Sunday, May 31, 2020

Now, what's the U.S. intelligence community going to do? They can't go to Trump! When that DNI guy told senators Russia had developed a preference in the 2020 election and their preference was for Trump, Trump fired the guy. He won't listen when they try to brief him on Russian interference. So what are they going to do? Are the American defense and intelligence agencies going to allow another Russian attack on America? I believe to a standard of clear and convincing that they will. The alternative is a coup d'é·tat. Live by a constitution, die by a constitution.
Wait, what? Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness.

Bill Kristol
@BillKristol
Australia, India, South Korea are just window dressing. Trump is of course trying to re-admit Putin to the Group, which has been an important goal of Putin. This would be a big win for Putin, well timed as an early reward for any interference for Trump in our 2020 election.
Quote Tweet

Kaitlan Collins
@kaitlancollins
 · May 30
President Trump announces he’s postponing G7 until at least September and wants to invite Russia, Australia, India, South Korea, turning it into G11. “I’m postponing it because I don’t feel as a G7 it probably represents what’s going on in the world. It’s a very outdated group.”

Meet Mack, from Florida: "Folks, you don't have to vote for Donald Trump if you're a Republican...Please, even if you never vote for another Democrat again, vote for Joe Biden this year." Interested in joining Mack, and many others? Go to rvat.org/tell-your-stor. Tell your story.


This is a moving plea from an intelligent, thoughtful Millenial used-to-be Republican.

https://mobile.twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1267080082700599298

You rattled, Trumpie? Peter and Mary say you were. And they said it TWICE.

Hundreds of protesters were gathering outside the gates, shouting curses at President Trump and in some cases throwing bricks and bottles. Nervous for his safety, Secret Service agents abruptly rushed the president to the underground bunker used in the past during terrorist attacks.
...
... Mr. Trump and his family have been rattled by protests that turned violent three nights in a row near the Executive Mansion.

...
Mr. Trump spent Sunday out of sight...
😂
By nightfall on Sunday, protesters had returned to vicinity of the White House in force, and sirens wailed through much of the downtown Washington...
...
Mr. Trump remained cloistered inside, periodically sending out Twitter messages like “LAW & ORDER!”...
🤣
...
One adviser to Mr. Trump, who insisted on anonymity to describe private conversations, said images of widespread destruction across the country could be helpful to the law-and-order message that Mr. Trump has tried to project since his 2016 campaign.

The adviser said that it could particularly appeal to older women at a time when Mr. Trump’s support among seniors has eroded amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected them. The risk, this adviser added, is that people are worn out by the president’s behavior.

[Oh yeah, I did read somebody, I don’t want to cast no aspersions, say something like that, that “people had made their minds up” about Trump, something like that.]
...
In response to questions about what he was doing to address the tumult, Mr. Trump forwarded a reply through an aide that focused on the upcoming campaign.

“I’m going to win the election easily,” the president said. “The economy is going to start to get good and then great, better than ever before. I’m getting more judges appointed by the week, including two Supreme Court justices, and I’ll have close to 300 judges by the end of the year.”
...
The president and his family were rattled by their experience on Friday night, according to several advisers.
🤣You did that just to needle him Peter, Mary, donchu lie now!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/politics/trump-protests-george-floyd.html#click=https://t.co/G1Pb1gTwtr

You know what this is? This is fucking Russia.

Protests over death of George Floyd, police killings spread to London, Berlin, Toronto

(WaPo)



You give me a more plausible explanation for why one black man’s murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has led to civil unrest all over the United States, and has now spread to EUROPE! What must Berliners or Londoners be thinking when they see their fellows protesting? I KNOW what they’re thinking, the same think I was in that video: Wtf?
An NYPD SUV, being pelted by water bottles and other material, deliberately rammed through the barricade holding the protesters back, and into the crowd. There is no excuse for that! NONE! That SUV was a deadly weapon. The officer used it to run over people. He could have backed out, he was right up against the barricade, he was in no immediate danger. 
https://twitter.com/chieffymac11/status/1266884475268616197

And I am disturbed by Mayor Bill de Blasio's response. "Wish the officer hadn't done that" but the protesters started it! They "surrounded" the police vehicle (NOT true) and the officer "had to get out of there." He could have gotten out of there. All he had to do was back the fuck up. de Blasio always gets it wrong, he is tone deaf. Evita got it right:


@NYCMayor your comments tonight were unacceptable.

As mayor, this police department is under your leadership.

This moment demands leadership & accountability from each of us. Defending and making excuses for NYPD running SUVs into crowds was wrong.

Make it right. De-escalate.

Target Closes 175 Stores Nationwide In Wake Of George Floyd Protests, Looting

(Forbes)

Protesters are not looters and looters are not protesters. 

I went to the Miami Target in Mid-Town this morning, open as open. Oh! But that reminds me. A curious thing happened when I left Target. I was in the parking lot walking to my car. There was a young black guy maybe 20 feet in front of me and a black woman and her young daughter further from, but walking toward, me. I heard the young guy say to the woman "something-something closed." The woman and I made eye contact and we held the eye contact. I got closer to her and asked, "Did he say something was closed?" "He said Target was closed." "Target's not closed," I said indignantly. "I just came from there," and pointed to my red Target shopping cart. "It's not closed, I don't know why he said it was closed," I said and then continued to my car. That was weird.
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Oh, I bet I know why.


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The George Floyd protests in the U.S. and my reactions to them. Hong Kongers have some experience with protests hoo doggie. I gave them some unsolicited advice: prudence, my children, please be prudent. Long ago my "Beijing Diary" was printed in Hong Kong's Open magazine. Wonder if Open is still open. Wonder if they thought today, "What does that American guy think of the protests in the U.S.?" Be honored if they did. I'm usually honored when anybody from another country reads this blog unless they're from Russia.