So grateful for your newsletter and the opportunity to connect with you and your listeners. Here in Madison WI the story is the same: peaceful protests until night, then vandalism and violence. One of the stores here that got trashed was a jewelry store owned for decades by a family that contributed a great deal to causes of justice and equality in our community. I don't think the people who smashed their windows and cases knew that or if they did they didn't care.
I've been an activist for 50 years, always following the path of non-violent civil disobedience. The vandalism and violence makes me sad, and not being there at night, I don't know who or what started it. But I've seen the white supremacists and MAGA gun-toters in action enough in other places, fomenting and then blaming the left, to at least believe they instigated if not initiated.
One of the restaurants here, Hawkes bar and Grill, put out a statement something like this, during the peaceful rally in the afternoon: "As a restaurant we are barely hanging on. We don't want to get vandalized. But if we do, we have insurance. We can recover. Decades of intolerable racism have led to this point and must be addressed. We can recover. Black lives lost cannot".
Pretty powerful, and that's where I'm making myself stay despite the fear and upset I feel about the violence and vandalism.
"If you're more upset by how they're protesting than why they're protesting, you still don't get it."
Hi Mike, not sure what to say. This is exactly what Putin wanted. The pain of the Trump presidency is beyond words. Like Sandra, my one light at the end of the tunnel is the election (which is actually 156 days) so much so I have put a countdown clock on my phone. Dean used to give the countdown on his show leading up to 2018, hope he’s continued to do so. Another outlet is to donate, volunteer, work however you can, not just for Biden but for the Senate seats even if they aren’t in your state. I am in safely blue California so have adopted people like Mark Kelley in Arizona. Also focus on your community, even the small things. One of our restaurants here got together with struggling local farmers. We can now buy a weekly box from the local farmers, delivered to our door. Use the produce or donate it to a food bank. Mother Teresa used to say it doesn’t always have to be about the big things but small things with great love. Clinging to those small things and the daily countdown are the only things that give me hope right now....thanks for your show and this newsletter.
Seattle was sadly trashed last night in our downtown shopping core.
Police cars were set on fire, windows smashed at Nordstrom and merchandise taken from the first floor in addition to other stores for several blocks with graffiti. A curfew was implemented from 5 AM -5 PM and the National Guard was called in with 300 troops.
People even got on our major interstate That runs through the city and walked down the highway which resulted in cars stopping.
We had peaceful protests until mid afternoon and then it became aggressive and dangerous. I know it was like this in most major cities.
These are very stressful stressful times and 153 days until the election! ✌🏻
Michael, great narrative, as usual. The closer we get to November, the more obvious it becomes that his act has run its course with a solid majority of Americans. The below link illustrates how his buffoonery has even penetrated the Republican base, which we keep hearing is still so rock solid behind him. You can tell by their brutal candor that they are representing others who they associate with, are related to, and who they influence. His "Looting and Shooting" tweet continues to illustrate that no matter what crisis the nation confronts, all Trump can seem to manage is to make it worse. It matters that his own former supporters are gleefully putting themselves on camera to intensely oppose what he's done. These people are not the "Never Trumpers" that he so easily dismisses, these are "Never AGAIN Trumpers" who can light the way for the others.
I'm surprised the media hasn't payed enough attention to that fact that racist organizations have been encouraging their followers for decades now to join the police. I hope I'm not exaggerating this too much, but violent racists in our country are drawn toward obtaining the power of being a police officer in almost the same way that pedophiles are drawn toward to obtaining the power of the priesthood.
Watching the protests on television and the police departments’ violent responses is disheartening and heartbreaking. This one man has learned how to toss gasoline onto the flames without caring about the destruction he lives behind him. I pray that everyone of voting age gets out and votes Blue up and down the ticket. I hope good people who are protesting for what is right And just stay safe and that journalists who are documenting this for our nation and for history cease being the target of what I can only describe as militaristic, masochistic police officers.
What a coward Trump is --- he and family are supposedly rattled. We have had to deal with his bullshit for several years. Now he can't take it when we push back.
As Protests and Violence Spill Over, Trump Shrinks Back
The president spent Sunday out of sight, berating opponents on Twitter, even as some of his campaign advisers were recommending that he deliver a televised address to an anxious nation.
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 41 years, I’ve been through the ‘92 Rodney King riots. I live 15 minutes from the Beverly-Fairfax district and likewise about 15 minutes in another direction from Rodeo Drive. We stayed in and watched the riots unfold on television yesterday. We first heard many sirens, and my spouse said to put on the news. I must say that the LAPD showed remarkable and admiral restraint yesterday, to my surprise and appreciation. From what I saw, they did a good job of not escalating the situation, even while their vehicles were smashed and set afire. We watched the mayor’s press conference and announcement of a curfew for Downtown L.A. only, and I was astonished, as the situation was bad at Beverly-Fairfax and escalating, with looting beginning. I said he’s got to make it a citywide curfew. As the looting and burning escalated, I said we needed the National Guard to put a stop to this. I work often at Beverly & Fairfax (Television City, formerly CBS TV City), I eat lunch in the area and sometimes dinner, too, I know the area intimately. It is home to the Farmer’s Market, an L.A. institution, and I’m grateful that it wasn’t touched except for getting some graffiti, especially because it’s all wood structures.
Rodney King asked the most fundamental question during the ‘92 riots: “Can we all get along?” This is often paraphrased incorrectly as “Can’t we all get along?” There’s a big difference between “can” and “can’t”. I think his question is still relevant. The protests themselves were peaceful, but things escalated once they moved from the Pan Pacific Park to the streets. I saw admirable restraint from the police. The looters and arsonists are opportunistic criminals that needed to be stopped. I support the curfew, and the National Guard being on the ground in my city.
We’ll get through this. But seeing and hearing “Eat the Rich” coming from the protesters in Beverly Hills — this class warfare is boiling over, and it’s been a long time coming. We need progressive leadership ready and willing to seize the moment and take aggressive steps to transform our economy and society, on the scale of the New Deal. Trumpism must be crushed.
The POTUS is one scary person - I believe he has dementia (not to excuse his behavior - that's seperate). I can't understand why anyone - GOP etc would protect him other than for $$$. Thanks for your reporting.
It is clear that America is not a unified country, it is a country divided by privilege and blind bigotry. Until we stop lauding the concept of the individual as our national identity and begin to demand that the ideals of this nation of fairness and equality for all persons, not in spite of the differences but BECAUSE it is those very differences making us a strong nation with so much upside, we will continue to wallow in misery while watching our cities in turmoil due to the totalitarian actions reminiscent of a police state. It is long past time for our politicians, parties, and peoples to embrace the concept of "When injustice happens to one, it happens to all" and accept nothing less than equal treatment for each person no matter the race, creed, orientation, size, speech, ability.... E Pluribus Unum must become more that just a motto on our currency.
I find it very interesting how Trump and Barr are going out of their way to blame the violence on Antifa or leftist extremists. And apparently they have handed out the talking points because I heard someone from the administration blaming it on them on one of the Sunday morning news shows. All this tells me is that there were some FAR-RIGHT groups involved and they are trying to shift blame. A NBC news report said a synagogue in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles was vandalized with graffiti that read "Free Palestine. F**k Israel." Somehow I don't think those are the people protesting for justice for George Floyd. I just hope that they are investigating who is actually perpetrating this violence. It's a shame for it to take center stage because it seems that is what the media is mostly focusing on.
Hi Michelangelo,
So grateful for your newsletter and the opportunity to connect with you and your listeners. Here in Madison WI the story is the same: peaceful protests until night, then vandalism and violence. One of the stores here that got trashed was a jewelry store owned for decades by a family that contributed a great deal to causes of justice and equality in our community. I don't think the people who smashed their windows and cases knew that or if they did they didn't care.
I've been an activist for 50 years, always following the path of non-violent civil disobedience. The vandalism and violence makes me sad, and not being there at night, I don't know who or what started it. But I've seen the white supremacists and MAGA gun-toters in action enough in other places, fomenting and then blaming the left, to at least believe they instigated if not initiated.
One of the restaurants here, Hawkes bar and Grill, put out a statement something like this, during the peaceful rally in the afternoon: "As a restaurant we are barely hanging on. We don't want to get vandalized. But if we do, we have insurance. We can recover. Decades of intolerable racism have led to this point and must be addressed. We can recover. Black lives lost cannot".
Pretty powerful, and that's where I'm making myself stay despite the fear and upset I feel about the violence and vandalism.
"If you're more upset by how they're protesting than why they're protesting, you still don't get it."
Now the scary "antifa" are terrorists. Fuck trump.
Hi Mike, not sure what to say. This is exactly what Putin wanted. The pain of the Trump presidency is beyond words. Like Sandra, my one light at the end of the tunnel is the election (which is actually 156 days) so much so I have put a countdown clock on my phone. Dean used to give the countdown on his show leading up to 2018, hope he’s continued to do so. Another outlet is to donate, volunteer, work however you can, not just for Biden but for the Senate seats even if they aren’t in your state. I am in safely blue California so have adopted people like Mark Kelley in Arizona. Also focus on your community, even the small things. One of our restaurants here got together with struggling local farmers. We can now buy a weekly box from the local farmers, delivered to our door. Use the produce or donate it to a food bank. Mother Teresa used to say it doesn’t always have to be about the big things but small things with great love. Clinging to those small things and the daily countdown are the only things that give me hope right now....thanks for your show and this newsletter.
Hi Michelangelo,
Seattle was sadly trashed last night in our downtown shopping core.
Police cars were set on fire, windows smashed at Nordstrom and merchandise taken from the first floor in addition to other stores for several blocks with graffiti. A curfew was implemented from 5 AM -5 PM and the National Guard was called in with 300 troops.
People even got on our major interstate That runs through the city and walked down the highway which resulted in cars stopping.
We had peaceful protests until mid afternoon and then it became aggressive and dangerous. I know it was like this in most major cities.
These are very stressful stressful times and 153 days until the election! ✌🏻
Michael, great narrative, as usual. The closer we get to November, the more obvious it becomes that his act has run its course with a solid majority of Americans. The below link illustrates how his buffoonery has even penetrated the Republican base, which we keep hearing is still so rock solid behind him. You can tell by their brutal candor that they are representing others who they associate with, are related to, and who they influence. His "Looting and Shooting" tweet continues to illustrate that no matter what crisis the nation confronts, all Trump can seem to manage is to make it worse. It matters that his own former supporters are gleefully putting themselves on camera to intensely oppose what he's done. These people are not the "Never Trumpers" that he so easily dismisses, these are "Never AGAIN Trumpers" who can light the way for the others.
Republican Voters Against Trump
https://rvat.org/
its scary here in queens michael. tons of people in parks not wearing masks. and pro trump people
I'm surprised the media hasn't payed enough attention to that fact that racist organizations have been encouraging their followers for decades now to join the police. I hope I'm not exaggerating this too much, but violent racists in our country are drawn toward obtaining the power of being a police officer in almost the same way that pedophiles are drawn toward to obtaining the power of the priesthood.
Watching the protests on television and the police departments’ violent responses is disheartening and heartbreaking. This one man has learned how to toss gasoline onto the flames without caring about the destruction he lives behind him. I pray that everyone of voting age gets out and votes Blue up and down the ticket. I hope good people who are protesting for what is right And just stay safe and that journalists who are documenting this for our nation and for history cease being the target of what I can only describe as militaristic, masochistic police officers.
What a coward Trump is --- he and family are supposedly rattled. We have had to deal with his bullshit for several years. Now he can't take it when we push back.
As Protests and Violence Spill Over, Trump Shrinks Back
The president spent Sunday out of sight, berating opponents on Twitter, even as some of his campaign advisers were recommending that he deliver a televised address to an anxious nation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/politics/trump-protests-george-floyd.html?smid=tw-share
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 41 years, I’ve been through the ‘92 Rodney King riots. I live 15 minutes from the Beverly-Fairfax district and likewise about 15 minutes in another direction from Rodeo Drive. We stayed in and watched the riots unfold on television yesterday. We first heard many sirens, and my spouse said to put on the news. I must say that the LAPD showed remarkable and admiral restraint yesterday, to my surprise and appreciation. From what I saw, they did a good job of not escalating the situation, even while their vehicles were smashed and set afire. We watched the mayor’s press conference and announcement of a curfew for Downtown L.A. only, and I was astonished, as the situation was bad at Beverly-Fairfax and escalating, with looting beginning. I said he’s got to make it a citywide curfew. As the looting and burning escalated, I said we needed the National Guard to put a stop to this. I work often at Beverly & Fairfax (Television City, formerly CBS TV City), I eat lunch in the area and sometimes dinner, too, I know the area intimately. It is home to the Farmer’s Market, an L.A. institution, and I’m grateful that it wasn’t touched except for getting some graffiti, especially because it’s all wood structures.
Rodney King asked the most fundamental question during the ‘92 riots: “Can we all get along?” This is often paraphrased incorrectly as “Can’t we all get along?” There’s a big difference between “can” and “can’t”. I think his question is still relevant. The protests themselves were peaceful, but things escalated once they moved from the Pan Pacific Park to the streets. I saw admirable restraint from the police. The looters and arsonists are opportunistic criminals that needed to be stopped. I support the curfew, and the National Guard being on the ground in my city.
We’ll get through this. But seeing and hearing “Eat the Rich” coming from the protesters in Beverly Hills — this class warfare is boiling over, and it’s been a long time coming. We need progressive leadership ready and willing to seize the moment and take aggressive steps to transform our economy and society, on the scale of the New Deal. Trumpism must be crushed.
The POTUS is one scary person - I believe he has dementia (not to excuse his behavior - that's seperate). I can't understand why anyone - GOP etc would protect him other than for $$$. Thanks for your reporting.
It is clear that America is not a unified country, it is a country divided by privilege and blind bigotry. Until we stop lauding the concept of the individual as our national identity and begin to demand that the ideals of this nation of fairness and equality for all persons, not in spite of the differences but BECAUSE it is those very differences making us a strong nation with so much upside, we will continue to wallow in misery while watching our cities in turmoil due to the totalitarian actions reminiscent of a police state. It is long past time for our politicians, parties, and peoples to embrace the concept of "When injustice happens to one, it happens to all" and accept nothing less than equal treatment for each person no matter the race, creed, orientation, size, speech, ability.... E Pluribus Unum must become more that just a motto on our currency.
Bishop Blaze Culpich, of the Chicago Diocese released a great statement today. It is well thought out.
https://www.chicagocatholic.com/chicagoland/-/article/2020/05/31/statement-of-cardinal-blase-j-cupich-archbishop-of-chicago-on-the-murder-of-george-floyd-and-its-aftermath
I find it very interesting how Trump and Barr are going out of their way to blame the violence on Antifa or leftist extremists. And apparently they have handed out the talking points because I heard someone from the administration blaming it on them on one of the Sunday morning news shows. All this tells me is that there were some FAR-RIGHT groups involved and they are trying to shift blame. A NBC news report said a synagogue in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles was vandalized with graffiti that read "Free Palestine. F**k Israel." Somehow I don't think those are the people protesting for justice for George Floyd. I just hope that they are investigating who is actually perpetrating this violence. It's a shame for it to take center stage because it seems that is what the media is mostly focusing on.