It feels like the banking under the Republican Party from the Trump years is starting to erode. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, sparked a nationwide fight over police brutality against Black people, with Trump supporters coalescing around the reactionary “Blue Lives Matter” flag. But today’s trial of former law enforcement officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd produced damning evidence from six witnesses, who said they were traumatized by what they saw as Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck until he died.
The testimonies today were heartbreaking. Two teenage girls, a nine year old girl, a female firefighter who wanted to help medically but they refused to let her. A man who kept calling for Chauvin to lift his knee off George Floyd’s neck, realized he had just witnessed a murder and called 911. They all watched him die, and they are all haunted by his preventable death. And tonight, I am haunted by their testimony. They all will live with the trauma of what they witnessed for the rest of their lives. - one a nine year old girl, two 17 year old girls, one of which had the courage and the wisdom to capture that video on the other’s phone. This nightmare will follow them forever. The firefighter who knew this man was dying and couldn’t persuade the officers to let her check for a pulse, noting that the placement and pressure of Derek Chauvin’s knee on George Floyd’s neck would have caused him intense pain. This country will live with the trauma of what happened for decades to come.
I’m so sick of Matt, Gym, MTG etc. S1 must be passed and seems to have the support of both sides. These cretins must be voted out. Or sent to prison where they belong.
I must admit I'm tired of hearing about all these powerful men and their sexual shenanigans. The solution is "simple" at least for elected officials ... Vote in women. Patriarchy is so tiresome. However, please note that the opposite of patriarchy is not matriarchy; it is egalitarianism.
Here come the Koch bothers again. Somebody help me before I explode. I'm so sick of these super wealthy people ruling our freewill in politics. H.R. 1 has got to pass. The filibuster has got to go.
The fact that congressional Republicans are working to block legislation popular with their own party aptly illustrates where they are as a political entity today. That is why they are doing all they can to avoid fair, open, honest elections.
I’m really beginning to believe, with every new success by the Biden Administration, we may be witnessing the death throes of a major political party. I believe as the filibuster goes, so goes the Trump/Republican Party. It’s all they have left.
So let’s get rid of it, pass the voting rights bill, and move forward into the 21st Century.
In a better world, Eugene Goodman would be the face of American policing. But it is Derek Chauvin for the foreseeable future. For the sake of the country, and humanity, I hope he's convicted on the most serious charges and punished fully.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was quoted: “We are not supporting doing any vaccine passports in the state of Florida,” “It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.”
Though I doubt DeSantis has any concerns about requiring certain proof in order to vote.
I will get a Covid Passport in just the same way as I will get a regular passport and an innoculation booklet to prove I had yellow fever immunization or any other immunization which might be required to travel. All governments require passports and some require proof of yellow fever immunization.
I hope Gaetz goes to his just deserts on Newsmax or whatever right wing tabloid agency will have him that will make him less dangerous in the halls of Congress. Whatever company hires him will get what they deserve and want.....another slimeball. The GQP will hopefully get exactly what they deserve more losses in congress both in the House and Senate.
As I watch the testimony in the George Floyd case I find myself praying that this will not go the way of almost all the previous cases brought against police officers across the country for use of excessive force....acquittal. So many cases that would have seemed easy to get a guilty verdict have gone on to acquittal.
What took my heart and threw it on the ground yesterday was the video of the Asian woman being thrown to the ground , beaten and kicked while at least two men watched from inside a building and did less than nothing. The absolute callousness of the one man walking up and closing the door while the attack went on left me once again ashamed for my countrymen and our society.
When someone here mentioned yesterday that Trump was claiming that his insurrectionists were trading "hugs and kisses" with the Capitol Police, I thought it was a joke. Among all the other wreckage, the last President has thoroughly killed satire -- nothing could be weirder than his reality.
As for Matt Gaetz, his creepiness comes across even in still photographs, to my eyes. Somehow I suspect that no one is safe when Gaetz is feeling drunk and randy, not the teenagers next door, not the family pets.
Sorry for the excessive snark, but somehow I don't think I was ever going to get confirmed to that Cabinet position anyway...
Thank you, as always, Dr. HCR, for your incredible, important synopsis and perspective of the day's news. I am reading an old Civil War book, "Co. Aytch" by confederate private Sam R. Watkins. Twenty years after the war, he wrote: "I see broken homes and broken hearts. I see war in all of its desolation. I see a country ruined and impoverished. I see a nation disfranchised and maltreated. I see a commonwealth forced to pay dishonest and fraudulent bonds that were issued to crush people. I see sycophants licking the boot of the country's oppressor. I see other and many wrongs perpetrated upon a conquered people...The tale is told. The world moves on, the sun shines as brightly as before, the flowers bloom as beautifully, the birds sing their carols as sweetly, the trees nod and low their leafy tops..."
The fact that Matt Gaetz was the lone House vote against a human trafficking law in 2017 is, shall we say, curious. And during his Fox interview with Tucker Carlson, he claimed the NYT reported details about the alleged extortion of his family, ruining the investigation. False. The Time reported no such thing. Curioser and curiouser.
I have not the slightest doubt that Chauvin meant to kill George Floyd, he totally knew what he was doing. As far as Matt Gates goes, that was a news treat for late in the day. I’ll bet Liz Cheney is howling, if I was her I know I would be. See you all in the morning, daytime that is, it promises to be a very interesting read.
"In the 2020 federal election cycle, dark-money groups spent more than a billion dollars. More than 654 million came from just fifteen groups, the top of which is connected to McConnell." Who are these fifteen groups and how is the top one connected to McConnell? And which party/candidates are these fifteen buying/supporting? I would assume they would be backing who they can control of any party.
I watch a good deal of the testimony yesterday in the trial about the death of George Floyd. On the surface, this trial appears to have a reasonable jury composition and dignified proceeding. Minneapolis is considered by several civil rights organizations to be one of the least friendly places for people of color to live. I'm not sure why, but that observation bothers me. My faith in the jury system is about 4 out of ten based on my own experience as a juror and on my 80 years of life observing it from afar, especially for people of color. I fear, perhaps irrationally, that this police officer will not be convicted. I would like to have my faith in the American court system, the jury system, restored or strengthened. I am also afraid of what will happen no matter the outcome of this trial.
The testimonies today were heartbreaking. Two teenage girls, a nine year old girl, a female firefighter who wanted to help medically but they refused to let her. A man who kept calling for Chauvin to lift his knee off George Floyd’s neck, realized he had just witnessed a murder and called 911. They all watched him die, and they are all haunted by his preventable death. And tonight, I am haunted by their testimony. They all will live with the trauma of what they witnessed for the rest of their lives. - one a nine year old girl, two 17 year old girls, one of which had the courage and the wisdom to capture that video on the other’s phone. This nightmare will follow them forever. The firefighter who knew this man was dying and couldn’t persuade the officers to let her check for a pulse, noting that the placement and pressure of Derek Chauvin’s knee on George Floyd’s neck would have caused him intense pain. This country will live with the trauma of what happened for decades to come.
I love that you referred to him as “personality Tucker Carlson”, negating any notion of him being a bona fide journalist.
I’m so sick of Matt, Gym, MTG etc. S1 must be passed and seems to have the support of both sides. These cretins must be voted out. Or sent to prison where they belong.
I must admit I'm tired of hearing about all these powerful men and their sexual shenanigans. The solution is "simple" at least for elected officials ... Vote in women. Patriarchy is so tiresome. However, please note that the opposite of patriarchy is not matriarchy; it is egalitarianism.
Here come the Koch bothers again. Somebody help me before I explode. I'm so sick of these super wealthy people ruling our freewill in politics. H.R. 1 has got to pass. The filibuster has got to go.
The fact that congressional Republicans are working to block legislation popular with their own party aptly illustrates where they are as a political entity today. That is why they are doing all they can to avoid fair, open, honest elections.
I’m really beginning to believe, with every new success by the Biden Administration, we may be witnessing the death throes of a major political party. I believe as the filibuster goes, so goes the Trump/Republican Party. It’s all they have left.
So let’s get rid of it, pass the voting rights bill, and move forward into the 21st Century.
In a better world, Eugene Goodman would be the face of American policing. But it is Derek Chauvin for the foreseeable future. For the sake of the country, and humanity, I hope he's convicted on the most serious charges and punished fully.
Another interesting news item today was the issue of the GOP being opposed to Covid passports. See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-vaccine-passports-desantis/2021/03/30/eeb41124-9171-11eb-9668-89be11273c09_story.html
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was quoted: “We are not supporting doing any vaccine passports in the state of Florida,” “It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.”
Though I doubt DeSantis has any concerns about requiring certain proof in order to vote.
I will get a Covid Passport in just the same way as I will get a regular passport and an innoculation booklet to prove I had yellow fever immunization or any other immunization which might be required to travel. All governments require passports and some require proof of yellow fever immunization.
I hope Gaetz goes to his just deserts on Newsmax or whatever right wing tabloid agency will have him that will make him less dangerous in the halls of Congress. Whatever company hires him will get what they deserve and want.....another slimeball. The GQP will hopefully get exactly what they deserve more losses in congress both in the House and Senate.
As I watch the testimony in the George Floyd case I find myself praying that this will not go the way of almost all the previous cases brought against police officers across the country for use of excessive force....acquittal. So many cases that would have seemed easy to get a guilty verdict have gone on to acquittal.
What took my heart and threw it on the ground yesterday was the video of the Asian woman being thrown to the ground , beaten and kicked while at least two men watched from inside a building and did less than nothing. The absolute callousness of the one man walking up and closing the door while the attack went on left me once again ashamed for my countrymen and our society.
When someone here mentioned yesterday that Trump was claiming that his insurrectionists were trading "hugs and kisses" with the Capitol Police, I thought it was a joke. Among all the other wreckage, the last President has thoroughly killed satire -- nothing could be weirder than his reality.
As for Matt Gaetz, his creepiness comes across even in still photographs, to my eyes. Somehow I suspect that no one is safe when Gaetz is feeling drunk and randy, not the teenagers next door, not the family pets.
Sorry for the excessive snark, but somehow I don't think I was ever going to get confirmed to that Cabinet position anyway...
Thank you, as always, Dr. HCR, for your incredible, important synopsis and perspective of the day's news. I am reading an old Civil War book, "Co. Aytch" by confederate private Sam R. Watkins. Twenty years after the war, he wrote: "I see broken homes and broken hearts. I see war in all of its desolation. I see a country ruined and impoverished. I see a nation disfranchised and maltreated. I see a commonwealth forced to pay dishonest and fraudulent bonds that were issued to crush people. I see sycophants licking the boot of the country's oppressor. I see other and many wrongs perpetrated upon a conquered people...The tale is told. The world moves on, the sun shines as brightly as before, the flowers bloom as beautifully, the birds sing their carols as sweetly, the trees nod and low their leafy tops..."
So much healing still to be done.
The fact that Matt Gaetz was the lone House vote against a human trafficking law in 2017 is, shall we say, curious. And during his Fox interview with Tucker Carlson, he claimed the NYT reported details about the alleged extortion of his family, ruining the investigation. False. The Time reported no such thing. Curioser and curiouser.
One hell of a news day! Your talent for capturing the facts and presenting them so keenly is just awesome. Thank you so very much!
I have not the slightest doubt that Chauvin meant to kill George Floyd, he totally knew what he was doing. As far as Matt Gates goes, that was a news treat for late in the day. I’ll bet Liz Cheney is howling, if I was her I know I would be. See you all in the morning, daytime that is, it promises to be a very interesting read.
"In the 2020 federal election cycle, dark-money groups spent more than a billion dollars. More than 654 million came from just fifteen groups, the top of which is connected to McConnell." Who are these fifteen groups and how is the top one connected to McConnell? And which party/candidates are these fifteen buying/supporting? I would assume they would be backing who they can control of any party.
I watch a good deal of the testimony yesterday in the trial about the death of George Floyd. On the surface, this trial appears to have a reasonable jury composition and dignified proceeding. Minneapolis is considered by several civil rights organizations to be one of the least friendly places for people of color to live. I'm not sure why, but that observation bothers me. My faith in the jury system is about 4 out of ten based on my own experience as a juror and on my 80 years of life observing it from afar, especially for people of color. I fear, perhaps irrationally, that this police officer will not be convicted. I would like to have my faith in the American court system, the jury system, restored or strengthened. I am also afraid of what will happen no matter the outcome of this trial.