"Here’s hoping the lock down governors who’ve enjoyed exercising their emergency powers will actually take measure to protect public safety. Any bets?"

Randy Barnett tweets.

"Pandemic-weary Americans were already angry — about COVID-19 deaths, lockdown orders and tens of millions of people out of work."

"The pandemic has hit African Americans harder than whites in the U.S., and the killings of black people by police have continued over the years even as the topic faded from the national stage. But there are signs of people with other disparate motives, including anarchist graffiti, arrests of some out-of-state protesters, and images circulating in extremist groups that suggest the involvement of outside groups.... President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Bar and others have said the left-wing extremist group antifa is to blame.... An antifa activist group disseminated a message in a Telegram channel on Saturday that encouraged people to consider Minnesota National Guard troops 'easy targets,' two Defense Department officials said. The message encouraged activists to steal 'kit,' meaning the weapons and body armor used by the soldiers.... Others have seen evidence of right-wing extremists. J.J. MacNab, a fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, has been monitoring chatter about the protests among anti-government extremists on social media platforms. She has access to dozens of private Facebook groups for followers of the loosely organized 'Boogaloo' movement, which uses an ’80s movie sequel as a code word for a second civil war. She also has been poring over images from the weekend protests and spotted some 'boogaloo bois' in the crowds, carrying high-powered rifles and wearing tactical gear. 'They want to co-opt them in order to start their war. They see themselves as being on the side of protesters and that the protesters themselves are useful in causing anarchy,' MacNab said. She also sees signs that the Three Percenters militia movement appears to be taking an interest. Megan Squire, an Elon University computer science professor who tracks online extremism, saw images of at least four members of the far-right Proud Boys group on the periphery of a protest Saturday night in Raleigh, North Carolina...."

From "Officials See Extremist Groups, Disinformation in Protests" (AP/NYT).

"For generations the Mall has been our nation’s premier civic gathering space for non-violent demonstrations, and we ask individuals to carry on that tradition."

In the wake of last night's demonstrations, there are numerous instances of vandalism to sites around the National Mall. For generations the Mall has been our nation’s premier civic gathering space for non-violent demonstrations, and we ask individuals to carry on that tradition. pic.twitter.com/LmIHfW2AHj

— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) May 31, 2020

"The marching started around 6 p.m. Sunday and lasted over three hours, with protesters challenging officers stationed along State Street to 'Take off your badge! March with us!'"

"The group arrived for a final time at the Capitol Square after 9 p.m., when participants announced their intentions to violate Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway's 9:30 p.m. curfew order. A final lap of the Square was interrupted when protesters confronted police officers on South Pinckney Street, quickly followed by officers from behind the marchers firing tear gas. Reinforcements arrived in riot gear. What followed was a series of standoffs that included police officers and National Guard soldiers. Reporters observed young teenage boys break windows with rocks at an office building on East Mifflin Street. Some protesters eventually turned up Wisconsin Avenue after police and National Guard members blocked Mifflin Street, using pepper spray and tear gas as they advanced on the protesters, many of whom were kneeling down in front of the line of officers."

The Capital Times offers a carefully written account of the protesting and rioting in Madison yesterday.

At the Sunrise Café...

... you can talk 'til dawn.

That's a 5:23 photograph on a morning, this morning, when the sun officially rose at 5:21, and that is a good reason to use the Althouse Portal to Amazon if you have any shopping to accomplish. That's what I call at Type #3 sunrise, you know. A completely clear sky.

"Pair of Brooklyn lawyers including Ivy League corporate attorney charged in Molotov cocktail attack on NYPD cruiser."

The Daily News reports.

"Federal law enforcement actions will be directed at apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law."

"To identify criminal organizers and instigators, and to coordinate federal resources with our state and local partners, federal law enforcement is using our existing network of 56 regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF). The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly."

A statement from Attorney General William Barr.

From the FBI website:

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, or JTTFs, are our nation’s front line of defense against terrorism, both international and domestic. They are groups of highly trained, locally based, passionately committed investigators, analysts, linguists, and other specialists from dozens of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies....

Goodbye to Christo... the art saint.

Christo passed away today, on May 31, 2020, at his home in New York City. Christo and Jeanne-Claude have always made clear that their artworks in progress be continued after their deaths. L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped (Project for Paris) is still on track for Sept. 18–Oct. 3, 2021. pic.twitter.com/xHPURw60w2

— Christo and Jeanne-Claude (@ChristoandJC) May 31, 2020

From the NYT obituary:

His grand projects, often decades in the making and all of them temporary, required the cooperation of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of landowners, government officials, judges, environmental groups, local residents, engineers and workers, many of whom had little interest in art and a deep reluctance to see their lives and their surroundings disrupted by an eccentric visionary speaking in only semi-comprehensible English.

Again and again, Christo prevailed, through persistence, charm and a childlike belief that eventually everyone would see things the way he did.

At his side, throughout, was his wife, Jeanne-Claude, who, like her husband, used only her first name. In the mid-1990s she began sharing equal billing with him on all their projects, formalizing what the couple insisted had been their practice all along. She died in 2009.

Click on my "Christo" tag. I've written about him many times. At first, he annoyed me. Based on news articles about wrapping large buildings, I thought of him as arrogant. But watching Albert Maysles's series of 5 documentary films about him — showing his personal interactions with bureaucrats and citizens — completely changed my view.

As I said back in 2005, when he did his "Gates" project in Central Park:

Roger Kimball reprints a Spectator piece from mid-January. He's quite negative:

Christo and his wife are geniuses at self-promotion. They have gulled municipalities around the world into letting them stage their pranks, and the result is celebrity and riches.

I must admit that's what I thought of Christo for decades, as I read about his projects in various news reports. But I completely changed my mind about him when I watched the Maysles Brothers documentaries ("5 Films About Christo and Jeanne-Claude"...). I was won over and came to believe that Christo is an art saint.

"On Sunday, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers singled out umbrella groups including 'Antifa' and 'Boogaloo' as playing a role in the violence nationwide...."

"According to the Anti-Defamation League, 'a variety of extremist and fringe movements and subcultures have adopted the word "Boogaloo" as shorthand for a future civil war,' and that 'white supremacists are particularly apt to use' the term because 'they seek the violent collapse of modern society in order to bring about a new, white-dominated world.' Antifa, short for anti-fascists, is a 'loose collection of local/regional groups and individuals,' including anti-police anarchists, whose 'presence at a protest is intended to intimidate and dissuade racists' and white supremacists, according to the ADL. Antifa tactics 'can create a vicious, self-defeating cycle of attacks, counterattacks and blame,' the ADL says. President Donald Trump singled out Antifa on Sunday, tweeting that he was designating it a terrorist organization. 'This is being driven by Antifa,' national security adviser Robert O’Brien said... 'This is a destructive force of radical — I don’t even know if we want to call them leftists. Whatever they are, they’re — they’re militants who are coming in and burning our cities, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it. And as far as our foreign adversaries, look, we always have foreign adversaries who are on Twitter and Facebook and other places trying to sow discord among Americans...."

The Chicago Sun-Times reports.

I'm eager to get the real facts on who's doing what. There's a tendency of people on the left to say that the right-wing extremists are behind this and the people on the right to say it's Antifa. That's unfortunate, but it's the way we live now. It's not helpful to select and spread rumors and theories based on who you want the enemy to be.

ADDED: In my town: "Madison lefties blame Trump supporters for Madison riots" (David Blaska).

"Chris Cooper Is My Brother. Here’s Why I Posted His Video. We grew up in a family of activists. I wanted everyone to see his calm bravery."

Writes Melody Cooper in the NYT. She's identified as "a playwright and a film, TV and comic book writer."

[A]s I replayed the video several times, I felt more and more uneasy and angry, until an overwhelming fear swept over me. My mind conjured up rapid images of police officers arriving and shooting first, or throwing Chris down and then beating and choking him. My brother. When I posted the video on Twitter, I didn’t yet know about George Floyd, whose killing last Monday by a police officer has prompted protests across the country, but I knew about Emmett Till. I knew I wanted to make sure that Amy Cooper would not have the chance to weaponize her racism against anyone else. She could have gotten my brother hurt or killed. I wanted my brother’s calm bravery, in the face of a threatening and cowardly act, to be seen. I wanted to shine a light not just on one person, but on the systemic problem of deep racism in this country that encourages her kind of behavior....

I asked my brother for permission to post the video on Twitter, and I didn’t expect more than 100 responses since it was Memorial Day. I was shocked it struck such a chord....

Trump calls on "Democrat Mayors and Governors" to "Get tough" against the "ANARCHISTS."

Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors. These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW. The World is watching and laughing at you and Sleepy Joe. Is this what America wants? NO!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

Law & Order in Philadelphia, NOW! They are looting stores. Call in our great National Guard like they FINALLY did (thank you President Trump) last night in Minneapolis. Is this what voters want with Sleepy Joe? All Dems!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

AND: More Trump tweets today:

The Lamestream Media is doing everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy. As long as everybody understands what they are doing, that they are FAKE NEWS and truly bad people with a sick agenda, we can easily work through them to GREATNESS!

The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.

Other Democrat run Cities and States should look at the total shutdown of Radical Left Anarchists in Minneapolis last night. The National Guard did a great job, and should be used in other States before it is too late!

Congratulations to our National Guard for the great job they did immediately upon arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night. The ANTIFA led anarchists, among others, were shut down quickly. Should have been done by Mayor on first night and there would have been no trouble!

The National Guard has been released in Minneapolis to do the job that the Democrat Mayor couldn’t do. Should have been used 2 days ago & there would not have been damage & Police Headquarters would not have been taken over & ruined. Great job by the National Guard. No games!

"I'll share with you my urinal — swing-out urinal. In England, they call it the your-RYE-nall..."

Says the eminent filmmaker David Lynch, speaking from his L.A. workshop:



More David Lynch theater here.

"There should be a quicker trigger going forward to recommend or require masks when an airborne threat emerges, and robust plans to deploy them as a broad public-health measure."

"And hopefully by then, the dangerous politicization of wearing masks and taking other common-sense health measures that’s occurring in some places today will have been overcome by more effective public messaging and education."

From "Masks Are Here to Stay, Even After Covid Goes Away" by Max Nisen (Yahoo/Bloomberg).

Nisen deploys the adjectives "dangerous" and "common-sense" as he bemoans "the dangerous politicization of wearing masks" and endorses "common-sense health measures," but who will say where common-sense ends and irrational limitations begin? And when is politicization "dangerous" as opposed to part of the vigorous healthy debate we need to have? Some things should be politicized, and it shouldn't be enough to say something is presented under the rubric health and therefore we should all just quietly and obediently follow the instructions of the authorities. An excess of obedient credulity is also dangerous. And acceptance of everything offered as a "health measure" is not common sense. Common sense asks: Is this really necessary, considered in balance with what we are asked to give up?

After the Saturday night riot, the Sunday morning Madisonians emerge.

More people arriving this morning to scrub business walls, sweep glass on State Street pic.twitter.com/JKBSRNBsUc

— Katelyn Ferral (@katelynferral) May 31, 2020

ADDED: Last night:

A few minutes ago in Madison, WI. pic.twitter.com/A7SOCTrEZB

— Shawn Johnson (@SJohnsonWPR) May 31, 2020

Proposed book title: "From Caring to Karen: A Woman's Journey."

I thought of the title. It's writing prompt for you. What's the story?

"We cannot let the work of a few undermine the pain felt by our Black neighbors or distract from the source of this grief and anger—we must remember George Floyd..."

"... his life matters, he should still be alive today. Right now, we must respond with our empathy and compassion. We must remember that anger and grief about injustice never need justification. We need systemic change to address the racism in our state and our country. As folks continue to protest and demand accountability and change, please do so peacefully—be kind to each other, help each other, and keep each other safe. And the stories of our neighbors who are hurting and demanding a more just and equitable country must be told to and seen by the people of our state and this country. Please allow the press to continue to tell them without interference or fear of violence or arrest."

A series of tweets by our Governor, Tony Evers.

He says "our Black neighbors," so he is assuming that the reader is not black. Black people are the other. Speaking only to white people, apparently, Evers portrays black people as emotional: "the pain felt... this grief and anger.... anger and grief... our neighbors who are hurting." He tells us, "we must respond with our empathy and compassion." In this conception, we the white people have empathy and compassion, not raw and dangerous emotion like anger, and we are the ones who are spoken to with the implied belief that we are capable of controlling ourselves and behaving in a forbearing, beneficent manner as we look upon The Other, our black neighbors. It's unsettling, this otherizing, and I don't think Governor Evers noticed he was doing this. Ironically, he wants the "us" group he's addressing to be vigilant about "systemic" racism.