Patrick's Notebook

by Walter E. Williams

While it might not be popular to say in the wake of the recent social disorder, the true plight of black people has little or nothing to do with the police or what has been called “systemic racism.” Instead, we need to look at the responsibilities of those running our big cities.

Some of the most dangerous big cities are: St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Newark, Buffalo and Philadelphia. The most common characteristic of these cities is that for decades, all of them have been run by liberal Democrats. Some cities — such as Detroit, Buffalo, Newark and Philadelphia — haven’t elected a Republican mayor for more than a half-century. On top of this, in many of these cities, blacks are mayors, often they dominate city councils, and they are chiefs of police and superintendents of schools.

In 1965, there were no blacks in the U.S. Senate, nor were there any black governors. And only six members of the House of Representatives were black. As of 2019, there is far greater representation in some areas — 52 House members are black. Nine black Americans have served in the Senate, including Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts, Carol Moseley Braun and Barack Obama of Illinois, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Kamala Harris of California. In recent times, there have been three black state governors. The bottom line is that today’s black Americans have significant political power at all levels of government. Yet, what has that meant for a large segment of the black population?

Democratic-controlled cities have the poorest-quality public education despite their large, and growing, school budgets. Consider Baltimore, Maryland. In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore’s 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state’s math exam. In six other high schools, only 1% tested proficient in math. Only 15% of Baltimore students passed the state’s English test. That same year in Philadelphia only 19% of eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 16% were proficient in reading. In Detroit, only 4% of its eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 7% were proficient in reading. It’s the same story of academic disaster in other cities run by Democrats. » Read the rest of this entry «

by Paul Craig Roberts

Hanne Herland of the European Herland Report has just had her book published in which she argues that the ruling elite has resurrected feudalism by financializing the economy and offshoring middle class jobs. The title is New Left Tyranny, but it is about gangster state capitalism.

Historically, capitalism freed labor from bondage by making labor the private property of the person. Serfs who owed labor obligations to lords became free individuals. Free labor markets and emergent capitalism made productive by technological advancements created with time rising living standards and a free people determined to protect their independence by holding government accountable.

This system was eventually wrecked by banks that financialized the economy and diverted discretionary personal income to the payment of interests and fees to banks, and by global corporations that moved first world jobs to Asia, thus raising their profits at the expense of domestic consumer purchasing power and living standards. The result was the concentration of income and wealth in the hands of a few multi-billionaires.

First world work forces were re-enserfed as part-time jobs with no health or pension benefits replaced the security of a middle class existence. Corporate investment in the US ceased as corporations used their profits to buy back their own stocks, thus raising share prices and maximizing executive bonuses and shareholders’ capital gains. This selfish management of corporations brought economic growth to a halt. The ladders of upward mobility were dismantled. » Read the rest of this entry «

By Brett Samuels

President Trump on Tuesday shared an unfounded conspiracy theory that an incident in which an elderly man was pushed to the ground by police in Buffalo, N.Y., during a protest over the police killing of George Floyd could be a “set up.”

The president cited right-wing One America News Network (OANN) in making the incendiary claim, which comes amid a national debate over police brutality.

“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment,” Trump tweeted, appearing to refer to a report on OANN.

“I watched, he fell harder than was pushed,” the president added. “Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”

Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2020

Two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault after video went viral of them shoving Gugino after he approached them during the protest. The 75-year-old staggered and fell backward, hitting his head on the concrete and lying motionless as blood pooled on the sidewalk and the officers walked away.

The department originally claimed Gugino “tripped and fell.” » Read the rest of this entry «

by Arwa Ibrahim & Joseph Stepansky

Proposal is expected to ban police chokeholds, racial profiling, require nationwide use of body cameras, and more.

• US congressional Democrats plan to unveil sweeping package of legislation to combat police violence and racial injustice, after two weeks of protests across the nation sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody.
• The Minneapolis city council has said it wants to disband the city’s police department, after days of protests over the killing Floyd, who died after a city police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25.
• US President Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of National Guard troops from the streets of Washington, DC.
• Protesters have also taken to the streets across the world – from the UK to Spain, Italy and Australia – as demonstrations against police brutality and racism entered their 13th day. While some clashes were reported, they remained mostly peaceful.
• Hundreds of mourners gathered in North Carolina on Saturday for a memorial service for Floyd, the second of three events currently planned.

by Nick Turse

In the face of protests composed largely of young people, the presence of America’s military on the streets of major cities has been a controversial development. But this isn’t the first time that Generation Z — those born after 1996 — has popped up on the Pentagon’s radar.

Documents obtained by The Intercept via the Freedom of Information Act reveal that a Pentagon war game, called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program, or JLASS, offered a scenario in which members of Generation Z, driven by malaise and discontent, launch a “Zbellion” in America in the mid-2020s.

The Zbellion plot was a small part of JLASS 2018, which also featured scenarios involving Islamist militants in Africa, anti-capitalist extremists, and ISIS successors. The war game was conducted by students and faculty from the U.S. military’s war colleges, the training grounds for prospective generals and admirals. While it is explicitly not a national intelligence estimate, the war game, which covers the future through early 2028, is “intended to reflect a plausible depiction of major trends and influences in the world regions,” according to the more than 200 pages of documents. » Read the rest of this entry «

by Tyler Durden

As the economy slips into recession, driven by high unemployment, not seen since the 1930s, a quarter of Americans have skipped meals or relied on charity or government food programs since February, according to Kaiser Family Foundation’s May Tracking Poll survey of over 1,100 US adults (conducted between May 13-18).

“One in four Americans (26%) say they or a member of their household have skipped meals or relied on charity or government food programs since February, including 14% who say they have reduced the size of meals or skipped meals because there wasn’t enough money for food, 13% who have visited a food bank or pantry for meals, and 13% who have applied for or received SNAP benefits,” the survey said.

One in six (16%) Americans said skipping meals or relying on charity or government for food was due to the devastating impacts from months of lockdowns that left them financially paralyzed. With very little savings and insurmountable debts, the economic hardships of the downturn are already starting to be realized. Many folks fell into instant poverty and will be financially ruined for the next several years; hence, why universal basic income is coming. A further 10% of respondents said food security issues developed well before the pandemic.

A third (34%) of Americans said they or their spouse experienced a job loss or reduced hours, resulting in declining income, making it harder for them to feed their families. Among this group, 38% said they skipped meals or relied on charity or government food programs since February.

Racial groups and economic status played a huge part in who went hungry. Large shares of blacks, Hispanics, and lower-income households were hit the hardest: » Read the rest of this entry «

Demonstrators protest Saturday, June 6, 2020, near the White House in Washington, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Massive protests against police brutality nationwide capped a week that began in chaos but ended with largely peaceful expressions that organizers hope will sustain their movement.

Saturday’s marches featured few reports of problems in scenes that were more often festive than tense. Authorities were not quick to release crowd size estimates, but it was clear tens of thousands of people — and perhaps hundreds of thousands — turned out nationally.

Wearing masks and urging fundamental change, protesters gathered in dozens of places from coast to coast while mourners in North Carolina waited for hours to glimpse the golden coffin carrying the body of native son George Floyd, the black man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police has galvanized the expanding movement.

Collectively, it was perhaps the largest one-day mobilization since Floyd died May 25 and came as many cities lifted curfews imposed following initial spasms of arson, assaults and smash-and-grab raids on businesses. Authorities have softened restrictions as the number of arrests plummeted.

Demonstrations also reached four other continents, ending in clashes in London and Marseille, France. In the U.S., Seattle police used flash bang devices and pepper spray to disperse protesters hurling rocks, bottles and what authorities said were “improvised explosives” that had injured officers, just a day after city leaders temporarily banned one kind of tear gas. Around midnight in Portland, a firework was thrown over the fence at the Justice Center, injuring a Multnomah County deputy, Portland police Lt. Tina Jones said. Smith said police had declare an unlawful assembly and were making arrests. » Read the rest of this entry «