Trump Jr’s Girlfriend Infected

Posted on by Thor

Trump Jr‘s Girlfriend has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Kimberly Guilfoyle, ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former Fox News television personality and a senior fundraiser for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign traveled to South Dakota to be at the president’s speech at Mount Rushmore. She and Jr did not fly on air force one. Anyone who gets close to the president is routinely tested. She did not attend the event after the positive test result and drove back east. She is asymptomatic and did not get in close proximity to the president. “After testing positive, Kimberly was immediately isolated to limit any exposure,” Sergio Gor, chief of staff for the Trump Victory Finance Committee, said in a statement quoted in The New York Times. Donald Trump Jr tested negative, but as a precaution is also self-isolating and canceling all public events.”

She became the latest person in the president’s orbit — and who attended his June 20, 2020 indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma — to test positive for COVID-19. Some campaign staff and Secret Service personnel tested positive, while former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said last week he had been hospitalized with the virus, the Times said. In addition,  Montana GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte to suspended in-person campaign events after his wife and running mate attended an event with Guilfoyle. The Hill reported.

Guilfoyle and Trump Jr attended a June 27, 2020 party in the Hamptons where mask less attendees were partying like the pandemic was not a reality. The couple were guests of honor. They stayed at the party for about an hour. Party goers were “freaking out” after learning Guilfoyle tested positive for COVID-19, Page Six reported Monday July 6, 2020. The party took place at the Bridgehampton mansion (51 Sandpiper Lane, Bridgehampton, Long Island) owned by famed developer Joe Farrell. Video published by Page Six showed attendees without masks and chatting in close groups — not social distancing. Guests were on the roof but there are reports of the party being inside as well.

According to Harvard Health Publishing and Johns Hopkins University, the incubation period for Covid-19 — that is, the time between contracting the virus and developing symptoms or getting a positive result on a diagnostic test — is three to fourteen days. Researchers believe someone with Covid-19 becomes contagious two or three days before the onset of symptoms; however, those without symptoms can also transmit the disease.

Dorinda Medley Tweeted, “Anyone that attended Joe Farrell’s packed Hamptons party last week should get tested ASAP including @ramonasinger.”

Rushmore

Posted on by Thor

Donald Trump has an infatuation with large sculptures. When visiting the Governor of South Dakota, he mentioned that he had a life long dream of having his head sculpted on Rushmore along side George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The Governor laughed, but Trump did not. He was serious.

On July 3, 2020 he flew to South Dakota set off fire works above the mountain. Weeks before a wild fire six miles from Rushmore burned 60 acres and required 117 firefighters from 3 states to get it extinguished. In preparation for the fireworks the US government spent $30,000 dollars to do a controlled burn in April around the site to mitigate the chance that the fireworks could start another wild fire.  About $600,000 was being spent on the display, including $350,000 for the actual fireworks and $3,500 on portable toilets. The governor of South Dakota purchased the fireworks with money that had been earmarked for economic development. The money that could have helped the states economy grow went up in smoke in a matter of minutes.

3700 people showed up for the fireworks. There was no social distancing at the event despite the record-high new COVID-19 cases in the United States. Chairs at the event were zip tied together making any social distancing impossible. You had to rub elbows and breath on your neighbor. Face masks were optional but very few people wore them. This was the perfect breading ground for the COVID-19 virus to spread.

The Black Hills are a deeply sacred place of spiritual and cultural significance to the native peoples of the area, nearly 60 tribes. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty established the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, according to the National Archives, but the lands were systematically taken by the US government after gold was discovered in the area in the 1870s. Almost 50 years later, the likenesses of the four American presidents were carved into the mountain. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sioux Nation had not received just compensation for the land.

Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of the monument, was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slave, and Abraham Lincoln approved the executions of 38 Lakota natives in Mankato, Minnesota, which was one of the largest mass hangings in the history of the country. A member of the Democratic National Committee, Tweeted, “Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again. He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities.”

Members of the Lakota tribe blocked one of the roads leading to the monument by stalling three vans across the road and then lining up across the road to block oncoming traffic. They held the barricade for over two hours at which time National Guard in riot gear came and made arrests. A Lakota leader negotiated to make sure women and children had a chance to stand aside before the arrests began. More than a dozen protestors were arrested to make way for the presidents new photo op.

I found no reports of embers from the fireworks setting any fires, but the real wildfire sweeping the nation is COVID-19, which the president chooses to ignore. COVID-19 cases have been rising in 36 states with California, Arizona, Texas and Florida all posting record numbers of new infections this week. These are states that Trump convinced to open early. Florida reported 11,458 new COVID-19 cases Saturday July 4, 2020, shattering its record for daily reported cases coming just short of NYC’s highest case count.

Virtual Courses and Summer Camps

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I had never used Zoom prior to the pandemic. I now use it every week to teach students traditional foundation drawings skills and animation for Elite Animation Academy. I like the platform because students can watch me draw live in an intimate online setting. I can take a drawing done by each student and then quickly add a few strokes to show them how their sketch might be improved. As students sketch away on assignments I like to sketch them from my end of the virtual classroom. I honestly feel that students get more from me than when I taught them in the classroom setting, pre-pandemic.

In a news conference Thursday June 18, 2020 Governor Ron DeSantis and Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced that they plan to reopen schools for in-person learning in the fall of 2020. DeSantis said, “We are not going to be instituting a lot of rules, or really any rules.”

  • Step 1 – June – open up campuses for youth activities and summer camps.
  • Step 2 – July – expand campus capacities further for summer recovery instruction.
  • Step 3 – August – open up campuses at full capacity for traditional start of the academic year.

According Florida Today, Florida’s surgeon general has acknowledged that a syndrome that attacks children and is associated with Covid-19 has surfaced in Florida, adding yet another critical layer to diagnosing and treating the disease. Emergency Medicine Physician Rajiv Bahl, MD, said that it’s too soon for children to begin playing together and having play dates.

Starting tomorrow, June 21, 2020, I will be teaching summer camps and classes 7 days a week until August 7, 2020. Summer camps will begin Monday June 22, 2020 at Elite Animation Academy and I will be instructing 5 days a week. I don’t know how many students are in the summer camps, but maintaining 6 feet of distance between students might be a challenge.

Today Sunday June 21, 2020 I will begin teaching a course at Crealde. Last week was the first class but I did not have the course on my calendar since I wasn’t given the course schedule, so I missed it. Six students showed up. I felt bad when I got the call and I was still in bed.

One Crealde student received notice that someone that they had been exposed to on June 11th, 2020 just received a Positive Covid-19 result.   Out of an abundance of caution, they were tested June 20, 2020, and will self isolate until results come back on Tuesday June 23, 2020 or Wednesday June 24, 2020.  They withdrew from class. I was asked to let the other five students know why the student left.  This student was with all of the other students for the entire 75 minutes that they waited on Sunday June 14, 2020 when I was at home.   Most students were wearing masks.  This student was wearing a mask.

The person this student was exposed to had no symptoms. People who are asymptomatic can expose others to the virus. They were both wearing masks, exposure was less than a minute together, the doctor says there is a very slim chance the student contracted Covid-19.  I feel like I dodged a bullet for now.
Tomorrow Sunday June 21, 2020 when I go to teach at Crealde I will of course wear a mask, but if any students decide to show up despite the possible Covid-19 exposure, then I will feel the need to get tested as well. I have been locked down for the past 3 months doing a pandemic themed painting every day. It will be a shock to try and return to “life as normal.”
At President Donald Trump‘s poorly attended Tulsa Rally, he said he had told officials in his administration to slow down coronavirus testing because of the rising number of cases in America. He said that the US has now tested some 25 million people. “Here’s the bad part… when you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people; you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, slow the testing down please.”
Florida reported another 4,049 coronavirus cases Saturday June 20, 2020, yet another record-shattering increase as the number of infections statewide approaches 94,000. Every day this week has show exponential growth in the spread through the state with a new record set each day. Florida has “all the markings of the next large epicenter of coronavirus transmission,” and risks being the “worst it has ever been,” according to projections from a model by scientists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Working 7 days a week, I will not be able to produce a pandemic themed painting each day. I will have to limp by, doing one or two a week. I am about the enter the Wild West of teaching summer camps and courses in the midst of a pandemic.

What Point?

Posted on by Thor

The 1,107 graduating Cadets at West Point have been studying remotely since March 19, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The spring break was extended indefinitely due to the spread of the virus across America. By studying at home, cadets helped stop the spread of the disease. Despite these successful safety measures, President Donald Trump insisted that he wanted to give a commencement speech in front of all the cadets at West Point.

Every cadet had to return to West Point two weeks weeks early to self isolate so that the POTUS who never wears a mask in public and often does not social distance might be kept safe. “Trump’s reckless decision to gather 1,000 Cadets at West Point for a speech puts our future military leaders at increased risk – all to stroke his own ego,” Army veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth wrote in April.

“Because travel increases your chances of getting infected and spreading Covid-19, staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote on it’s website. On top of this, New York State has had the highest number of cases of Covid-19 in America. West Point is just a 90 minute drive north of New York City which has been the epicenter of the outbreak of the virus.

Prior to the ceremony every cadet had to take Covid-19 tests to keep the POTUS safe. The ceremony flouted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo‘s social distancing directives for graduations in the state to be limited to 150 people. Sixteen of the graduating class tested positive for the Covid-19 upon their return to campus. The 16 cadets are receiving treatment but are not showing symptoms of the disease, Lieutenant. General Darryl Williams, West Point’s superintendent, told USA Today. Other than the 16 cadets, 71 of the more than 5,000 faculty, staff and civilians at West Point have also tested positive for COVID-19 since March, USA Today reported. I am sure that Trumps SS would kept anyone who was infected far from the president.

A rift has become evident between the executive branch and the military. The government’s highest ranking military official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley apologized for his role in Trump’s now infamous photo op in front of Saint John’s Church last Monday June 8, 2020, saying “I should not have been there.” Hundreds of West Point alumni, two days before Trump’s address, also called out the top Pentagon leaders, for failing to uphold the Constitution in their responses to nationwide protests.

Top Army leaders and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were “open” to the discussion about re-naming military bases that are named after Confederate generals who lost the civil war. The  GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee approved a new amendment that would require military bases named after Confederate soldiers to change their names – setting senators on a collision course with the president. Trump tweeted that he “will not even consider” renaming military bases. The bases are located in  southern states that helped Trump secure his 2016 victory, and as Election Day approaches, he needs their support.

The class of 2020 West Point graduates entered their commencement ceremony on the Plain Parade Field wearing white face masks. Once they got to their socially distanced folding chairs they could remove their masks. There was no family of friends allowed. I imagined that if I was a graduate I would probably make a scarecrow to wear my hat. The POTUS probably wouldn’t notice the difference. The scarecrow could easily stand in for the military salute photo op.

The presidents speech was sleepy and insipid. I read his speech, but don’t pay attention to what he says anymore, I just watch what he does. He hobbled  off the stage after the cadets all threw their caps in the air. 16 0f those caps might have been carrying the Covid-19 virus.

Enemy of the People?

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Freedom of the press is the right of newspapers, magazines, TV Radio, etc., to report news without being controlled by the government. The First Amendment of the United States constitution states… “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Journalists have been under attack since the first nights of protest of the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Some are sustaining serious injuries. Demonstrations have continued for the past 22 days despite the police violence. As of 9pm Thursday June 5, 2020, the US Press Freedom Tracker had received 192 reports of journalists being attacked by police while covering the protests across the US.

“When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Donald Trump tweeted as mass unrest unfolded in America following the death of George Floyd. This seemed to set the tone of the police violence to follow. Since then, the president has called protesters thugs, terrorists and hoodlums. He tweeted… “If you watch Fake News CNN or MSNDC [sic], you would think that killers, terrorists, arsonists … would be the nicest, kindest most wonderful people in the world.”  And then, shortly after: “It is almost like they are all working together?”

“When the president declares you an enemy of the state … Well the police, their job is to protect the state, right? So if they view us as the enemy they will treat you any way they choose,” says Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Barbara Davidson. “I think the police see journalists as attacking their tribe – they feel they are getting a lot of bad press because of what happened to Floyd and so I think they are retaliating against us.” she added. If police terrorize the journalists into going away, they can do as they please to the protesters with no chance of accountability.

“There are a lot of Trump supporters in police departments,” said Christopher Mathias. He pointed out the speech made by Trump in Long Island in 2017, when a crowd of officers clapped as he encouraged them to rough people up.

On the third night of protests May 29, 2020 a CNN new crew was arrested live on national TV. On the same day Breonna Taylor and her crew were shot at by police live on TV while covering a protest protest in Louisville. Police fired off paint balls and tear gas at reporters in Denver. The photographer got hit four time and the camera lens was destroyed. Photographer Hyoung Chang was hit with two pepper balls in Denver. Juliette Martinelli in Atlanta, said, cops came from 3 directions and closed around people in an intersection throwing tear gas and pepper spray.

On Saturday May 30, 2020, Photojournalist Ed Ou was attacked by police. He had documented civil unrest in the Middle East, Ukraine and Iraq, where he learned a few things: never get in the police’s way, find cover and always have an escape route. He was shocked by the direct attack, saying, “They literally started throwing concussive grenades in our direction, in the middle of the journalists.” The police approached Ou directly and maced him in the face, spraying his camera, too. What ensued was a prolonged attack that involved being hit at with batons, being teargassed, dodging concussive grenades and begging for help. Los Angeles Times’ Carolyn Cole, who incurred an eye injury, and Molly Hennesy-Fiske, who was shot with rubber bullets several times in the leg  described the journalists as having been “completely against the wall, in an alcove, at least 15ft off the road to allow the police line to pass.” Linda Tirado, a photojournalist, was hit in the face with a tracer round, resulting in loss of sight in one eye. MSNBC reporters were almost hit with concussive grenade by law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. In Atlanta, Linda Tirado was hit in the eye with a tracer bullet blinding her.

May 31, 2020 Michael Anthony Adams, a Vice News Corespondent who was seeking shelter in a gas station, was thrown to the ground and sprayed with pepper spray. He identified himself as press and the officer shouted “I don’t care!” Radio Canada journalists and many others in Minneapolis had their car tires slashed. Star Tribune reporter, Ryan Faircloth was cut by flying glass when police shot out his car window as he was  driving through Lake and Chicago.

Monday June 1, 2020 close to the White House. Police were dispersing protesters and an officer used his shield to attack an Australian cameraman who was part of a team reporting live in front of the White House. The dramatic footage was criticized by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne who said in a Tuesday interview with ABC that the Australian government has officially requested an investigation into the incident. WCCO photojournalist Tom Aviles was struck by rubber bullet fired by the police. He was later arrested, as well.   NBC News reporter Garrett Haake was hit as police clash with protesters near White House.

June 2, 2020 A tear gas canister just bounced off of MSNBC’s  Joling Kent while she was live on the air from Seattle.

June 9, 2020 A staff photographer/reporter for the USA Today Network was jailed by Delaware State Police while covering a protest near the state’s capital. This arrest was caught live on Facebook live.

These incidents of violence against the press are just the tip of the iceberg. The point is, these incidents are not isolated these are a concerted attack on freedom of the press. Trump wants to fan the flames of discord and then run a re-election campaign claiming he will “dominate” the streets. He wants a police state and so do the police. Few stand against this treat to democracy. GOP senators do all they can to distance themselves but fear crossing the POTUS for his insane conspiracy tweet. This willingness to lie down is what gives any wanna be dictator his strength. Perhaps the only way to stay in power is if there is no election.

The inhabitants of a police state may experience restrictions on their mobility, or on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement. Political control may be exerted by means of a secret police force (or just tape over badges) that operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional state.

General James Mattis put it well saying Trump is a threat to the American Constitution. “I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis wrote. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He continued, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

Enough

Posted on by Thor

Protests across the country are growing even spreading to rural communities. At a peaceful protest march in Indiana protestors walked past this line of citizens holding assault rifles asserting their second amendment right to carry deadly weapons. They feared that the peaceful protestors might actually be terrorists. They therefore planned to defended their town with assault rifles. When the protestors walked past the single police car parked near the counter protestors, they thanked the officers.

President Donald Trump encouraged the counter protestors since his “Law and Order” rose garden speech stressed the importance of the second amendment, saying, “I am mobilizing all available federal resources — civilian and military — to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights.” This acted as an invitation for vigilantes. One Guy in this line up actually had on a tin sheriffs star. I didn’t notice it until I sketched him.

A group of Invaders Motorcycle Club members rode to Freedom Park in Lowell Indiana and listened to organizers speak at the start of the Black Lives Matter March. There was a lot of fear on social media that the protest would bring destruction to the quiet town of Lowell.

Since nationwide protests began, President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr have, without evidence, blamed the antifa movement, a loose network of groups made up of radicals who rely on direct action, and sometimes violence, to fight the far right and fascism — for the looting and property damage seen during some of the otherwise peaceful rallies. Social media rumors claimed bus loads of antifa members were heading to rural towns to cause damage. The rumors were unfounded.

The Lowell Black lives Matter March ended at Liberty Park. When demonstrators came to the picnic shelter they found a group of armed men inside. They were invited in, “Come in, we can share this space. It’s OK. It’s safe. Don’t be afraid.” Members from both groups spoke about their hopes for the future and the trials they have endured. By the end, the demonstrators invited the Invaders to join them on their march and thanked them for coming out. The day was about peace and unity. People took the time to listen and to understand. If only all communities could come together and share their common experiences.”  An armed man who was worried about antifa coming to murder white people, in Lowell posted an update to his Facebook page acknowledging the risks had been overblown. There was peace in Lowell that night.

Black Lives Matter Plaza NW

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The Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, wanted to remind Trump that Black Lives Matter, so she had it painted on the street in giant letters over two city blocks leading up to the White House. It stops just short of the church which the POTUS used as a promotional prop when he had troops, parks officers, secret service and unmarked corrections officers tear gas peaceful demonstrators as well as clergy and parishioners so he could have his picture taken in front of the church with a bible in hand. The street was renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza NW.

Trump has finally built himself a wall by adding high chain link fencing all around the white house and expanding that perimeter to include Lafayette Park. He has walled himself in from the rest of the country who are up in arms about racial injustice. Secret service moved the president into a bunker below the white house on the first evening of protests where fire were set around the city. The president claims he was only inspecting the bunker.

Muriel did not approve of Trumps moving troops into her city as a show of force against protestors against police violence against black Americans. The Pentagon confirmed that approximately 1,600 active-duty troops from North Carolina and New York were flown into the D.C. area. Police forces and National Guard vehicles are used to block 16th Street near Lafayette Park and the White House on June 3, 2020 in Washington, DC.

“The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans. Furthermore, I continue to be concerned that unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. pose both safety and national security risks,” the the mayor added. Trump responded with nonconstructive and hateful tweets. No surprise there.

Seeing the mayors Black Lives Matter street mural made me smile for the first time in days. She knows that art can make an impact. Pentagon Defense Secretary Mark Esper flip flopped several times caving to Trumps demand for troops but ultimately ordered several hundred troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to return home to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Protests are still going on around the country but some tensions have eased since the officers responsible for the murder of George Loyd are now under arrest. However videos are surfacing every day of police brutality towards peaceful protestors and journalists. Change is needed.

Blackhawk

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As a show of force, Donald Trump positioned at least 60 National Guard troops clad in riot gear on the steps of the Lincoln memorial. Many wore masks and protective eye covering but some followed the presidents lead and ignored the Covid-19 virus threat. The scene came a day after President Trump threatened to send in soldiers to patrol the streets of D.C. and other US cities. They faced off a crowd of perhaps a hundred protestors gathered at the reflection pool, standing in the same spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic ‘I have a dream’ speech half a century ago. The monument is a symbol of emancipation and justice but on this day it was a symbol of strong arm militarization against the American public. This is also the spot where Forest Gump was reunited with Jenny. In this fictitious movie Forest and Jenny crossed a divide, fining hope and love in the face of civil unrest.

16 statues and memorial were defaced during the Sunday May 31, 2020 protests. The graffiti on this public art was removed by Tuesday June 2, 2020. The Shaw Memorial, dedicated 123 years ago on May 31st, the same day it was defaced. The memorial celebrates the first African American volunteer infantry unit, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, that fought after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At the Lincoln Memorial vandals wrote “Yall not tired yet?” in black spray paint. There was also some spatter at the base of Lincoln’s legs. It is strange that vandals would attack a monument to someone who fought for their freedom. Because of the actions of the vandals, peaceful protestors would suffer.

A US Park Police spokesperson said Friday in an interview it was a “mistake” to insist in a statement on Tuesday June 2, 2020, that it didn’t use tear gas in Lafayette Square, near the White House, to disperse a crowd ahead of President Trump’s photo op, at Saint Luke’s Church, explicitly noting that pepper balls shot by officials irritate the eyes and cause tears. The White House insisted on semantics, asking the press to retract their earlier reports. The reports were accurate. “Tear gas” is a broad term, often defined as a synthetic chemical irritant. Pepper spray is a naturally derived chemical irritant that causes many effects similar to that of common types of tear gas, including temporary blindness and a burning sensation in the nose. Regardless of the gas used by the various agencies, it was an attack on peaceful demonstrators as seen in video shot during the attack.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper joined Donald Trump on the walk across the street to St Luke’s Church after the attack that cleared the street. He claimed ignorance over the church stunt, saying, “I didn’t know where I was going.” He claimed that he was going along to inspect damage to the vandalized bathroom across from the church. He didn’t have much time to inspect the urinals since Trump marched across the street where he was handed a bible for a photo op. I couldn’t get the thought of him going to inspect the urinals. Up until the 60s bathrooms and water fountains were segregated, with signs for Blacks and Whites. It is as if Trump wants to use the military to bring us back to those days. Regardless it isn’t reassuring that the defense secretary had no idea where he was going. He was just along for Trumps wild ride.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  said Thursday June 4, 2020 that it was “stunning” and “scary” to see uniformed troops standing on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. “They crossed a threshold,” She said at a news conference in the Capitol. “While I have great respect for men and women in uniform, I don’t think it was appropriate to have them on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,”

When Esper realized the Church stunt made him look like a fool, he broke with the president and said he didn’t think the troops should be used to police American citizens. Later that day he was called in to the White House and he reversed his decision deciding to leave troops in DC. 200 soldiers with the 82nd Airborne remained in DC. Finally two days later Esper ordered the active duty troops who were moved to the Washington DC area back to their home base of Fort Drum in New York.

On Tuesday June 2, 2020 Trump ordered military helicopters to fly low over protestors in DC. The National Guard is investigating this unusual show of force. The War Zone reported, that one UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter struck a tree and caused a branch to fall, narrowly missing people below. Another FBI-operated Blackhawk flew low over the capital carrying members of the bureau’s elite hostage rescue team, dressed in camouflaged clothing and wearing night vision goggles. Still another helicopter, a U.S. Army or Washington D.C. UH-72 Lakota, flew so low over protesters that the down wash from the main rotors kicked up dirt and debris. The overflight was done deliberately to intimidate or disperse protesters on the ground.

Former General James Mattis strongly denounced the actions of Donald Trump who had turned the military against American citizens. While Esper caved to his ideals as Trump used the Military as his personal play thing, Mattis felt he had to stand against his former commander in chief.

Friday June 5, 2020 saw another record number of new cases of Covid-19 since the sate re-opened with 1,495 cases reported. That is over 4,000 new cases in three days.

Bible Photo Op

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Apparently Donald Trump was fuming mad that the press reported that he was moved to a bunker below the white house when demonstrations got violent on Sunday night. He at first denied being moved to the bunker but later admitted the security precaution. He decided it was necessary to exhibit a show of force that had US Military, National Guardsmen and Federal Officers firing tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bombs on a peacefully assembled crowd in front of the White house in Lafayette park on Monday  June 1, 2020.

Polls have been showing support slipping among white evangelical Christians. He therefor decided to walk to Saint John’s Church, The Church of Presidents, along with several aids and his daughter Ivanka Trump who was the only one wearing a mask. He had ordered an assault on US Citizens for the sake of this PR stunt. He was handed a bible and looked at it like he had never seen one before.

The President has been threatening to use the US Military to crush any protests in Cities around the country.  However he is barred from doing so by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which outlaws the willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress. Trump pushed for out-of-state National Guard members to patrol the streets of Washington, DC, against the mayor’s will; deployed 1,600 active-duty troops on the capital’s doorstep; and threatened to send more forces around the country to arrest vandals.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper spoke about, dominating “the battle space” as if the protests and riots in American cities were taking place in a third world country.  A retired top military officer who also just stepped up the plate is former US Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, who wrote in The Atlantic Tuesday evening: “It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president’s visit outside St. John’s Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump’s leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.”

Several Democratic governors on Monday June 1, 2020, pushed back against President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy the U.S. military unless they dispatch National Guard units to “dominate the streets” in reaction to the violence that has erupted across the country. Pentagon Chief Mark Esper, who walked behind Trump to the church said he does not support using active duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd. Esper claimed that he had no idea that they were walking to the church for a photo op. On Wednesday June 3, 2020 Esper said, that clearing the park “was not a military decision, not a military action.”

James Miller, an undersecretary of defense at  the Pentagon resigned, citing Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s role in President Donald Trump’s photo op. “You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it,”  for policy, wrote in his resignation letter to Esper.

The White House announced on June 3, 2020 that the president could instate the Insurrection Act which is a 1807 federal law that allows the president, in dire circumstances, to deploy military and federalized National Guard troops inside the country to suppress civil disorder, insurrection and rebellion. Mark Esper said, “We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.” Trump’s show of force has turned the military into a political tool.

Vicious Dogs

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President Donald Trump tweeted that had protestors breached the fence outside the white house, they would “have been greeted with the most vicious dogs and most ominous weapons.” He was moved to a bunker below the white house for about an hour as fires flared up all around the white house in Washington DC. This was in reference the Birmingham Alabama civil rights injustices back in 1963 where police used high-pressure water hoses and police attack dogs on the children and adult bystanders.

Twitter issued a warning label for a tweet from Trump about the protests, stating that he had violated its rules against glorifying violence because of the historical context of his last line: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” This quote was was first used by a Miami chief of police back in 1970 who said, “There is only one way to handle looters and arsonists during a riot and that is to shoot them on sight. I’ve let the word filter down: When the looting starts the shooting starts.”

Just prior to Trump giving a speech in the Rose Garden, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bombs on peacefully assembled protestors in front of the White House in Lafayette Park. This action came a full 25 minutes before the 7 PM curfew and with out provocation.  He said, “I am your President of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters.” Stun grenades could be heard in the distance as he spoke. Attorney General William Barr had ordered police to clear the crowd of protesters that had gathered near the White House, according to a Justice Department official, minutes ahead of President Donald Trump’s televised address from the Rose Garden.

After his speech Trump walked across the street surrounded by sycophants and military personnel. As William Barr walked behind the president. This march was so he could stand in front of Saint John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op holding a bible. It was a strange and very disorganized, hankering to the actions of third world dictators. The church was closed and Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde had had to disavow the presidents actions. She was shocked and outraged.

Trump threatened to “deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.” In a conference call to multiple state governors. “You have to dominate,” Mr. Trump told the governors, warning them that “you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks” if the National Guard were not heavily deployed in protest areas.

Trump told the Army on Monday to deploy active-duty military police to Washington, a military official said. One military official likened the deployment to Mr. Trump requesting his own “palace guard” to protect him from protesters. The Defense Department also requested 600 to 800 additional National Guard troops from Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Utah to  join the 1,200 D.C. National Guard troops, a Pentagon official said Monday night. Governors have turned down Trumps offer of military assistance.

The country has needed compassion and leadership during this time, instead, the country is faces with the president’s bitterness, combativeness and self-interest. Trump’s walk to the nearby church, which he does not typically visit, technically violated the District of Columbia’s Monday curfew. The protests against police violence come against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused more than 108,048 deaths in the U.S., with black Americans disproportionately affected.

One line of the speech writer I rather liked, “America needs creation not destruction, cooperation not contempt, security not anarchy, healing not hatred, justice not chaos.” However all too often Trump is the one seeding hatred and division. American Democracy is in deep trouble.