see American troops killed, but a death disparity so stark stretches classic definitions of combat. Yet for locals, it likely feels a whole lot like “real” war on the business end of U.S. bombs and bullets.
So this year, given the stark reality that even a deadly pandemic—and pleas for global ceasefire—hasn’t slowed Washington’s war machine, it’s reasonable to question the very concept of Memorial Day. There are also important parallels with Labor Day—the holiday bookend to today’s seasonal kick off. Just as memorializing America’s obscenely lopsided battle deaths is increasingly indecent, a federal holiday devoted to a labor movement the government has aggressively eviscerated is deeply troubling.
With unemployment sky-rocketing to Great Depression rates, and income inequality at Gilded Age levels, both holidays now “celebrate” egregious blood and treasure disparity. For example, sifting through the Department of Labor’s statistics reveals that some 8,000 contractors have been killed in America’s war zones. That outnumbers U.S. military fatalities. Since Washington has progressively privatized and outsourced its wars, perhaps Americans should also observe a Mercenary Memorial Day.
Widening the aperture unveils thousands more “non-combat”—but war-related—uniformed deaths in desperate need of memorializing. From 2006-2018 alone, 3,540 active-duty service members took their own lives—just a fraction of the 15-20 daily veteran suicides—and another 640 died in accidents involving substance-abuse. Each death is unique, but studies demonstrate that the combined effects of PTSD and moral injury—these wars’ “signature wound“—contributed to this massive loss of life. On a personal level, at least four soldiers under our commands took their own lives, as have several friends. These are real folks who left behind real loved ones.
Faced with unrecognizable brands of war, most people substitute nostalgia and myth. Grappling with war’s reality has implications that are too disturbing. Far simpler and more satisfying is to commemorate long past sacrifices at Normandy and Iwo Jima, rather than more confounding losses in Niger and Iraq. The temptation persists even as the last World War II veterans pass; old notions of what combat is die with them.
The United States has lost its ethical and strategic way. Riddled with a virus that has now killed more Americans than the Revolutionary, Mexican, Spanish, Indian, Philippine, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghan Wars combined, this nation requires serious soul-searching. Reimagining its bookended summer celebrations might be a good start; but it won’t be easy.
In a new take on an old tradition, perhaps it’s proper to not only pack away the whites, but don black as a memorial to a republic in peril.
Matthew Hoh is a member of the advisory boards of Expose Facts, Veterans For Peace and World Beyond War. He previously served in Iraq with a State Department team and with the U.S. Marines. He is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy.
Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer and contributing editor at antiwar.com. He served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at West Point. He is the author of a memoir of the Iraq War, Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.


motherjones--2020-05-25--How a “Bunch of Badass Queer Anarchists” Are Teaming Up With Locals to Block a Pipeline Through Appa

How a “Bunch of Badass Queer Anarchists” Are Teaming Up With Locals to Block a Pipeline Through Appalachia

“ Life in these mountains ain ’ t always been easy , so people around here take a stand when they see something they don ’ t agree with—and I ’ m one of them , ” says walrus-mustached Jammie Hale in his thick southwestern Virginia mountain accent .
“ People that grow up in places like this , seeing their environment destroyed , it stirs them , it causes people to want to get involved , and that ’ s why I ’ m here.
” In a documentary-style video produced by Unicorn Riot , a left-wing media collective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to join a protest movement taking on the Mountain Valley Pipeline ( MVP ) , a 303-mile long , nearly 42-inch wide pipeline intended to move natural gas from the fracking fields of northern West Virginia to a terminal in southern Virginia that connects to markets and export terminals on the East Coast .
Settled in among the hardwood trees on Peters Mountain , near where he ’ s been occupying an aerial platform with another ( pseudonymous ) activist known as Nutty , he talks of his family ’ s 150-plus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and how that history motivates him to do all he can to prevent the pipeline from crossing the Appalachian Trail .
Now in 2020 , the Peters Mountain blockade no longer exists , and although many tree sits have fizzled out , a group of up to a dozen activists have been camped in a steep hollow along Yellow Finch Lane near Elliston , Va. for nearly a year and a half .
( Hale lives nearby and visits the encampment several times each week . )
It is at least partly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains unfinished .
Its production cost has risen from a projected $ 3.5 billion to $ 5.5 billion , and the pipeline is two years behind its original timeline due to a series of regulations and litigation preventing it from crossing the Appalachian Trail and multiple rivers and waterways .
Yellow Finch , as the encampment has come to be called , is giving its full-time activists , most of whom are in their 20s , an on-the-ground education in Appalachian direct action .
They ’ re learning how to talk to media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blockade in the forest , and to survive a winter in the mountains , all in a region written off by much of the US as “ Trump country.
” Less explored is the region ’ s significant history of activism that brought together outsiders and locals to resist corporate exploitation , from the labor organizing by Mary Harris “ Mother ” Jones ’ on behalf of West Virginia miners in the 1910s and ’ 20s , to the Mountain Justice campaign against mountaintop removal coal mining a century later .
Some veterans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the folks at Yellow Finch , applying lessons learned in the current fight against fossil fuels .
The camp lies at the base of the steep Blue Ridge Plateau ; to reach it , you must drive carefully up a twisting mountain backroad and then back down a dirt road that follows a stream .
Steep slopes rise up on either side , and the contrast between sides of the hollow stand as a testament to the activists ’ success in delaying pipeline construction .
On one side , the forest has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and shored up with silt fences and green , mulch-stuffed fabric socks to prevent erosion .
The other side of the hollow , home to the Yellow Finch encampment , remains wooded .
The camp is set about 50 yards up from the road , firmly planted into the hillside .
A couple of hastily erected plywood buildings covered in handmade art and cardboard signs serve as a sleeping area and pantry .
Tarps nailed to the side of the bunkhouse and nearby trees cover a makeshift kitchen , scattered with dishes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nutritional yeast , and other supplies .
The number of activists that call the camp home fluctuates with the weather and the need for additional people to sustain the camp .
A 27-year-old activist called Gator fondly describes the camp ’ s occupants as “ a bunch of badass queer anarchists that held it down for a long period of time.
” They come from all over and vary in age , ethnicity , socioeconomic status , and family backgrounds , but they ’ re united in their desire to protect the mountains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ variety of paths ; several cut their teeth in other movements , organizing against the mining of frac sand , the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , mass incarceration , and police violence .
They discovered Yellow Finch through word of mouth , on news sites popular with anarchists like It ’ s Going Down and Unicorn Riot , and Appalachians Against Pipelines , the campaign ’ s quasi-official Facebook page .
Several came after seeing the video that featured Hale .
One of the camp mainstays is known as Dustie Pinesap .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ then trained in tree-climbing and forest defense in 2017 and 2018 against Pennsylvania ’ s Mariner East pipeline system before coming to Yellow Finch .
“ You don ’ t need to be able to climb a tree , ” Pinesap said .
“ You can cook food .
You can bring supplies .
You can build structures .
You can chop wood .
There ’ s a lot of things to do.
” Pinesap recalls how poorly prepared Yellow Finch was for its first winter , but how MVP ’ s rival @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security guards clad in cotton uniforms , shivering and staring at their phones in a tent heated with propane—what she called a “ carbon monoxide special.
” “ They ’ re out of their element and they don ’ t really know what to do , ” Pinesap says .
“ We ’ ve got a fire here , we can cook over a fire .
We fill in the shack and warm up by the woodstove .
We ’ re chopping wood , we ’ re doing things , we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] are sitting around like you would at an office job.
” Part of the power in the activists ’ mission comes from the community support they have managed to garner .
Though Hale and another local supporter , Crystal Mello , don ’ t live in the protest camp , they offer up their homes for the Yellow Finch folks to take showers and do laundry ; they haul socks , toilet paper , food , and other supplies up the mountain each week .
The broader population in communities along MVP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the broader anti-pipeline campaign ; many support their efforts outright .
Handmade anti-pipeline signs appear along the roads near the pipeline , while visible pro-pipeline sentiment is non-existent .
The biggest problem , Mello says , is a sense of fatalism that pervades the community : “ Nobody likes this pipeline , but everybody says , ’ It ’ s stupid , but what are you going to do , it ’ s coming anyway.
’ It ’ s the saddest conversation.
” Mello , who became fast friends with Hale upon meeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcement vehicles on the road to the camp with the help of a network of other locals .
If any are spotted , she heads out to the Yellow Finch site to try and defuse the situation or , in case of arrest , provide jail and court support .
They make an odd pair .
Mello , a 44-year-old single mother and grandmother , earns a living cleaning houses and emphasizes her local roots by wearing clothes bearing logos for the nearby high school and community events like the Eastmont Tomato Festival @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ gate ” chore—a boring but essential job monitoring who approaches the camp—and she even spent a few days in one of the tree sits .
Hale is one of the rare white cis men among a group comprised of mostly gender nonbinary activists .
Both Hale and Mello feel fiercely protective of the younger camp activists ; Mello compares them to her kids ’ friends , while Hale has at different times jawed with pipeline security and scuffled with a state trooper for picking on the protesters , earning misdemeanor assault @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found not guilty of the first , but convicted and sentenced to 30 days on the second .
( He has appealed the ruling . )
Still , Hale says he ’ s learning a lot from the pipeline fighters about white supremacy and gender politics .
He ’ s learned about violence against transgender individuals , women , and people of color .
They ’ ve broadened his worldview .
“ I ’ ve always been kind of a hermit , ” Hale said .
“ I took care of myself and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone .
Through this journey , I ’ ve had to step out of so many boxes .
I ’ ve had to step outside of my comfort zone , like with pronouns .
I never thought it was that important , but to some folks , it is .
I ’ ve become more sensitive to folks.
” In return , he shares his homesteading skills .
“ Me being a mountain person , I hoped I ’ ve shared how to stay warm , how to stay dry , how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I hope these folks have learned from me , but I ’ ve learned way more from them .
Before I started this , it was all about me .
It was all about my farm and my family , and not about anyone else .
But after I met these young folks living in the woods and coming up with random acts of kindness , it ’ s really touched my heart and opened me up.
” Before he got involved in the Peters Mountain blockades documented by Unicorn Riot , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state university until he tore the muscles in his back and shoulders while on the job .
Hale sued and won early retirement .
Since then , he had focused on keeping up his farm , caring for cattle , goats , pigs , and chickens .
Fishing and hunting were his main pastimes .
“ I never was political until I started this journey , ” Hale said .
That journey began when he spotted a pipeline crew surveying land on his neighbor ’ s farm .
Hale had been charged with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of town ; he reported the trespassers to the police .
When a local deputy declined to arrest them , Hale was furious .
He connected with other pipeline activists on Facebook and learned about the Peters Mountain tree sits on the news ; in February , he received a text from another local about Nutty ’ s aerial pod .
Hale spent 52 days at Nutty ’ s support camp before joining up with jail and court support for activists who are arrested , and he began visiting Yellow Finch a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unicorn Riot video , Hale talks about what he ’ s going to do next : “ I ’ ve seen Mountain Valley pipeline stocks go down , and that ’ s where my target is .
If I stand to lose what I ’ ve worked all my life for , and I can hinder their process , I figure that ’ s fair justice.
” In the two years since , Hale has indeed lost much of what he once worked for .
He has sold off most of his livestock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but the pipeline construction has dried up their ponds anyhow .
He once ran cattle , but now he is down to four goats and 10 pigs .
He insists that he regrets nothing , despite being stuck at home , waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal .
“ I ’ m working on trying to be disabled and still be useful in life , ” Hale said .
“ Now , I ’ m disabled and trying to be disruptive .
”

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
“Life in these mountains ain’t always been easy, so people around here take a stand when they see something they don’t agree with—and I’m one of them,” says walrus-mustached Jammie Hale in his thick southwestern Virginia mountain accent. “People that grow up in places like this, seeing their environment destroyed, it stirs them, it causes people to want to get involved, and that’s why I’m here.”
In a documentary-style video produced by Unicorn Riot, a left-wing media collective, in 2018, Hale explains his decision to join a protest movement taking on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a 303-mile long, nearly 42-inch-wide pipeline intended to move natural gas from the fracking fields of northern West Virginia to a terminal in southern Virginia that connects to markets and export terminals on the East Coast. Settled in among the hardwood trees on Peters Mountain, near where another (pseudonymous) activist known as Nutty has been occupying an aerial platform, he talks of his family’s 150-plus years in Giles County, Virginia, and how that history motivates him to do all he can to prevent the pipeline from crossing the Appalachian Trail.
Now in 2020, the Peters Mountain blockade no longer exists, and although many tree sits have fizzled out, a group of up to a dozen activists have been camped in a steep hollow along Yellow Finch Lane near Elliston, Virginia, for nearly a year and a half. (Hale lives nearby and visits the encampment several times each week.) It is at least partly to their credit that the Mountain Valley Pipeline remains unfinished. Its production cost has risen from a projected $3.5 billion to $5.5 billion, and the pipeline is two years behind its original timeline due to a series of regulations and litigation preventing it from crossing the Appalachian Trail and multiple rivers and waterways.
Yellow Finch, as the encampment has come to be called, is giving its full-time activists, most of whom are in their 20s, an on-the-ground education in Appalachian direct action. They’re learning how to talk to media, to establish and maintain a defensible blockade in the forest, and to survive a winter in the mountains, all in a region written off by much of the US as “Trump country.” Less explored is the region’s significant history of activism that brought together outsiders and locals to resist corporate exploitation, from the labor organizing by Mary Harris “Mother” Jones on behalf of West Virginia miners in the 1910s and ’20s, to the Mountain Justice campaign against mountaintop removal coal mining a century later. Some veterans of the latter campaign are now working with the folks at Yellow Finch, applying lessons learned in the current fight against fossil fuels.
The camp lies at the base of the steep Blue Ridge Plateau; to reach it, you must drive carefully up a twisting mountain backroad and then back down a dirt road that follows a stream. Steep slopes rise up on either side, and the contrast between sides of the hollow stand as a testament to the activists’ success in delaying pipeline construction. On one side, the forest has been stripped bare, replanted with grass, and shored up with silt fences and green, mulch-stuffed fabric socks to prevent erosion. The other side of the hollow, home to the Yellow Finch encampment, remains wooded.
The camp is set about 50 yards up from the road, firmly planted into the hillside. A couple of hastily erected plywood buildings covered in handmade art and cardboard signs serve as a sleeping area and pantry. Tarps nailed to the side of the bunkhouse and nearby trees cover a makeshift kitchen, scattered with dishes, cooking gear, herbal tinctures, nutritional yeast, and other supplies.
The number of activists that call the camp home fluctuates with the weather and the need for additional people to sustain the camp. A 27-year-old activist called Gator fondly describes the camp’s occupants as “a bunch of badass queer anarchists that held it down for a long period of time.” They come from all over and vary in age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and family backgrounds, but they’re united in their desire to protect the mountains. They found the camp through a variety of paths; several cut their teeth in other movements, organizing against the mining of frac sand, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mass incarceration, and police violence. They discovered Yellow Finch through word of mouth, on news sites popular with anarchists like It’s Going Down and Unicorn Riot, and Appalachians Against Pipelines, the campaign’s quasi-official Facebook page. Several came after seeing the video that featured Hale.
One of the camp mainstays is known as Dustie Pinesap. She grew up in the Midwest, then trained in tree-climbing and forest defense in 2017 and 2018 against Pennsylvania’s Mariner East pipeline system before coming to Yellow Finch. “You don’t need to be able to climb a tree,” Pinesap said. “You can cook food. You can bring supplies. You can build structures. You can chop wood. There’s a lot of things to do.”
Pinesap recalls how poorly prepared Yellow Finch was for its first winter, but how MVP’s rival camp was even worse. Pinesap remembers security guards clad in cotton uniforms, shivering and staring at their phones in a tent heated with propane—what she called a “carbon monoxide special.”
“They’re out of their element and they don’t really know what to do,” Pinesap says. “We’ve got a fire here, we can cook over a fire. We fill in the shack and warm up by the woodstove. We’re chopping wood, we’re doing things, we’re being active. They [pipeline security] are sitting around like you would at an office job.”
Part of the power in the activists’ mission comes from the community support they have managed to garner. Though Hale and another local supporter, Crystal Mello, don’t live in the protest camp, they offer up their homes for the Yellow Finch folks to take showers and do laundry; they haul socks, toilet paper, food, and other supplies up the mountain each week. The broader population in communities along MVP’s route tolerate Yellow Finch and the broader anti-pipeline campaign; many support their efforts outright. Handmade anti-pipeline signs appear along the roads near the pipeline, while visible pro-pipeline sentiment is non-existent. The biggest problem, Mello says, is a sense of fatalism that pervades the community: “Nobody likes this pipeline, but everybody says, ’It’s stupid, but what are you going to do, it’s coming anyway.’ It’s the saddest conversation.”
Mello, who became fast friends with Hale upon meeting him at the encampment, monitors law enforcement vehicles on the road to the camp with the help of a network of other locals. If any are spotted, she heads out to the Yellow Finch site to try and defuse the situation or, in case of arrest, provide jail and court support.
They make an odd pair. Mello, a 44-year-old single mother and grandmother, earns a living cleaning houses and emphasizes her local roots by wearing clothes bearing logos for the nearby high school and community events like the Eastmont Tomato Festival. At camp, she often takes the “gate” chore—a boring but essential job monitoring who approaches the camp—and she even spent a few days in one of the tree sits. Hale is one of the rare white cis men among a group comprised of mostly gender nonbinary activists. Both Hale and Mello feel fiercely protective of the younger camp activists; Mello compares them to her kids’ friends, while Hale has at different times jawed with pipeline security and scuffled with a state trooper for picking on the protesters, earning misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct charges. He was found not guilty of the first, but convicted and sentenced to 30 days on the second. (He has appealed the ruling.)
Still, Hale says he’s learning a lot from the pipeline fighters about white supremacy and gender politics. He’s learned about violence against transgender individuals, women, and people of color. They’ve broadened his worldview. “I’ve always been kind of a hermit,” Hale said. “I took care of myself and my family and liked to be left alone. Through this journey, I’ve had to step out of so many boxes. I’ve had to step outside of my comfort zone, like with pronouns. I never thought it was that important, but to some folks, it is. I’ve become more sensitive to folks.” In return, he shares his homesteading skills.
“Me being a mountain person, I hoped I’ve shared how to stay warm, how to stay dry, how to prepare water,” Hale said. “I hope these folks have learned from me, but I’ve learned way more from them. Before I started this, it was all about me. It was all about my farm and my family, and not about anyone else. But after I met these young folks living in the woods and coming up with random acts of kindness, it’s really touched my heart and opened me up.”
Before he got involved in the Peters Mountain blockades documented by Unicorn Riot, Hale worked as a janitor at a state university until he tore the muscles in his back and shoulders while on the job. Hale sued and won early retirement. Since then, he had focused on keeping up his farm, caring for cattle, goats, pigs, and chickens. Fishing and hunting were his main pastimes. “I never was political until I started this journey,” Hale said.
That journey began when he spotted a pipeline crew surveying land on his neighbor’s farm. Hale had been charged with watching the property while his neighbor was out of town; he reported the trespassers to the police. When a local deputy declined to arrest them, Hale was furious. He connected with other pipeline activists on Facebook and learned about the Peters Mountain tree sits on the news; in February, he received a text from another local about Nutty’s aerial pod. Hale spent 52 days at Nutty’s support camp before joining up with jail and court support for activists who are arrested, and he began visiting Yellow Finch a few times each week.
In the Unicorn Riot video, Hale talks about what he’s going to do next: “I’ve seen Mountain Valley pipeline stocks go down, and that’s where my target is. If I stand to lose what I’ve worked all my life for, and I can hinder their process, I figure that’s fair justice.”
In the two years since, Hale has indeed lost much of what he once worked for. He has sold off most of his livestock, in part to fund his work, but the pipeline construction has dried up their ponds anyhow. He once ran cattle, but now he is down to four goats and 10 pigs. He insists that he regrets nothing, despite being stuck at home, waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal.
“I’m working on trying to be disabled and still be useful in life,” Hale said. “Now, I’m disabled and trying to be disruptive.”


motherjones--2020-05-26--Trump Sent a Tweet So Misleading That Twitter Put a Disclaimer on It

Twitter added a fact-check label to two of President Donald Trump ’ s tweets , marking the first time the @ @ @ @ @ the president ’ s use of the site for spreading lies .
On Tuesday , @ @ @ @ @ would lead to voter fraud .
Clicking a blue exclamation point labeled “ Get the @ @ @ @ @ takes users to a page refuting the claim that mail-in ballots have any connection with @ @ @ @ @ also clarifies that in California , only registered voters—not , as Trump claims , “ @ @ @ @ @ , no matter who they are or how they got there ” —would receive mail-in @ @ @ @ @ Twitter was not doing enough to address the regular onslaught of misinformation , the platform @ @ @ @ @ it would add warning labels to deceitful or inaccurate tweets by elected officials .
Twitter @ @ @ @ @ Washington Post that Trump ’ s tweets “ contain potentially misleading information about voting processes @ @ @ @ @ provide additional context around mail-in ballots .
”

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Twitter added a fact-check label to two of President Donald Trump’s tweets, marking the first time the social media platform has curbed the president’s use of the site for spreading lies.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed that mail-in ballots would lead to voter fraud.
There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
….living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
Clicking a blue exclamation point labeled “Get the facts about mail-in ballots” takes users to a page refuting the claim that mail-in ballots have any connection with voter fraud. The page also clarifies that in California, only registered voters—not, as Trump claims, “anyone living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there”—would receive mail-in ballots.
Following criticism that Twitter was not doing enough to address the regular onslaught of misinformation, the platform announced in June 2019 that it would add warning labels to deceitful or inaccurate tweets by elected officials. Twitter spokesperson Katie Rosborough told the Washington Post that Trump’s tweets “contain potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labeled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots.”


motherjones--2020-05-26--Trump Keeps Promoting a Baseless Murder Conspiracy Theory, Despite Pleas From the Widower

President Trump on Tuesday continued to baselessly suggest that Joe Scarborough , the MSNBC host and former Florida congressman , murdered his former staffer Lori Klausutis , despite mounting condemnation over his relentless promotion of the entirely debunked conspiracy theory .
The latest tweet promoting this meritless allegation came shortly after the New York Times published a letter from Klausutis ’ husband urging Twitter to remove the president ’ s tweets about his late wife , who died in 2001 from a fall stemming from an undiagnosed heart condition .
“ I ’ m asking you to intervene in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States has taken something that does not belong him—the memory of my dead wife—and perverted it for perceived political gain , ” Timothy Klausutis wrote to Twitter ’ s Jack Dorsey last week .
While it ’ s not clear if Trump has read the letter , he appeared to indirectly acknowledge some of the criticism on Tuesday .
“ The opening of a Cold Case against Psycho Joe Scarborough was not a Donald Trump original thought , ” he tweeted .
“ This has been going on for years , long before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , by tweeting about the false theory once more , Trump was again fanning its flames .
Trump appears to be indulging in the conspiracy theory in order to smear Scarborough , an outspoken critic of the president .
That effort comes as the United States approaches 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
President Trump on Tuesday continued to baselessly suggest that Joe Scarborough, the MSNBC host and former Florida congressman, murdered his former staffer Lori Klausutis, despite mounting condemnation over his relentless promotion of the entirely debunked conspiracy theory. The latest tweet promoting this meritless allegation came shortly after the New York Times published a letter from Klausutis’ husband urging Twitter to remove the president’s tweets about his late wife, who died in 2001 from a fall stemming from an undiagnosed heart condition.
“I’m asking you to intervene in this instance because the President of the United States has taken something that does not belong him—the memory of my dead wife—and perverted it for perceived political gain,” Timothy Klausutis wrote to Twitter’s Jack Dorsey last week.
“My wife deserves better.”
While it’s not clear if Trump has read the letter, he appeared to indirectly acknowledge some of the criticism on Tuesday. “The opening of a Cold Case against Psycho Joe Scarborough was not a Donald Trump original thought,” he tweeted. “This has been going on for years, long before I joined the chorus.” Of course, by tweeting about the false theory once more, Trump was again fanning its flames.
….about whether or not Joe could have done such a horrible thing? Maybe or maybe not, but I find Joe to be a total Nut Job, and I knew him well, far better than most. So many unanswered & obvious questions, but I won’t bring them up now! Law enforcement eventually will? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
Trump appears to be indulging in the conspiracy theory in order to smear Scarborough, an outspoken critic of the president. That effort comes as the United States approaches 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic.


motherjones--2020-05-27--How Twitter Botched Its Fact-Check of Trump’s Lies

Facing widespread condemnation for not removing President Trump ’ s tweets falsely accusing MSNBC host Joe Scarborough of murder , Twitter finally took action .
On Wednesday , the company slapped disclaimer links onto two of Trump ’ s tweets , the first time it has pushed back on the misinformation that regularly flows from the president ’ s account .
But the tweets in question had nothing to do with the debunked conspiracy theories surrounding Scarborough and his late congressional aide , who in 2001 died after suffering a fall from an undiagnosed heart condition .
Instead , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false claims that mail-in voting would lead to rampant voter fraud .
The move drew more questions than praise .
Why not simply remove the tweets pushing a vile murder conspiracy , as the widower of Scarborough ’ s late staffer pleaded in a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey ?
Even top Republicans , who have remained silent about Trump ’ s smears against Scarborough , would have been unlikely to object to the removal of accusations so clearly false and defamatory .
Why instead wade into a more politically divisive territory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , within minutes of Twitter ’ s actions , Trump bellowed , accusing the social media giant of attempting to interfere in the fast-approaching presidential election .
Soon , his family members , congressional allies , and White House staff joined in perverse delight .
By Thursday morning , Trump was threatening to shut down social media companies .
It ’ s not clear how Twitter intends to move forward with its disclaimer policy .
For now , it seems pretty untenable , considering Trump ’ s entire social media presence is propped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t appear to have chastened the president , who on Thursday morning tweeted :

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Facing widespread condemnation for not removing President Trump’s tweets falsely accusing MSNBC host Joe Scarborough of murder, Twitter finally took action. On Wednesday, the company slapped disclaimer links onto two of Trump’s tweets, the first time it has pushed back on the misinformation that regularly flows from the president’s account.
But the tweets in question had nothing to do with the debunked conspiracy theories surrounding Scarborough and his late congressional aide, who in 2001 died after suffering a fall from an undiagnosed heart condition. Instead, the ignominious honor belonged to Trump’s false claims that mail-in voting would lead to rampant voter fraud.
The move drew more questions than praise. Why not simply remove the tweets pushing a vile murder conspiracy, as the widower of Scarborough’s late staffer pleaded in a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey? Even top Republicans, who have remained silent about Trump’s smears against Scarborough, would have been unlikely to object to the removal of accusations so clearly false and defamatory. Why instead wade into a more politically divisive territory such as mail-in voting practices?
Predictably, within minutes of Twitter’s actions, Trump bellowed, accusing the social media giant of attempting to interfere in the fast-approaching presidential election. Soon, his family members, congressional allies, and White House staff joined in perverse delight. By Thursday morning, Trump was threatening to shut down social media companies.
It’s not clear how Twitter intends to move forward with its disclaimer policy. For now, it seems pretty untenable, considering Trump’s entire social media presence is propped up by falsehoods. It also doesn’t appear to have chastened the president, who on Thursday morning tweeted:


motherjones--2020-05-28--After This Site Boosted the Debunked ‘Plandemic’ Video, Trump Pushed Its Take on Joe Scarborough

Since earlier this month , Donald Trump has been pushing a debunked conspiracy about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough having murdered one of his employees in 2001 , when he served in Congress .
It ’ s unclear how the conspiracy initially made its way to Trump , but since he amplified it on May 13 , a fringe conspiracy site has been pushing the conspiracy heavily .
Its owner and founder has even earned a retweet from the president himself about Scarborough .
The site , True Pundit , whose links Trump has tweeted , also played a key role @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conspiracy : Plandemic , a 25 minute YouTube video spreading falsehoods about the coronavirus that went viral at the beginning of May .
The site has pushed other disinformation , including a made up claim that the FBI was aware of and did nothing about Chinese hackers breaking into Hillary Clinton ’ s private server , and another in which Clinton proposed targeting Julian Assange with a drone strike .
Kate Starbird , a professor of human centered design and engineering who researches internet disinformation at the University of Washington , noted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s articles about the conspiracies outlined in Plandemic correlated with early spikes of searches for the main doctor featured in the discredited video , Judy Mikovits .
Starbird also found that True Pundit was also the second most linked-to website in tweets about Mikovits .
Prior to Trump tweeting about the Scarborough conspiracy True Pundit appeared to be one of the only major sites routinely recycling the claim .
The site and its founder , Michael D. Moore , a former journalist who posted pseudonymously before he was uncovered by BuzzFeed ‘ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theory at various points in the last decade .
Since 2017 , Moore has tweeted the hoax allegations several times a year , and the TruePundit Facebook account has also repeatedly pushed the claim .
Another possible source for the claim could be The_Donald , the message board community of rabid Trump supporters who started on Reddit but decamped the platform in favor of a private forum after the company began taking enforcement actions on its notoriously toxic members .
A moderately successful post on the new The_Donald forum from April 23 appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internet mentions of the conspiracy prior to Donald Trump Jr. tweeting about it on April 30 and the president tweeting about it on May 4 .
It ’ s unclear what exactly prompted Trump Jr. to mention the conspiracy .
In 2018 , True Pundit tweeted at Trump Jr. , sending him a link to a page on its site pushing the conspiracy about Scarborough .
Trump Jr. also follows Moore ’ s account .
The president ’ s oldest son has a history of trawling the internet for weird content about his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ originated on The_Donald forum .
Moore ’ s tweets about the hoax have gone viral several times since Trump mentioned the conspiracy ; just two tweets from Saturday garnered thousands of retweets and likes .
Starbird didn ’ t include data quantifying True Pundit ’ s role spreading the Scarborough hoax in her Medium post , but notes Trump ’ s interaction with the site on Sunday , when he quote tweeted their 2011 story about the death speciously linked to Scarborough .
To Starbird , Trump ’ s promotion of the theory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are a perfect and concerning example of how “ conspiracy theories move from the margins of the internet into the mouths ( and Twitter accounts ) of political leaders ” at a time when the president has worked to erode traditional media outlets ’ credibility .
“ Some of the same political leaders who promote these kinds of websites simultaneously attack professional journalism as ‘ fake news ’ —leaving their viewers with few resources for challenging/verifying their false claims , ” she wrote .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Since earlier this month, Donald Trump has been pushing a debunked conspiracy about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough having murdered one of his employees in 2001, when he served in Congress.
It’s unclear how the conspiracy initially made its way to Trump, but since he amplified it on May 13, a fringe conspiracy site has been pushing the conspiracy heavily. Its owner and founder has even earned a retweet from the president himself about Scarborough.
The site, True Pundit, whose links Trump has tweeted, also played a key role in recently boosting another debunked but massive conspiracy: Plandemic, a 25 minute YouTube video spreading falsehoods about the coronavirus that went viral at the beginning of May. The site has pushed other disinformation, including a made up claim that the FBI was aware of and did nothing about Chinese hackers breaking into Hillary Clinton’s private server, and another in which Clinton proposed targeting Julian Assange with a drone strike.
Kate Starbird, a professor of human centered design and engineering who researches internet disinformation at the University of Washington, noted in a Medium post that True Pundit’s articles about the conspiracies outlined in Plandemic correlated with early spikes of searches for the main doctor featured in the discredited video, Judy Mikovits. Starbird also found that True Pundit was also the second most linked-to website in tweets about Mikovits.
Prior to Trump tweeting about the Scarborough conspiracy True Pundit appeared to be one of the only major sites routinely recycling the claim. The site and its founder, Michael D. Moore, a former journalist who posted pseudonymously before he was uncovered by BuzzFeed‘s Craig Silverman, have routinely pushed the theory at various points in the last decade. Since 2017, Moore has tweeted the hoax allegations several times a year, and the TruePundit Facebook account has also repeatedly pushed the claim.
Another possible source for the claim could be The_Donald, the message board community of rabid Trump supporters who started on Reddit but decamped the platform in favor of a private forum after the company began taking enforcement actions on its notoriously toxic members.
A moderately successful post on the new The_Donald forum from April 23 appears to be one of the most recent internet mentions of the conspiracy prior to Donald Trump Jr. tweeting about it on April 30 and the president tweeting about it on May 4. It’s unclear what exactly prompted Trump Jr. to mention the conspiracy. In 2018, True Pundit tweeted at Trump Jr., sending him a link to a page on its site pushing the conspiracy about Scarborough. Trump Jr. also follows Moore’s account. The president’s oldest son has a history of trawling the internet for weird content about his father and has posted memes that likely originated on The_Donald forum.
What show is Joe going to go on to discuss Lori Klausutis? https://t.co/sL4AxAQrlb — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 30, 2020
Moore’s tweets about the hoax have gone viral several times since Trump mentioned the conspiracy; just two tweets from Saturday garnered thousands of retweets and likes.
Starbird didn’t include data quantifying True Pundit’s role spreading the Scarborough hoax in her Medium post, but notes Trump’s interaction with the site on Sunday, when he quote tweeted their 2011 story about the death speciously linked to Scarborough.
To Starbird, Trump’s promotion of the theory and of Moore and his site, are a perfect and concerning example of how “conspiracy theories move from the margins of the internet into the mouths (and Twitter accounts) of political leaders” at a time when the president has worked to erode traditional media outlets’ credibility.
“Some of the same political leaders who promote these kinds of websites simultaneously attack professional journalism as ‘fake news’—leaving their viewers with few resources for challenging/verifying their false claims,” she wrote.


motherjones--2020-05-28--Rudy Giuliani Is Looking for $10 Million to Finance a Ukraine-Biden Film

Rudy Giuliani won ’ t give up .
Even though his crusade to manufacture dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine led to the impeachment of his client , Donald Trump ’ s personal lawyer continues to use this Ukrainian non-scandal to try to undo Biden ’ s presidential bid .
To that end , Giuliani and two associates—a Republican fundraiser and a California cannabis entrepreneur—have been trying to round up $ 10 million to finance the production of a Biden-Ukraine documentary that can be released this year .
Documents obtained by Mother Jones indicate that Giuliani and his collaborators are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pop and that they have considered the possibility of drawing in investors from overseas—though Giuliani ’ s lawyer denies there has been any effort to bring in foreign money .
Any overseas investment in the project would raise the question of whether Giuliani , who has been looking for information from past and present Ukrainian officials for his anti-Biden work , is attempting to orchestrate foreign involvement in the current presidential election .
It ’ s no secret that Giuliani has been plotting to cook up a documentary focused on Hunter Biden and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfounded allegations that Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to smother an investigation of Burisma , an energy company of which the younger Biden was a board member .
Yahoo News reported on this effort in February , noting that the project was being led at that time by veteran California Republican fixer and fundraiser Tim Yale and that preliminary footage for the film included actors portraying Ukrainian officials and Hunter Biden .
The documents obtained by Mother Jones reveal new details about this venture and its financing .
Giuliani has already produced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the ardently pro-Trump One America News Network .
And he bangs away on this topic on his podcasts .
But according to one source familiar with the documentary project , Giuliani envisions this film as the culmination of his efforts and a possible “ kill shot ” on Biden .
“ The goal is to do a documentary , get it discussed on Twitter , shown in the White House , ” this source says .
“ It ’ s very propagandistic.
” According to the documents , a company named SeeView @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in February , has been set up to finance the film .
Two key principals of the project are Yale and George Dickson III .
In 2016 , Yale was on the advisory committee of a super PAC formed to help Trump , once Trump became the likely Republican presidential nominee .
Prior to that , he raised money for a separate pro-Trump super PAC established by Roger Stone , the longtime Trump adviser and political trickster who this year was convicted of lying to Congress related to the Trump-Russia scandal .
Dickson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is based in Scotts Valley , California .
“ Launching from the heart of California ’ s cannabis industry and with a global reach , ” the firm ’ s website says , “ the Cannasortium combines proven business models with proprietary industry expertise to create the world ’ s premier seed-to-consumer cannabis organization .
Cannasortium represents the next-generation of cannabis companies—strategically positioned and uniquely diversified across every major sector of the industry.
” Dickson has also been the CEO and president of Seismic Warning Systems , which boasted it “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earthquake detection.
” ( Giuliani ’ s previous partners in skulduggery—Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman , who each were indicted for campaign finance violations related to Ukraine scandal-chasing—were also pursuing deals in the cannabis business .
When Giuliani was mayor of New York City , he presided over a massive increase in marijuana arrests . )
The SeeView Media documents—a term sheet and draft agreements for potential investors—note that Yale and Dickson are seeking $ 10 million for the project , with a minimum investment of $ 1 million .
Investors are promised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ profit share percentage ” of 2 percent , according to the term sheet .
A draft “ note purchase agreement ” says the money raised would be for “ general working capital and other corporate purposes , with approximately 50 % used for production ( e.g .
talent , writers , film crew , post-production activities , travel and administrative overhead ) and approximately 50 % used for promotion and distribution.
” None of the documents mention Giuliani by name and do not state whether he will receive any of the funds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mother Jones that Giuliani is the driving force of this project and that he should be contacted for any details regarding it .
“ The mayor is the knowledge base , ” he says .
Mother Jones sent Giuliani and Dickson a list of questions about the project and repeatedly sought comments from them .
Neither responded .
The draft note purchase agreement suggests that the group has considered selling shares in the project to foreigners , for it contains a clause regarding the obligations of any “ Non-United States person ” who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the source familiar with the venture , the project has been seeking financial backers overseas .
Giuliani did not respond to text messages asking about foreign investment in the film , but his lawyer Robert Costello says , “ I ’ ve checked with Mr. Giuliani and you are misinformed .
There are no foreign investors .
There has been no money raised or solicited from any foreign citizens.
” ( Costello would not answer questions about other aspects of the project . )
The term sheet also has a confidentiality clause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms or existence of this Term Sheet to any person , other than… [ those ] who have a need to know.
” A project like this could run into problems with the Federal Election Commission .
The documents indicate that Yale and Dickson are attempting to fashion this venture as a commercial and not a political operation .
But if the movie engages in what the FEC calls “ express advocacy ” ( urging viewers to vote for or against Biden ) or “ electioneering communication ” ( an effort clearly intended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a general election ) , the commission could regard this endeavor as no different than the work of a campaign or a super PAC .
That would mean that it would be subject to campaign spending and disclosure rules .
One such rule prohibits contributions from overseas .
“ Foreign nationals are not allowed to make political ads , ” says Daniel Weiner , deputy director of the Brennan Center ’ s Election Reform Program .
In the case of any FEC action—which is unlikely given the FEC is barely functioning these days—Yale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claim the documentary is an act of journalism , not a political hit piece , and should be free of any campaign regulation .
Yale insists the movie will focus on corruption in Ukraine and is not directly aimed at Biden .
“ I haven ’ t sat through a meeting [ about the film ] that Biden is the focus , ” Yale says .
“ I have sat through lots of meetings that the focus is corruption.
” He notes that they hope to release the movie this year but that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the movie or ads for the film are overtly political , the FEC would have a case for requiring the disclosure of investors ( as it does for super PACs ) .
If there are overseas investors and any are tied to foreign governments , the project might be subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act ( FARA ) , and Giuliani and his crew could be compelled to register with the Justice Department as foreign agents .
( In recent years , several foreign-owned media outlets , including RT , the English-language @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , have had to register as foreign agents , even as they ostensibly produce journalism . )
“ If Giuliani accepts foreign funding to conduct a PR campaign aimed at influencing the US public with regard to the national policies of the US or with reference to Ukrainian national interests then there may be a FARA problem , ” says Josh Rosenstein , a lawyer who specializes in FARA at Sandler , Reiff , Lamb , Rosenstein & Birkenstock Yale , who notes that his participation in the project has decreased in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working on what he calls a potential COVID-19 cure , tells Mother Jones that he has been involved with production efforts for the documentary and with verifying tips that Giuliani and others have received from Ukraine .
He notes that the project has collected “ 60 hours of video or more of people telling incredibly wild stories.
” And he says , “ Canceled checks and wire transfers typically don ’ t lie.
” Yale declines , though , to explain what he means by that .
He describes the film project as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” after what he says was a misleading version of events presented during Trump ’ s impeachment .
He adds , “ I ’ m not the producer.
” As for the financing of the film , Yale says he ’ s not aware of any funding having yet been secured .
Last week , a Ukrainian parliamentarian named Andriy Derkach , a former member of Ukraine ’ s pro-Russian Party of Regions who met with Giuliani a few months ago , released edited audiotapes of conversations in 2016 between Vice President Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claiming the transcripts proved that Biden leaned on Ukraine to kill an investigation of Burisma .
But the tapes proved nothing of the sort .
To the contrary , they supported Biden ’ s account that he had pushed Poroshenko to fire a prosecutor widely seen as corrupt so the Ukrainian government could secure international loans .
The release of these recordings appeared to be a continuation of the long-running Giuliani effort—cheered on by Fox News and other conservative media—to taint Biden with baseless Ukraine-related accusations .
Giuliani declined to tell the Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release of the Biden recordings in advance .
But he texted to a Post reporter they are “ just the tip of iceberg .
”

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Rudy Giuliani won’t give up. Even though his crusade to manufacture dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine led to the impeachment of his client, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer continues to use this Ukrainian non-scandal to try to undo Biden’s presidential bid. To that end, Giuliani and two associates—a Republican fundraiser and a California cannabis entrepreneur—have been trying to round up $10 million to finance the production of a Biden-Ukraine documentary that can be released this year. Documents obtained by Mother Jones indicate that Giuliani and his collaborators are recruiting investors at $1 million a pop and that they have considered the possibility of drawing in investors from overseas—though Giuliani’s lawyer denies there has been any effort to bring in foreign money. Any overseas investment in the project would raise the question of whether Giuliani, who has been looking for information from past and present Ukrainian officials for his anti-Biden work, is attempting to orchestrate foreign involvement in the current presidential election.
It’s no secret that Giuliani has been plotting to cook up a documentary focused on Hunter Biden and Ukraine that will presumably concentrate on the unfounded allegations that Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to smother an investigation of Burisma, an energy company of which the younger Biden was a board member. Yahoo News reported on this effort in February, noting that the project was being led at that time by veteran California Republican fixer and fundraiser Tim Yale and that preliminary footage for the film included actors portraying Ukrainian officials and Hunter Biden. The documents obtained by Mother Jones reveal new details about this venture and its financing.
Giuliani has already produced a program promoting his Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory for the ardently pro-Trump One America News Network. And he bangs away on this topic on his podcasts. But according to one source familiar with the documentary project, Giuliani envisions this film as the culmination of his efforts and a possible “kill shot” on Biden. “The goal is to do a documentary, get it discussed on Twitter, shown in the White House,” this source says. “It’s very propagandistic.”
According to the documents, a company named SeeView Media, which was incorporated in Delaware in February, has been set up to finance the film. Two key principals of the project are Yale and George Dickson III. In 2016, Yale was on the advisory committee of a super PAC formed to help Trump, once Trump became the likely Republican presidential nominee. Prior to that, he raised money for a separate pro-Trump super PAC established by Roger Stone, the longtime Trump adviser and political trickster who this year was convicted of lying to Congress related to the Trump-Russia scandal.
According to one source familiar with the documentary project, Giuliani envisions this film as the culmination of his efforts and a possible “kill shot” on Biden.
Dickson is the founder and CEO of Cannasortium, which is based in Scotts Valley, California. “Launching from the heart of California’s cannabis industry and with a global reach,” the firm’s website says, “the Cannasortium combines proven business models with proprietary industry expertise to create the world’s premier seed-to-consumer cannabis organization. Cannasortium represents the next-generation of cannabis companies—strategically positioned and uniquely diversified across every major sector of the industry.” Dickson has also been the CEO and president of Seismic Warning Systems, which boasted it “manufactures systems and services that provide reliable earthquake detection.” (Giuliani’s previous partners in skulduggery—Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who each were indicted for campaign finance violations related to Ukraine scandal-chasing—were also pursuing deals in the cannabis business. When Giuliani was mayor of New York City, he presided over a massive increase in marijuana arrests.)
The SeeView Media documents—a term sheet and draft agreements for potential investors—note that Yale and Dickson are seeking $10 million for the project, with a minimum investment of $1 million. Investors are promised a 5 percent annual return and a “profit share percentage” of 2 percent, according to the term sheet. A draft “note purchase agreement” says the money raised would be for “general working capital and other corporate purposes, with approximately 50% used for production (e.g. talent, writers, film crew, post-production activities, travel and administrative overhead) and approximately 50% used for promotion and distribution.” None of the documents mention Giuliani by name and do not state whether he will receive any of the funds that are raised. But Yale tells Mother Jones that Giuliani is the driving force of this project and that he should be contacted for any details regarding it. “The mayor is the knowledge base,” he says.
Mother Jones sent Giuliani and Dickson a list of questions about the project and repeatedly sought comments from them. Neither responded.
The draft note purchase agreement suggests that the group has considered selling shares in the project to foreigners, for it contains a clause regarding the obligations of any “Non-United States person” who signs up as an investor. According to the source familiar with the venture, the project has been seeking financial backers overseas. Giuliani did not respond to text messages asking about foreign investment in the film, but his lawyer Robert Costello says, “I’ve checked with Mr. Giuliani and you are misinformed. There are no foreign investors. There has been no money raised or solicited from any foreign citizens.” (Costello would not answer questions about other aspects of the project.) The term sheet also has a confidentiality clause: “No Investor will disclose the terms or existence of this Term Sheet to any person, other than…[those] who have a need to know.”
A project like this could run into problems with the Federal Election Commission. The documents indicate that Yale and Dickson are attempting to fashion this venture as a commercial and not a political operation. But if the movie engages in what the FEC calls “express advocacy” (urging viewers to vote for or against Biden) or “electioneering communication” (an effort clearly intended to sway voters within 60 days of a general election), the commission could regard this endeavor as no different than the work of a campaign or a super PAC. That would mean that it would be subject to campaign spending and disclosure rules. One such rule prohibits contributions from overseas. “Foreign nationals are not allowed to make political ads,” says Daniel Weiner, deputy director of the Brennan Center’s Election Reform Program.
In the case of any FEC action—which is unlikely given the FEC is barely functioning these days—Yale, Dickson, and Giuliani would probably claim the documentary is an act of journalism, not a political hit piece, and should be free of any campaign regulation. Yale insists the movie will focus on corruption in Ukraine and is not directly aimed at Biden. “I haven’t sat through a meeting [about the film] that Biden is the focus,” Yale says. “I have sat through lots of meetings that the focus is corruption.” He notes that they hope to release the movie this year but that there is no target date.
If the movie or ads for the film are overtly political, the FEC would have a case for requiring the disclosure of investors (as it does for super PACs). If there are overseas investors and any are tied to foreign governments, the project might be subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and Giuliani and his crew could be compelled to register with the Justice Department as foreign agents. (In recent years, several foreign-owned media outlets, including RT, the English-language Russian media operation backed by the Kremlin, have had to register as foreign agents, even as they ostensibly produce journalism.) “If Giuliani accepts foreign funding to conduct a PR campaign aimed at influencing the US public with regard to the national policies of the US or with reference to Ukrainian national interests then there may be a FARA problem,” says Josh Rosenstein, a lawyer who specializes in FARA at Sandler, Reiff, Lamb, Rosenstein & Birkenstock
Yale, who notes that his participation in the project has decreased in recent months because he has been in Rome working on what he calls a potential COVID-19 cure, tells Mother Jones that he has been involved with production efforts for the documentary and with verifying tips that Giuliani and others have received from Ukraine. He notes that the project has collected “60 hours of video or more of people telling incredibly wild stories.” And he says, “Canceled checks and wire transfers typically don’t lie.” Yale declines, though, to explain what he means by that. He describes the film project as an effort to find “the truth” after what he says was a misleading version of events presented during Trump’s impeachment. He adds, “I’m not the producer.” As for the financing of the film, Yale says he’s not aware of any funding having yet been secured.
Last week, a Ukrainian parliamentarian named Andriy Derkach, a former member of Ukraine’s pro-Russian Party of Regions who met with Giuliani a few months ago, released edited audiotapes of conversations in 2016 between Vice President Joe Biden and then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, claiming the transcripts proved that Biden leaned on Ukraine to kill an investigation of Burisma. But the tapes proved nothing of the sort. To the contrary, they supported Biden’s account that he had pushed Poroshenko to fire a prosecutor widely seen as corrupt so the Ukrainian government could secure international loans. The release of these recordings appeared to be a continuation of the long-running Giuliani effort—cheered on by Fox News and other conservative media—to taint Biden with baseless Ukraine-related accusations. Giuliani declined to tell the Washington Post if he had known of the release of the Biden recordings in advance. But he texted to a Post reporter they are “just the tip of iceberg.”


motherjones--2020-05-28--After a Conspiracy Site Boosted the Debunked “Plandemic” Video, Trump Pushed Its Take on Joe Scarbor

After a Conspiracy Site Boosted the Debunked “Plandemic” Video, Trump Pushed Its Take on Joe Scarborough


motherjones--2020-05-29--Temperature Checks Are Becoming the New Normal. Do They Work?

William Ferguson was working as a security guard at a factory in California—until one day last month , when his employers assigned him a new job : conducting temperature checks for employees entering the plant .
Ferguson was given a mask , goggles , and gloves “ but what we didn ’ t get was sufficient training , ” Ferguson said .
“ They basically handed us the equipment and a printout of a powerpoint presentation.
” On the first day , he learned how to use the thermometer gun , stood at the front of a line of employees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He asked employees how they were feeling and if they had any symptoms as he pointed the digital thermometer a few inches from their foreheads .
If their temperature was higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit , he was supposed to send them home .
It all felt like a lot of responsibility .
“ I had to basically become a medical tech , but I ’ m highly unqualified to do this , ” he said .
Ferguson isn ’ t alone : Workplace temperature checks are becoming more common as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also happening at airports , restaurants , and stores .
But it ’ s not clear how effective these screenings are at preventing the spread of the coronavirus—especially when they ’ re conducted by employees with inadequate training .
Meanwhile , some legal experts worry that the checks might lead to invasion of privacy or even civil rights violations .
Here ’ s a rundown of what we know so far about the benefits and drawbacks of temperature checks—and the privacy concerns that come with them .
Temperature checks won ’ t catch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Weise , an infection prevention clinical program manager with the healthcare software company Wolters Kluwer Health , notes that while temperature screenings will pick up on a subset of infected people , many carriers will be asymptomatic or presymptomatic when their temperature is taken .
A recent study looked at 5,700 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in a New York City area hospital and showed that only 30 percent had a fever at triage .
And from what we know about the coronavirus , an infected person can transmit the virus with or without a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fever for other medical or circumstantial reasons , Weise added .
“ For example , if screening is implemented at a place of work , and you have an employee that just jogged from the bus stop , now they have an elevated surface temperature.
” And like with any piece of technology , there may be failures with thermometers .
There ’ s a lot of confusion about how best to implement and conduct temperature checks .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say temperature checks are an “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They instruct employers to make sure the person conducting the screening is keeping adequate physical distance from the people they are screening .
Beyond that , though , they ’ re fairly vague , says Aaron Carroll , a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine .
He listed questions that the guidelines don ’ t answer : What do I do if someone shows a high fever ?
What if they refuse to listen to me ?
What questions should I be asking ?
What ’ s more , long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of the virus .
“ The last thing we would want to do is have a very lengthy screening process , with lines of people waiting , ” Weise said .
When Ferguson and I spoke , he brought up the lack of training he was provided , especially when things didn ’ t work as planned .
He said that at times he had to take the temperature of workers who were not wearing masks , so to protect himself , he asked them to turn around and pointed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heads .
Weiss , the epidemiologist , worries about lack of training .
“ The thermometers need to be held at a certain distance , and they do need to be pointed in a specific space , ” she said .
Temperature checks might violate people ’ s privacy and rights .
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission loosened its ADA guidelines on temperature checks in response to the pandemic—they now state that “ employers can now do them and also ask employees if they ’ re experiencing symptoms to stop the spread of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recent report that a remote temperature check is “ not an enormous invasion of privacy , especially if individual records are not retained—as they should not be outside of health care contexts.
” However , the report added , “ we don ’ t want to wake up to a post-COVID world where companies and government agencies think they can gather temperature or other health data about people whenever they want.
” Personal data should not be stored , the report said—people should have the right to leave rather than be subjected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees should have the option to monitor their own temperature .
The ACLU recommends “ having a conversation with those who show up as positive , rather than summarily blocking them from entry.
” The report adds that “ for people who may be denied access to a critical service , such as appearing in court or applying for benefits , there should be systems in place that give them alternate means of access.
” Employers must also be vigilant about bias and discrimination , said ReNika Moore , director of the ACLU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ’ ve seen even during this pandemic , fuzzy guidelines , such as those around social distancing , have led to racial profiling and harassment of communities of color.
” Temperature checks alone can ’ t stop this virus .
In some parts of Asia , fever screening is now ubiquitous : Earlier this year , Asia Times reported , “ one can expect to have a body temperature check multiple times before being allowed into public venues in China and other Asian countries hit by the contagion.
” Yet it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screeners to catch infected passengers , an article in the journal Science noted .
“ And even if screeners find the occasional case , it has almost no impact on the course of an outbreak.
” And here in the United States , where temperature checks are still new , public skepticism may render them even less effective .
Indiana University ’ s Carroll pointed out that if people feel it ’ s intrusive to check their temperature or if they try to work around the screening , then the screening is completely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like , ‘ I ’ m seeing this movie and no one ’ s gon na stop me , ’ then it ’ s all moot.
” Carroll believes that temperature checks will work best in combination with other tools : masks , physical distancing , and handwashing , and staying home when sick .
Of course , all of these tools work best with clear guidelines , said Carroll—and he noted that the lack of direction on temperature checks is characteristic of the federal government ’ s overall approach to the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a real problem coming from the top down , ” he noted .
“ Our response to this is woefully unorganized and inconsistent and that ’ s a real problem .
”

William Ferguson was working as a security guard at a factory in California—until one day last month, when his employers assigned him a new job: conducting temperature checks for employees entering the plant.
Ferguson was given a mask, goggles, and gloves “but what we didn’t get was sufficient training,” Ferguson said. “They basically handed us the equipment and a printout of a powerpoint presentation.” On the first day, he learned how to use the thermometer gun, stood at the front of a line of employees and started taking temperatures at the door. He asked employees how they were feeling and if they had any symptoms as he pointed the digital thermometer a few inches from their foreheads. If their temperature was higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, he was supposed to send them home. It all felt like a lot of responsibility. “I had to basically become a medical tech, but I’m highly unqualified to do this,” he said.
“I had to basically become a medical tech, but I’m highly unqualified to do this.”
Ferguson isn’t alone: Workplace temperature checks are becoming more common as the pandemic wears on. They’re also happening at airports, restaurants, and stores. But it’s not clear how effective these screenings are at preventing the spread of the coronavirus—especially when they’re conducted by employees with inadequate training. Meanwhile, some legal experts worry that the checks might lead to invasion of privacy or even civil rights violations. Here’s a rundown of what we know so far about the benefits and drawbacks of temperature checks—and the privacy concerns that come with them.
Temperature checks won’t catch everyone who has COVID-19. Epidemiologist Mackenzie Weise, an infection prevention clinical program manager with the healthcare software company Wolters Kluwer Health, notes that while temperature screenings will pick up on a subset of infected people, many carriers will be asymptomatic or presymptomatic when their temperature is taken. A recent study looked at 5,700 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in a New York City area hospital and showed that only 30 percent had a fever at triage. And from what we know about the coronavirus, an infected person can transmit the virus with or without a fever. A person could also have a fever for other medical or circumstantial reasons, Weise added. “For example, if screening is implemented at a place of work, and you have an employee that just jogged from the bus stop, now they have an elevated surface temperature.” And like with any piece of technology, there may be failures with thermometers.
There’s a lot of confusion about how best to implement and conduct temperature checks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say temperature checks are an “optional strategy that employers may use.” They instruct employers to make sure the person conducting the screening is keeping adequate physical distance from the people they are screening. Beyond that, though, they’re fairly vague, says Aaron Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. He listed questions that the guidelines don’t answer: What do I do if someone shows a high fever? What if they refuse to listen to me? What questions should I be asking? What’s more, long lines for temperature checks could actually intensify the spread of the virus. “The last thing we would want to do is have a very lengthy screening process, with lines of people waiting,” Weise said.
When Ferguson and I spoke, he brought up the lack of training he was provided, especially when things didn’t work as planned. He said that at times he had to take the temperature of workers who were not wearing masks, so to protect himself, he asked them to turn around and pointed the temperature gun to the back of their heads. Weise, the epidemiologist, worries about lack of training. “The thermometers need to be held at a certain distance, and they do need to be pointed in a specific space,” she said.
“If I’m like, ‘I’m seeing this movie and no one’s gonna stop me,’ then it’s all moot.”
Temperature checks might violate people’s privacy and rights. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission loosened its ADA guidelines on temperature checks in response to the pandemic—they now state that “employers can now do them and also ask employees if they’re experiencing symptoms to stop the spread of the coronavirus.” The ACLU said in a recent report that a remote temperature check is “not an enormous invasion of privacy, especially if individual records are not retained—as they should not be outside of health care contexts.” However, the report added, “we don’t want to wake up to a post-COVID world where companies and government agencies think they can gather temperature or other health data about people whenever they want.” Personal data should not be stored, the report said—people should have the right to leave rather than be subjected to a public temperature test, and employees should have the option to monitor their own temperature. The ACLU recommends “having a conversation with those who show up as positive, rather than summarily blocking them from entry.” The report adds that “for people who may be denied access to a critical service, such as appearing in court or applying for benefits, there should be systems in place that give them alternate means of access.”
Employers must also be vigilant about bias and discrimination, said ReNika Moore, director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program. “We’ve seen even during this pandemic, fuzzy guidelines, such as those around social distancing, have led to racial profiling and harassment of communities of color.”
Temperature checks alone can’t stop this virus. In some parts of Asia, fever screening is now ubiquitous: Earlier this year, Asia Times reported, “one can expect to have a body temperature check multiple times before being allowed into public venues in China and other Asian countries hit by the contagion.” Yet it’s exceedingly rare even in Asia for screeners to catch infected passengers, an article in the journal Science noted. “And even if screeners find the occasional case, it has almost no impact on the course of an outbreak.”
And here in the United States, where temperature checks are still new, public skepticism may render them even less effective. Indiana University’s Carroll pointed out that if people feel it’s intrusive to check their temperature or if they try to work around the screening, then the screening is completely useless. “If I’m like, ‘I’m seeing this movie and no one’s gonna stop me,’ then it’s all moot.” Carroll believes that temperature checks will work best in combination with other tools: masks, physical distancing, and handwashing, and staying home when sick.
Of course, all of these tools work best with clear guidelines, said Carroll—and he noted that the lack of direction on temperature checks is characteristic of the federal government’s overall approach to the virus so far. “It’s a real problem coming from the top down,” he noted. “Our response to this is woefully unorganized and inconsistent and that’s a real problem.”


motherjones--2020-05-30--Local Target Store Was No Angel

Local Target Store Was No Angel

As images circulated of businesses damaged in the Minneapolis protest , an old narrative of finger-wagging and false concern took over along the right flank of the discourse .
What about the Target ?
What about the AutoZone ?
What about “ your OWN community ” ?
Peaceful protest is one thing , they insist , but such violence is never the answer .
In bewilderment and sanctimony heads shake around the country .
But their condescension is built on a myth that has its roots in the uprisings of another era .
The myth is that chain stores and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Target isn ’ t “ ours ” in any substantive way .
AutoZone isn ’ t some cherished neighbor , saving us from bad alternators and racism .
The franchise chains aren ’ t some engine of Black capitalism that will redress the grievances of the people in Minneapolis ’ streets .
We know they won ’ t because America has already tried .
This was in the wake of the civil rights movement , amid insurrections in Black cities .
Franchises like McDonald ’ s were posited as a catch-all solution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chatelain writes in her book Franchise , about the role of the fast-food industry in Black America .
“ There ’ s this huge social upheaval , [ after Martin Luther ] King ’ s assassination , ” Chatelain told me in an interview earlier this year .
“ There ’ s property damage , there ’ s violence ; and then when the dust settles , everyone is looking around , like ‘ What are we going to do now ?
’ And the response from corporate America , as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are going to quell social unrest in Black communities , we should develop these economic programs that pivot around business.
” The businesses made serious inroads .
By the mid 1980s , McDonalds boasted that “ almost 6,000 McDonald ’ s restaurants in neighborhoods across the country employ thousands of Black men and women.
” But of course , they never delivered on the promise of true racial uplift .
Nothing about the fast food industry ’ s arrival in Black America did anything to challenge housing segregation or discriminatory bank lending , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people employed in low-wage jobs while draining consumer dollars from local communities .
Still , the Golden Arches did conveniently claim their Black America bona fides when it benefited them .
Various McDonalds locations around South Los Angeles were unscathed in the 1992 Rodney King uprisings .
The company attributed its good fortune to the “ involvement of the neighborhoods it serves.
” Whether these locations actually benefited from community goodwill or police protection or some combination of the two , Chatelain said , is besides the point .
The more important question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the uprising nearly a quarter century after King ’ s death .
Wasn ’ t Black capitalism supposed to have done away with all those inequalities ?
Another quarter century later , we ’ re still asking the same question .
Today , big-box retail stores are no more a part of the community than fast-food chains .
Minneapolis , corporate home of Target , a $ 77 billion company , is still deeply segregated , and the poverty rate for Black people in the city is more than three times that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Target store was built with a public subsidy of $ 60 million .
Nearby Brooklyn Park gave $ 22 million in tax breaks for Target ’ s headquarters .
In 2015 , the company laid off 1,700 people .
Who exactly is looting whom ?

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
As images circulated of businesses damaged in the Minneapolis protest, an old narrative of finger-wagging and false concern took over along the right flank of the discourse. What about the Target? What about the AutoZone? What about “your OWN community”?
Burning down your own community won’t bring back #GeorgeFloyd. It won’t secure justice. It won’t avenge his death. Stop claiming #BlackLivesMatter while you actively put your black life in danger. — CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) May 28, 2020
Why is the reaction to someone’s death to loot a Minneapolis Target? It’s simply an excuse to act like heathens. pic.twitter.com/3KnJqpiQaF — Jon Miller (@MillerStream) May 28, 2020
Peaceful protest is one thing, they insist, but such violence is never the answer. In bewilderment and sanctimony heads shake around the country.
But their condescension is built on a myth that has its roots in the uprisings of another era. The myth is that chain stores and franchises are somehow part of Black communities. Target isn’t “ours” in any substantive way. AutoZone isn’t some cherished neighbor, saving us from bad alternators and racism. The franchise chains aren’t some engine of Black capitalism that will redress the grievances of the people in Minneapolis’ streets. We know they won’t because America has already tried.
This was in the wake of the civil rights movement, amid insurrections in Black cities. Franchises like McDonald’s were posited as a catch-all solution to urban unrest, as author Marcia Chatelain writes in her book Franchise, about the role of the fast-food industry in Black America.
“There’s this huge social upheaval, [after Martin Luther] King’s assassination,” Chatelain told me in an interview earlier this year. “There’s property damage, there’s violence; and then when the dust settles, everyone is looking around, like ‘What are we going to do now?’ And the response from corporate America, as well as the government, is: If we are going to quell social unrest in Black communities, we should develop these economic programs that pivot around business.”
The businesses made serious inroads. By the mid 1980s, McDonalds boasted that “almost 6,000 McDonald’s restaurants in neighborhoods across the country employ thousands of Black men and women.” But of course, they never delivered on the promise of true racial uplift. Nothing about the fast food industry’s arrival in Black America did anything to challenge housing segregation or discriminatory bank lending, Chatelain explained. Instead, it kept people employed in low-wage jobs while draining consumer dollars from local communities.
Still, the Golden Arches did conveniently claim their Black America bona fides when it benefited them. Various McDonalds locations around South Los Angeles were unscathed in the 1992 Rodney King uprisings. The company attributed its good fortune to the “involvement of the neighborhoods it serves.” Whether these locations actually benefited from community goodwill or police protection or some combination of the two, Chatelain said, is besides the point.
The more important question is about the societal conditions that led to the uprising nearly a quarter century after King’s death. Wasn’t Black capitalism supposed to have done away with all those inequalities? Another quarter century later, we’re still asking the same question.
Today, big-box retail stores are no more a part of the community than fast-food chains. Minneapolis, corporate home of Target, a $77 billion company, is still deeply segregated, and the poverty rate for Black people in the city is more than three times that of white residents. The downtown Minneapolis Target store was built with a public subsidy of $60 million. Nearby Brooklyn Park pledged $22 million in tax breaks for Target’s headquarters. In 2015, the company laid off 1,700 people. Who exactly is looting whom?