The Banter Brief: "This Is An Awful Man"
The best round up of the week that was is now out!
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Banter Brief!
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1. Most Important Story Of The Week
(image: Stephen Voss/Redux)
Trump uses teargas for bible photo op
There was a lot going on this past week, but this story stood out as perhaps the most appalling example of what is happening in America. Federal law enforcement officers fired smoke canisters and rubber bullets to break up a peaceful protest in front of the White House so Trump could visit nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church and pose with a bible. For obvious reasons, Trump’s stunt was criticized by, well, almost everyone.
Robert Hendrickson, the Rector at Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church Tucson, Arizona, summarized it perfectly:
"This is an awful man, waving a book he hasn’t read, in front of a church he doesn’t attend, invoking laws he doesn’t understand, against fellow Americans he sees as enemies, wielding a military he dodged serving, to protect power he gained via accepting foreign interference...exploiting fear and anger he loves to stoke, after failing to address a pandemic he was warned about, and building it all on a bed of constant lies and childish inanity. This is not partisan. It is simply about recognizing the moral vacuum that is now pretending to lead."
The ACLU and Black Lives Matter are currently suing William Barr and the Trump administration over the assault of peaceful protestors.
Go Deeper With Banter Members:
Trump’s Atrocious Bible Stunt Might Be The Beginning Of The End
The entire affair was a disaster of epic proportions, says Bob Cesca
2. Poll Analysis
Democrats should never get too confident, but Joe Biden is hammering Trump across the board, most notably in vital swing states. From CNN:
* A Fox News poll in Arizona shows Joe Biden leading Trump 46% to 42%
* A Fox News poll in Ohio put Biden at 45% to Trump's 43%
* A Fox News poll in Wisconsin had Biden at 49% and Trump at 40%.
* A Quinnipiac University poll in Texas had the race at Trump 44%, Biden 43%.
While Biden is still behind in Texas, it is within the margin of error, and in a state that Trump won by 9% in 2016. That alone is a sign of how badly things are going for Trump right now.
3. Quote Of The Week
“The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy. What happened to George Floyd was not the result of a bad apple; it was the predictable consequence of a racist and prejudiced system and culture that has treated Black bodies as the enemy from the beginning. What happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis is the fruit borne of toxic seeds planted on the shores of our country in Jamestown in 1619, when the first enslaved men and women arrived on this continent. Floyd is the latest in a long list of names that stretches back to that time and that shore. Some of those names we know — Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr. — most we don’t.”
- Official statement on George Floyd from Ben & Jerry’s.
4. What to Watch
What: ‘The Trial’. A top notch Italian crime drama about a prosecutor tasked with solving the murder of a teenage girl she is secretly closely connected to.
Why: It’s set in Rome so beautiful to watch, the cast are fantastic and the story utterly compelling. It’s a virtually flawless, high end “whodunnit” that rivals anything coming out of the US.
Where: Netflix
5. Good News
Representative Steve King of Iowa, the 9 term Republican and appalling racist bigot was trounced in his bid for renomination:
Mr. King was defeated by Randy Feenstra, a state senator, who had the backing of mainstream state and national Republicans who found Mr. King an embarrassment and, crucially, a threat to a safe Republican seat if he were on the ballot in November.
The loss was most likely the final political blow to one of the nation’s most divisive elected officials, whose insults of undocumented immigrants foretold the messaging of President Trump, and whose flirtations with extremism led him far from rural Iowa, to meetings with anti-Muslim crusaders in Europe and an endorsement of a Toronto mayoral candidate with neo-Nazi ties.
Feenstra isn’t exactly a left wing activist (he supports Trump) but getting rid of virulent racists at all levels of government is most definitely a good thing.
Have a great weekend!
Read the latest for Banter Members:
Trump Is Losing To Biden And He’s Never Been More Dangerous
We have a long six months ahead of us. Plan accordingly, says Justin Rosario
Trump’s Atrocious Bible Stunt Might Be The Beginning Of The End
The entire affair was a disaster of epic proportions, says Bob Cesca
"Good News
Representative Steve King of Iowa, the 9 term Republican and appalling racist bigot was trounced in his bid for renomination"
That is good news. But it'd be far better news if he'd managed to squeak through.
Because I can't see him winning in the general. So instead of one less Republican in Congress, we get just another Trump supporter and future Steve King.
"Democrats should never get too confident, but..."
Uh uh. No. No "but".
Until the votes are counted, Trump is soundly defeated and Biden is sworn into office. Until then we can't pause on the effort to make that happen or take *anything* for granted.