thestream--2020-06-07--Social Distancing, Social Justice, Science and More: Here’s How the Experts Keep Getting It Wrong

• Experts have reversed advice on multiple topics in just the past week , including social distancing and social justice , the science of coronavirus treatment , and unemployment .
• Public health officials urged Americans to social distance for months to slow the spread of COVID-19 , but now some have said the public health risks of racism are more dangerous than those of the coronavirus pandemic .
• Economists ’ projections for the number of Americans unemployed during the month of May also proved wildly inaccurate .
Americans have relied on experts to guide them and to provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic — but some experts have been proven wrong on multiple topics just this week .
Those who suggested that social distancing orders may have gone too far were publicly shamed .
In a viral Twitter thread , mother and commentator Bethany Mandel called for a return to normalcy and an end to months of indefinite lockdowns .
“ You can call me a Grandma killer , ” Mandel tweeted May 6 .
“ I ’ m not sacrificing my home , food on the table , all of our docs and dentists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , zoos , restaurants ) , all my kids ’ teachers in order to make other people comfortable .
If you want to stay locked down , do .
I ’ m not.
” Media and experts alike tore into Mandel for her comments , accusing her of being selfish , a “ grandma killer , ” and much more .
“ You ’ re a grandma killer yes .
But you ’ re also a nurse killer , a doctor killer , a cop killer , a grocery clerk killer , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killer , a bus driver killer , a father killer who just had a child killer , a family killer , ” tweeted CNN analyst Joe Lockhart .
“ Good people take care of their community.
” A few weeks later , experts have begun condoning the crowds joining protests following the death of George Floyd .
Some health officials going so far as to say that the public health risks of racism are more dangerous than those of the coronavirus pandemic .
“ We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo tweeted Tuesday .
“ In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the harms of the virus.
” Abraar Karan , a physician at Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital , told Politico that “ the injustice that ’ s evident to everyone right now needs to be addressed.
” “ While I have voiced concerns that protests risk creating more outbreaks , the status quo wasn ’ t going to stop # covid19 either , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is a chapter in American racism , so too is it in the # covid19 response .
It ’ s beyond time for us in public health to step up.
” Atlantic staff writer Connor Friedersdorf called on public health experts to “ strive to provide a neutral accounting of risk ” in the Thursday story : “ The Protesters Deserve the Truth About the Coronavirus.
” “ Public health experts who explicitly adopt an ideological double standard in talking points about the risk of spreading COVID19 at protests ill serve protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that will do lasting damage , ” Friedersdorf tweeted .
Public health experts and media touted the results of studies in May showing damaging effects the supposedly damaging effects of using hydroxychloroquine and widely-used blood pressure medications to treat COVID-19 patients .
Both experts and media mocked President Donald Trump for his praise of the treatment as well as his own use of the treatment himself as a precaution .
But only this week , serious questions posed by medical journals have emerged regarding both the studies .
Both The Lancet , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM ) , which published a study on blood pressure medications , issued expressions of concern this week warning readers that concerns over the studies have emerged .
Major news networks that had criticized Trump over the medication did not cover the news regarding the studies , an examination by conservative blog Newsbusters found .
“ The evening newscasts of ABC , CBS , and NBC refused to give airtime to the revelation that a lauded scientific study , purporting to show anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of questions surrounding its accuracy and ethics , ” Newsbuster ’ s Nicholas Fondacaro wrote .
“ That , even though all three had used the study to chide President Trump for pushing the drug and taking it himself.
” Economists ’ projections for the number of Americans unemployed during the month of May were wildly inaccurate .
Experts had predicted that the unemployment rate would be around 20 % and that about 8 million jobs would have been lost .
“ The forthcoming May jobs report will amount to a shocking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” a senior economic analyst for Bankrate Mark Hamrick had predicted to Politico .
“ It is likely to add further economic insult to the injury already established with the jobless rate .
.
.
Millions more are expected to fall off of payrolls.
” Instead , the economy saw the largest monthly gain in new jobs since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking this data series in 1939 .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy gained 2.5 million jobs in May and that unemployment fell to 13.3 % , according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday .
“ The U.S. economy is more resilient than expected , ” chief strategist at Principal Global Investors Seema Shah told CNBC .
“ Remember all those commentators and journalists who smugly informed us that the woke craziness and suppression of campus speech was being overhyped and it was just a few overzealous students , ” Brookings Institute Fellow Shadi Hamid tweeted Thursday .
“ They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But they were very , very wrong.
” The tweet came the same day that the New York Times apologized for and removed an op-ed by Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton calling on Trump to end the violence , looting , and attacks on police officers that have occurred throughout the country .
The Times ultimately decided to remove the op-ed following outrage from the publication ’ s employees , who expressed outrage and anger that their publication would publish such sentiments .
“ We ’ ve examined the piece and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” a NYT spokeswoman said Thursday .
“ This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an Op-Ed that did not meet our standards .
As a result , we ’ re planning to examine both short term and long term changes , to include expanding our fact checking operation and reducing the number of Op-Eds we publish.
” Vox writer Matt Yglesias posted in a response to Hamid ’ s tweet Thursday that he has recently changed his mind about various topics “ thanks to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not discuss .
“ I was just saying in a Slack that I am going to have to admit I was wrong and the excesses are spreading , ” Yglesias tweeted .
“ I stand by a lot of my criticisms of the anti-PC discourse of five years ago , ” he added , “ but I wrongly thought the most egregious excesses of campus activists would stay on campus when they have instead spread as people age into other roles.
” Senior editor of Reason Magazine Robby Soave predicted in 2019 that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subside in going after free speech , but would in fact grow .
“ Social justice warriors are just getting started , ” Soave wrote in a May 2019 op-ed for the Washington Examiner .
“ The current incarnation of callout culture has trickled outward from the campus culture where it originated , ” Soave wrote .
“ It was student activists who normalized the leftist idea that words are themselves a form of violence and they can inflict pain just as sticks and stones do .
”

Experts have reversed advice on multiple topics in just the past week, including social distancing and social justice, the science of coronavirus treatment, and unemployment.
Public health officials urged Americans to social distance for months to slow the spread of COVID-19, but now some have said the public health risks of racism are more dangerous than those of the coronavirus pandemic.
Economists’ projections for the number of Americans unemployed during the month of May also proved wildly inaccurate.
Americans have relied on experts to guide them and to provide factual, unbiased information throughout the coronavirus pandemic — but some experts have been proven wrong on multiple topics just this week.
Social Distancing To Social Justice
Those who suggested that social distancing orders may have gone too far were publicly shamed. In a viral Twitter thread, mother and commentator Bethany Mandel called for a return to normalcy and an end to months of indefinite lockdowns.
“You can call me a Grandma killer,” Mandel tweeted May 6. “I’m not sacrificing my home, food on the table, all of our docs and dentists, every form of pleasure (museums, zoos, restaurants), all my kids’ teachers in order to make other people comfortable. If you want to stay locked down, do. I’m not.”
Media and experts alike tore into Mandel for her comments, accusing her of being selfish, a “grandma killer,” and much more.
“You’re a grandma killer yes. But you’re also a nurse killer, a doctor killer, a cop killer, a grocery clerk killer, a student killer, a 5 year old killer, a bus driver killer, a father killer who just had a child killer, a family killer,” tweeted CNN analyst Joe Lockhart. “Good people take care of their community.”
A few weeks later, experts have begun condoning the crowds joining protests following the death of George Floyd. Some health officials going so far as to say that the public health risks of racism are more dangerous than those of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of efforts to control the virus,” John Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo tweeted Tuesday. “In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the harms of the virus.”
Abraar Karan, a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Politico that “the injustice that’s evident to everyone right now needs to be addressed.”
“While I have voiced concerns that protests risk creating more outbreaks, the status quo wasn’t going to stop #covid19 either,” he tweeted. “As much as this is a chapter in American racism, so too is it in the #covid19 response. It’s beyond time for us in public health to step up.”
Atlantic staff writer Connor Friedersdorf called on public health experts to “strive to provide a neutral accounting of risk” in the Thursday story: “The Protesters Deserve the Truth About the Coronavirus.”
“Public health experts who explicitly adopt an ideological double standard in talking points about the risk of spreading COVID19 at protests ill serve protesters themselves and undermine their credibility in ways that will do lasting damage,” Friedersdorf tweeted.
Science Retraction
Public health experts and media touted the results of studies in May showing damaging effects the supposedly damaging effects of using hydroxychloroquine and widely-used blood pressure medications to treat COVID-19 patients.
Both experts and media mocked President Donald Trump for his praise of the treatment as well as his own use of the treatment himself as a precaution.
But only this week, serious questions posed by medical journals have emerged regarding both the studies. Both The Lancet, which published the study on hydroxychloroquine, and The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), which published a study on blood pressure medications, issued expressions of concern this week warning readers that concerns over the studies have emerged.
Major news networks that had criticized Trump over the medication did not cover the news regarding the studies, an examination by conservative blog Newsbusters found.
“The evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC refused to give airtime to the revelation that a lauded scientific study, purporting to show anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine was ineffective and deadly, was retracted Thursday because of questions surrounding its accuracy and ethics,” Newsbuster’s Nicholas Fondacaro wrote. “That, even though all three had used the study to chide President Trump for pushing the drug and taking it himself.”
Unemployment
Economists’ projections for the number of Americans unemployed during the month of May were wildly inaccurate. Experts had predicted that the unemployment rate would be around 20% and that about 8 million jobs would have been lost.
“The forthcoming May jobs report will amount to a shocking sequel to the April horror story,” a senior economic analyst for Bankrate Mark Hamrick had predicted to Politico. “It is likely to add further economic insult to the injury already established with the jobless rate. . . Millions more are expected to fall off of payrolls.”
Instead, the economy saw the largest monthly gain in new jobs since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking this data series in 1939.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The May jobs report showed that U.S. economy gained 2.5 million jobs in May and that unemployment fell to 13.3%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.
“The U.S. economy is more resilient than expected,” chief strategist at Principal Global Investors Seema Shah told CNBC.
Suppression of Speech
“Remember all those commentators and journalists who smugly informed us that the woke craziness and suppression of campus speech was being overhyped and it was just a few overzealous students,” Brookings Institute Fellow Shadi Hamid tweeted Thursday. “They’ll never admit they’re wrong. But they were very, very wrong.”
The tweet came the same day that the New York Times apologized for and removed an op-ed by Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton calling on Trump to end the violence, looting, and attacks on police officers that have occurred throughout the country.
The Times ultimately decided to remove the op-ed following outrage from the publication’s employees, who expressed outrage and anger that their publication would publish such sentiments.
“We’ve examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication,” a NYT spokeswoman said Thursday. “This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an Op-Ed that did not meet our standards. As a result, we’re planning to examine both short term and long term changes, to include expanding our fact checking operation and reducing the number of Op-Eds we publish.”
Vox writer Matt Yglesias posted in a response to Hamid’s tweet Thursday that he has recently changed his mind about various topics “thanks to a couple recent things” that he did not discuss.
“I was just saying in a Slack that I am going to have to admit I was wrong and the excesses are spreading,” Yglesias tweeted.
“I stand by a lot of my criticisms of the anti-PC discourse of five years ago,” he added, “but I wrongly thought the most egregious excesses of campus activists would stay on campus when they have instead spread as people age into other roles.”
Senior editor of Reason Magazine Robby Soave predicted in 2019 that the so-called social justice warriors would not subside in going after free speech, but would in fact grow.
“Social justice warriors are just getting started,” Soave wrote in a May 2019 op-ed for the Washington Examiner.
“The current incarnation of callout culture has trickled outward from the campus culture where it originated,” Soave wrote. “It was student activists who normalized the leftist idea that words are themselves a form of violence and they can inflict pain just as sticks and stones do.”
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-07--SpaceX, Christianity and a Worldview Big Enough for the Stars

Last week ’ s successful launch of SpaceX ’ s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon vehicle marked the first manned mission to space from U.S. soil in nearly a decade .
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken , who ascended from the same launchpad as the Apollo missions and the space shuttle , are now aboard the International Space Station .
Only this time , in an amazing “ giant leap ” of technology , the rocket that carried them into orbit returned and landed itself aboard a ship to be reused .
All of this was , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history , carried out by SpaceX , the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk .
SpaceX ’ s stated goal is to make off-world travel more affordable , but Musk has deeper , more science-fiction-like ambitions , including seeding the human species on other planets .
Back in 2008 , he wrote in Esquire : Musk ’ s movie-like ambitions don ’ t end there .
In addition to SpaceX and ( of course ) Tesla , he founded a company called Neuralink to “ develop ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference announcing the launch of Neuralink , Musk restated that in plain English .
He wants to help humans “ achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence , ” creating technologies that would enable humans to “ merge with AI.
” In other words , the worldview at work behind most of Musk ’ s projects is an atheistic transhumanism that seeks to control the evolutionary process toward the end of preserving and expanding human consciousness and capability .
Recognizing these worldview motivations does not , however , minimize the achievements of Musk or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stars in a private spacecraft propelled by a retrievable rocket is just downright cool , to say nothing of just how useful the technology could be .
The Why Questions that Only Christianity Can Explain At the same time , Christians should realize that the awe that overwhelms humans when watching man set foot on the moon or a robot land on Mars or astronauts boarding the space station is more than a mere feeling .
Rather , it ’ s a testament to our unique status and role in creation , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imagine beyond the constraints of what is to what might be , and it ’ s a reminder that the universe is a place to be known , explored , and even subdued .
Adherents to any worldview must recognize these observable realities about this universe , but Christianity can uniquely explain them .
No elephants or apes look to the stars and long to visit them , nor are they capable of trying .
Humans do and are , because we ’ re created in the image of the One who set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ glory and gave us wonder and the ability to know Him .
An atheistic worldview , even with ambitions to transcend our bodies and settle other planets , simply can not account for these desires .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
That doesn ’ t stop those who hold this worldview from trying .
Elon Musk , for example , sounds eerily similar to atheist space-farer Dr. Weston from C. S. Lewis ’ “ Space Trilogy.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , life has reached its “ highest form , ” and now “ presses forward to that interplanetary leap ” which will place us “ forever beyond the reach of death.
” Though anyone who knows Dr. Weston ’ s eventual fate will shudder , similar ideas often drive this new era of space travel .
The opportunity for Christians is to , as my friend Greg Koukl often says , “ put a pebble in their shoe ” by asking why .
Why is human civilization worth preserving and spreading ?
Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Why do we treat death like an enemy to be overcome ?
Not only do these questions lack answers if we are no different from the elephant or ape , there ’ s really no explanation for why we would be asking them in the first place .
If we are different from the animals , however , if we were made to know the universe and the God behind it , then our sense of awe and our drive to return to space makes a world of sense .
John Stonestreet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Christian Worldview .
He ’ s a sought-after author and speaker on areas of faith and culture , theology , worldview , education and apologetics .

Last week’s successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon vehicle marked the first manned mission to space from U.S. soil in nearly a decade. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who ascended from the same launchpad as the Apollo missions and the space shuttle, are now aboard the International Space Station.
Only this time, in an amazing “giant leap” of technology, the rocket that carried them into orbit returned and landed itself aboard a ship to be reused. All of this was, for the first time in manned space flight history, carried out by SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk.
SpaceX’s stated goal is to make off-world travel more affordable, but Musk has deeper, more science-fiction-like ambitions, including seeding the human species on other planets. Back in 2008, he wrote in Esquire:
An asteroid or a supervolcano could certainly destroy [humanity], but we also face risks the dinosaurs never saw: An engineered virus, nuclear war, inadvertent creation of a micro black hole, or some as-yet-unknown technology could spell the end of us. Sooner or later, we must expand life beyond our little blue mud ball–or go extinct.
Atheistic Transhumanism is Behind Musk’s Projects
Musk’s movie-like ambitions don’t end there. In addition to SpaceX and (of course) Tesla, he founded a company called Neuralink to “develop ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers.” At the press conference announcing the launch of Neuralink, Musk restated that in plain English. He wants to help humans “achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence,” creating technologies that would enable humans to “merge with AI.”
In other words, the worldview at work behind most of Musk’s projects is an atheistic transhumanism that seeks to control the evolutionary process toward the end of preserving and expanding human consciousness and capability.
Recognizing these worldview motivations does not, however, minimize the achievements of Musk or SpaceX. Sending Americans back to the stars in a private spacecraft propelled by a retrievable rocket is just downright cool, to say nothing of just how useful the technology could be.
The Why Questions that Only Christianity Can Explain
At the same time, Christians should realize that the awe that overwhelms humans when watching man set foot on the moon or a robot land on Mars or astronauts boarding the space station is more than a mere feeling. Rather, it’s a testament to our unique status and role in creation, as well as our drive and capacity to imagine beyond the constraints of what is to what might be, and it’s a reminder that the universe is a place to be known, explored, and even subdued. Adherents to any worldview must recognize these observable realities about this universe, but Christianity can uniquely explain them.
No elephants or apes look to the stars and long to visit them, nor are they capable of trying. Humans do and are, because we’re created in the image of the One who set the stars in place to declare His glory and gave us wonder and the ability to know Him. An atheistic worldview, even with ambitions to transcend our bodies and settle other planets, simply cannot account for these desires.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
That doesn’t stop those who hold this worldview from trying. Elon Musk, for example, sounds eerily similar to atheist space-farer Dr. Weston from C. S. Lewis’ “Space Trilogy.” In civilized man, says Weston, life has reached its “highest form,” and now “presses forward to that interplanetary leap” which will place us “forever beyond the reach of death.”
Though anyone who knows Dr. Weston’s eventual fate will shudder, similar ideas often drive this new era of space travel. The opportunity for Christians is to, as my friend Greg Koukl often says, “put a pebble in their shoe” by asking why. Why is human civilization worth preserving and spreading? Why do we long to visit other planets? Why do we treat death like an enemy to be overcome?
Not only do these questions lack answers if we are no different from the elephant or ape, there’s really no explanation for why we would be asking them in the first place. If we are different from the animals, however, if we were made to know the universe and the God behind it, then our sense of awe and our drive to return to space makes a world of sense.
John Stonestreet serves as president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He’s a sought-after author and speaker on areas of faith and culture, theology, worldview, education and apologetics.


thestream--2020-06-08--Race, Justice and Religious Liberty in the World

As an African American who has held elected office at the state and local level , and served as the US Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission , I believe a full and frank discussion on issues of race and injustice is important .
I also know too well that many places are far more dangerous for me as a black Christian man than the United States .
The religious freedom executive order signed Tuesday addressed this reality : about a million Christians ( mostly people of color ) were killed for their faith in the past decade .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who denounced the president ’ s religious freedom activities last week , generally seemed to miss that his actions on religious freedom would actually help black lives .
When the president visited the site in Washington that is arguably the most connected to international religious freedom , partisan attacks ensued , ignoring what the president was doing that day for some of the world ’ s most vulnerable people .
Lost in these woke hot takes— some cloaked in religion — was the fact that the president ’ s visit to the St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only previously arranged but was one of many activities devoted that day to international religious freedom .
Not , incidentally , an issue that has , until now , transcended partisanship .
The day was of enormous benefit — not harm — to believers of color , putting the US government to work defending the rights of religious minorities for whom persecution means the death of thousands each year .
Why is this shrine so important to the issue ?
First , St. John Paul II championed religious freedom – at the Second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He helped bring freedom to the oppressed people of the Soviet Bloc — including countless people of faith .
Second , according to the Pew Foundation , Christians ( two-thirds of whom are predominately people of color ) are the most persecuted religious group on earth .
Finally , the visit — and executive order signing — were timed to coincide with the anniversary of John Paul ’ s visit to Poland in 1979 : a watershed moment in the history of freedom .
The day ’ s events and the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paying attention to those in Africa , the Middle East and elsewhere that the “ woke ” leftists criticizing him continue to ignore .
That some have gone so far as to criticize the Shrine and its sponsor for political purposes is also alarming .
As I know from my own extensive involvement in the cause of religious freedom , few have done as much in recent years – on a bipartisan basis – to help persecuted religious minorities around the world than the Knights of Columbus .
The Knights have led bi-partisan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They produced a report – along with In Defense of Christians — in 2016 at the request of the Obama administration documenting ISIS ’ crimes against Middle Eastern Christians .
This helped convince Secretary Kerry to name those crimes “ genocide.
” The Knights continued this advocacy in the Trump administration , again helping shape policies that made substantial strides for those who had endured genocide for their faith .
Only those ignorant of the Knights ’ actions over the past five years — not to mention the past century — would call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cause of religious freedom a partisan photo-op .
On the legislative front as well , the Knights have been bipartisan and effective .
They were key players in not one , but two unanimously passed pieces of legislation related to international religious freedom in the past five years ( H.Con.Res 75 and HR 390 ) .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
As the religious freedom community has raised concerns more recently about a burgeoning genocide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among those effectively sounding the alarm .
They ’ re playing a quiet but crucial role in urging government focus on the persecution of Christians throughout Africa — and especially in Nigeria .
Working with an inter-religious coalition , including both Muslims and Christians , and meeting with African Church leaders from around the continent , the Knights have urged the administration to protect the most threatened black lives on earth — in Africa .
The need is not abstract .
Writing in the Hill last year , another leading religious freedom advocate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tens of thousands of people — mainly Christians — had been killed in Nigeria and that this combined with the targeted sex slavery being carried out there had reached the point of genocide for African Christians .
This is a real priority .
Only by decontextualizing it can it be classified as partisan .
Here we have a group that has openly accepted black members since the 19th century , ran the only integrated military centers in World War I , supported black schools and the civil rights movement , and commissioned and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Folk by WEB DuBois – cofounder of the NAACP – in the 1920s .
Today , they focus on the lives of people of color .
Here at home with numerous charitable programs for the vulnerable , and speaking out publicly against racism and funding the Catholic bishops response to it .
But also in terms of assistance in Africa to those without water , to AIDS orphans and in providing a voice for the tens of thousands there and the Middle East who die for their faith ; victims generally ignored by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But maybe this context just isn ’ t woke enough .
Why let facts get in the way of politicizing a day that will help black lives in Africa ?
In fact , it is shocking that some people of faith criticizing the president ’ s visit to the Shrine have shown so little concern about the troubling elements of the “ Black Lives Matter ” agenda .
Generally ignored is that the BLM organization explicitly seeks to move away from the agenda of past civil rights movements ( of which MLK ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
Why are so many priests , imams , pastors and bishops silent about the BLM organization ’ s plan to promote at its “ center ” an LGBT and transgender agenda , or its stated desire to “ disrupt the … nuclear family structure.
” This ulterior agenda seems far more inconsistent — and dangerous — to the values of many people of faith than protecting religious freedom in Africa or the Middle East does .
The Soviet Bloc – which St. John Paul helped dismantle – used to call those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fully understanding it “ useful idiots.
” One wonders if the BLM leadership ( fond of the Soviet term “ comrade ” ) view certain “ woke ” religious voices the same way .
Ken Blackwell is a Distinguished Fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance at the Family Research Council in Washington , D.C .

As an African American who has held elected office at the state and local level, and served as the US Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission, I believe a full and frank discussion on issues of race and injustice is important.
I also know too well that many places are far more dangerous for me as a black Christian man than the United States.
President Trump’s Religious Freedom Executive Order
The religious freedom executive order signed Tuesday addressed this reality: about a million Christians (mostly people of color) were killed for their faith in the past decade.
Yet those — including religious figures — who denounced the president’s religious freedom activities last week, generally seemed to miss that his actions on religious freedom would actually help black lives.
When the president visited the site in Washington that is arguably the most connected to international religious freedom, partisan attacks ensued, ignoring what the president was doing that day for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Lost in these woke hot takes — some cloaked in religion — was the fact that the president’s visit to the St. John Paul II National Shrine was not only previously arranged but was one of many activities devoted that day to international religious freedom. Not, incidentally, an issue that has, until now, transcended partisanship.
The day was of enormous benefit — not harm — to believers of color, putting the US government to work defending the rights of religious minorities for whom persecution means the death of thousands each year.
St. John Paul II National Shrine
Why is this shrine so important to the issue?
First, St. John Paul II championed religious freedom — at the Second Vatican Council, and then as pope. He helped bring freedom to the oppressed people of the Soviet Bloc — including countless people of faith.
Second, according to the Pew Foundation, Christians (two-thirds of whom are predominately people of color) are the most persecuted religious group on earth.
Finally, the visit — and executive order signing — were timed to coincide with the anniversary of John Paul’s visit to Poland in 1979: a watershed moment in the history of freedom.
The day’s events and the president’s executive order deserve praise for paying attention to those in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere that the “woke” leftists criticizing him continue to ignore.
That some have gone so far as to criticize the Shrine and its sponsor for political purposes is also alarming.
The Knights of Columbus Helping Persecuted Religious Minorities
As I know from my own extensive involvement in the cause of religious freedom, few have done as much in recent years — on a bipartisan basis — to help persecuted religious minorities around the world than the Knights of Columbus.
The Knights have led bi-partisan coalitions in defense of religious minorities. They produced a report — along with In Defense of Christians — in 2016 at the request of the Obama administration documenting ISIS’ crimes against Middle Eastern Christians. This helped convince Secretary Kerry to name those crimes “genocide.”
The Knights continued this advocacy in the Trump administration, again helping shape policies that made substantial strides for those who had endured genocide for their faith.
Only those ignorant of the Knights’ actions over the past five years — not to mention the past century — would call the group’s willingness to advance the cause of religious freedom a partisan photo-op.
On the legislative front as well, the Knights have been bipartisan and effective. They were key players in not one, but two unanimously passed pieces of legislation related to international religious freedom in the past five years (H.Con.Res 75 and HR 390).
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
As the religious freedom community has raised concerns more recently about a burgeoning genocide in Africa, the Knights have been among those effectively sounding the alarm. They’re playing a quiet but crucial role in urging government focus on the persecution of Christians throughout Africa — and especially in Nigeria.
Working with an inter-religious coalition, including both Muslims and Christians, and meeting with African Church leaders from around the continent, the Knights have urged the administration to protect the most threatened black lives on earth — in Africa.
The Genocide of African Christians
The need is not abstract. Writing in the Hill last year, another leading religious freedom advocate, former Congressman Frank Wolf warned that tens of thousands of people — mainly Christians — had been killed in Nigeria and that this combined with the targeted sex slavery being carried out there had reached the point of genocide for African Christians.
This is a real priority. Only by decontextualizing it can it be classified as partisan.
Here we have a group that has openly accepted black members since the 19th century, ran the only integrated military centers in World War I, supported black schools and the civil rights movement, and commissioned and published the book The Gift of Black Folk by WEB DuBois — cofounder of the NAACP — in the 1920s.
Today, they focus on the lives of people of color. Here at home with numerous charitable programs for the vulnerable, and speaking out publicly against racism and funding the Catholic bishops response to it. But also in terms of assistance in Africa to those without water, to AIDS orphans and in providing a voice for the tens of thousands there and the Middle East who die for their faith; victims generally ignored by commentariat here in the United States.
BLM’s Ulterior Agenda
But maybe this context just isn’t woke enough. Why let facts get in the way of politicizing a day that will help black lives in Africa?
In fact, it is shocking that some people of faith criticizing the president’s visit to the Shrine have shown so little concern about the troubling elements of the “Black Lives Matter” agenda.
Generally ignored is that the BLM organization explicitly seeks to move away from the agenda of past civil rights movements (of which MLK’s Christian, non-violent model is best-known).
Why are so many priests, imams, pastors and bishops silent about the BLM organization’s plan to promote at its “center” an LGBT and transgender agenda, or its stated desire to “disrupt the … nuclear family structure.”
This ulterior agenda seems far more inconsistent — and dangerous — to the values of many people of faith than protecting religious freedom in Africa or the Middle East does.
The Soviet Bloc – which St. John Paul helped dismantle – used to call those who helped promote their agenda globally without fully understanding it “useful idiots.” One wonders if the BLM leadership (fond of the Soviet term “comrade”) view certain “woke” religious voices the same way.
Ken Blackwell is a Distinguished Fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.


thestream--2020-06-08--This Catholic School Teacher Was Fired for Criticizing the Black Lives Matter Organization

The Stream ’ s John Zmirak interviewed author and teacher Timothy Gordon .
The Stream reviewed Gordon ’ s book Rules for Retrogrades earlier this year .
The Stream : Please tell us about yourself .
I am a 39-year old white , male Roman Catholic writer and teacher of philosophy and theology .
Married with six children .
I was educated in graduate philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome , Italy .
So I ’ d planned to begin doctoral studies there , but my first daughter Abigail was born with traumatic brain injury .
That drove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At that point , I studied law at the University of San Diego .
In addition to conference and journal white papers , I ’ ve published two books , Catholic Republic and Rules for Retrogrades .
A third will appear later this year : No Christian Feminism .
I worked in the law for a year , before returning to the Catholic high school , Garces Memorial , to teach theology for the past six years .
Simultaneously , I ’ ve been a conservative Catholic commentator for the past few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( “ Rules for Retrogrades ” podcast ) and Twitter .
Abigail recently underwent complex brain surgery , and the “ Ram Fam ” at Garces told us they were praying for us daily .
This fits strangely with an unjust firing ( less than two months after my daughter ’ s surgery date ) , which removes Abigail ’ s health insurance for physical therapy and recovery .
An All Too Typical Catholic-Scented School Describe the school — who goes there , what it ’ s like .
Garces is in all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , diocesan Catholic high school .
All Catholics will be familiar with that category .
In terms of the articulation of the Church ’ s crystal clear yet unpopular doctrines , it designates a general capitulation by the Church to the world .
Unpopular teachings by the Church on abortion , gay “ marriage , ” and contraception are usually ignored .
Or contradicted .
Openly liberal faculty and staff at such schools balk at Church teaching without fear of termination .
Such “ Catholic-in-name-only ” schools offer no safe harbor to faithful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neither to teachers nor to students of this persuasion .
Garces is different in one key aspect : its location in a conservative enclave in an otherwise very liberal state .
So when a cultural , political , and theological conservative like me gets hired — as I did six years ago — politically conservative parents and students rejoice .
Granted , even political conservatives bristle at some of the thornier aspects of Catholic teachings .
( For instance , that against contraception . )
But with good teaching and committed learning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a conservative area like Bakersfield , California there exist progressive dissenters among students and parents .
These will not be led in the classroom , no matter how cogently the perennial ideas are presented to them .
So , Garces , my former employer , was unique among the large , diocesan “ Catholic ” education mills .
It employed a faithful theology department which I led as chairman , and other faithful Catholics joined .
Some left after short tenures because they grew tired of the unspoken progressive scorn coming from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , parents , and students .
What happened to your job last week ?
I was notified by an email from the Diocese of Fresno that my yearly contract had been non-renewed .
This came after an employment offer made by them and ratified by me .
This email followed short hours after a petition by progressive students and parents demanded my removal .
The reason ?
A series of tweets I had made ( on summer break ) about the domestic terror group “ Black Lives Matter.
” Please Support The Stream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Notably , many ( I think most , although I haven ’ t yet counted precisely ) of these students I had never taught .
Many attended Garces before I arrived there .
Some never attended Garces .
The organizers were getting signatories any way they could .
I ’ m told that students were being bullied into signing it .
Even then , they could scrounge up very few of the 600+ students I ’ ve taught over six years .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it anything you ’ d like to retract ?
Or to reiterate ?
I regret nothing .
I called BLM a terrorist organization , which is an incontrovertible historical fact .
It can be easily found online that the BLM is considered a Black Identity Extremist group by the FBI after one of their members was killed by police in Texas .
I also made a joke about ( pro-LGBT Jesuit ) James Martin and BLM activists on Twitter that I don ’ t regret .
There are outlets that are saying that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ False .
I called for the lawful implementation of Second Amendment rights in the case of arsonists and violent assailants physically attacking store owners and their property .
Who led the call for you to be fired ?
GHMS parents and students , unhappy about my teaching the true faith in the classroom , led the charge .
These students had been the few dissenting ones challenging Catholic moral theology in my classroom , and/or rolling their eyes when I would teach it .
Who at the school made the decision ?
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fresno ’ s superintendent , Mona Falkner .
It let me know that my contract would not be “ renewed.
” The problem with that is : it had already been renewed two months prior .
After six years of teaching at GHMS I never received a call or text by my administration to inform me that my job might have been in danger .
Have you gotten any support from parents or other teachers ?
Yes , on all counts .
The vast majority of the school is with me .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls by the minute .
Many of the people on the petition were never in my class .
Many of my former students , of all colors , have written or called the diocese on my behalf .
Garces parents ( past and former ) have also been very supportive .
Many have pledged that they will no longer support GHMS financially .
Are you considering legal action ?
Yes .
I will seek justice in the courts .
I have retained LiMandri & Jonna LLP to represent me in this matter and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represented other faculty and staff persecuted for their conservative viewpoints .
These included devout Catholic teachers and staff at Immaculata High School in New Jersey and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles .
The firms is also pursuing a similar case on behalf of a conservative faculty member at DePaul University in Chicago .
Are the Catholic churches in your area threatened by looters ?
We have some demonstrations here in Bakersfield .
So … yes .
BLM is a self-appointed enemy of all Christians , given their policy agenda .
I have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way into the neighborhoods .
But I have yet to hear of any of specific Catholic churches being targeted .
Are clergy or bishops siding with the riotors ?
The Fresno Diocese cast their lot with the BLM .
The Diocese honored the bogus claims of a small band of disgruntled students who didn ’ t like it when I taught them authentic Catholic doctrine on homosexuality , abortion , contraception , and Islam .
What does it say about the Church in America that its de facto leader , Wilton Gregory , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church property ?
It says everything one needs to know about the state of the Church .
What can people do to help ?
Anyone who wishes to help my cause please visit TimothyJGordon.com .
We have lost our insurance at a difficult time .
My daughter just had major brain surgery ( a complete hempispherectomy ) a few weeks ago and needs follow up medical attention .
How ominous is it that a radical faction can snap its fingers and wreck its critics ’ lives , with the Church as enforcer ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed to happen to our country because other men won ’ t stand up and say “ enough .
I ’ ll say what I want.
” They can ’ t fire all of us .
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream , and author or co-author of ten books , including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism .

The Stream’s John Zmirak interviewed author and teacher Timothy Gordon. The Stream reviewed Gordon’s book Rules for Retrogrades earlier this year.
The Stream: Please tell us about yourself.
I am a 39-year old white, male Roman Catholic writer and teacher of philosophy and theology. Married with six children. I was educated in graduate philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. So I’d planned to begin doctoral studies there, but my first daughter Abigail was born with traumatic brain injury. That drove my small family back to the States.
At that point, I studied law at the University of San Diego. In addition to conference and journal white papers, I’ve published two books, Catholic Republic and Rules for Retrogrades. A third will appear later this year: No Christian Feminism. I worked in the law for a year, before returning to the Catholic high school, Garces Memorial, to teach theology for the past six years. Simultaneously, I’ve been a conservative Catholic commentator for the past few years on the social media platforms YouTube (“Rules for Retrogrades” podcast) and Twitter.
Abigail recently underwent complex brain surgery, and the “Ram Fam” at Garces told us they were praying for us daily. This fits strangely with an unjust firing (less than two months after my daughter’s surgery date), which removes Abigail’s health insurance for physical therapy and recovery.
An All Too Typical Catholic-Scented School
Describe the school — who goes there, what it’s like.
Garces is in all ways except one a typical, large, diocesan Catholic high school. All Catholics will be familiar with that category. In terms of the articulation of the Church’s crystal clear yet unpopular doctrines, it designates a general capitulation by the Church to the world. Unpopular teachings by the Church on abortion, gay “marriage,” and contraception are usually ignored. Or contradicted. Openly liberal faculty and staff at such schools balk at Church teaching without fear of termination. Such “Catholic-in-name-only” schools offer no safe harbor to faithful sons and daughters of the Church — neither to teachers nor to students of this persuasion.
Garces is different in one key aspect: its location in a conservative enclave in an otherwise very liberal state. So when a cultural, political, and theological conservative like me gets hired — as I did six years ago — politically conservative parents and students rejoice. Granted, even political conservatives bristle at some of the thornier aspects of Catholic teachings. (For instance, that against contraception.) But with good teaching and committed learning, they come around.
Naturally, even in a conservative area like Bakersfield, California there exist progressive dissenters among students and parents. These will not be led in the classroom, no matter how cogently the perennial ideas are presented to them.
So, Garces, my former employer, was unique among the large, diocesan “Catholic” education mills. It employed a faithful theology department which I led as chairman, and other faithful Catholics joined. Some left after short tenures because they grew tired of the unspoken progressive scorn coming from progressives on campus. From fellow faculty, parents, and students.
Unpersoned by the Woke Mob
What happened to your job last week?
I was notified by an email from the Diocese of Fresno that my yearly contract had been non-renewed. This came after an employment offer made by them and ratified by me. This email followed short hours after a petition by progressive students and parents demanded my removal. The reason? A series of tweets I had made (on summer break) about the domestic terror group “Black Lives Matter.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Notably, many (I think most, although I haven’t yet counted precisely) of these students I had never taught. Many attended Garces before I arrived there. Some never attended Garces. The organizers were getting signatories any way they could. I’m told that students were being bullied into signing it. Even then, they could scrounge up very few of the 600+ students I’ve taught over six years.
What had you said online? Is it anything you’d like to retract? Or to reiterate?
I regret nothing. I called BLM a terrorist organization, which is an incontrovertible historical fact. It can be easily found online that the BLM is considered a Black Identity Extremist group by the FBI after one of their members was killed by police in Texas. I also made a joke about (pro-LGBT Jesuit) James Martin and BLM activists on Twitter that I don’t regret. There are outlets that are saying that I called for violence against protesters. False. I called for the lawful implementation of Second Amendment rights in the case of arsonists and violent assailants physically attacking store owners and their property.
Dissident Catholics Get Their Revenge
Who led the call for you to be fired?
GHMS parents and students, unhappy about my teaching the true faith in the classroom, led the charge. These students had been the few dissenting ones challenging Catholic moral theology in my classroom, and/or rolling their eyes when I would teach it.
Who at the school made the decision?
I received an email by the Diocese of Fresno’s superintendent, Mona Falkner. It let me know that my contract would not be “renewed.” The problem with that is: it had already been renewed two months prior. After six years of teaching at GHMS I never received a call or text by my administration to inform me that my job might have been in danger.
Catholics Forced to Sue Their Church
Have you gotten any support from parents or other teachers?
Yes, on all counts. The vast majority of the school is with me. I have received letters, texts, and calls by the minute. Many of the people on the petition were never in my class. Many of my former students, of all colors, have written or called the diocese on my behalf. Garces parents (past and former) have also been very supportive. Many have pledged that they will no longer support GHMS financially.
Are you considering legal action?
Yes. I will seek justice in the courts. I have retained LiMandri & Jonna LLP to represent me in this matter and protect my rights. They have successfully represented other faculty and staff persecuted for their conservative viewpoints. These included devout Catholic teachers and staff at Immaculata High School in New Jersey and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The firms is also pursuing a similar case on behalf of a conservative faculty member at DePaul University in Chicago.
Are the Catholic churches in your area threatened by looters?
We have some demonstrations here in Bakersfield. So … yes. BLM is a self-appointed enemy of all Christians, given their policy agenda. I have heard that the group is making its way into the neighborhoods. But I have yet to hear of any of specific Catholic churches being targeted.
Are clergy or bishops siding with the riotors?
The Fresno Diocese cast their lot with the BLM. The Diocese honored the bogus claims of a small band of disgruntled students who didn’t like it when I taught them authentic Catholic doctrine on homosexuality, abortion, contraception, and Islam.
Bishops Enforcing Leftist Dogma
What does it say about the Church in America that its de facto leader, Wilton Gregory, denounced the president for setting foot on church property?
It says everything one needs to know about the state of the Church.
What can people do to help?
Anyone who wishes to help my cause please visit TimothyJGordon.com. We have lost our insurance at a difficult time. My daughter just had major brain surgery (a complete hempispherectomy) a few weeks ago and needs follow up medical attention.
How ominous is it that a radical faction can snap its fingers and wreck its critics’ lives, with the Church as enforcer?
Exceedingly. This is what we have allowed to happen to our country because other men won’t stand up and say “enough. I’ll say what I want.” They can’t fire all of us.
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream, and author or co-author of ten books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism.


thestream--2020-06-08--Military Photo of the Day: Dropping In on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

U.S. Air Force airmen descend after jumping from a C-17 Globemaster III during airborne training over the Malemute drop zone @ @ @ @ @ Alaska on May 26 , 2020 .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to @ @ @ @ @ , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .

U.S. Air Force airmen descend after jumping from a C-17 Globemaster III during airborne training over the Malemute drop zone at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on May 26, 2020.
Have a good week, everyone!
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thestream--2020-06-08--De Blasio Announces Plan to Shift Funds Away From NYPD Amid Calls to Defund Police

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to shift funding away from the city ’ s police department and toward youth programs Sunday , as activists push for defunding police departments .
De Blasio ’ s plan is part of a suggestion from the mayor ’ s task force on racial inclusion , which is chaired by his wife , activist Chirlane McCray .
Decisions about police funding must ensure New Yorkers ’ safety is a priority , the mayor said during a press briefing .
“ We will be moving funding from the NYPD to youth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blasio , a Democrat , said during the hourlong press conference Sunday addressing potential police reforms .
De Blasio ’ s announcement comes after he was booed during a vigil for George Floyd , a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled down on his neck for more than eight minutes , video of the incident shows .
“ Defund the police ” has become a common slogan among protesters and left-wing figures .
De Blasio added : “ The details will be worked out in the budget process in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to understand that we are committed to shifting resources to ensure that the focus is on our young people.
” Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
“ This is a beginning .
I want it to be abundantly clear to all New Yorkers .
These are first steps to what will be 18 months of making intense change in this city .
The work of this task force is crucial , ” de Blasio said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street vendor enforcement will also “ no longer be the responsibility of the NYPD , ” de Blasio added during the briefing .
A civilian agency will now be responsible for policing citizens ’ interactions with city vendors , he said without mentioning the agency .
Floyd ’ s death sparked nationwide protests , and resulted in second-degree murder and manslaughter charges being brought against the police officer , Derek Chauvin , who was immediately fired after the incident .
The NYPD arrested hundreds of protesters , rioters , and looters during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign emerged after Floyd ’ s death to reduce police department funds across the country and redirect such resources to other services .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to shift funding away from the city’s police department and toward youth programs Sunday, as activists push for defunding police departments.
De Blasio’s plan is part of a suggestion from the mayor’s task force on racial inclusion, which is chaired by his wife, activist Chirlane McCray. Decisions about police funding must ensure New Yorkers’ safety is a priority, the mayor said during a press briefing.
“We will be moving funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services,” de Blasio, a Democrat, said during the hourlong press conference Sunday addressing potential police reforms.
De Blasio’s announcement comes after he was booed during a vigil for George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled down on his neck for more than eight minutes, video of the incident shows. “Defund the police” has become a common slogan among protesters and left-wing figures.
De Blasio added: “The details will be worked out in the budget process in the weeks ahead. But I want people to understand that we are committed to shifting resources to ensure that the focus is on our young people.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
“This is a beginning. I want it to be abundantly clear to all New Yorkers. These are first steps to what will be 18 months of making intense change in this city. The work of this task force is crucial,” de Blasio said. “This is a transformative moment.”
Street vendor enforcement will also “no longer be the responsibility of the NYPD,” de Blasio added during the briefing. A civilian agency will now be responsible for policing citizens’ interactions with city vendors, he said without mentioning the agency.
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests, and resulted in second-degree murder and manslaughter charges being brought against the police officer, Derek Chauvin, who was immediately fired after the incident. The NYPD arrested hundreds of protesters, rioters, and looters during the protests in New York City.
A campaign emerged after Floyd’s death to reduce police department funds across the country and redirect such resources to other services.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-08--Do You Feel Like Things Are Spiraling Out of Control?

Do you feel like America is spinning out of control ?
That chaos and disorder seem to be the new order of the day ?
That you have no idea what tomorrow might bring ?
That those in leadership of our nation , from the president to law enforcement and from medical specialists to local mayors , are in over their heads ?
If so , you are not alone .
A new poll indicates that “ 80 percent of voters say things are out of control in the U.S. ” As reported by Mark Murray on NBC News , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that things are out of control in the United States , with majorities still concerned about the spread of the coronavirus , pessimistic about the economy ’ s returning to normal before next year and down on President Donald Trump ’ s ability to unite the nation.
” To quote Murray ’ s article again , “ ‘ Out of control — that ’ s America in 2020 , ’ said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates , who helped conduct the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff and his GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s true that the poll was conducted from May 28-June 2 , so , before last Friday ’ s “ surprising jobs report , which found the unemployment rate declining to 13.3 percent and the economy adding 2.5 million jobs in May.
” An Overall Feeling of Uncertainty But I seriously doubt that one positive economic report put a major dent in the overall feeling of uncertainty and chaos which has gripped the country .
Think about it for a moment .
Do you have much confidence in what medical experts are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they know what is best ?
It seems like not even hindsight is 20/20 these days .
How about the shutdown ?
Was it justified ?
An overreaction ?
Or were there more sinister plans behind it ?
What about decisions being made by state and city officials , including governors and mayors ?
Do you feel like they are in over their heads ?
What about the riots ?
Will they subside in the coming days , or will they come to your own neighborhood ?
As for the peaceful protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the anger and the pain , how do we feel about some of the solutions being proposed , including defunding the police ?
On the flip side , how comfortable are we in asking some deeper questions about our history and our society ?
Does the thought of it make us nervous ?
Nothing Prepared Our Leaders for This And what about President Trump ?
Do we feel that he has a grip on how best to handle our current crises , the likes of which no president in history has faced at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must realize that nothing prepared him ( or any of our national leaders ) for a moment quite like this .
Whichever way we turn , we find only partial solutions .
No matter who wins the next election , we will remain deeply divided , barring divine intervention .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Even if the protests soon subside , the scars will last for many years to come .
And how long will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been burned down and looted and destroyed ?
As for the virus , even if we successfully win the long-term battle , it is unlikely that normal life will return for a long time to come .
If ever .
And how many businesses , small and large alike , have been forced to shut their doors for good ?
And what about all those families still grieving their loved ones killed by COVID-19 ?
We Must Become Convinced That We Have Nowhere to Go but Our Knees The simple truth is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like this , our president , along with every single one of us , would do well to remember the words reportedly uttered by President Abraham Lincoln : “ I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go .
My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.
” That is the perfect place for us to start .
On our knees , in dependence upon God , asking Him to give us wisdom for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we don ’ t take action .
It doesn ’ t mean that we sit back and rely on a miracle .
But it does mean that , at such a time as this , we don ’ t fool ourselves into putting a multitude of Band-Aids on a critically ill patient .
Without divine intervention , America is in deep trouble .
But if we call out for mercy — no , desperately plead for mercy — and give ourselves unconditionally to be agents of hope and healing , then all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spiraling out of control .
It ’ s high time that we appeal to the only One who can set things right .
There is a time when even the proudest among us must bow the knee before Him .
Now is such a time .
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is When the World Stops : Words of Faith , Hope , and Wisdom in the Midst of Crisis .
Connect with him on Facebook @ @ @ @ @

Do you feel like America is spinning out of control? That chaos and disorder seem to be the new order of the day? That you have no idea what tomorrow might bring? That those in leadership of our nation, from the president to law enforcement and from medical specialists to local mayors, are in over their heads? If so, you are not alone. A new poll indicates that “80 percent of voters say things are out of control in the U.S.”
As reported by Mark Murray on NBC News, “Eight out of 10 voters believe that things are out of control in the United States, with majorities still concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, pessimistic about the economy’s returning to normal before next year and down on President Donald Trump’s ability to unite the nation.”
To quote Murray’s article again, “‘Out of control — that’s America in 2020,’ said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who helped conduct the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff and his GOP colleagues at Public Opinion Strategies.”
It’s true that the poll was conducted from May 28-June 2, so, before last Friday’s “surprising jobs report, which found the unemployment rate declining to 13.3 percent and the economy adding 2.5 million jobs in May.”
An Overall Feeling of Uncertainty
But I seriously doubt that one positive economic report put a major dent in the overall feeling of uncertainty and chaos which has gripped the country.
Think about it for a moment. Do you have much confidence in what medical experts are telling us? Do you feel sure that they know what is best? It seems like not even hindsight is 20/20 these days.
How about the shutdown? Was it justified? An overreaction? Or were there more sinister plans behind it?
It seems like not even hindsight is 20/20 these days.
What about decisions being made by state and city officials, including governors and mayors? Do you feel like they are in over their heads?
What about the riots? Will they subside in the coming days, or will they come to your own neighborhood?
As for the peaceful protests, as much as we empathize with the anger and the pain, how do we feel about some of the solutions being proposed, including defunding the police? On the flip side, how comfortable are we in asking some deeper questions about our history and our society? Does the thought of it make us nervous?
Nothing Prepared Our Leaders for This
And what about President Trump? Do we feel that he has a grip on how best to handle our current crises, the likes of which no president in history has faced at once? Even the staunchest Trump supporter must realize that nothing prepared him (or any of our national leaders) for a moment quite like this.
Whichever way we turn, we find only partial solutions. No matter who wins the next election, we will remain deeply divided, barring divine intervention.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Even if the protests soon subside, the scars will last for many years to come. And how long will it take to rebuild and restore what has been burned down and looted and destroyed?
As for the virus, even if we successfully win the long-term battle, it is unlikely that normal life will return for a long time to come. If ever. And how many businesses, small and large alike, have been forced to shut their doors for good? And what about all those families still grieving their loved ones killed by COVID-19?
We Must Become Convinced That We Have Nowhere to Go but Our Knees
The simple truth is that America needs God.
At times like this, our president, along with every single one of us, would do well to remember the words reportedly uttered by President Abraham Lincoln: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”
That is the perfect place for us to start. On our knees, in dependence upon God, asking Him to give us wisdom for the day.
That is the perfect place for us to start. On our knees, in dependence upon God, asking Him to give us wisdom for the day.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t take action. It doesn’t mean that we sit back and rely on a miracle.
But it does mean that, at such a time as this, we don’t fool ourselves into putting a multitude of Band-Aids on a critically ill patient.
Without divine intervention, America is in deep trouble. But if we call out for mercy — no, desperately plead for mercy — and give ourselves unconditionally to be agents of hope and healing, then all things are possible.
Things certainly are spiraling out of control. It’s high time that we appeal to the only One who can set things right. There is a time when even the proudest among us must bow the knee before Him. Now is such a time.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is When the World Stops: Words of Faith, Hope, and Wisdom in the Midst of Crisis. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-06-08--The Sad Truth: We Now Have to Assume Anything The Media Says About Trump is a Lie

Last Friday , in the midst of this tinderbox of a crisis , many major media outlets and Democratic leaders did something so reprehensible , so malicious , so dangerous , it can only be called demonic .
During a Rose Garden appearance touting the surprising employment numbers , President Trump veered off onto the topic de jour : Equality .
In his brief soliloquy on equal justice and fairness , he evoked George Floyd , expressing hope Floyd was happy at seeing the issue of equality being addressed .
That such discussions made it a “ great day.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unity , preaching what MLK preached .
The video could not be clearer .
Trump was specifically talking about justice , about equal protection under the law .
The “ great day ” was the light being shown on it .
Here is the transcript from The Hill .
Kudos to them for playing it straight .
“ Equal justice under the law must mean every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race , color , gender or creed , ” Trump said .
“ They have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ We all saw what happened last week .
We can ’ t let that happen , ” he continued , referencing Floyd ’ s death .
“ Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that ’ s happening for our country .
This is a great day for him , it ’ s a great day for everybody .
This is a great day for everybody .
This is a great , great day in terms of equality.
” His message couldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 30-foot tall letters on Pennsylvania Avenue .
Remember the president had gone off-script and shared his thoughts off the top of his head .
Then he went back to his script .
( Here is a transcript of the whole address , made from uncorrected close captions . )
What did he say ?
“ I want to finish by saying.
” He ’ d finished talking about George Floyd and moved on to his next point .
That was about “ saving the economy.
” Which was the subject of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have been clearer about that .
And yet , nearly every major outlet blasted out the headline that Trump said George Floyd was looking down from heaven happy at the jobs report .
The New York Times , CNN ’ s Jake Tapper , Yahoo News , a host of others .
The horror .
How dare Trump use Floyd !
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris picked up the false report and expressed their outrage .
Biden called it “ despicable.
” This continued through the weekend .
Atlanta ’ s Mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CNN Sunday morning .
It is a lie .
A flat out , indefensible invention .
Their aim was simple : Bury Trump ’ s message of unity and equality .
And with the nation poised to explode again in violence over Floyd ’ s death , depict the President as using Floyd .
Theirs is a deliberate effort to inflame an already volatile situation .
They poured gasoline all across our streets .
We saw ( or didn ’ t see ) Twitter and Facebook take a similar action .
No , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump .
However , they killed a video from the Trump campaign .
It features the President ’ s ( ignored ) speech last Saturday at the NASA SpaceX launch , where Trump paid tribute to Floyd and expressed solidarity with peaceful protests .
Twitter and Facebook took it down due to a “ copyright complaint.
” Yup .
By any means necessary , eh ?
The Trump Campaign said Twitter is “ censoring this uplifting and unifying message from President Trump after the # GeorgeFloyd tragedy .
The same speech the media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the longer , YouTube version of the video : The Second Law of Snake News Last week , I wrote about the First Law of Snake News : Anything that has the media and Democrats hyperventilating over concerning Trump will be proven false .
The First Law ’ s corollary is “ And this proof will usually happen within 24 hours.
” The story of Trump evoking George Floyd is a proof of the First Law .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now we get to the The Second Law of Snake News : The Media Will Stoop to Anything to Injure Trump .
Further proof came Sunday morning , when Attorney General William Barr was being grilled on Face the Nation by Margaret Brennan .
Barr kept insisting that figures in the administration agreed the Insurrection Act should only be used as a last resort .
To contradict Barr , Brennan included a cut of Defense Secretary Mike Esper saying he didn ’ t agree the Insurrection Act should be used .
CBS deliberately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a matter of last resort.
” ( To hear everything Esper said on this , go to 2:50 on this video of his press conference . )
He also said troops should be used as law enforcement “ only in the most urgent and dire of situations.
” He added : “ We are not in one of those situations now.
” ( For the record , this was Trump ’ s position as well .
He just didn ’ t want Esper taking it off the table while he pushed majors and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came less than a month after Chuck Todd of NBC ’ s Meet the Press was forced to apologize for deceptively editing Barr ’ s interview with Catherine Herridge .
Herridge had asked how he thought history would judge the decision to drop charges against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn .
Todd showed the clip up through where Barr smiles and says , “ History is written by the winners , so it largely depends on who is writing the history.
” Todd bashed that answer , saying Barr was as much as admitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to with upholding the law .
Orange Man ’ s Attorney General Bad !
Except Barr had gone onto say , “ I think a fair history would say it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law.
” Yup .
Precisely what Todd insisted he didn ’ t say .
The Second Law and The New York Times Over the weekend , The New York Times axed Editorial Page Editor John Bennett .
His crime ?
He allowed the paper to publish an op-ed from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And Bennett was tossed onto the looted streets of the Big Apple .
No less than Sean Ono Lennon — son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono — spelled out what a dreadful moment this is for journalism .
If The New York Times can ’ t even have diverse opinions on its opinion page , how can you trust its “ straight ” news coverage ?
What news writer or columnist , should there even be any willing to be fair , will dare type a single sentence that shows Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be doxxed and dispatched in a New York minute .
We got our first real glimpse of NYT ‘ s fatal disease last August when they changed a simple , neutral fact-based headline because the woke police protested .
They did it again last week .
The disease is more contagious than COVID-19 and is infecting newsrooms far beyond the Grey Lady .
( Or should we call it , the Yellow Lady . )
What does this all mean ?
The lesson is that between now and Election Day any story from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presumed false until proven otherwise .
Check original sources .
Check the new media .
It must also be assumed that any message of Trump ’ s that goes counter to the media narrative of Orange Man Bad will be either ignored or censored on social media .
Anyone spreading such positive messages will be harassed and/or blocked .
( It ’ s a given they ’ ll be labeled a racist . )
It must also be assumed that any figure connected to journalism who offers a fact or opinion counter to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the street .
Or be met with hellfire .
The marketplace of ideas is being looted and burned .
But isn ’ t that always the way with fascists .
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author , with @ JZmirak , of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration .
You can follow him at @ StreamingAl .
And if you aren ’ t already , please follow The Stream at @ Streamdotorg .

Last Friday, in the midst of this tinderbox of a crisis, many major media outlets and Democratic leaders did something so reprehensible, so malicious, so dangerous, it can only be called demonic.
The President Celebrates a “Great Day” of Equality
During a Rose Garden appearance touting the surprising employment numbers, President Trump veered off onto the topic de jour: Equality. In his brief soliloquy on equal justice and fairness, he evoked George Floyd, expressing hope Floyd was happy at seeing the issue of equality being addressed. That such discussions made it a “great day.” The President was speaking a tone of unity, preaching what MLK preached.
The video could not be clearer. Trump was specifically talking about justice, about equal protection under the law. The “great day” was the light being shown on it.
Here is the transcript from The Hill. Kudos to them for playing it straight.
“Equal justice under the law must mean every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement regardless of race, color, gender or creed,” Trump said. “They have to receive fair treatment from law enforcement.” “We all saw what happened last week. We can’t let that happen,” he continued, referencing Floyd’s death. “Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country. This is a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality.”
His message couldn’t be more clear had he painted it in 30-foot tall letters on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Remember the president had gone off-script and shared his thoughts off the top of his head. Then he went back to his script. (Here is a transcript of the whole address, made from uncorrected close captions.) What did he say? “I want to finish by saying.” He’d finished talking about George Floyd and moved on to his next point. That was about “saving the economy.” Which was the subject of the entire press conference. He couldn’t have been clearer about that.
The Despicable Deception
And yet, nearly every major outlet blasted out the headline that Trump said George Floyd was looking down from heaven happy at the jobs report. The New York Times, CNN’s Jake Tapper, Yahoo News, a host of others. The horror. How dare Trump use Floyd!
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris picked up the false report and expressed their outrage. Biden called it “despicable.” This continued through the weekend. Atlanta’s Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms repeated the line on CNN Sunday morning.
It is a lie. A flat out, indefensible invention. Their aim was simple: Bury Trump’s message of unity and equality. And with the nation poised to explode again in violence over Floyd’s death, depict the President as using Floyd. Theirs is a deliberate effort to inflame an already volatile situation. They poured gasoline all across our streets.
Twitter Kills Trump Unity Video
We saw (or didn’t see) Twitter and Facebook take a similar action. No, they did not invent a lie about Trump. However, they killed a video from the Trump campaign. It features the President’s (ignored) speech last Saturday at the NASA SpaceX launch, where Trump paid tribute to Floyd and expressed solidarity with peaceful protests. Twitter and Facebook took it down due to a “copyright complaint.” Yup. By any means necessary, eh?
The Trump Campaign said Twitter is “censoring this uplifting and unifying message from President Trump after the #GeorgeFloyd tragedy. The same speech the media refused to cover.”
Here’s the longer, YouTube version of the video:
The Second Law of Snake News
Last week, I wrote about the First Law of Snake News: Anything that has the media and Democrats hyperventilating over concerning Trump will be proven false. The First Law’s corollary is “And this proof will usually happen within 24 hours.” The story of Trump evoking George Floyd is a proof of the First Law.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
And now we get to the The Second Law of Snake News: The Media Will Stoop to Anything to Injure Trump.
Further proof came Sunday morning, when Attorney General William Barr was being grilled on Face the Nation by Margaret Brennan. Barr kept insisting that figures in the administration agreed the Insurrection Act should only be used as a last resort.
To contradict Barr, Brennan included a cut of Defense Secretary Mike Esper saying he didn’t agree the Insurrection Act should be used. CBS deliberately cut out Esper saying “only as a matter of last resort.” (To hear everything Esper said on this, go to 2:50 on this video of his press conference.) He also said troops should be used as law enforcement “only in the most urgent and dire of situations.” He added: “We are not in one of those situations now.” (For the record, this was Trump’s position as well. He just didn’t want Esper taking it off the table while he pushed majors and governors to act.) g
This came less than a month after Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press was forced to apologize for deceptively editing Barr’s interview with Catherine Herridge. Herridge had asked how he thought history would judge the decision to drop charges against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Todd showed the clip up through where Barr smiles and says, “History is written by the winners, so it largely depends on who is writing the history.” Todd bashed that answer, saying Barr was as much as admitting the decision was political and had nothing to with upholding the law. Orange Man’s Attorney General Bad!
Except Barr had gone onto say, “I think a fair history would say it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law.” Yup. Precisely what Todd insisted he didn’t say.
The Second Law and The New York Times
Over the weekend, The New York Times axed Editorial Page Editor John Bennett. His crime? He allowed the paper to publish an op-ed from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton. Snowflake staffers had a hissy fit. And Bennett was tossed onto the looted streets of the Big Apple.
No less than Sean Ono Lennon — son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono — spelled out what a dreadful moment this is for journalism.
This is the end for you guys. Firing someone for allowing different opinions in your paper means you are no longer a real news paper. It’s been fun. You had a good run. The best in fact. R.I.P. 🙏 https://t.co/yAcXpXKyFL — Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) June 8, 2020
If The New York Times can’t even have diverse opinions on its opinion page, how can you trust its “straight” news coverage?
What news writer or columnist, should there even be any willing to be fair, will dare type a single sentence that shows Trump in positive light? They’d be doxxed and dispatched in a New York minute.
We got our first real glimpse of NYT‘s fatal disease last August when they changed a simple, neutral fact-based headline because the woke police protested. They did it again last week. The disease is more contagious than COVID-19 and is infecting newsrooms far beyond the Grey Lady. (Or should we call it, the Yellow Lady.)
The Lesson
What does this all mean? The lesson is that between now and Election Day any story from the mainstream media naming Trump must be presumed false until proven otherwise. Check original sources. Check the new media.
It must also be assumed that any message of Trump’s that goes counter to the media narrative of Orange Man Bad will be either ignored or censored on social media. Anyone spreading such positive messages will be harassed and/or blocked. (It’s a given they’ll be labeled a racist.)
It must also be assumed that any figure connected to journalism who offers a fact or opinion counter to the media narrative will soon be on the street. Or be met with hellfire.
The marketplace of ideas is being looted and burned. But isn’t that always the way with fascists.
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with @JZmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl. And if you aren’t already, please follow The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-06-08--Two Rookie Officers Charged in George Floyd’s Death Were Being Trained by Derek Chauvin, Lawyer Says

A lawyer speaking on behalf of former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane on Friday said Lane and former officer J. Alexander Kueng were less than a week into training with Derek Chauvin as their supervisor when George Floyd died .
Lane was on his third shift as an officer and Kueng was on his fourth , and the two spent a week in uniform under Chauvin ’ s guidance before being charged as co-conspirators in the death of George Floyd , according to The Associated Press .
Attorney Earl Gray said Lane had no option but to follow his senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called the case against him “ extremely weak.
” Lane held Floyd ’ s feet , according to Gray , while Chauvin knelt on his neck for over eight minutes until he was presumed dead .
Chauvin — who was promptly fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after the incident , along with the three others — was arrested a few days later and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter , the AP reported .
His murder charge has since increased to second-degree .
Gray also reportedly said Lane was concerned about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if he would consider readjusting Floyd ’ s position two times .
“ What was my client supposed to do but follow what his training officer said ?
Is that aiding and abetting a crime ?
” Gray asked .
Former officers Lane , Kueng and Tou Thao were arrested Wednesday after they were deemed co-conspirators in Floyd ’ s killing by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison .
The trio had their bond set at $ 750,000 a person when they made court appearances the following day .
Please Support The Stream : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Gray and Kueng ’ s attorney , Tom Plunkett , requested lower bail from the court , but were denied on the premise that the pair were full officers since December 2019 , and were undergoing supervised field training that was necessary before being deemed completely qualified , according to the AP .
Kueng , who is black , was born and raised in a black-majority neighborhood .
He joined the police department because he “ wanted to make his community a better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There has been talk within the Minneapolis City Council about removing the police department altogether .
Keith Ellison ’ s son , Democratic City Council president Jeremiah Ellison , said Wednesday that the city would “ dismantle ” the police force and “ dramatically rethink ” public safety .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

A lawyer speaking on behalf of former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane on Friday said Lane and former officer J. Alexander Kueng were less than a week into training with Derek Chauvin as their supervisor when George Floyd died.
Lane was on his third shift as an officer and Kueng was on his fourth, and the two spent a week in uniform under Chauvin’s guidance before being charged as co-conspirators in the death of George Floyd, according to The Associated Press. Attorney Earl Gray said Lane had no option but to follow his senior officer’s guidance, and he called the case against him “extremely weak.”
Lane held Floyd’s feet, according to Gray, while Chauvin knelt on his neck for over eight minutes until he was presumed dead. Chauvin — who was promptly fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after the incident, along with the three others — was arrested a few days later and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, the AP reported. His murder charge has since increased to second-degree.
Gray also reportedly said Lane was concerned about Floyd’s well-being and asked Chauvin if he would consider readjusting Floyd’s position two times.
“What was my client supposed to do but follow what his training officer said? Is that aiding and abetting a crime?” Gray asked.
Former officers Lane, Kueng and Tou Thao were arrested Wednesday after they were deemed co-conspirators in Floyd’s killing by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. The trio had their bond set at $750,000 a person when they made court appearances the following day.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Gray and Kueng’s attorney, Tom Plunkett, requested lower bail from the court, but were denied on the premise that the pair were full officers since December 2019, and were undergoing supervised field training that was necessary before being deemed completely qualified, according to the AP.
Kueng, who is black, was born and raised in a black-majority neighborhood. He joined the police department because he “wanted to make his community a better place,” his lawyer said.
There has been talk within the Minneapolis City Council about removing the police department altogether. Keith Ellison’s son, Democratic City Council president Jeremiah Ellison, said Wednesday that the city would “dismantle” the police force and “dramatically rethink” public safety.
We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response. It’s really past due. https://t.co/7WIxUL6W79 — Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) June 4, 2020
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].