Finally…
Jim Mattis speaks out: “Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.” https://t.co/joulf1N0ob
— Colin Kahl (@ColinKahl) June 3, 2020
What really seems to have been the final straw for Mattis was Trump's abuse of executive authority in Lafayette square and the militarizing of the domestic space. Mattis deeply values the historical relationship between society and the military and sees Trump as corrupting it.
— Richard Stengel (@stengel) June 3, 2020
A good time for Mattis to say things would have been any other time before now.
— Max J. Rosenthal (@maxjrosenthal) June 3, 2020
In extraordinary criticism, former defense secretary Jim Mattis accuses President Trump of trying to divide Americans https://t.co/KDhdi7zf77
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 3, 2020
Says the man who snapped to attention when he was ordered to deploy troops to the southern border to deal with an "invasion" that he knew did not exist. https://t.co/zaG6W9OUXL
— Simon Marks (@SimonMarksFSN) June 3, 2020
Mattis, who has enormous wealth and power, will be praised for saying the bare minimum now. Is it better than continued silence? Sure.
But he'll be fine; there's no big risk. The real risks are being taken by activists in the streets. That's bravery. Not this shell of a soldier.
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) June 3, 2020
Imagine being the NYT oped editor who got stuck running Tom Cotton’s rant … while @TheAtlantic has the honor of publishing James Mattis’s extraordinary J’accuse https://t.co/jJkO2su8T9
— Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) June 3, 2020
I feel like senators calling for mass public murder by soldiers is news, but not something one needs to place in an opinion section as a valid debatable idea.
— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) June 3, 2020
Breaking with President Trump, Defense Sec. Esper says he doesn't support using the military to quell protests triggered by the death of George Floyd. https://t.co/NUDJ0OHSbl
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 3, 2020
Senior WH official says Esper's remarks this morning were received "very poorly" at WH.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 3, 2020
6 hours pic.twitter.com/8bTB3VyM7Q
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) June 3, 2020
After a WH meeting today, Esper overturned his decision to send 200 active-duty soldiers home after two days of more peaceful demonstrations in D.C.
The meeting and the abrupt reversal suggest Trump or his aides pressured Esper to keep troops in the areahttps://t.co/ushjkFCJTW
— POLITICO (@politico) June 3, 2020
🚨BREAKING🚨 VoteVets Calls on Esper to Resign. Full statement: https://t.co/V88Wbehp3M pic.twitter.com/UiJxbW7DQu
— VoteVets (@votevets) June 3, 2020
And here comes Milley’s attempt to get off the hook…
This memo from Gen. Milley is pretty interesting–I'd even say startling. pic.twitter.com/25Q5eyuspb
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 3, 2020
This too…
This 👇 pic.twitter.com/nNopEKJFhJ
— Miss Kitty (@mysisterdaisy) June 3, 2020
These red state Governors sending their invading forces into DC are making DC statehood all the more likely in 2021. https://t.co/P5pagHlrJY
— Ken Gude (@KenGude) June 3, 2020
Ah, yes. Winston Churchill famously ordered his own citizens to be clubbed & gassed so he could be seen touring their bombed out homes for a campaign commercial. That guy really knew how to read the room! https://t.co/PlAH4v2qy3
— Sanho Tree (@SanhoTree) June 3, 2020
The entire Republican Party is complicit in the assault on Lafayette Square, @MaxBoot writes https://t.co/uBZonLnH12
— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) June 3, 2020
On a whim I decided to look up what the top news story was at this point (June 3 at 4:40 pm) exactly 4 years ago.https://t.co/bnWlbkxJE1 pic.twitter.com/9BD5ykbz7f
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 3, 2020
Meanwhile, in a world with an actual President…
WATCH: Former President Barack Obama says, "there is something different" about protests today than in the 1960s. #MTPDaily
Obama: "There is a change in mindset that's taking place, a greater recognition, that we can do better." pic.twitter.com/niXUJMIdI7
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 3, 2020
Times like that, you find yourself hungering for the refreshing breeze of cool reason. Barack Obama always did have a sense of the moment. https://t.co/tiL52i6CUh
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) June 3, 2020
There are already super majorities in favor of broad, significant reforms specifically targeted to reduce unjust killings. https://t.co/TjhFUrFExx
— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) June 3, 2020
***
BORISHAMBLES BRITAIN
Thousands of people gather in Hyde Park in central London for a Black Lives Matter rally in solidarity with US protests against the death of unarmed African-American George Floydhttps://t.co/MIyUBSMbVs pic.twitter.com/itAuCqNYhl
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 3, 2020
Possibly the most striking images I have taken in my 8 years behind the lens. Absolute scenes here in Belfast, Northern Ireland as over 1000 protesters take to the streets for George Floyd #GeorgeFloyd #BLMBELFAST2020 @BelTel pic.twitter.com/YRHhwUKJ1X
— Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) June 3, 2020
Elsewhere…
To use Johnson's own analogy, this is like the mugger urging the police to cooperate more by not arresting him. https://t.co/8VuREY1A7K
— Enough Of That Now (@AndyGilder) June 3, 2020
‘When it comes to excess deaths, Britain is currently a world leader.
Is that really something to be proud of’ @maitlis @esmewren @BBCNewsnight nailing it again with incisive fact based journalism #Covid19UK https://t.co/xEPUi0VtbO— Professor Feargal Cochrane (@fecochrane1) June 3, 2020
Thread..
It's like a series of gentle lobs by @BorisJohnson, being smashed back by @Keir_Starmer. This is brutal. #PMQs pic.twitter.com/PFUuXx2m9Y
— Alex Andreou (@sturdyAlex) June 3, 2020
Does this mean now that everyone in attendance at House of Commons yesterday will now have to self isolate for 14 days per governments Track and Trace?
And is he sorted for childcare or will he have to drive wife and kids to Reading? @MattHancock? https://t.co/wlzyQaeUmB
— Tommy Maguire (@RationalPanic) June 3, 2020
We’ve reached the point in this pandemic when a hotelier does some maths & declares 1m the best indoor self distancing measurement and a rep from the travel industry declares quarantine useless.
— ruth allum (@mgtruth) June 3, 2020
359 deaths registered in the past 24 hours. This is the real story. https://t.co/t3rlOuXdVZ
— Andrea Catherwood (@acatherwoodnews) June 3, 2020
The UK is running out of critical medicines stockpiled in case of a no-deal Brexit.
The Covid pandemic has depleted the stockpile and fears are growing in government about whether it will be able to replenish it.
BIG scoop from @pmdfoster and @sarahnev https://t.co/Yj1OGkdYnh pic.twitter.com/x54dob3aMw
— Matthew Garrahan (@MattGarrahan) June 3, 2020
Priorities…
Spotted in Forestside today. Anything you want to say @DebShoes72 ??? pic.twitter.com/pVcBYQQnfp
— Áine (@Thelytokous) June 3, 2020
***
WORLDWIDE
Learning from history?
As someone who grew up in the shadow of the Tiananmen Square massacre all I can say is most citizens cannot fathom how far a government will go to defend its power until they are shooting their own people in the streets. pic.twitter.com/vkFygf7J1N
— TZE THEE CHUN (@thetzechun) June 2, 2020
Opinion | Tiananmen, U.S.A
One inspiration for becoming an editorial cartoonist was watching the horror unfold on television back in 1989.
As the 31st anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre nears,I never dreamed I’d use this visual in my own country.https://t.co/aOOzYBJebT pic.twitter.com/rp6WTmTv91— Ann Telnaes (@AnnTelnaes) June 3, 2020
Finally, holy shit…
Just now in Alta, Norway: Huge mudslide dragging several houses into the sea. pic.twitter.com/xR4t5zLI7m
— Jan Fredrik Drabløs (@JanFredrikD) June 3, 2020