232 days remaining until the day when Trump Can’t Just Refuse to Leave Office

This is reassuring.

Now, everyone must get out in 154 days, November 3, and rid the world of this dangerous buffoon.

Slate 6.1.2020

We have a lot of things to worry about in the next eight months. This isn’t one of them.

The fear is spreading that if President Donald Trump loses the election this November, he’ll refuse to leave office. Bill Maher has been warning of this specter on his HBO show, Real Time, since late last year. This past weekend, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen called Trump’s compliance with the election results “the most critical question for American democracy” and wrote that the “chances are growing” that Trump would not concede if Joe Biden won. Biden himself has raised the possibility on a few occasions.

If Trump could get away with refusing to leave the Oval Office, in order “to extend his autocratic power,” as Cohen put it, he probably would. But he wouldn’t get away with it; those around him would almost certainly advise him against it, if he asked; therefore my guess is, he won’t try. Then again, in recent years many things have happened that I would have bet against. Let’s say the nightmare happens. Here is why it won’t last long.

So it’s the morning of Jan. 20, 2021. Trump doesn’t meet President-elect Joe Biden and his wife in the White House driveway, nor does he attend the inauguration on Capitol Hill. Instead, he proclaims, as he has many times by this point, that the election was a fraud (he has set the stage for this with his false claims about mail-in ballots), and at noon, instead of acceding to the transfer of power, Trump proclaims that the swearing in was FAKE NEWS and that he remains the president.

Here is what would happen next.

On the dot of noon, the nuclear codes, which currently allow Trump to order and authenticate a nuclear attack, expire. The officer who has been following him around everywhere with the “football”—which, contrary to popular belief, is not a button or a palm print but rather a book filled with various launch codes—leaves. If Trump and whatever lackeys stay with him prevent the officer from leaving, another officer, holding a backup football, would join Biden at the inauguration ceremony.

By the same token, the entire U.S. military establishment will pivot away from ex-President Trump and salute President Biden. The principle of civilian control is hammered into American officers from the time they’re cadets—and the 20^th Amendment of the Constitution states, “The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20^th day of January”—no ifs, ands, or buts.

If Trump orders the military to do anything, they will refuse his order. If any officers obey his order—say, to circle the White House to keep him in power—they would certainly be tried and convicted on charges of mutiny and sedition, and they would know this before taking the leap.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service will abandon Trump, as they do every president whose term is up, except for a small detail assigned to protect him and his family for the rest of their lives.

Overseas, foreign leaders will cut off relations with the U.S. ambassadors in their capitals and await instructions from Biden or his acting secretary of state.

Meanwhile, Biden’s acting attorney general will have drawn up arrest warrants for Donald J. Trump and anyone who remains at his side on charges—at minimum—of criminal trespassing. If Trump calls on the armed forces or militias or the nation’s sheriffs to come defend him, he might also be charged with incitement or insurrection.

If any of Trump’s aides or Cabinet officers continue to take his orders, they too could face criminal charges and, in any case, would have a hard time finding respectable employment after the pretend monarch is taken away in handcuffs.

If armed militiamen and sheriffs rally to the White House and they refuse to let U.S. marshals through the gates, a small contingent of Secret Service or the National Guard could be called up to enforce the law. If that doesn’t work, a few M1 tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue should make the would-be rebels flee. It would be terrible if the standoff came to this, but Commander in Chief Biden would have this option available, if necessary.

In other words, Trump could hole himself up in the Oval Office, but the Oval Office would very soon be cut off from all power. He would have no choice but to give up. It is hard to imagine, even in this time of hard-to-imagine things happening, that a single Supreme Court justice or more than a handful of congressional Republicans—and probably not a single member of the GOP leadership, not even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (who, depending on how Election Day had gone, might be downgraded to minority leader on Inauguration Day)—would stand up for Trump’s blatantly unconstitutional ploy to stay in power.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/trump-election-refusal-leave.html

Concerts cancelled. Anger, outrage against police brutality the new venue.

June 2, 2020

I spoke with a gardener at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park. He told me both Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will not be happening in 2020.

The reason he gave me is, “Groups don’t want to perform.”

Both concerts normally draw tens of thousands of vistors to quiet Park fixtures.

Authorities close access to these sites for several weeks. Fitness followers are forced to seek their exercise at alternative places, often clogged with traffic. This summer the bicycle track and the jogging track will remain open for exercise.

A solitary sentinel to the people’s outrage against police brutality will reign over all, instead.

Feature Photo: Political street art emblazoned on the gardener’s building overlooking the bicycle track.

Text: Liz and Lee Heidhues

Photos: Lee Heidhues

Protesting high in the saddle: ‘No one can ignore a black woman on a horse’

People are taking to the streets by any means necessary to protest the police murder of George Floyd a week ago.

The Guardian 6.1.2020

Brianna Noble didn’t plan to ride her horse into the George Floyd protest in Oakland, but it was her way of doing something positive.

Noble hadn’t planned to ride her horse, Dapper Dan, into the center of Friday evening’s protests in the city of Oakland. “It wasn’t a very planned thing,” the 25 year-old Bay Area native told the Guardian. “I was just pissed, sitting at home and seeing the video of George Floyd. I felt helpless and thought to myself: ‘I’m just another protester if I go down there alone, but no one can ignore a black woman sitting on top of a horse.’”

As night fell in Oakland, people ransacked retail stores such as Target, broke into car dealerships and set multiple fires. These incidents – and images of burning buildings and broken windows across the US – have become defining images of this most recent round of protests.

Brianna Noble rides Dapper Dan through downtown Oakland on Friday. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Noble says that this focus on destruction was another motivator for her to bring her horse Dapper Dan into downtown Oakland.

“I know that what makes headlines is breaking windows and people smashing things,” Noble said. “So I thought: ‘Let’s go out and give the media something to look at that is positive and change the narrative.’”

Noble, who trains feral and wild horses, also works to change narratives in the equestrian world which, in California, is majority white and has a high financial barrier to entry. She hopes that, in addition to contributing to the movement against police brutality toward black and brown people, to become the first black woman to do horse jumping in the Olympics and bring low-income kids into the horse community.

“I don’t want to be known for just walking down Broadway one time,” Noble said. “I want to make a lasting impact in my community for black and brown people.

“When you’re black it doesn’t matter how loud you scream or how deep your words are, nobody would listen,” she continued. “So to now have found this amazing pedestal – my horse Dapper Dan to sit upon – and not have to say a word is amazing.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/01/george-floyd-protester-oakland-horse

Potential controversy. Minnesota AG Ellison takes over George Floyd case

The Minnesota Attorney General will bring a different perspective to the prosecution in the police murder of George Floyd. To date only one charge has been filed in the horrific crime which has resulted in worldwide street demonstrations.

Keith Ellison has solid progressive credentials, backing of the political establishment, support from people of color and an endorsement from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The AG, a former Congressman, former Deputy Chair of the Democrat party and a Muslim, will undoubtedly be in the political crosshairs of Trump, Fox News and the MAGA gang.

Interestingly, the former head of the Minneapolis NAACP is not happy with the appointment. This stance seems to be an exception to the praise being given to the Minnesota Governor for making this decision.

Minneapolis Star Tribune 5.31.2020

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Sunday that the state’s attorney general — and not the county prosecutor, Mike Freeman — will take the lead in any prosecutions related to the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in handcuffs when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe.

Minnesota Attorney General – Keith Ellison

Walz’s unusual decision to put Attorney General Keith Ellison in the lead was a win for local civil rights activists, who say the longtime prosecutor does not have the trust of the black community needed to handle a case that has sparked widespread unrest and a national focus on racism in the criminal justice system.

In a letter to Walz, Ellison and Freeman, the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Sunday that having Freeman investigate the police, which his office works with daily, “fosters distrust and suspicion in the community.” The letter urged that the case be transferred to Ellison’s office, where an attorney qualified to handle such cases could be appointed.

“Doing so would send a strong message to the community that a third party … will vigorously pursue justice and police accountability,” Minnesota ACLU president John Gordon wrote.

Several Minneapolis City Council members also called on Walz to appoint Ellison, who as attorney general helped form a working group on reducing police-involved deadly force incidents.

Ellison, who was a vocal progressive congressman before winning state office in 2018, has the experience and community confidence for the job, Walz told reporters Sunday.

“Keith Ellison, our attorney general of Minnesota, needs to lead this case,” Walz said, adding that he made the decision after talking to the Floyd family.

“They wanted the system to work for them. They wanted to believe that there was trust, and they wanted to believe that the facts would be heard and justice would be served.”

Walz made the announcement shortly after Freeman released a statement saying he asked Ellison to “assist” him in the case in a “joint effort.”

“There have been recent developments in the facts of the case where the help and expertise of the Attorney General would be valuable,” Freeman said.

Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers who were involved have not been charged, though Freeman and Ellison have said additional charges are possible. Floyd’s death has triggered calls for police reforms, peaceful protests, as well destruction and violence in Minneapolis and cities across the country.

Ellison, who is black, said he and Freeman, who is white, will be working together. Both men have sought to set expectations in a case certain to be closely scrutinized.

“Let me also note a dose of reality, prosecuting police officers for misconduct, including homicide, murder, is very difficult,” Ellison said Sunday. “We’ll come under attack as we present this case to a jury or a fact finder. And we need to make sure that we are absolutely prepared. We intend to be absolutely prepared.”

Calling in an outside prosecutor is extremely rare, and typically only reserved for cases in which the prosecuting office has a conflict of interest.

The move followed days of criticism from activists, who view Freeman as part of the system they want reformed. He served as Hennepin County attorney in the 1990s and was elected to the post again in 2006. While leading the office, he has charged only one officer in a fatal shooting — and that was in the case of Mohamed Noor, a black officer who killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who was white.

It took four days for Freeman to bring charges against Chauvin, a delay criticized by activists. More than 100 people gathered outside Freeman’s home Sunday, calling for a special prosecutor, the arrests of all four officers and for Freeman’s resignation.

“We want somebody who’s on our side. Mike Freeman is not on our side,” said Sharaunta Beach, a protester. “We have to have people who are for the truth and what’s right.”

But Ellison also has a national political profile likely to draw partisan criticism. He rose to national prominence as the first Muslim elected to Congress and served as deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

After he decided to run for attorney general, an ex-girlfriend accused him of abuse, saying he dragged her off a bed during an argument. An investigation commissioned by Minnesota Democrats ruled the accusation was “unsubstantiated.”

As Ellison was discussed for the Floyd case, a January 2018 tweet resurfaced, showing a picture of him holding up the book “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.” Ellison tweeted that the book would strike fear in the heart of President Donald Trump. Antifa, short for anti-fascists, is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations. Federal officials have suggested the group may be involved in the wave of protests this week.

When asked about that on Sunday, Ellison said: “It means nothing. I was in a bookstore. I saw a book. And I think it’s just a complete diversion.”

It’s not clear whether Ellison’s involvement will quiet the concerns of activists.

Before news that Ellison would take the lead on the case, Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights activist and former head of the Minneapolis NAACP, was among those calling for a special prosecutor, but she did not endorse Ellison for the job. Criminal justice reforms were not his priority when he was a congressman in Minneapolis’ 5th District, she said.

“There needs to be a completely independent special prosecutor,” she said.

Top Photo: White House, Washington DC 5.31.2020 (Wall Street Journal)

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-attorney-general-to-assist-in-george-floyd-case/570910352/

The whole world’s marching. Anti-racism protests hit Berlin and London

Political life as we know it is spiraling out of control. Berlin, in particular, is no stranger to vigorous street protest. In 1968 demonstrators took to the streets of Berlin to protest America’s imperialist involvement in Vietnam.

Now the entire planet is taking to the streets in a rage fueled outburst of anti-racism following the police murder of George Lloyd a week ago.

The American White House is under siege as Trump cowers in the basement while Washington is aflame. This is not going to have a happy ending.

Photo above: Artwork by ‘EME Freethinker’ at Mauerpark – Berlin

Deutsche Welle 5.31.2020

Thousands of people also marched past the US Embassy in the German capital, Berlin, on Saturday to protest the killing of Floyd and speak out against systemic racism.

Outcry over the killing of George Floyd has gone international, with people taking to the streets Berlin and London to show solidarity with US protesters. In Germany, soccer stars wore t-shirts and knelt in support.

Thousands of people took to the streets of the German and British capitals on Sunday to show support for protests in the United States over the killing of a black man by a white police officer.

The death of George Floyd sparked international outrage after a video circulated of him gasping for breath while a white police officer knelt on his neck in the city of Minneapolis.

In Berlin, several hundred protesters turned out for the second day in a row, staging a rally outside the US Embassy. Demonstrators held up signs reading: “Stop killing us” and “Justice for George Floyd.” (photo below: Brandenburg Gate adjacent to the American Embassy)

In Berlin’s famous Mauerpark, where street artists can paint sections of the former Berlin wall, a memorial to Flynn has now appeared. (see top photo)

Bundesliga stars taking a stand

The kneeling protests in London and during Bundesliga games are a reference to the style of peaceful protest used by Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.

Kaepernick and others on NFL teams would kneel during the US national anthem to protest against police brutality and racism amid the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Soccer stars in Germany’s Bundesliga also joined in on the protests on Sunday.

Borussia Dortmund player Jadon Sancho lifted his jersey after scoring a goal to reveal a T-shirt reading: “Justice for George Floyd.” He received a yellow card for the move.

Earlier, forward Marcus Thuram took a knee on the pitch after scoring during Borussia Monchengladbach’s win over Union Berlin. After scoring in the first half, Thuram dropped his knee to the ground and bowed his head, waiting several seconds before getting up again.

“He made a sign against racism, one we all completely support of course. I believe that everyone fully supports it, that everyone has the same thoughts he does,” Monchengladbach coach Marco Rose said.

Kneeling in London

In London, thousands of people turned out in solidarity with US demonstrators, carrying signs reading: “No justice, no peace.”

The protesters knelt in Trafalgar Square before marching past the Houses of Parliament and stopping outside the US Embassy in London.

The Metropolitan police said they arrested five people outside the embassy — two for assault on police, the others for violating coronavirus lockdown guidelines.

https://www.dw.com/en/anti-racism-protests-spread-to-berlin-and-london/a-53643710

Street art in Golden Gate Park. “Stop Police Terror”

5.31.2020 Every Picture Tells a Story – Ongoing Series

The protest against the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis is not limited to the urban streets of San Francisco.

The revulsion sweeping the country can be found in the artwork “Stop Police Terror” on Kennedy Drive in world famous Golden Gate Park, normally a sanctuary from the turmoil of contemporary America.

Text by Liz Heidhues

Photos – Lee Heidhues

As USA burns Minnesota prosecutor faces challenge in case against indicted cop

The country is now burning and what the Minneapolis prosecutor does will be closely watched after the smoke clears.

Minneapolis prosecutor Mike Freeman is being severely criticized for his seemingly lax attitude in prosecuting police abuse. His decision to charge ex-cop Derek Chauvin with only third degree homicide in the brutal killing of George Floyd is being challenged.

To date the prosecutor has brought no charges against any other cop involved in the murder of Mr. Floyd.

Minneapolis Star Tribune 5.30.2020

On Friday, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced criminal charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd

Despite the criticisms and challenges, Freeman on Friday appeared undaunted.

He touted the speed in which the charges against Chauvin were filed — less than four days from Floyd’s death — as the fastest his office has ever brought charges against a police officer.

“This case has moved with extraordinary speed,” Freeman said. “We have charged this case as quickly as admissible evidence has been collected and presented to us. We have now been able to put together the evidence that we need,”

And, for now at least, he said the third-degree murder charge is most appropriate. Freeman acknowledged the road ahead might be difficult.

The burden of proof makes it difficult to convict a police officer of murder. But, he reminded people Friday, his office has done it before.

The 2019 conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter is believed to be the first time in state history that a police officer was convicted of murder for an on-duty killing.

On Friday, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced filing the same charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

In doing so, Freeman once again finds himself in the glare of the national spotlight as he attempts to succeed a second time at what has been an exceedingly rare result in Minnesota and across the country — convincing a jury to convict a police officer of murder.

Despite what the now-viral video shows — a seemingly nonchalant Chauvin’s knee pressing the neck of a clearly distressed Floyd for nearly nine minutes — local legal experts say convictions are far from ensured in cases where cops are charged with murder. Even when much of the public is convinced police were in the wrong, police officers have won acquittal.

From Freddie Gray’s 2015 death in Baltimore while in police custody to the 2016 shooting death of Philando Castile during a Falcon Heights traffic stop, cases that seem open and shut often are not.

In part, it’s because state law gives police wide latitude in using deadly force if they fear they or others will be seriously injured or killed.

While that seems unlikely from the video of Chauvin restraining Floyd, former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said the fact remains that prosecutors must be painstakingly thorough.

“These cases are way more complicated and the burden on the prosecution is higher than I think the public understands,” she said.

Thomas Heffelfinger, former U.S. attorney for Minnesota, agrees.

“It’s not a slam dunk and these cases never are,” Heffelfinger said. “These cases are hard to prove and we have to make sure we do it correctly.”

Obtaining a murder conviction is not the only challenge Freeman faces.

Demands are growing louder for charges to be brought against the other three police officers who assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd on Memorial Day. And the longtime prosecutor’s relationship with the local black community continues to be strained.

In 2016, Freeman announced he was eliminating the long-standing and secret use of a grand jury in police-involved shootings after the November 2015 death of Jamar Clark. Activists praised the decision, only to make him the target of derision after he announced that he wouldn’t charge the officers involved.

He faced a similar backlash in July 2018 when he declined to prosecute the officers involved in the shooting of Thurman Blevins, a decision made just one month after the shooting. And when Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond after he responded to her 911 call in 2017, some activists noted that it only occurred when the officer was black and the victim a white woman.

Freeman also drew controversy in the case when he was caught on tape telling activists before Noor’s charging that he didn’t have the evidence to do so because investigators “haven’t done their job” and that a charge would be “the big present I’d like to see under the Christmas tree.”

On Thursday, the county attorney was criticized after he said: “It’s a violation of my ethics to talk about and evaluate evidence before a charging decision and I will not do that. I will say this: that that video is graphic and horrific and terrible and no person should do that. But my job in the end is to prove that [Chauvin] violated criminal statute.”

Freeman later issued a statement “that it is critical to review all the evidence because at the time of trial, invariably, all that information will be used.”

A group of local activists on Friday launched a campaign to remove Freeman from office, saying Freeman’s statements Thursday “will make securing a criminal conviction against Derek Chauvin more difficult.” The recall group said Freeman “has mishandled the murder of George Floyd” and that “this is not the first time that Mike Freeman has protected killer cops and stood in the way of justice for unarmed Black men. We cannot let him continue to use his office to protect police who abuse and murder Black and Brown folks in our city.”

Even the charges Freeman chose to file against Chauvin — the same that were used to convict Noor — were criticized by local experts as understating the severity of the crime. In separate interviews Friday, local attorneys Joe Friedberg and Christopher Madel called Freeman’s decisionmaking in the case “inexplicable.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t fit this,” Friedberg said of the charge of third-degree murder.

“That charge is more appropriate for someone doing something deadly, without a particular person in mind.”

He added: “They have put themselves in a position here where any intelligent judge would dismiss this case.”

Madel, a former trial attorney with the U.S. Justice Department who has represented clients in several high-profile cases, said the video of the incident appears to make a charge of second-degree murder more appropriate.

In the video, Chauvin appears to repeatedly ignore Floyd’s cries that he can’t breathe, despite witnesses pleading with him to stop.

“Multiple witnesses can be heard telling [Chauvin] ‘I think you’re killing him.’ ” Madel said. “And he just sits there with his hands in his pockets.”

https://www.startribune.com/mike-freeman-faces-new-challenge-in-case-against-derek-chauvin/570898612/

“The whole world’s watching.” Minneapolis ex-cop charged with Murder

“The whole world’s watching,” was the chant at the 1968 Democrat convention in Chicago when the Police rioted against thousands of demonstrators protesting the War in Vietnam.

This American scene is unfolding again as the country erupts following the Police murder of black civilian George Floyd.

Minneapolis (CNN)[Breaking news update at 2:23 p.m. ET]

The former Minneapolis police officer seen in a video with his knee on George Floyd’s neck has been arrested and faces charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, was taken into custody Friday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety John Harrington said in a news conference.

The late George Floyd and his now accused murderer ex-cop Derek Chauvin

“The investigation is ongoing,” Freeman said, adding that he anticipated charges against the other three officers involved in the incident.

“We entrust our police officers to use certain amounts of force to do their job to protect us. They commit a criminal act if they use this force unreasonably,” he said.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/us/minneapolis-george-floyd-friday/index.html

“No way to delay that trouble comin’ Everyday.” Minneapolis 2020

It may be 2020 but one needs to go back to August 1965 and remember the Watts riots in Los Angeles. Here are are, again. The police murder of George Floyd lit the spark. The country is aflame

Frank Zappa in his “Freak Out” album memorialized the moment with his classic, prescient song “Trouble Comin’ Everyday” which has stood the test of time in ways he probably couldn’t forsee at the time

“I’m not black but there’s a lot of time I wish I wasn’t white,” is one of the most telling lines in musical history.

Lee Heidhues

Well I’m about to get UPSET
From watchin’ my TV
Been checkin’ out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean they say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it’s gonna change, my friends
Is anybody’s guess

So I’m watchin’ and I’m waitin’
Hopin’ for the best
Even think I’ll go to prayin’
Every time I hear ’em sayin’
That there’s no way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day

Wednesday I watched the riot…
I seen the cops out on the street
Watched ’em throwin’ rocks and stuff
And chokin’ in the heat
Listened to reports
About the whisky passin’ ’round
Seen the smoke & fire
And the market burnin’ down
Watched while everybody
On his street would take a turn
To stomp and smash and bash and crash
And slash and bust and burn

And I’m watchin’ and I’m waitin’
Hopin’ for the best
Even think I’ll go to prayin’
Every time I hear ’em sayin’
That there’s no way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day

Well you can cool it,
You can heat it…
‘Cause, baby, I don’t need it…
Take your TV tube and eat it
‘N all that phony stuff on sports
‘N all THOSE unconfirmed reports
You know I watched that rotten box
Until my head began to hurt
From checkin’ out the way
The newsmen say they get the dirt
Before the guys on channel so-and-so
And further they assert
That any show they’ll interrupt
To bring you news if it comes up
They say that if the place blows up
They’ll be the first to tell
Because the boys they got downtown
Are workin’ hard and doin’ swell,
And if anybody gets the news
Before it hits the street,
They say that no one blabs it faster
Their coverage can’t be beat

And if another woman driver
Gets machine-gunned from her seat
They’ll send some joker with a brownie
And you’ll see it all complete

Hey you know something people
I’m not black
But there’s a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I’m not white

Well, I seen the fires burnin’
And the local people turnin’
On the merchants and the shops
Who used to sell their brooms and mops
And every other household item
Watched the mob just turn and bite ’em
And they say it served ’em right
Because a few of them are white,
And it’s the same across the nation
Black & white discrimination
They’re yellin’ “You can’t understand me!”
And all the other crap they hand me
In the papers and TV
‘N all that mass stupidity
That seems to grow more every day
Each time you hear some nitwit say
He wants to go and do you in
Because the color of your skin
Just don’t appeal to him
(No matter if it’s black or white)
Because he’s out for blood tonight
You know we gotta sit around at home
And watch this thing begin
But I bet there won’t be many left
To see it really end
‘Cause the fire in the street
Ain’t like the fire in my heart
And in the eyes of all these people
Don’t you know that this could start
On any street in any town
In any state if any clown
Decides that now’s the time to fight
For some ideal he thinks is right
And if a million more agree
There ain’t no great society
As it applies to you and me
Our country isn’t free
And the law refuses to see
If all that you can ever be
Is just a lousy janitor
Unless your uncle owns a store
You know that five in every four
WON’T amount TO nothin’ more
THAN watch the rats go across the floor
And make up songs about being poor
Blow you harmonica son!

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Zappa Frank

Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, two officers who murdered George Floyd

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is the go to publication for details about the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops earlier this week. A crime which has created a political and media firestorm.

The Star Tribune did its research and published the following piece about the murderous cops.

Minneapolis Star Tribune 5.29.2020

Fired, disgraced and potential criminal defendant Derek Chauvin

The Minneapolis police officer shown on video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleaded for help, along with another officer who stood by and watched, have both been involved in use-of-force incidents over their careers.

Officer Derek Chauvin has been identified as the officer pinning down Floyd in the now-viral video, which shows Floyd saying he can’t breathe repeatedly before losing consciousness. Floyd later died. Four officers on scene have been fired. They have not yet been officially identified by department officials.

Chauvin, 44, is a 19-year department veteran. Department records and news accounts show that he has been involved in several police-involved shootings over his career.

In 2008, Chauvin shot and wounded Ira Latrell Toles during a domestic assault call. According to a 2011 article from the Pioneer Press, Chauvin and other officers showed up to an apartment in south Minneapolis just before 2 a.m. Toles grabbed for an officer’s gun and Chauvin shot him in the abdomen.

In 2006, Chauvin and five others responded to a stabbing. After Wayne Reyes, 42, allegedly pulled a shotgun on the officers, one of the officers shot and killed Reyes, according to a report titled “Stolen Lives” from Communities United Against Police Brutality, a police watchdog nonprofit based in Minneapolis.

The other officer identified in the video is Tou Thao. According to a deposition he gave in a 2017 lawsuit, Thao started with the department as a community service officer. He went through the academy in 2009. He was laid off for two years and returned to the department in 2012.

In 2017, Lamar Ferguson sued Thao and another officer, Robert Thunder, for excessive use of force. According to the lawsuit, Ferguson and a woman who was eight months pregnant were walking home when Thao and Thunder stopped and searched them without cause. The officers handcuffed Ferguson, and Thao threw him to the ground and began punching him, while Thunder kicked him, according to the allegations.

The officers took Ferguson to the hospital for medical treatment. Afterward, they escorted Ferguson to jail wearing only his underwear and T-shirt, rejecting hospital staff’s requests that he be allowed to fully dress, according to the complaint.

In a deposition, Thao said they arrested Ferguson due to an outstanding arrest warrant. He said he only punched Ferguson after one of Ferguson’s hands slipped out of the handcuffs.

“He tries to pull away,” Thao said in the deposition. “And he puts his hands on me and tries to give me a stiff arm in a way to try to get me off of him. After — at this point he’s actively resisting arrest. He — so I had no choice but to punch him. I punched him in the face. It causes him to pause a bit which gives Officer Thunder the time to come around and help.”

The case settled out of court for $25,000, according to Seth Leventhal, one of Ferguson’s attorneys.

Andy Mannix covers federal courts and law enforcement for the Star Tribune. He joined the paper in January 2016 and previously covered Minneapolis City Hall and statewide criminal justice/Department of Corrections.

andy.mannix@startribune.com 612-673-4036 AndrewMannix

https://www.startribune.com/what-we-know-about-derek-chauvin-and-tou-thao-two-of-the-officers-caught-on-tape-in-the-death-of-george-floyd/570777632/

We have a lot of things to worry about in the next eight months. This isn’t one of them.

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Brianna Noble didn’t plan to ride her horse into the George Floyd protest in Oakland, but it was her way of doing something positive.

Brianna Noble rides Dapper Dan through downtown Oakland on Friday. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

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Andy Mannix covers federal courts and law enforcement for the Star Tribune. He joined the paper in January 2016 and previously covered Minneapolis City Hall and statewide criminal justice/Department of Corrections.

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