Trump boat parade organizer caught on video yelling ‘white power!’

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Trump fans Dion Cini and Cliff Gephart held their pro-Trump boat parade earlier this month in Tampa, Florida, and they plan to take their parades nationwide, with more events planned for San Diego, Cleveland, and Las Vegas, according to the “Trumparilla” Facebook page.

This Wednesday, Mother Jones shared a video showing Cini at a Trumparilla event yelling “white power!” 

According to Mother Jones’ Ali Breland, Cini yelled the phrase as he was being recognized from the stage by Gephart for his efforts to organize the event.  Continue reading.

Senate passes anti-Asian hate crimes bill

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The Senate on Thursday passed legislation aimed at combating a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic in a 94-1 vote, with GOP Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) the only “no” vote. 

The bill now goes to the House, where Democrats are expected to soon take up their version of the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that it was “time to stand up” on anti-Asian hate crimes. Continue reading.

Investigation suppressed by Trump administration reveals obstacles to hurricane aid for Puerto Rico

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A watchdog report uncovers bureaucratic hurdles the administration erected for the island to receive aid after Hurricanes Irma and Maria

The Trump administration put up bureaucratic obstacles that stalled approximately $20 billion in hurricane relief for Puerto Rico and then obstructed an investigation into the holdup, according to an inspector general reportobtained by The Washington Post.

Congress requested the investigation into the delays to recovery aid for Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 left residents of the U.S. territory without power and clean water for months. But, the report said, former Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson and another former HUD official declined to be interviewed by investigators during the course of the examination that began in 2019.

Access to HUD information was delayed or denied on several occasions. Several former senior administration officials in the Office of Management and Budget refused to provide requested information about decision-making related to the Puerto Rico relief funds. Continue reading.

‘Nope, done’: Tucker Carlson abruptly ends interview after former NYPD officer schools him on Derek Chauvin’s culpability

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On Tuesday, April 20, a jury found former Minneapolis police officer guilty of three charges in connection with the May 25, 2020 killing of Georgia Floyd: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Far-right Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson, the night of April 20, discussed the verdict with Ed Gavin — a former deputy sheriff with the New York City Sheriff’s Department — and Carlson brought the interview to an abrupt end when he didn’t like Gavin’s analysis.

Carlson asked Gavin to weigh in on “what this means for law enforcement,” posing the question, “Who’s going to become a cop going forward, do you think?” Gavin responded, “I think people will still become police officers. This really is a learning experience for everyone. Let’s face it: what we say in that video was pure savagery. I mean, the documentary evidence showed the police officer putting his knee on the perpetrator’s neck while he was rear-cuffed and his stomach was on the ground, causing positional asphyxia.”

Gavin continued, “What I’d like to see is more training for police. I’d like to see the police trained as EMTs, like in the fire department.” Continue reading.

Self-Proclaimed White Nationalist Parties With Republicans At Trump Resort

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Republican congressional candidate Laura Loomer, who has said she is “pro-white nationalism,” was in attendance at an official Republican Party fundraiser held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

Loomer is running for the seat in Florida’s 21st Congressional District currently held by Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, a rematch of the race in the 2020 election cycle that Loomer lost to Frankel by 20 points, despite the support of Lara Trump, the wife of Donald Trump’s son Eric.

Mar-a-Lago, where the elder Trump is currently living, is within the 21st Congressional District. Continue reading.

Trump looms over Senate’s anti-Asian hate crimes battle

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Ninety-two senators voted last week to advance an Asian American hate crimes bill. But its passage likely depends on Democrats agreeing to soften language that Republicans say ties hate crimes too narrowly to the characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus.”

Even Republicans who voted to advance the hate crimes legislation sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) see it as a jab at President Trump. The bill links his characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus” to racist and hateful acts.

Republicans also see language in the bill as opening the door to politically correct thought-police squads. Specifically, they are critical of a provision that instructs Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to issue guidance on “best practices” for language describing the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading.

‘Urgency’ creates a Senate path for AAPI hate crimes legislation

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Schumer, McConnell to discuss amendments

Something unusual happened in the Senate on Tuesday, when both sides of the aisle showed a willingness to debate legislation to address a rise in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The divisive partisanship of recent years has kept even popular legislation from the kind of floor action expected for the bill, starting Wednesday, including the possibility of votes on bipartisan amendments.

But Democrats cited both an urgency to address the hate crimes against AAPI individuals and the straightforwardness of the legislation by Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, as reasons to skip the typical committee process and hold a floor vote. Continue reading.

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked chats show Proud Boys integral to planning for ‘White Lives Matter’ rallies

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Two self-identified Proud Boys have been involved in the internal planning for a set of simultaneous “White Lives Matter” rallies scheduled for Sunday, according to chat logs leaked to the media.

The association with the White Lives Matter rallies, which are promoting overtly white supremacist messages about a supposed white genocide, is a liability for the Proud Boys, a violent proto-fascist group that claims to be non-racist. The leaked chats show that a Proud Boy responsible for organizing the Michigan White Lives Matter rally went to some effort to hide the fact that members of his group are involved in the effort.

The Telegram user “Telly Savalas,” who was the admin for the @WLM_Michigan channel, expressed concern on April 5 about a user named “BamaPatriot 2º” who wrote, “POYB,” with an A-OK emoji. Those are signifiers associated with the Proud Boys. Continue reading.

Trump put far-right radio barker Michael Savage in charge of a national park — and disaster ensued

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Former President Donald Trump last year appointed far-right talk radio host Michael Savage to the board of directors of the Presidio Trust — and it quickly turned out to be an epic disaster.

Mother Jones reports that Savage used his position on the board to attack the Presidio Trust, which runs the massive urban park in San Francisco near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, for building a museum dedicated to remembering America’s racist policy of interring Japanese Americans during World War II.

“You would think that the military heritage museum would show us the greatness of the US Army at the Presidio, but it doesn’t,” he complained during a broadcast this past December. “Instead, it shows us big things about the Japanese internment.” Continue reading.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says only 0.1 percent of Trump administration’s covid farm relief went to Black farmers

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A Q&A with the new secretary of agriculture about how the American Rescue Plan’s USDA portion will be spent

A tiny fraction of the Trump administration’s coronavirus relief for American farmers — just 0.1 percent of the overall package — went to Black farmers, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed in February with strong bipartisan support for a second stint in the role.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Vilsack for the first time noted the extent to which the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated existing disparities across the American economy.

The distribution of coronavirus relief increased those gaps, he said. Continue reading.