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Reading the news has been a study in despair this year, but there are good reasons for hope. Americans are more aware than ever of the very real threats to our democracy—voter suppression, systemic inequalities, disinformation, hyperpartisanship, and leaders who are unaccountable to the people they serve. While no one would ask for the problems we’re currently facing, they have awoken Americans from the political complacency that has allowed them to fester. There is much work still to do and many challenges to overcome, but I'm feeling optimistic that we will prevail and come out on the other side stronger than ever. —Evan McMullin
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1. House passes police reform bill
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was passed by the House late yesterday, exactly a month after the death of the Minneapolis man whose name it bears. The bill would hold police officers personally liable for damages in lawsuits, ban no-knock warrants often used by police in drug raids, and halt the flow of military surplus equipment to police departments. Though it passed mostly along party lines, three Republican lawmakers voted in support of the legislation. While the majority of House Republicans criticized key provisions of the bill, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Will Hurd, and Fred Upton helped Democrats pass it, 236-181. —The Hill
- — Off the rails. President Trump is unlikely to be pleased with the bill. He lashed out at the Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter yesterday, accusing one of its members of "treason," and lamenting reported plans for a BLM mural in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan. His comments were among his most aggressive attacks yet on the growing movement against racial profiling and police violence. —The Washington Post
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- — Advertisers revolt against Facebook. Of all social media companies, Facebook is facing the most criticism for failing to stop hate speech from proliferating on its platform. Verizon is suspending its advertising on all Facebook-owned entities, joining Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, REI, and others in boycotting the social network until it amends its policies. —The Guardian
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- — Facebook takes more heat. Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, called Facebook a major threat to democracy over the social media giant's approach to hate speech. "They have fanned the flames of racial hatred and altered the course of our democracy, and they refuse to do anything about it," Johnson said. —New York Post
- — A rough summer ahead? In an April 7 internal memo, the Department of Homeland Security warned its personnel that the U.S. would likely see an increase in extremism during the summer months. DHS officials warned that isolation during pandemic lockdowns would increase "exposure to violent extremists who are using social media, including disinformation spread on social media, to attempt to radicalize others to violence." They also predicted that people would become more susceptible to "conspiracy theories and grievances." —Defense One
More: Soldiers' cases highlight reach of white supremacy in US military (The Washington Post)
3. During pandemic, Trump renews fight against ACA
As coronavirus cases rise in more than half of the states, the Trump Administration is urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The high court filing made at 10:30 last night came on the very same day the government reported that close to half a million people who lost their health insurance amid the economic shutdown have gotten coverage via the ACA. The administration's legal brief makes no mention of the global pandemic that has infected at least 2.5 million Americans. —Associated Press
- — Arizona. Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, is recording as many as 2,000 cases of COVID-19 a day, "eclipsing the New York City boroughs even on their worst days," warned disease trackers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It's not a surprise. Local ordinances requiring masks were forbidden until Gov. Doug Ducey finally reversed course last week, and public health officials say state leaders haven't taken necessary precautions or modeled safe behavior. —The Washington Post
— California. The state's surge in new coronavirus cases appears to be driven by increases in younger Californians falling ill, as 56% of those diagnosed are 18 to 49 years old. Though Gov. Gavin Newsom has pleaded with residents to wear masks and maintain a physical distance of six feet from one another, he has thus far not reinstated any of the restrictions he began easing in early May. —Los Angeles Times-
- — Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott this morning took his most drastic action yet to respond to the post-reopening coronavirus surge in Texas, shutting bars back down, scaling back restaurant capacity to 50%, and banning outdoor gatherings of over 100 people unless local officials approve. "The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health," Abbott said. —The Texas Tribune
More: New research explores how conservative media misinformation may have intensified the severity of the pandemic (The Washington Post)
6. Immigration an election-year priority again
The man who won the presidency on the slogan "Build the Wall" hasn't given up on the issue of immigration. As Donald Trump celebrated 200 completed miles of border wall this week, the Pentagon announced it will put up to 4,000 troops at the U.S. southern border with Mexico from this October through September 2021. As of late April, the total number of U.S. military forces deployed to the border was about 5,000. Troops stationed there run more than 200 mobile surveillance sites along the border, in addition to assisting U.S. Border Patrol agents with logistics and transportation. —Voice of America
- — SCOTUS bolsters Trump Administration's power. In a 7-2 decision delivered yesterday, the Supreme Court enhanced the ability of the administration to quickly deport illegal immigrants, including asylum-seekers, with limited judicial review. —Reuters
- — Immigration services to be furloughed. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is preparing to furlough about 13,400 of its 20,000 employees starting Aug. 3, if the agency does not receive additional funding from Congress. The agency is primarily funded by fees from new immigration applications, but has suspended in-person services amid the coronavirus pandemic. —The Hill
— Indian Americans angered by EO. Trump's executive order blocking high-skilled workers—overwhelmingly from India—from entering the U.S. has caused some consternation among Indian Americans. The order, issued ostensibly to counter unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic, threatens to undermine inroads he hoped to make with Indian Americans, a fast-growing voting bloc that registers and votes at high rates. —Politico
7. Curtis: The USPS deserves to be saved
"The post office has been a pathway to the middle class for many hardworking families of every race, and has delivered in urban centers and rural outposts without fear or favor, in snow and rain, and heat and gloom of night, and…you know the rest...to bring mail, medicine, and more. ... What's not to like? A lot, to listen to some of our country's leaders, who seem determined to sabotage something that has been integral to the country's development. This is at a time when the Postal Service could be crucial to the right to vote, which might explain one reason for the controversy—the No. 1 reason, perhaps." —Roll Call
10. An American Story: Beauty 2 the Streetz
Shirley Raines, a 52-year-old mother of six, is the founder of Beauty 2 the Streetz, a non-profit organization that has been one of the primary means of support for many who live in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. During the coronavirus pandemic, her help has become even more crucial.
- — For three years, Raines and her team of volunteers have made weekly visits to Skid Row to distribute donated food, hygiene products, and other necessities, and to provide free makeovers to the community.
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- — Now, she is providing the residents with hand sanitizer and protective equipment as well. Raines says that, to the people who live here, the constant physical threats they face, like theft and assault, take precedence over the virus. "It's the last thing on their plate," she says.
- — "One of the things I wanted to do was change the face of homelessness, and I thought I was going to do that through hair and all these things," Raines said. "But I soon understood we needed to change the narrative of what 'homeless' means. Just because they're without a home does not mean they're without love. They are homeless, but a lot of them are not jobless. A lot of them are not kidless, phoneless, or familyless. There are many levels of poverty, as there are many levels of wealth." —People
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]. Thank you!
I'm seeing a strange disconnect in the way people talk about "Section 230," the law that protects social media from liability for third-party content posted on their platforms.
When Trump called for reform of Section 230 after Twitter fact-checked him, a certain segment of the population wailed that this threatened the rights of social media platforms and free speech rights everywhere.
But when we're talking about people posting pro-Trump "disinformation," it seems many of the same people see Section 230 as the threat because it does not REQUIRE social media platforms to fact-check posts.
I personally think that all social media platforms should be ALLOWED to do fact-checking without losing Section 230 protections, but I also believe they should not be REQUIRED to do so. Philosophically, if you say they are a platform rather than a publisher, it's not their responsibility to fact-check. You can't have it both ways. And I wouldn't trust a social media corporation to be the arbiter of truth, anyway. There's no substitute for actual civic engagement—individual citizens taking responsibility to check the truth for themselves. What a concept.
In any case, social media as we know it can't continue to exist if the platforms are required to take responsibility for all content. There's no way they could possibly keep a handle on everything that everyone posts. Do you really want Facebook censors to have to approve every post you make before it's allowed to go public? Without Section 230 protection, that's what they'd have to do in order to protect themselves from endless lawsuits. —Vivian B., Texas
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