A Threat to the Constitution

   "Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances." -- U.S. Constitution, First Amendment.

   Sending police to forcibly remove peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Park in Washington so the president could walk to a photo op at a nearby church equals a threat to the Constitution, according to James Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general and former chief of the Department of Defense under the current president.
   In a public statement, he said he was "angry and appalled" at what he labeled "a bizarre photo op."
   Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), a former Army lieutenant colonel who lost both legs in the Iraq War, said that sending active military troops to suppress peaceful demonstrations in American cities "is not a lawful order." Therefore, experts noted, the military would be obligated to refuse to obey such an order.
   The president has suggested that he would send in the Army, but Mark Esper, the president's own Defense secretary, said, "I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act" or using active duty forces to quell domestic protests.
   Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), in an op-ed piece headlined "Send In the Troops" and carried by the New York Times, wrote that it was time for "an overwhelming show of force" by federal authority. But while it would be legal to use active duty military to suppress riots and looting, it would not be legal for federal forces to act against those assembled peaceably to protest grievances by local police.
   There was widespread objection to the Times for carrying the Cotton opinion, even from the newspaper's own staffers, but management pointed out that the opinion page is separate from the news department, and moreover there is an obligation to provide both sides to every story.
   For many months, the president has verbally attacked journalism in America as "the fake news media" and "enemies of the people," calling them "truly bad people with a sick agenda." Recently, police have physically attacked reporters and TV news crews covering protest demonstrations, ignoring press identification cards and saying "we don't care" when journalists identify themselves.
   This is another violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees a free press as well as free speech."
   As a result of the police attacks on journalists, the ACLU has filed a law suit in Minnesota and promised many more "on behalf of journalists who were targeted and attacked by police for covering protests" over the killing of an unarmed black man arrested for allegedly attempting to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
   Separately, as demonstrations near the White House grew tense Monday evening, the Secret Service escorted the president and his family to a bunker in the White House basement.
   The next day, however, the president insisted he went there just for an inspection visit. The Secret Service is responsible for the safety of a president, and can take him and his family to a safe place regardless of any objections by the president.

   Sadly, racism has been endemic in America since Colonial days, against Native tribes, immigrant groups, and all along against those of African descent, whose ancestors were first brought here as slaves. Yet, bias and discrimination against them has continued, more than 150 years after slavery was abolished.
   The nation has made some progress, but it still has a long way to go.