“No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes.” – Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem
Over the weekend, multiple news outlets broke the story that Trump’s appointed assistant secretary of public affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services and his assistants have been watering down or blocking key reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention known as the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports. Not only have Michael Caputo and aide Paul Alexander been engaged in ongoing battle with CDC scientists over findings that contradict Trump’s own rosy claims, during the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic, but they have done so while accusing CDC scientists of writing “hit pieces” meant to damage the administration—and the claims both men have made, in confronting CDC scientists, have been so broadly conspiratorial in nature as to raise questions about both men’s fitness for the job. …
Videos of two Georgia police officers brutalizing a 25-year-old Black man in the middle of the day went viral on Saturday, prompting calls for justice. On Sunday, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office announced that the “Deputy who repeatedly struck Roderick Walker is being terminated from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office by order of Sheriff Victor Hill for excessive use of force.”
Father of four Roderick Walker, his girlfriend, their 9-month-old baby, and his stepson, were passengers in a Lyft that was pulled over by Clayton County officers for having a broken taillight. Walker refused to produce a driver’s license, questioning why he needed to since he was not driving, nor was this his car. From there, Walker was taken out of the vehicle and his children had to watch as Georgia police beat him bloody. …
