Here's a synopsis of the top overnight news. It's all over the map., and you can be forgiven for developing a case of whiplash just by scanning through it.
* Armed conservative groups are deploying to the front lines of the culture war Across the country, armed civilians have surged into public view — marching on statehouses, challenging Black Lives Matter protests, chasing Internet rumors — and bringing the threat of lethal force to local politics. (Washington Post)
* Rebellions against the central government of Russia continue, like in the U.S., as protests swell in the city of Khabarovsk, 4,000 miles from Moscow, residents who had never before found a public outlet for anger are becoming activists (New York Times).
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* The vast majority of Californians — 74 percent — believe that people should always wear masks in public to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Two-thirds say they support the Black Lives Matter movement. And 60 percent say that racism is a big problem in the nation today. (Public Policy Institute of California)
* Covid-19 can lead to neurological complications like delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage. In a University College London study published earlier this month, 10 out of 43 patients had "temporary brain dysfunction" and delirium, while 12 had brain inflammation, eight had strokes and eight had nerve damage.
* Vice President Mike Pence and members of his staff met Tuesday with some of the doctors who were featured in a video that was later removed from social media for misinformation. The video, which was shared by President Donald Trump before being removed, featured members of the group America's Frontline Doctors standing on the steps of the Supreme Court claiming that masks aren't necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus and promoting hydroxychloroquine as a cure. Both claims are contradicted by scientific studies. (CNN)
* The Trump administration has reached an agreement with Oregon's Democratic governor to withdraw federal officers from downtown Portland, though the Department of Homeland Security says it will maintain a presence in the city until it believes federal locations there are secure. (CNN)
* Trump has reverted to racial code language in an attempt to lure white suburban voters. Promoting his rollback of an Obama-era rule meant to combat segregation, Trump informed "all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood."
* A $600 weekly supplement to unemployment benefits is at an end, and Congress is deadlocked over new aid. For some, that means hunger, evictions or bankruptcies. Those who want to end it fear it's an incentive for unemployed workers to stay home rather than return to work.
* A Republican Congressman, Louie Gohmert from Texas, who refused to wear a mask and who was supposed to accompany Trump on a trip to his home state tested positive for Covid-19 at the White House and so could not go on the trip. |
As I said, a case of whiplash can result if you follow these news items. too closely. It's a constant one step forward, one step back these days.
The Trump formula for political success is law and order, thinly disguised racism, and usurping local control of the streets where protests persist.
The Democratic response is to attack Trump and hope Biden will expel him from the White House while there's still enough of a democracy left to preside over.
That leaves the American people feeling screwed. We don't have leaders, we have TV actors. Speaking of actors, Bill Pullman, who played the President in the movie "Independence Day," gave a much better speech than Biden or Trump ever will be capable of:
The Trump formula for political success is law and order, thinly disguised racism, and usurping local control of the streets where protests persist.
The Democratic response is to attack Trump and hope Biden will expel him from the White House while there's still enough of a democracy left to preside over.
That leaves the American people feeling screwed. We don't have leaders, we have TV actors. Speaking of actors, Bill Pullman, who played the President in the movie "Independence Day," gave a much better speech than Biden or Trump ever will be capable of:
"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind. Mankind -- that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.
Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.
And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:
"We will not go quietly into the night!
We will not vanish without a fight!
We're going to live on!
We're going to survive!"
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"
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