memeorandum: Drew Brees, defending the anthem, said nothing wrong (Quin Hillyer/Washington Examiner)

10:45 AM ET, June 4, 2020

Top Items:

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:

James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution — James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump's Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump's performance as president.

John Allen / Foreign Policy:

A Moment of National Shame and Peril—and Hope — We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of American democracy, but there is still a way to stop the descent. — The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020. Remember the date.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Task & Purpose and Fox News

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

Mattis's Rebuke of Trump Is a Big Deal — Rarely has a former defense secretary publicly criticized a president he once served — and never in such harsh terms. — It's hard to get across what a big deal it is that former Defense Secretary James Mattis has not only publicly criticized …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Defense One and Axios

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Military leaders condemn Trump over protest response — (CNN)President Donald Trump is facing an unprecedented revolt from the elite corps of ex-military leaders and presidents over his brazen response to mass protests and inflaming of racial divides. — In a true Washington bombshell …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, Common Dreams, Just Security, The Hill and POLITICUSUSA

NBC News:
Mattis, other military leaders close ranks against Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post and Politico

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
Trump Uses the Military to Prove His Manhood

Discussion: Washington Post, TIME, MSNBC and Reason

Politico:
Republicans urge Trump to keep Esper

Discussion: Associated Press, Breitbart, NBC News and The New Civil Rights Movement

New York Times:

Trump Campaign Looks at Electoral Map and Doesn't Like What It Sees — As polls show President Trump significantly trailing his rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., his campaign is spending heavily in states, like Ohio, that it had hoped would not be competitive at all this year.

Discussion: Raw Story, KTVZ-TV and Washington Post

Public Policy Polling: Democrats Lead Key NC Races

Vicky Prodeline / Polls:
More Voters Trust Biden on Race Relations

Discussion: The Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Hill, CNBC, KTVZ-TV, NBC News, Fox News and Politico

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Biden ahead in Arizona, Kelly trouncing McSally in Senate race

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill and Bloomberg

Reuters: A triple whammy of crises tests Trump's support ahead of November's election

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Biden leads Trump in Wisconsin

Discussion: Axios and Washington Times

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Senator's ‘Send In the Troops’ Op-Ed in The Times Draws Online Ire — Staff members at the newspaper, including a Pulitzer winner, denounced an opinion essay by Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, calling for a military response to protests. — “Country Braces for a 9th Straight Night of Unrest …

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, Townhall and Raw Story

Tom Cotton / New York Times:
Send In the Troops — The nation must restore order.

Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:
New York Times staffers denounce newspaper for Tom Cotton's op-ed urging military incursion into U.S. cities

Discussion: The Federalist, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Digby's Hullabaloo and The Moderate Voice

Oliver Darcy / CNN:
New York Times staffers revolt over publication of Tom Cotton op-ed

Discussion: The Wrap and Balloon Juice

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
New York Times Staffers in Open Revolt Over Tom Cotton's ‘Send in the Troops’ Column

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, Deadline and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

HuffPost:

William Barr's Vast, Nameless Army Is Being Brought To Bear On D.C. Protesters — Federal law enforcement officers are operating on American streets without identification, which experts say breeds a culture of impunity. — WASHINGTON ― Just a few hundred feet north of the White House …

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, DCist and Defense One

Quint Forgey / Politico:

Trump promises Stone won't serve prison time: ‘He can sleep well at night!’ — President Donald Trump on Thursday promised his longtime informal political adviser Roger Stone would not serve time in prison, revealing the convicted Republican provocateur “can sleep well at night” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The American Independent and Mediaite

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump strongly hints at pardon of political adviser Roger Stone, saying he should ‘sleep well at night’

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:

AP FACT CHECK: Trump denies tear gas use despite evidence — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and some of his supporters are claiming authorities did not use tear gas against people in a crackdown outside the White House this week. There's evidence they did.

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

The ‘Tear Gas Hoax’ Hoax — Trump apologists deny and distort the tactics used on the Lafayette Square protesters. — By now, everyone reading this is aware that on Monday night President Trump committed a grotesque and unconstitutional abuse of power: To show that he was “reclaiming the territory” …

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Politico and Washington Post

Gini Gerbasi / Washington Post:
I'm a priest. The police forced me off church grounds for Trump's photo op.

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Jobless claims, total unemployment level worse than expected — Weekly jobless claims totaled 1.877 million last week vs. the Dow Jones estimate of 1.775 million. — Continuing claims rose sharply, hitting nearly 21.5 million in a sign that workers are being called back to work slowly.

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The Veepstakes: Handicapping Biden's Choices — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Joe Biden should not be in a rush to name his vice presidential pick. Circumstances may change his list of contenders — and probably already have. — A predictable name leads our list, but a not-so predictable name is second.

Discussion: Political Wire

ABC News:
Renewed skepticism of law enforcement dims Klobuchar, Harris, Demings VP nod

Discussion: Politico and Florida Phoenix

Mike Baker / New York Times:

Another Man Who Said 'I Can't Breathe' Died in Custody. An Autopsy Calls It Homicide. — Manuel Ellis of Tacoma, Wash., died in part as a result of how he was restrained, according to the medical examiner, who concluded that his death was a homicide. — SEATTLE — A black man who called out …

Discussion: The Crime Report and VICE

Paul Walsh / Star Tribune:

George Floyd autopsy report released; he tested positive for COVID-19 in April — The release comes nine days after Floyd's death following police encounter. — TEXT SIZE — The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office released the full autopsy results performed on George Floyd with his family's permission.

Discussion: CNN, The Gateway Pundit, INSIDER and Bloomberg

Michele Munz / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

No new COVID-19 cases from Lake of the Ozarks crowds, Missouri health director says — ST. LOUIS — The large crowds of people at the Lake of the Ozarks over Memorial Day weekend have not led to any more reported cases of COVID-19, Missouri's top health official health department said Wednesday.

Discussion: Fox News

CBS News:

Americans' views shift on racial discrimination - CBS News poll — As thousands protest, their message is getting across. Comparing views at this moment to decades of CBS News polling, today we see more people — both white and black — saying racial discrimination affects both treatment by police and chances of getting ahead.

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Facebook runs ad from Congressional candidate urging people to shoot “looting hoards” — This is the online edition of the Popular Information newsletter. Sign up to get independent accountability journalism in your inbox: — Facebook is facing an internal revolt over CEO Mark Zuckerberg's handling …

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Wrap and Vox, more at Techmeme »

New York Post:

Two NYPD cops shot, one stabbed during ‘cowardly’ attack in Brooklyn — Two police officers were shot and a third was stabbed in a confrontation with a suspect in Brooklyn late Wednesday night, police and sources said. — The melee unfolded when a suspect approached a cop …

Discussion: Townhall, National Review, Fox News, Disrn, American Greatness and The Daily Caller

Tim Stelloh / NBC News:

U.S. Park Police officers placed on administrative duty over assault on Australian journalists — Two U.S. Park Police officers who were seen clubbing and punching Australian journalists in video footage from a demonstration outside the White House have been placed on administrative duty, officials said Wednesday.

Discussion: Bloomberg

Masha Gessen / New Yorker:

Donald Trump's Fascist Performance — Donald Trump thinks power looks like masked men in combat uniforms lined up in front of the marble columns of the Lincoln Memorial. He thinks it looks like Black Hawk helicopters hovering so low over protesters that they chop off the tops of trees.

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

BunkerBoy's Photo-Op War — Is this an authoritarian crackdown by Donald Trump or just another politicized spectacle? — On Tuesday morning, a day after Donald Trump crossed Lafayette Square for an awkward photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, I met an outraged Lutheran pastor there …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

Earth's carbon dioxide levels hit record high, despite coronavirus-related emissions drop — There is likely more carbon dioxide in the air now than at anytime in 3 million years. — The coronavirus-related economic downturn may have set off a sudden plunge in global greenhouse gas emissions …

Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:

Drew Brees, defending the anthem, said nothing wrong — The thought police blasting quarterback Drew Brees today should spike their own outrage. Brees is entitled to his thoughtful opinion, one shared by well over half of the public, against athletes taking a knee during the national anthem.

Eric Felten / RealClearInvestigations:

Covid vs. Climate Modeling: Cloudy With a Chance of Politics — Above, from “The Crystal Ball” (1904) by John William Waterhouse. Predictions are a fraught enterprise. With computer models too. — COVID-19 has proved to be a crisis not only for public health but for public policy.

Edward Luce / Financial Times:

How things could go very wrong in America — It Can't Happen Here was the title of a 1930s novel about America. Fascism never came to America — nor is it likely to. But martial law, or something close to the militarisation of America's cities, is plausible.

Discussion: Raw Story

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Republicans face looming unemployment dilemma — Forty million Americans are unemployed and extra unemployment benefits expire at the end of next month. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are grappling with deep ideological divisions over what to do with the popular program in the middle of a pandemic and an election year.