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Princeton Removes Woodrow Wilson’s Name
Following weeks of pressure, Princeton University announced that it will remove former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from a building on its campus.
In a vote on Friday, the Princeton University Board of Trustees approved renaming its policy school the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs due to what it said was Wilson’s racist beliefs. Wilson College, another school affiliated with the university, will now be known as “First College” to reflect “its status as the first of the residential colleges that now play an essential role in the residential life of all Princeton undergraduates.”
“We have taken this extraordinary step because we believe that Wilson’s racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school whose scholars, students, and alumni must be firmly committed to combating the scourge of racism in all its forms,” said Princeton in a statement.
The change follows weeks of pressure from Princeton staff, alumni, and current students to remove all mentions of Wilson from the campus due to his now-controversial beliefs. The 28th president, Wilson served from 1913 until 1921 and led the U.S. through the First World War. Wilson was a prominent supporter of segregation and implemented the discriminatory policy throughout the federal government. He also believed in a form of racial science known as eugenics and screened the pro-KKK film “Birth of a Nation” at the White House.
Princeton’s student body first called attention to the many honorifics dedicated to Wilson on campus in 2015, leading the school to establish a commission to study the issue. Yet it was the recent racial protests that followed the death of George Floyd, and the hundreds of statues that came down throughout the United States, that prompted the Board to take action.
“ Wilson’s racism was significant and consequential even by the standards of his own time,” said Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber. “He segregated the federal civil service after it had been racially integrated for decades, thereby taking America backward in its pursuit of justice. He not only acquiesced in but added to the persistent practice of racism in this country, a practice that continues to do harm today.”
Barr to Crack Down on Rioters
Attorney General William Barr has announced a plan to ratchet up the federal government’s fight against left-wing anti-government extremists.
A s radicals associated with the Antifa movement topple statues of American leaders throughout the United States, the Department of Justice has formed a new task force to combat “violent extremists.” The task force, which was unveiled last Friday, will be headed by U.S. Attorneys Craig Carpenito and Erin Nealy Cox from the District of New Jersey and Northern District of Texas.
The task force will work closely with the FBI to uncover information about the people behind the spate of rioting throughout the country. Aside from intelligence gathering, it will also coordinate with local law enforcement across the United States in order to dedicate more federal resources towards restoring law and order.
In a memo announcing the move, Barr described the rampant destruction of statues as nothing less than a full-on assault on the United
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States. “Some pretend to profess a message of freedom and progress, but they are in fact forces of anarchy, destruction, and coercion,” Barr wrote.
“We have evidence that anti-government violent extremists — including those who support the ‘Boogaloo,’ those who self-identify as Antifa, and others — will pose continuing threats of lawlessness. Some of these violent extremists, moreover, may be fortified by foreign entities seeking to sow chaos and disorder in our country,” Barr said.
“The Department of Justice will respond to these violent groups in the same way we respond to other organized criminal or terrorist networks — by disrupting their violent activities and ultimately dismantling their capability to threaten the rule of law.”
Parler Takes on Twitter
More than half a million new users joined the social media site Parler as conservatives turn on Twitter over charges of censorship.
A ccording to Parler CEO John Matze, the site increased to 1.5 million users from 1 million from only a week before. As of Friday, Parler passed fellow social media platforms Reddit and Twitter to become number 1 on Apple’s app store, something Matze credited to the site’s commitment to free speech.
“We’re a community town square, an open town square, with no censorship,” Matze said. “If you can say it on the street of New York, you can say it on Parler.”
The flood of new users comes after conservatives upped their attacks on Twitter for what they say are its one-sided suppression of right-wing thought. While such complaints have become increasingly commonplace in recent years, they have gained traction ever since the social media giant cracked down on tweets by President Donald Trump.
E arlier this month, Twitter rolled out a new policy that fact-checked Trump’s tweets for the first time, leading the U.S. leader to sign an executive order exposing social media companies to legal action. Last week, Twitter suspended the account of popular pro-Trump meme maker Carpe Doktum while the Trump campaign told the Wall Street Journal that it was looking for new social media alternatives.
A s conservative backlash rises, a slew of leading Republican lawmakers has joined Parler and urged their followers to do the same. Unlike Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook, Parler does not intervene to block user content, including in cases of possible violence or abusive behavior.
On Friday, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted that he was abandoning Twitter to join Parler where they “don’t censor or shadow ban.” He was joined by fellow lawmakers Ted Cruz, Elise Stefanik, and former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
U.S. Fighters Intercept Russian Jets
The Pentagon confirmed that F-22 fighter jets intercepted four Russian Tu-142 reconnaissance planes after they strayed close to U.S. airspace near the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The faceoff occurred on Saturday and began after the Russian squadron flew approximately 65 miles off the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The Tu-142s remained in the area for over eight hours but never violated U.S. airspace.
The interception follows a similar incident last month in which Russian nuclear-capable bombers approached Alaskan territory three separate times, resulting in dogfights with F-22 fighters. In the most recent incident, U.S. aircraft scrambled last Wednesday to confront two Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft.
“This year alone, NORAD forces have identified and intercepted Russian military aircraft including bombers, fighters, and maritime patrol aircraft on ten separate occasions when they have flown into the ADIZ,” said NORAD commander Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy.
“Despite COVID-19, we remain fully ready and capable of conducting our no-fail mission of homeland defense,” he said.
NYPD Retirement Wave
The number of NYPD officers choosing early retirement has skyrocketed amid a nationwide backlash against law enforcement following George Floyd’s death.
According to Fox News, 272 police officers have filed for early retirement since Floyd’s death, a 49% jump from the year before. The number is expected to increase as NYPD members increasingly voice their frustration over the lack of support from Mayor Bill de Blasio and the anti-law enforcement rhetoric rife in the media.
Cops are also reportedly unhappy with the NYPD’s decision to disband its plainclothes unit, while de Blasio is said to be considering a $1 billion budget cut to the 36,000-person strong force.
Speaking with The New York Post, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch warned that officers are reaching their “breaking point” due to the aforementioned factors.
“We are all asking the same question: ‘How can we keep doing our job in this environment?’” said Lynch. “And that is exactly what the anti-cop crowd wants. If we have no cops because no one wants to be a cop, they will have achieved their ultimate goal.”
Sergeants Benevolent Association leader Ed Mullins agreed, telling the newspaper that 80 of his officers have already left while “morale is at the lowest levels I’ve seen in 38 years.”
Since Floyd was tragically killed by Derek Chauvins in Minneapolis in early June, calls to “defund the police” have grown across the nation while Congress and the Senate have each unveiled their own police reform bill. The recent riots that injured hundreds of police officers together with the anti-law enforcement narrative have deeply demoralized cops, with many predicting a wave of resignations and retirements throughout the United States.
“ It’s an all-out war on cops and we have no support,” one soon-to-be ex-police officer told The New York Post.
Cuomo Controls
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order last week restricting COVID-19 sick leave benefits from New Yorkers who travel to high-risk states.
Since March 18, the State of New York has been paying for sick leave for employees forced to remain in quarantine after having been in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus. The measure was designed to prevent people from choosing between their personal health and their job.
Now, the financial compensation will not be afforded to anyone who chooses to travel to states with a high rate of COVID-19. Such states are defined as those with more than 10 positive tests per 100,00 residents or an overall positive test rate that passes 10% for more than seven days.
C uomo’s executive order applies only to non-essential travel and is retroactive to June 25. States on the governor’s “no travel” list include Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas.
“If we are going to maintain the progress we’ve seen, we need everyone to take personal responsibility — that’s why I’m issuing an executive order that says any New York employee who voluntarily travels to a highrisk state will not be eligible for the COVID protections we created under paid sick leave,” Cuomo said.
The executive order comes after Cuomo, along with the governors of
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New Jersey and Connecticut, issued a joint order mandating a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in the tri-state area from states with a high transmission rate. AOC Targets Israel nexes parts of Judea and Samaria.
Circulated by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and co-signed by Rashida Tlaib, Betty McCollum and Pramila Jayapal, the missive to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urges him to drastically rethink the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
“If the Israeli government moves forward with the planned annexation with the current U.S. government, we will work to enact laws that will stop or reduce $ 3.8 billion in security aid granted to Israel,” the four lawmakers wrote.
They added that “such a law would include as a condition of helping to meet stringent human rights standards for Palestinians as well as reducing the amount of money that the Israeli government spends each year to fund settlements.”
The letter was condemned by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), who strongly rejected the call to condition the $3.8 billion in annual aid Israel gets on its willingness to establish a Palestinian state.
“AIPAC opposes the letter being circulated by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and co-signed by Rashida Tlaib, Betty McCollum and Pramila Jayapal, which explicitly threatens the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that would damage American interests, risk the security of Israel & make a two-state solution less likely,” said the lobby.
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The letter by the four progressive lawmakers comes after almost 200 Democratic House members warned Prime Minister Netanyahu last week against annexing any parts of Judea and Samaria. The missive, which was sent to Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, said that such a move would be a death blow to any possible peace plan and would hurt Israel’s image in the U.S.
“As committed partners in supporting and protecting the special US-Israel relationship,” the missive said, “we express our deep concern with the stated intention to move ahead with any unilateral annexation of West Bank territory, and we urge your government to reconsider plans to do so.”
U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice did not sign the letter.
Away
Milton Glaser, an award-winning graphic designer who created the famed “I Love NY” logo, died on Friday on his 91 st birthday.
Born in 1929 to a Jewish family in the Bronx, Glaser’s artistic talent
was evident from an early age. He grew up studying graphic design with famed artists such as Raphael Soyer and attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan.
Glaser earned a prestigious scholarship to Cooper Union in New York City and established Push Pin Studios with several of his classmates. There, Glaser would pioneer a new form of design that would catapult him into a household name in the ad industry.
At a time where advertising was dominated by conservative campaigns and modernist imaging, Glaser introduced bright colors and a whimsical style in his creations. Among his creations was the iconic part of a 1977 campaign to boost tourism.
First scrawled on a napkin with a crayon during a taxi ride, the logo became one of the city’s most recognizable symbols and won a slew of awards over the years. It would go on to be reproduced on everything from heart sporting a large purple bruise.
“I’m flabbergasted by what happened to this little, simple nothing of an idea,” Glaser recalled in 2011.
Other Glaser creations that rocketed to stardom include a famous 1967 album cover for the singer Bob Dylan, which showed the folk singer’s hair in swirly psychedelic colors.
“I’m a person who deals with visual material whatever it is – architecture, an object, a set of plates, wallpaper — right now I’m doing t-shirts,” explained Glaser. “I know a lot about the way things look, and as a consequence, I try to see how much of that world I can embrace.”
Mask Exemption
“I NY” logo, which he created as
t-shirts to coffee mugs. Following 9/11, the logo was modified to read “I NY More Than Ever,” with the
Dropped
Oregon’s Lincoln County has dropped guidelines exempting people of color for having to wear masks after a racial backlash.
T he change came after earlier plans to refrain from requiring people of color to wear the masks resulted in a massive backlash from residents. According to reports, the policy turned lawmakers into targets of a steady stream of harassment and “horrifically racist commentary.”
“The expressions of racism regarding the exception has created a ripple of fear throughout our communities of color. The very policy meant to protect them is now making them a target for further discrimination and harassment,” Lincoln County leaders said.
Lincoln County officials had passed a directive last week mandating that its residents wear masks in an indoor public setting or when unable to maintain a distance of six feet when outdoors. However, the county exempted certain minorities from the guidelines, writing on its website that the rule did not apply to “people of color who have heightened concerns about racial profiling and harassment due to wearing face coverings in public.”
Apart from racial minorities, the country also exempted those with disabilities and people suffering from ailments that made it difficult to wear masks. Children under 12 were also not required to cover their faces.
U pon announcing the exemptions, Lincoln County officials said that mask-wearing could single out African-Americans for racial profiling. “Violence and discrimination are
