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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

‘Racist Down to Its Rotten Core’: Schumer Blasts Tuberville’s ‘One-Man Mission to Defend White Nationalism’

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U.S. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered strong criticism against Senator Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday, after the Republican from Alabama once again defended white nationalism, this time falsely claiming the belief is not inherently racist.

“The definition of white nationalism is not a matter of opinion,” Majority Leader Schumer reiterated on social media. “White nationalism—the ideology that white people are inherently superior, that people of color should be segregated, subjected, and relegated to second-class citizenship—is racist down to its rotten core.”

“GOP Senator Tuberville has been on a one-man mission to defend white nationalism and even suggest that white nationalism is ‘American,'” Leader Schumer also wrote. “To speculate about what white nationalism means as if it’s some fun little thought experiment is deeply disturbing.”

On the Senate floor, in rare remarks denouncing a sitting U.S. Senator, Leader Schumer blasted Tuberville, saying the Alabama Republican on Monday “suggested that no, white nationalists aren’t inherently racist, that yes, white nationalism is American, and that the definition of white nationalism is a matter of opinion.”

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“It’s hard to believe that the senator from Alabama has to be corrected again,” Schumer added. “The senator from Alabama is wrong, wrong, wrong. The definition of white nationalism is not a matter of opinion. White nationalism, the ideology that one race is inherently superior to other people of color should be segregated, subjected and relegated to second class citizenship is racist, down to its rotten core. And for the senator from Alabama to obscure the basic nature of White Nationalism is indeed very, very dangerous.”

“These words have power and carry weight at the fringe of his constituency, just the fringe. But if that fringe listens to him, excusing, defending white nationalism, he is fanning the flames of bigotry and intolerance.”

“Last week, the gunman who killed 23 People in an El Paso Walmart was sentenced to 90 life terms in prison. He was a self-described white nationalist. The man who murdered 10 people at the Tops supermarket in my home state of New York in Buffalo was a white nationalist. And if those examples aren’t clear enough, let’s not forget Charlottesville, where neo-fascists, far-right radicals and far-right militias paraded through the streets carrying torches and chanting, ‘Jews will not replace us.’ Those who are white nationalists. This isn’t a joke. This is deadly serious stuff. And for a member of the United States Senate to speculate about what white nationalism means as if it’s some benign little thought experiment, is deeply disturbing. I urge my Republican colleagues to impress upon the senator from Alabama the destructive impact of his words, and urge him to apologize.”

Tuberville has a long and disturbing history of defending white nationalism.

In May he declared white nationalists are simply “Americans.”  He also said, “I look at a white nationalist as a, as a Trump Republican. That’s what we’re called all the time.”

Those claims came immediately after an NBC News reporter told Tuberville, “A white nationalist propagates Nazism, a white nationalist could be someone who doesn’t believe that Black and Brown people are equals…”

READ MORE: Republican Claims GOP’s ‘Whistleblower Witness’ Who Is Indicted but on the Run Is Being ‘Silenced’ by DOJ

Sen. Tuberville appeared on CNN Monday night and claimed that he is “totally” against racism, yet repeatedly defended white nationalism, telling anchor Kaitlan Collins (video below), “that’s your opinion” that it’s racist.

On Tuesday he argued with a reporter, who happened to be Black, when she asked him about his remarks from Monday night.

“Listen,” Sen. Tuberville told the reporter. “I’m totally against racism. If the Democrats want to say that white nationalists are racists, I’m totally against that, too.”

When the reporter tried to explain what a white nationalist was, Tuberville cut her off then said, “Well that’s your definition.”

Monday night the conversation on CNN was much longer, but little different.

“If people think that a white nationalist is racist. I agree with that,” Tuberville began, only to twist the definition moments later.

“A white nationalist is someone who believes that the white race is superior to other races,” Collins told the GOP Senator.

“Well, that’s some people’s opinion,” Tuberville replied

“What’s your opinion?” asked Collins.

“My opinion of a white nationalist,” Tuberville said, “to me is an American. It’s an American,” he repeated.

READ MORE: ‘I Am Far Too Busy to Be Prosecuted’: Legal Experts Mock Trump’s Request for Indefinite Suspension of Trial

“Now, if that white nationalists is a racist, I’m totally against anything that they want to do, because I am 110% against racism. But I want somebody that’s in our military that strong that believes in this country, that’s an American that will fight along anybody, whether it’s a man or a woman, Black or white or red – it doesn’t make any difference.”

Then Tuberville again turned the conversation over, immediately attacking Democrats by implying opposing white nationalism is “identity politics.”

“And so I’m totally against identity politics. I think it’s ruining this country. And I think the Democrats ought to be ashamed for how they’re doing this, because it’s dividing this country and it’s making this country weaker every day.”

“But that’s not identity politics,” Collins said, pressing the Senator. “You said a white nationalist is an American.”

“It is identity politics,” Tuberville insisted.

“You said a white nationalist is an American but a white nationalist is someone who who believes horrific things. Do you really think that’s someone who should be serving in the military?” Collins asked.

“Well, that’s just a name that has been given,” Tuberville insisted, echoing his claim on Monday that the only difference between an acting Commandant of the Marines and a permanent, Senate-confirmed Commandant is “just the name.”

“It’s a real definition. There’s real concerns about extremism,” Collins argued.

That’s when Tuberville again turned there tables.

“So if you’re going to do away with most white people in this country out of the military, we got huge problems. We’ve got huge problems,” Tuberville declared.

“It’s not just people who are white, it’s white nationalists,” Collins shot back.

“That have a few probably different beliefs. That have a few different beliefs. Now, if racism is one of those beliefs, I’m totally against. I am totally against racism.”

“But a white nationalist is racist,” Collins again informed the Alabama Senator.

“Well, that’s your opinion. That’s your opinion. But if it’s racism, if it’s racism, I’m totally against it,” Tuberville claimed.

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News

Arizona State Senator Proposes Health Study Looking Into ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

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President Donald Trump and his allies have long accused critics of suffering from the imaginary ailment Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now, an Arizona state senator wants the local health department to conduct a study on the made-up disease.

State Sen. Janae Shamp introduced Senate Bill 1070 on Monday, asking Arizona’s Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research” on TDS, “including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.” If the bill were passed into law, the department would have a year to submit a report on its findings.

READ MORE: ‘Monstrous’: Trump Blasted for Blaming Rob Reiner’s Death on ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Shamp’s bill defines Trump Derangement Syndrome as “a behavioral or psychological phenomenon that is characterized by intense emotional or psychological reactions to Donald J. Trump, his actions or his public presence as observed in individuals or groups.” From there, the bill lays out its reasoning—mainly a laundry list of Trump’s accomplishments, including reducing the corporate tax rate by 14%, eliminating “22 regulations for every new one in 2017”, and “affirming biological truth in federal policy to protect family values.”

“Despite these contributions to America’s prosperity, security 26 and values, ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ (TDS) has emerged since his 2016 campaign,” Shamp wrote.

“TDS has led to significant social harm, with Americans who 33 support President Trump or his policies reporting discrimination, 34 intimidation or ostracism in professional, academic and social settings, 35 further eroding community cohesion,” she added.

The bill borrows heavily from a House bill proposed by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), according to Tucson.com. It is unknown what chances Shamp’s bill has of passing the Arizona Senate; Davidson’s bill died in committee. But even should it pass, it is unlikely to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

When asked if Hobbs would sign the bill, her spokesperson laughed and told a KTVK-TV reporter “You can quote me on that.”

Image via Reuters

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CORRUPTION

Sotomayor Slams SCOTUS Over Ruling ‘Declaring All Latinos Fair Game to Be Seized’ by ICE

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor had harsh words for the Supreme Court in her dissent in a ruling allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue to arrest people based on profiling Latinos working low-wage jobs.

Monday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo. The case concerns “Operation At Large,” which deployed ICE agents in the Los Angeles area to car washes, bus stops, farms and other locations believed to be frequented by Latino people who may or may not be undocumented immigrants. On July 11, the Central District Court of California ruled that ICE had to stop Operation At Large until appeals in the case could be heard.

The Court’s ruling contained no official explanation for the ruling, however Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence. In his concurrence, Kavanaugh said the law allowed ICE to “‘briefly detain’ an individual ‘for questioning’” if they have “a reasonable suspicion, based on specific articulable facts, that the person being questioned . . . is an alien illegally in the United States.”

READ MORE: Loyalty Litmus Test? Trump Allies Quietly Prep SCOTUS Short List

Operation At Large, he said, represented “reasonable suspicion” to detain someone on the following factors: “(i) presence at particular locations such as bus stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites, and the like; (ii) the type of work one does; (iii) speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; and (iv) apparent race or ethnicity.”

He added that “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” but could be a “‘relevant factor,” and that if someone detained by ICE turned out to be a citizen, they would be “free to go after the brief encounter.”

Sotomayor disagreed that this is what was happening, citing what had happened to other citizens. Jason Gavidia worked at a Los Angeles tow yard that ICE stopped at. Agents repeatedly asked if he was a citizen. They then took his phone, pushed him against a metal fence, twisted his arm, and took away his identification, according to Sotomayor’s dissent.

“Other Operation At Large encounters have included even more force and even fewer questions. For example, agents pulled up in four unmarked cars to a bus stop in Pasadena; ‘the doors opened and men in masks with guns started running at’ three Latino men who were having their morning coffee, waiting to be picked up for work,” she wrote.

“In Glendale, nearly a dozen masked agents with guns ‘jumped out of . . . cars’ at a Home Depot, and began ‘chasing’ and ‘tackl[ing]’ Latino day laborers without ‘identify[ing] themselves as ICE or police, ask[ing] questions, or say[ing] anything else.’ In downtown Los Angeles, agents ‘jumped out of a van, rushed up to [a tamale vendor], surrounded him, and handled him violently,’ all ‘[w]ithout asking . . . any questions.'”

Sotomayor concluded that Operation At Large and the Court’s decision “all but declared that all Latinos, U. S. citizens or not, who work low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction.”

She also condemned the court for not issuing an explanation beyond the concurrence. She alleged that the Court had been eager to “circumvent the ordinary appellate process” when it comes to President Donald Trump and his administration.

“Some situations simply cry out for an explanation, such as when the Government’s conduct flagrantly violates the law,” Sotomayor wrote, adding that Operation At Large and the Court’s ruling clearly violates the Bill of Rights.

“The Fourth Amendment protects every individual’s constitutional right to be ‘free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’ After today, that may no longer be true for those who happen to look a certain way, speak a certain way, and appear to work a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little. Because this is unconscionably irreconcilable with our Nation’s constitutional guarantees, I dissent,” she wrote.

Image via Shutterstock

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law

Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

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The right-wing war on knowledge continues as an Arkansas state senator filed a bill Thursday to abolish the State Library as well as the library board.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), along with State Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford), filed Senate Bill 536 on Thursday. The bill would not just remove all references to the State Library from existing laws, but also put the state’s other libraries under the control of the Arkansas Department of Education.

A previous version of the bill, SB184, would have also shuttered the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees the state’s PBS stations, according to the Arkansas Advocate.

READ MORE: Clean Up Alabama Wants State to Dump ‘Marxist’ American Library Association

The Arkansas State Library is not just a regular library. In addition to providing information to state agencies and lawmakers, it also distributes funding to the other libraries around the state. Under SB536, the Department of Education would take on all its responsibilities. The State Library is officially a part of the Department of Education already, but it operates as an independent organization.

While the proposal may sound like a shuffling-around of duties, the main thrust of the bill is to allow more direct control over the Arkansas library system by controlling the purse strings. The bill would keep libraries from distributing “age-inappropriate materials” to those under 17 years old and sex education materials from those under 12. Libraries would also have to set up a system where those in the community could request that certain items be banned for minors, according to KARK-TV. Those that don’t meet these restrictions will have state funding pulled.

Earlier legislation filed by Sullivan and passed into law includes Act 242, which ended the requirement for library directors to have a master’s degree in library science, the Advocate reported.  Sullivan, however, was unsuccessful with a proposed amendment to another bill that would strip funding from libraries affiliated with the American Library Association—meaning most, if not all of them. That amendment was rejected this week over concerns the language in it was too broad, according to the Advocate.

The ALA has been a target of right-wing politicians and activists upset with its free speech stance and fights against censorship. Sullivan in particular has objected to a provision in the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights protecting library access for all ages, the Advocate reported. He also called for the state’s chapter of the ALA to be defunded—despite the fact that it receives no state funding.

Image via Shutterstock

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