Punching Isn’t Excessive Force, NYPD Commissioner Says

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,Leave a comment

“A punch is something we actually train for in the police academy,” Shea said at the mayor’s daily press briefing. “A punch should not be assumed to be excessive force.”

Several lawmakers raised questions about NYPD de-escalation training and called for an investigation into the officers involved.

“Proper public safety interaction isn’t about ego. It’s about deescalation,” tweeted Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “This officer’s actions were unacceptable.”

“Regardless of what transpired before the video, what is the justification for the rage?” tweeted City Council Member Carlina Rivera “Where’s the professionalism and de-escalation tactics?”

Punching Isn’t Excessive Force, NYPD Commissioner Says

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Trump Says U.S. Must Reopen Even If More Americans Get Sick, Die – Bloomberg

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Trump launched headlong into his push to reopen the country on Tuesday, saying Americans should begin returning to their everyday lives even if it leads to more sickness and death from the pandemic.

…He’s preparing for “phase two” of the U.S. response to the coronavirus. That will include disbanding the White House task force of public health experts, including Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, that have steered the government response to the outbreak so far.

Trump acknowledged that reopening the economy would likely lead to more suffering.

…“There’ll be more death,” he said. “The virus will pass, with or without a vaccine. 

…Music from his standard campaign rally soundtrack played over loudspeakers, including Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and Guns N’ Roses’s “Live and Let Die.” [emphasis: Peanut Gallery]

…He also dismissed two new projections that painted a gruesome picture of what could happen if the country lifts shutdown orders too quickly: a Johns Hopkins University model showing deaths could reach 3,000 per day by June 1 and a University of Washington analysis showing the U.S. death toll could reach 135,000 by the beginning of August.

Trump Says U.S. Must Reopen Even If More Americans Get Sick, Die – Bloomberg

Live and Let Die, indeed.

Supreme Court questions Trump’s rollback of birth control coverage

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

At issue was a Trump policy allowing virtually any employer to claim a religious or moral exemption to providing free birth control to women..

..The court’s conservative majority was expected to side with the administration’s weakening of the contraceptive coverage requirement under Obamacare. However, Chief Justice John Roberts joined some of his liberal colleagues in questioning whether [Trump’s] rollback of the policy went too far.

…”The glaring feature of what the government has done in expanding this exemption is to toss to the winds entirely Congress’ instruction that women need and shall have seamless, no-cost comprehensive coverage,” Ginsburg said.

…The court, which is also hearing a challenge on political robocalls Wednesday, during this period will also consider Trump’s request to shield his financial records and states’ ability to punish so-called faithless presidential electors.

Supreme Court questions Trump’s rollback of birth control coverage – POLITICO

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Betsy DeVos releases final changes to campus sexual assault policies

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, Schools,Leave a comment

Now, under reworked federal rules, alleged student perpetrators will have added protections, including the presumption that they are innocent throughout the disciplinary process and the right to be provided all evidence collected against them. Those students can also cross-examine their accusers and vice versa during live hearings, although it must be done through a lawyer or representative.

…They come after the Education Department “heard from too many students whose careers were tarnished by administrators without any resemblance to due process,” Kenneth Marcus, the agency’s assistant secretary of civil rights, told reporters. “This must stop.”

…Misconduct must fall under certain categories, including unwelcome conduct that is “so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive” that it “denies a person equal access to the school’s education program or activity.”

Betsy DeVos releases final changes to campus sexual assault policies

hmm

Trump order to paint border wall black could drive up cost $500 million or more

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

[Trump’s] determination to have the steel bollards coated in black has fluctuated during the past several years, and military commanders and border officials believed as recently as last fall that they had finally talked him out of it. They consider the black paint unnecessary, costly and a significant long-term maintenance burden, and they left it out of the original U.S. Customs and Border Protection design specifications.

Trump has not let go of the idea, insisting that the dark color will enhance its forbidding appearance and leave the steel too hot to touch during summer months.

…The Post obtained a copy of painting estimates that federal contracting officials produced, and it shows costs ranging from $500 million for two coats of acrylic paint to more than $3 billion for a premium “powder coating” on the structure’s 30-foot steel bollards, the high end of the options the officials have identified.

…The White House has obtained about $15 billion for the project so far, two-thirds of which has been diverted from Defense Department construction funds and counternarcotics programs. CBP projections indicate the money will pay for approximately 731 miles of new barriers, but those estimates did not take into account the president’s painting plans.

…One official with knowledge of the plans said it wasn’t clear how the painting crews would operate on the Mexico side of the barrier, where only a narrow strip of land separates the two countries. Painters would potentially need to apply the black coating using a specialized boom long enough to extend up and over the barrier from the U.S. side.

…Last year, after Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) heavily promoted Fisher to the president as a cheaper option for building the border wall, Trump urged aides to give the firm a building contract. The North Dakota company and its owner have donated to Cramer and the president, and the company sued the government when its border wall bids were not accepted.

Trump order to paint border wall black could drive up cost $500 million or more – The Washington Post

Loser.

The psychology behind why some people won’t wear masks

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Many view the mask as a walking symbol of vulnerability that tells others you’re scared about contracting the virus. So to compensate for that fear, and as a show of strength, they may reject the masks entirely, he said.

To the people who choose not to wear them, “Putting on that mask is about as blatant as saying, ‘Hey, I’m a scaredy cat,'” Abrams said.

…Within three months, masks went from unnecessary for healthy people to recommended for anyone who goes out in public. The conflicting guidance has given Americans a bit of whiplash.

…There are also mixed messages at the federal level: While the CDC recommends the public wear masks, President Donald Trump didn’t wear a mask during a visit to a Honeywell mask factory. Vice President Mike Pence apparently flouted hospital policy when he visited the Mayo Clinic without a mask on.

All that muddles the message even further for Americans, Abrams said.

“The ambivalence of mixed messages makes it far easier for people to do whatever they want and make up their own mind,” he said.

…”If everybody started wearing masks, suddenly, the old way of life is gone,” he said. “You’ve suddenly admitted that this is the new normal. But you don’t want to believe that.”

Not to mention, masks aren’t physically comfortable either. That may be enough to steer some people away from them.

The psychology behind why some people won’t wear masks – CNN

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Gov. DeSantis distances from Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony amid news of killing

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,Leave a comment

If Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony was looking for support from Gov. Ron DeSantis after the sheriff came under fire for killing a man with his father’s revolver at his home in Philadelphia when he was 14, he didn’t exactly get it Monday.

Instead, the governor, when questioned about the news at a press conference in Tallahassee Monday, distanced himself from his own appointee and claimed that he “didn’t even know him.”

…DeSantis said the shooting did not come up in a background check, because he was exonerated in juvenile court.

Gov. DeSantis distances from Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony amid news of killing | Miami Herald

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Who is Rick Bright? The Coronavirus Whistle-Blower Who Said The Trump Administration Steered Contracts to Cronies

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Top administration officials repeatedly pressured [Bright] to steer millions of dollars in contracts to the clients of a well-connected consultant.

…He had been protesting “cronyism” and contract abuse since 2017.

Questionable contracts have gone to “companies with political connections to the administration,” the complaint said, including a drug company tied to a friend of Jared Kushner’s.

…A lawyer for Dr. Bright, Debra Katz, said he felt a “moral obligation” to get the word out that the administration was pressing to stockpile an unproven and potentially dangerous coronavirus treatment, which was supplied by drugmakers in India and Pakistan and had not been certified by the Food and Drug Administration.

The complaint says top Department of Health and Human Services officials, including Dr. Kadlec, who oversees the strategic national stockpile, overruled scientific experts while awarding contracts to firms represented by the consultant, John Clerici. 

…“Dr. Bright was vocal about his concerns regarding the inappropriate and possibly illegal communications between Mr. Clerici, Dr. Kadlec, Mr. Shuy and Mr. Meekins,” the complaint stated, referring to Bryan Shuy and Chris Meekins, two other department officials.

..At one point, it said, Dr. Bright called for an investigation by the inspector general “to help break up the ‘cottage industry’ of marketing consultants and political influence into these contracts.”

Dr. Bright also said Mr. Clerici pushed, albeit unsuccessfully, for an extension of a contract awarded to a company run by someone who was “friends with Jared” and “has Hollywood connections.”

…On Jan. 23, he met with Mr. Azar and Dr. Kadlec to press “for urgent access to funding, personnel and clinical specimens, including viruses,” that would be necessary to develop treatments, the complaint said. But Mr. Azar and Dr. Kadlec “asserted that the United States would be able to contain the virus” through travel bans, the complaint said, adding that Dr. Bright was cut out of future department meetings related to Covid-19.

…Dr. Bright’s was initially offered a narrower role at the National Institutes of Health to work on a new “Shark Tank”-style program to develop coronavirus treatments.

Who is Rick Bright? The Coronavirus Whistle-Blower Who Said The Trump Administration Steered Contracts to Cronies – The New York Times

Shark Tank????!

House GOP bill would block lawsuits by workers sickened with virus 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

A forthcoming House GOP bill would bar workers who fall ill with coronavirus from suing their employers, so long as the company complies with state and federal law as it reopens for business amid loosening health restrictions.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), said legislation he will introduce this week would give complying business immunity from civil suits brought by employees who contract coronavirus after returning to the workplace.

…Democrats previously agreed to limit the legal liability of manufacturers of certain protective equipment in an earlier coronavirus relief package.

House GOP bill would block lawsuits by workers sickened with virus  | TheHill

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Security Researchers Say The Reopen America Campaign Is Being Astroturfed

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs and researchers at DomainTools have separately analysed web addresses including the word “reopen.” And interestingly, they’ve found that many of these can be linked to domains associated with gun advocacy groups, lobbyists, and other conservative organisations.

…Over 500 new domains related to the protests have been registered in the past month. Many of them are linked to only a few groups.

…The “reopen America” domains are the work of a single gun advocacy network.

…These groups tie back to Aaron Dorr, a registered lobbyist for the state of Iowa.

…The domains “reopenoureconomy.com” and “reopensociety.com” are linked to FreedomWorks, a conservative group that has reportedly been holding virtual meetings with members of Congress.

Perhaps most alarmingly of all, Krebs finds that “Reopenmississippi.com” was registered on April 16 to In Pursuit Of LLC, a Virginia-based conservative group with several former employees who Krebs claims now work at the White House or in cabinet agencies.

Security Researchers Say The Reopen America Campaign Is Being Astroturfed

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Former Green Beret takes responsibility for failed boat raid aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

On By peanutgallerynhIn Military,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Goudreau said 60 of his men were still on the ground and calls were being activated inside Venezuela, some of them fighting under the command of Venezuelan National Guardsman Capt. Antonio Sequea, who participated in a barracks revolt against Maduro a year ago.

None of their claims of an ongoing operation could be independently verified. But Goudreau said he hoped to join the rebels soon and invited Venezuelans and Maduro’s troops to join the would-be insurgency although there was no sign of any fighting in the capital or elsewhere as night fell.

In an interview later with Miami-based journalist Patricia Poleo, he provided a contradictory account of his activities and the support he claims to have once had — and then lost — from Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by the U.S. and some 60 countries.

…The government’s claims that it had foiled a beach landing Sunday triggered a frenzy of confusing claims and counterclaims about the alleged plot. While Maduro’s allies said it had been backed by Guaidó, Colombia and the U.S., the opposition accused Maduro of fabricating the whole episode to distract attention from the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

…The government’s claims that it had foiled a beach landing Sunday triggered a frenzy of confusing claims and counterclaims about the alleged plot. While Maduro’s allies said it had been backed by Guaidó, Colombia and the U.S., the opposition accused Maduro of fabricating the whole episode to distract attention from the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Former Green Beret takes responsibility for failed boat raid aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – Chicago Tribune

Huh?

Ousted vaccine director files whistleblower complaint alleging coronavirus warnings were ignored

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Dr. Rick Bright, the ousted director of the office involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine, formally filed an extensive whistleblower complaint Tuesday alleging his early warnings about the coronavirus were ignored and that his caution at a treatment favored by President Donald Trump led to his removal.

Bright said in the complaint he raised urgent concerns about shortages of critical supplies, including masks, to his superiors in the Trump administration but was met with skepticism and surprise.

…Bright says he raised concerns about US preparedness for coronavirus starting in January but was met with “indifference which then developed into hostility” by leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Later, he says he pushed back on HHS’s leadership when they sought to make “potentially harmful drugs” available for treating Covid-19, including hydroxychloroquine, which had been repeatedly touted by Trump as a potential cure despite a lack of robust testing.

…He was eventually excluded from participating in meetings about the virus.

…In a lengthy series of exhibits that was included with Bright’s whistleblower complaint, some of the memos are provided, including warnings on shortages of masks and syringes to administer an eventual vaccine.

…Bright’s most recent performance review from May 2019, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, delivered rave reviews for Bright’s management of his office and included no criticisms.

Ousted vaccine director files whistleblower complaint alleging coronavirus warnings were ignored – CNNPolitics

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