Oops! Disregard my June 3 re-post of my June 2 post... New at this, I was trying to reply to someone else's post... didn't work! KEN

Mattis tears into Trump: 'We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership'

By Barbara Starr and Paul LeBlanc, CNN

Updated 6:52 PM ET, Wed June 3, 2020

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis castigated President Donald Trump as "the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people" in a forceful rebuke of his former boss as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd.

"Donald 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," Mattis said.

"We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children."

His pointed remarks follow more than a week of nationwide protests across the country calling for justice for Floyd, a black man who was killed last week by a white police officer in Minneapolis. In response, Trump earlier this week declared himself "your president of law and order" and vowed to return order to American streets using the military if widespread violence isn't quelled.

The comments from Mattis are a significant moment for a man who has kept mostly silent since leaving the administration. The retired Marine general had been pressed many times to comment on Trump, troop policies, the Pentagon, and other current events and had always refused because he didn't want to get involved and be a contradictory voice to the troops. Instead, Mattis always insisted he had said everything he wanted to say in his resignation letter.
And until a few days ago he had privately held to that view, but Mattis has become so distressed by the events of the last week that his views on speaking out changed.

The remarks will be a significant moment for many service members who idolize the former defense secretary, who -- despite a career based on loyalty and respect for the military chain-of-command -- is sending troops the message that the country can unite without the President's lead.

The message comes after days of increased military presence in Washington. National Guardsmen and federal law enforcement have been stationed around the nation's capital in a show of force not seen in recent memory. Federal law enforcement officers violently broke up peaceful protests in front of the White House on Monday, apparently so Trump could stage a photo-op at a church across the street from Lafayette Square, where protesters had gathered.
The former secretary, who resigned from Trump's Cabinet, also indirectly criticized current Defense Secretary Mark Esper's use of the word "battlespace" in reference to American cities.

"We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace' that our uniformed military is called upon to 'dominate,' " Mattis said. "At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society."

"It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them."
Esper on Wednesday acknowledged his use of the word "battlespace" was not meant to indicate any conflict with Americans, but claimed he used a military term of art. Esper also specifically rejected the use of active duty forces in a law enforcement role at this time.

But Mattis directed most of ire at Trump saying "Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside."

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

Facebook shuts down far-right group planning to bring weapons to protests

By Donie O'Sullivan, CNN

Updated 11:14 PM ET, Tue June 2, 2020

Facebook said Tuesday that it had shut down pages and accounts associated with what it said was a hate group, whose members were discussing bringing weapons to the protests that are happening across the country. The company said it had observed people associated with the group American Guard discussing such action. The group says it is about American constitutional nationalism, but the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says American Guard "has a background with connections to anti-immigrant extremism, hatred, and violence. Indeed, before the American Guard was the American Guard, it was actually the Indiana chapter of a group called the Soldiers of Odin USA, a branch of an extreme anti-immigrant and anti-refugee group. (originated in Finland in 2015 and has spread to many other countries)."

Facebook said it had also taken down accounts linked to the far-right group Proud Boys, though it said it had not seen posts from that group discussing weaponry.

The company said it had been planning on taking action against both groups, but had expedited the process when they saw how the groups were discussing the protests.

Staff who work as part of the company's teams combating dangerous and inauthentic organizations that operate on the platform spoke to CNN on Tuesday.
The staff said the company would take action on people using the platform to organize violence regardless of their political affiliation.

White supremacists pose as Antifa online, call for violence
White supremacists pose as Antifa online, call for violence

On Monday, Twitter said a fake Antifa account calling for violence was run by white supremacists. The company removed the account. The fake account, @ANTIFA_US, tweeted Sunday, "ALERT Tonight's the night, Comrades Tonight we say "F**k The City" and we move into the residential areas... the white hoods.... and we take what's ours #BlacklivesMaters #F**kAmerica."

The account caught the attention of President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. "Absolutely insane," Trump Jr. wrote on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of the tweet, "Just remember what ANTIFA really is. A Terrorist Organization! They're not even pretending anymore."

A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. did not provide comment to CNN Tuesday morning, but later the post was removed from Trump Jr.'s Instagram feed. There is no indication whatsoever that Trump Jr. knew who was behind the account or that it was fake.

Facebook said Tuesday night it had found some associated accounts on its platforms after Twitter shared information about the fake account — the accounts have been removed from Facebook, the staff said. The accounts had not been used recently, the staff added.

Facebook has come under intense criticism this week for leaving President Donald Trump's posts on Facebook and Instagram that were labeled on Twitter as glorifying violence.

NOW THIS IS FROM ME, KEN... IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE ALL SIDES! HOWEVER, I AM FINDING THAT SO MANY IN THIS AREA ONLY WATCH WHAT 'FOX NEWS' PRODUCES AND DELIVERS TO THE PUBLIC. I WATCH 'FOX NEWS', TOO. H O W E V E R, I ALSO WATCH ALL THE OTHER NEWS CHANNELS AS WELL. WHEN A SO CALLED NEWS AGENCY (FOX NEWS) ONLY SHOWS A LIMITED PERSPECTIVE / A NARROW PORTION OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, THEN I ASK YOU... "HOW CAN A VIEWER MAKE AN INFORMED JUDGEMENT OF WHAT'S GOING ON?"

AND IF A NEWS AGENCY WITHHOLDS INFORMATION... And it's host are allowed to put spin and engage in false arguments... to the point of misinformation / disinformation.... SORRY BUT THAT'S 'FAKE NEWS'! CLEAR AND SIMPLE!

"WHY WOULD A NEWS AGENCY AND IT'S HOSTS ACTIVELY W I T H H O L D INFORMATION?