Portland

Posted on by Thor

NPR reported, Portland Oregon state and local officials are demanding that Federal Agents leave. Protesters have demonstrated in the city’s downtown for more than 50 nights since George Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, sophisticating him to death.

“There’s absolutely no question that by having the presence of federal officers here, it’s simply like adding gasoline to a fire,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown said. On Sunday July 19, 2020, a video went viral 53-year-old Navy veteran Christopher David being struck repeatedly with a baton wielded by a federal law enforcement officer. Christopher had yelled at the officers, “Why are you not honoring your oath to the Constitution?”

Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Friday that federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles in downtown Portland to grab and detain protesters. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler blamed the federal government for making things worse in the city. “We have an already heightened situation. It’s already tense,” Wheeler said. “But after nearly five weeks of demonstrations, we are starting to see that small handful of people who were engaged in criminal activity — it was dissipating. It was calming down. We believed a week ago it would be over by this weekend. But what happened instead is the feds stepped in with a very heavy-handed approach, and it blew the lid off the whole thing.”

“With the federal government, they won’t even identify who they are,” Wheeler said. “We don’t know why they’re here. We don’t know the circumstances under which they’re making arrests. We don’t know what their policies are or what accountability mechanisms there are, to the point where even the U.S. attorney here in the state of Oregon is calling for an investigation, wondering, where was the probable cause to pull these people off the streets into unmarked cars?”

On Friday, the U.S. senators from Oregon, asked the Justice Department and DHS to investigate “the unrequested presence and violent actions of federal forces in Portland.” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit Friday against the DHS and other federal agencies and alleged that they have “engaged in unlawful law enforcement in violation of the civil rights of Oregonians by seizing and detaining them without probable cause.”

“The federal administration has chosen Portland to use their scare tactics to stop our residents from protesting police brutality and from supporting the Black Lives Matter movement,” Rosenblum said in a statement. “Every American should be repulsed when they see this happening. If this can happen here in Portland, it can happen anywhere.”

Trump is now threatening to send more Federal Officers to more US cities to stop protests in the Black lives Matter protests. He specifically named New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland in discussing problems with violence. To him it seems to be a war on “liberal Democrats.” He is at war with free speech and the free press. I just wish he could focus instead on the real war , COVID-19.

Enemy of the People?

Posted on by Thor

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.”

Virus of Injustice

Posted on by Thor

A medical examiner’s autopsy found that George Floyd was infected with Covid-19 at the time he was murdered by Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death was ruled a homicide. All four officers, in the video taped murder now face charges. CNN reported that Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. That charge was updated to second-degree murder indicating he killed Floyd “without intent” in the course of committing assault in the third degree, according to an amended complaint. The other officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are now charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. It should be noted that none of the officers that man handled George had face masks, visors or gloves.

Huge protests have swept the nation with peaceful protestors lying in the streets. New York City Mayor Andrew Cuomo said that protestors should assume they have been exposed to the virus and should get tested. Young protestors might consider themselves invincible, but they should get tested to protect friends and family. They can spread the virus without showing any symptoms themselves. Protestors have been advised that they should tell anyone they lie with that they should also get tested. Charts were shown of states that had re-opened and many including Florida showed a spike in new cases after the stay at home orders had been eased. Florida just had its highest number of new cases on June 3, 2020 with 1419 new confirmed cases. It will take several weeks before we see how many protestors might have been infected.

The virus has spotlighted the countries other pandemic of racism. Two employees from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have been fired for their remarks toward protesters, according to the department. These comments were made on social media and by text. They were hateful, racist and threatening remarks directed at protestors.

In Orlando over 2000 protestors walked from City Hall to the Police Department. After the city’s 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, Orlando Police  officers deployed tear gas and smoke after “a few remaining participants” started throwing rocks and bottles at them. Tear gas will cause people to cough and tear up which is the best way to spread the Covid-19 virus. Some protestors wore masks but even fewer think to protect their eyes. A study from from Hubei Province, China has found the the virus spread when people wipe their eyes.

The Florida Department of Health said 1,702 Covid-19 tests were damaged in transit. Anyone who used a damaged test will have to be retested. Advent Health announced that 25,000 Covid-19 tests are unreliable. There has been no mention to date of tests specifically for those who have protested.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he opposes using the U.S. military to quiet domestic unrest in a break with President Donald Trump who threatened to deploy federal troops to “dominate the streets.” He then revered his position by keeping military in the capitol. Task Force 504, an infantry battalion from the 82nd Airborne remains in DC.

After military helicopters were used a a show of force against protestors, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Wednesday June 3, 2020 said, “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

Lying down as a sign of protest may become a reality as military may be called on by Trump to bring shock and awe to American citizens.

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.

Colosseum

Posted on by Thor

I  keep trying to find a way to illustrate the toll that Covid-19 has taken here in America. As of this writing, June 1, 2020, according to World O Meter, 106,878 people have died in the United States from the virus. I decided to find out which football stadium has the highest seating capacity and found that Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, can seat 107,420 people. By the time this painting posts, that seating capacity may have been surpassed, or soon will be surpassed, by the number of people who have died from Covid-19. I then started thinking about how the protests across the country are playing out in real time on social media platforms. It is as if Twitter and Facebook have become the modern day equivalents of the Roman Colosseum. What if the dead are watching the violence unfold from their stadium seating?

Many are watching events unfold from the safety of their home isolation while others are being shot at by police with rubber bullets and tear gas. President Trump was hidden away in a White House basement bunker as protests in Washington D.C. resulted in fires burning all around the White House. The nation wide protests will certainly result in a spike in Covid-19 infections.

Police are also shooting at, macing, and arresting reporters who the president dubs “the enemy of the people.” A young African American couple are tazered and dragged out of their car on live TV. A family watched as police marched past their home and then police shouted “Light Um Up” and they shot rubber bullets at the family when they did not get back inside fast enough. It is a dystopian nightmare. Police violence has erupted nationwide. At least two have been killed in the Nation wide protests. a 21 year old journalist had his eye ruptured by a tear gas canister in Indiana

Meanwhile 106,878 ghosts watch from their stadium seating as police cars burn. Close up and violent details can be seen on the jumbo tron and in every social media post. Racism has existed for hundreds of years but today the injustice is captured by cell phones which everyone has in hand.

An independent autopsy found that George Floyd‘s death was a homicide. He died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure. ” That that is plain to see if you watch the cell phone footage of officer Derek Chauvin as he keeled on Floyd’s neck as Floyd begged him saying, “I can’t breath.” The officer had his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds in total and two minutes and 53 seconds after Floyd was unresponsive. Dr. Michael Baden said, “Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true,” Baden said. George died because he needed a breath. He needed a breath of air.

I Can’t Breathe

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George Floyd‘s last words were, I can’t Breathe. The 46-year old black man died Monday May 25, 2020, pleading for air, as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest. George was  suspected of using a counterfeit bill at a store. A video circulated of his final moments shot by bystanders who pleaded for the officer to to let George breathe. Former Minnesota Police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George’s  neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The officer has been arrested and charged with murder.

This clear evidence of murder caused protests in Minnesota and across the country. A police station in Minnesota was burned by protestors. Police has to retreat out the back and surrender the building to the fire. Across the street the Minnehaha Liquor Store was also burned. The civil unrest in Minneapolis and St. Paul left a trail of burned out buildings, smashed windows, and looted stores across the Twin Cities. Over 100 businesses listed damages.

A black CNN reporter Omar Jiminez, and his crew were arrested live on TV as he was covering the protests. He was professional throughout the exchange with police and he was lead away in handcuffs and releases later that day. The CNN offices in Atlanta Georgia became a scene of violence when protestors broke down a front door to the office building. Protestors threw objects at police who created a phalanx in the lobby keeping protestors from entering the building. The escalating violence eventually was broken up with tear gas.

All this was happening in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic which has been killing African Americans at shocking rates, highlighting long standing inequalities. In Louisiana, African Americans accounted for 70% of COVID-19 deaths, while comprising 33% of the population. In Michigan, they accounted for 14% of the population and 40% of deaths, and in Chicago, 56% of deaths and 30% of the population. In New York, black people are twice as likely as white people to die from Covid-19. For me the angry protestors chants of “I Can’t Breath” reminded me of the thousands who might be struggling to breath on ventilators.

The CDC issued a report that states that offered race and ethnicity data from 580 patients hospitalized with lab-confirmed COVID-19.  45% of individuals for whom race or ethnicity data was available were white, compared to 59% of individuals in the surrounding community. However, 33% of hospitalized patients were black compared to 18% in the community and 8% were Hispanic, compared to 14% in the community. These data suggest an over representation of blacks among hospitalized patients.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has vowed to investigate racial disparities in Covid-19 deaths. He asked, “Why do the poorest people always pay the highest price?” He noted that black New Yorkers comprise 28 percent of deaths in New York City and 18 percent of deaths in New York state, despite being 22 percent and 9 percent of the population, respectively.

President Donald Trump on the other hand issued a Tweed threatening to shoot protestors. Twitter had to issue a warning label for violating its policies on “glorifying violence.” The social media platform “determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” and allowed users to view Trump’s tweet if they chose.