Saturday, June 6, 2020 is the day we should be commemorating the 76th anniversary of the battle that was the beginning of the end of World War II. It was on June 6, 1944, D-Day, the day that the allies landed on the beaches of Normandy and began the offensive against Nazi armies that ended in Germany’s surrender 10 months later.
But not this Saturday.
Buffalo: When will police brutality stop? When will the lying about police brutality stop? Don’t these people know everything they do ends up on video? It that’s not enough to stop them, I’m not sure what is.
Attorney General William Barr, of course, is one of the greatest enigmas in this whole sordid Trump mess. I don’t understand what motivates him and his behavior. But he’s clearly doing whatever he can to protect and defend this horror of a president and administration.
But there are others, as Anne Applebaum writes in The Atlantic, The Collaborators.
But finally, some former military leaders are speaking out against this president and this presidency.
As the country and the world move from one existential crisis to another; as we edge inextricably closer from being the USA to the USD (United States of Dystopia); as Donald Trump, along with his toadies, AG Barr, SecDef Esper, Gen. Milley, among others, clear peaceful protesters with mounted police, tear gas and flash bangs for the purpose of a phony photo-op, GOP senators finally stand for something…not being late for lunch!
Killer Mike: Before my daughter sent me a video of Killer Mike making his impassioned plea at a press conference on Friday with Atlanta’s mayor, I had never heard of him. I had no idea who Killer Mike was. Now I do.
Susan Glasser: The New Yorker writer’s tweet about the state of 2020 America made it clear – it’s only June 1 but we have four of the most horrific years in American history, 1974, 1918, 1929 and 1968 all wrapped up in one Trumpian package.
In these horrific times in America, two articles published today struck a chord with me.
The first, by Peter Baker of the New York Times, “In Days of Discord, President Trump Fans the Flames,” made it clearer to me why the world is pitying the United States.
The second, by San Francisco Chronicle sports writer Ann Killion, “Kaepernick and Floyd: 2 knees, 2 reactions, 1 issue,” highlighted the “disturbing irony” of those two knees.
It’s probably hard to believe that a Trump presser in the Oval Office in which he railed about absentee ballots and voter fraud would remind me of growing up in Brooklyn. But it did…with a little “Around the Block – News with a Twist” imagination thrown in.
On Memorial Day we spend time remembering those who lost their lives and could not come home, reflecting on their service, a service that has given us the luxury of freedom that we enjoy today. It is the holiday that most represents what America should be: “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”
Who should be leading this tribute to our fallen heroes? Right – the President of the United States!
Except when the President of the United States is Donald John Trump.
Trump’s plan to end the deployment National Guard members assisting in coronavirus relief one day short of the day when their extended benefits is cynical and transparently cruel.
I wonder if he can say, “Thank you for your service.”
Today’s Around the Block concerns two recent headlines.
1. Jerusalem Post: “US asking Israel to eliminate China ties in sensitive areas.”
2. New York Times: “Chinese Ambassador Is Found Dead at Home in Israel
Eliminate?
Coincidence?
Just saying!
