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The vast majority of Americans were probably unaware, until this week, that some of the most familiar U.S. Army bases—Bragg, Benning, Hood, among others—are named for Confederate generals and officers, who fought against the Union in the Civil War. Fixing this is long overdue, but the opportunity to do so is greater now that more are aware. Black members of the military should not be asked to live and serve under the names of men who fought to keep them in chains. With public support, Congress is working to remedy this, another positive sign that we are once again reaching toward our founding ideals. As a nation, we’ve never been perfect—far from it—but we will always find strength and unity in persistently striving to more fully recognize the truth that all are created equal. —Evan McMullin
Top Ten

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1. 'Precipice of disaster' Governors across America have eased pandemic lockdowns, but a new analysis shows coronavirus cases are rising in nearly half of U.S. states. In Arizona, hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst. Texas has more hospitalized COVID-19 patients than at any time before, and the governor of North Carolina said recent jumps in cases have caused him to rethink plans to reopen schools and businesses. Experts believe at least some spikes are due to lifting stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures. Infections related to the ongoing social justice protests have not generally impacted case data yet, as the incubation period for the coronavirus tends to be about two weeks. —US News & World Report ([link removed])
* — Wear your face mask! A new modeling study out of Cambridge and Greenwich universities suggests that face masks may be even more important than originally thought in preventing the spread of COVID-19. While researchers believe that lockdowns alone won't help the reproduction number of the virus to drop below 1.0, a combination of lockdowns and widespread mask compliance might. —San Francisco Gate ([link removed])
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* — Please sign this waiver... Attendees at President Trump's upcoming MAGA rallies probably won't be required to wear a face mask, but they must sign a disclaimer at registration agreeing not to sue the campaign if they contract COVID-19 after the event. The online registration page makes no mention of safety requirements that will be in place at the rallies. —Politico ([link removed])
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* — "Democracy After Coronavirus." Democracy is deteriorating across Central Europe, according to an analysis by Reporting Democracy. The pandemic has unleashed rising autocracy, assaults on transparency and media freedoms, disregard for the rule of law, and heightened geopolitical tensions in the region. The report proposes some key remedies, such as greater support to free media, more parliamentary oversight, judicial independence, and respect for the rule of law. —Balkan Insight ([link removed])
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* — Twitter acts on disinfo again. China has stepped up its effort to spread misinformation on social media about the Communist Party's response to the coronavirus, according to Twitter. The company said yesterday that it has removed 23,750 accounts that were "highly engaged" in a coordinated effort to spread misinformation, as well as an additional 150,000 accounts that were dedicated to boosting China's messages. —The New York Times ([link removed])

More: Coronavirus prompts EU to curb spread of disinformation (Deutsche Welle) ([link removed])

2. Mounk: The virus is winning "A second wave of the coronavirus is on the way. When it arrives, we will lack the will to deal with it. Despite all the sacrifices of the past months, the virus is likely to win—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it already has. In absolute terms, the U.S. has been hit harder than any other country. About a quarter of worldwide deaths have been recorded on these shores. ... Even so, the disease is slowly starting to recede from the public's attention. After months of dominating media coverage, COVID-19 has largely disappeared from the front pages of most national newspapers. In recent polls, the number of people who favor 'reopening the economy as soon as possible' over 'staying home as long as necessary' has increased. And so it is perhaps no surprise that even states where the number of new infections stands at an all-time high are pressing ahead with plans to lift many restrictions on businesses and mass gatherings." —The Atlantic
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Ed. Note: Yascha Mounk is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and a senior adviser at Protect Democracy. He is the author of "The People vs. Democracy."

More: 'This is about livelihoods': US virus hotspots reopen despite second wave specter (Reuters) ([link removed])

3. Protests bear fruit with action on police reform

An ordinance called "Breonna's Law" was passed unanimously by the Louisville, Ky., metro council in honor of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville police in her home in March. The law bans no-knock search warrants and requires officers to be equipped with an operating body camera while carrying out a search. Cameras must remain activated for five minutes prior to and after the search, and all recorded data must be retained for five years. —CNN ([link removed])
* — Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has declared racism a public health crisis and announced that he would transfer $3 million from the police overtime budget to the Boston Public Health Commission. "We're determined to accelerate our work toward systemic change to renew our nation and our city's promise of equal opportunity and justice for every person," Walsh said, adding that the health impacts of racism are evident in coronavirus case numbers. —The Boston Globe ([link removed])
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* — Defense Sec. Mark Esper has ordered a review of the National Guard's support of law enforcement across the country. The review is considered standard procedure following any significant operation, and the evaluation will address a range of issues including training, organizing, and deployment of National Guard forces. —CNN ([link removed])

* — And then there's Trump. At a roundtable discussion on law enforcement in Dallas, Tx., yesterday, President Trump referred to the sight of peaceful protesters getting sprayed with tear gas and the use of other force by the National Guard as a "beautiful scene," and claimed confronting bigotry and prejudice will "go quickly" and "very easily." He also warned against labeling "tens of millions of decent Americans as racist or bigots." The Dallas police chief, sheriff, and district attorney—all of whom are African-American—were not invited to the event. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

More: 'Adversaries are attempting to take advantage' of US unrest, national security adviser warns (Politico) ([link removed])

4. Petraeus: Take Confederate names off our bases ([link removed])

"The magic of the republic to which many of us dedicated our professional lives is that its definition of equality has repeatedly demonstrated the capacity to broaden. And America's military has often led social change, especially in the area of racial integration. We do not live in a country to which Braxton Bragg, Henry L. Benning, or Robert E. Lee can serve as an inspiration. Acknowledging this fact is imperative. Should it fail to do so, the Army, which prides itself on leading the way in perilous times, will be left to fight a rearguard action against a more inclusive American future, one that fulfills the nation's founding promise." —The Atlantic ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Retired Gen. David Petraeus served in the U.S. Army for 37 years, commanding forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as CIA director from 2011 to 2012.

More: Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names (The Hill) ([link removed])

5. US says 'ICC u later' Via executive order, the White House took action against the International Criminal Court yesterday, seeking to place visa restrictions and economic sanctions on ICC officials connected with investigations of U.S. service members. Currently the ICC is looking into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. ([link removed])
* — During a press conference, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the ICC of waging an "ideological crusade." Other top U.S. military and diplomatic leaders reiterated that U.S. military law is already in place to hold service members accountable for any potential crimes committed. ([link removed])
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* — "The International Criminal Court was established to provide accountability for war crimes, but in practice it has been an unaccountable and ineffective international bureaucracy that targets and threatens United States personnel as well as personnel of our allies and partners," said White House Press Sec. Kayleigh McEnany. ([link removed])
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— Members of both major U.S. parties have long been wary of joining the ICC, over fear that it would be used to prosecute Americans for military operations. The Bush Administration refused to join in 2002, and while former President Barack Obama worked closely on some issues with the ICC, even he decided against joining the Court. —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])

More: EU has 'serious concern' over US sanctions against International Criminal Court (Politico) ([link removed])
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6. Report prompts questions about humanitarian aid Last June, Congress approved $4.6 billion in humanitarian aid to assist with an influx of Central American migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border that left U.S. agents overwhelmed and detention cells crowded. According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection allegedly used a portion of the emergency funding to buy dirt bikes, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, canine supplies, computer equipment, and other unauthorized items. ([link removed])
* — "CBP did not provide any explanation as to how these items relate to the consumables and medical care line item appropriation," the report states. "Therefore, we conclude that CBP violated the purpose statute when it obligated the consumables and medical care line item appropriation for these purposes and should adjust its accounts." ([link removed])

* — In a statement released yesterday, CBP called the report "a legal opinion," rather than the result of a formal audit, and the agency said the violations identified by the GAO were "technical in nature." The agency assured that "prompt remedial action will be taken." —The Washington Post ([link removed])

7. Martelle: Why Tulsa? Why on Juneteenth? ([link removed])

"During a time of increased racial tensions and demands for fundamental change in how government institutions treat black Americans and other people of color, our pugnacious president intends to...rally in the city that was home to what was probably the most brutal and deadly rampage by whites against blacks in American history. And he intends to do it on Juneteenth, commemorated as the day that enslaved blacks in Texas finally received word of the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years after President Lincoln had signed it. Maybe he'll surprise us and on that Tulsa stage discuss the 1921 massacres in which white hordes killed as many as 300 black Americans and destroyed more than 30 city blocks of vibrant black businesses and neighborhoods. Or maybe he'll talk about the legacy of such base racial violence across the nation and the need for white Americans to better understand how our nation's racist past echoes today, be it in overt acts of hostility or institutional racism or
implicit bias. Don't hold your breath." —Los Angeles Times ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Scott Martelle is a veteran journalist and author of six history books.

More: Trump's planned rally in Tulsa, site of a race massacre, on Juneteenth is 'almost blasphemous,' historian says (The Washington Post) ([link removed])

8. IG was 'pressured' to end inquiry Former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick told the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week that a top State official, Mark String, pressured him to drop his investigation of an arms deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. String is also said to be directly responsible for helping Secretary of State Mike Pompeo bypass a congressional freeze on arms sales to the Saudis. ([link removed])
* — In early 2019, String was acting chief of the agency's political-military affairs bureau. He, along with other aides, helped Pompeo come up with a way to bypass Congress' ban on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, Pompeo declared an emergency over Iran to push the sale through, leading to Linick's investigation of the legality of such action. ([link removed])
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* — Linick testified that later in 2019, String and Brian Bulatao, another top State official, met with him to try and dissuade him from pursuing the investigation. Linick said that on occasion, Bulatao has tried to "bully" him as he investigated misconduct in the department. ([link removed])
* — Congressional investigators are concerned about a potential conflict of interest for String for his role in helping Pompeo bypass Congress and then pressuring Linick to end his investigation of the deal. —The New York Times ([link removed])

More: Ex-State Dept IG says he was given no valid reason when fired (NPR) ([link removed])

9. Merrill & Phipps: Reform starts at the ballot box ([link removed])

"The Supreme Court was wrong when it declared that the Voting Rights Act was no longer necessary because 'our country has changed.' It is time to fix that mistake. ... The right and ability to cast a ballot and choose who represents us is the fundamental, foundational right that all of our other rights rest on. The legislature needs to reaffirm that and remove obstacles to participation, particularly obstacles that have been erected between communities of color and the ballot box. We also need to hold our elected representatives, including the two of us, accountable. Between now and November, find out if the people who are running to represent you want to make it easier or harder for you to vote. No matter what, we need everyone to show up on Nov. 3 and make their voices heard." —Hartford Courant ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Denise Merrill is the Connecticut Secretary of the State. Quentin Phipps represents the 100th State House district in Middletown, Ct.

10. An American Story: Taking his talents to voting Voting has always been important, but not necessarily "cool." So NBA superstar LeBron James is using his platform to promote voting rights and access, particularly in the black community, in a year in which the stakes couldn't be higher. ([link removed])
* — James and other prominent black athletes and entertainers are heading a group called "More Than a Vote," aimed at protecting African-Americans' voting rights and amplifying their voices in the upcoming presidential election. ([link removed])
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* — More Than a Vote will team up with other voting rights organizations to inspire African-Americans to register and cast a ballot in November, and to combat voter suppression by drawing attention to any attempts to restrict the franchise of racial minorities. ([link removed])
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* — "There's a lot of people that want change in the black community," James said, but added, "if you actually don't put in the work or if you don't have the mindset, there's never going to be change." —The New York Times ([link removed])

Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis and recent unrest, and promoting American values. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
What's Your Take?

As a former Republican myself, I can't help but admire Evan and Mindy's integrity when it comes to the country's founding principles of liberty and justice. Over the years, it seems conservatives have merely produced hollow words in support of equality rather than taking action. Stand Up Republic has restored my faith in conservatism. —Carol M., Pennsylvania

Interesting and sickening small trend on Twitter that I'm seeing is advocating for recalling the retired generals who criticize Trump and prosecuting them for violating 10 USC 888. This is the questionable article people are sharing: [link removed]

Pretty vile, horrific, evil, and disgusting. So many "conservatives" want to line up these people who speak out. —Paul B., Pennsylvania

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