Louisiana Voice

“We’re eroding the capabilities of the planet to maintain human life and life in general.”

—Gerardo Ceballos, an ecologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and lead author of a new study that indicates that we are in the midst of a mass extinction driven not by any catastrophic natural event, but by humans. [At the current rate, about 500 more terrestrial vertebrate species will become extinct over the next 20 years, the number that would normally occur over 10,000 years. If allowed to continue, Earth will lose vast ecosystems and the necessities they provide, including fresh water, pollination, and pest and disease control. In language the computer generation can understand: Earth may need to reboot.]

“No, I don’t support defunding the police. I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.”

—Joe Biden, expressing his opposition to calls to defund police departments.

“The funding of police is a local matter, as you know. From the standpoint of our legislation, we’re not going to that place. What we’re doing is talking about how we change policy to make our policing more just,”

—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on defunding police departments.

“There won’t be defunding. There won’t be dismantling of our police, and there’s not going to be any disbanding of our police. Our police have been letting us live in peace, and we want to make sure we don’t have any bad actors in there.”

—Donald Trump, on defunding police departments. [Is this what’s known as bipartisanship?]

“Unfortunately, it appears there may be few if any lines that President Trump is not willing to cross, so you will probably be faced with this terrible question again in the coming days. You may be asked to take, or to direct the men and women serving in the U.S. military to take, actions that further undermine the Constitution and harm Americans.”

—James Miller, in his letter of resignation as a member of the Pentagon’s science board to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper whom he accused of betraying his oath of office by backing Donald Trump on the forced removal of peaceful protesters to allow that church photo-op last Monday.

“This is absurd. Ivanka Trump, who leads economic development initiatives, was giving a non-partisan graduation speech at a community college. If the snowflakes so offended by the idea of hearing from a White House advisor couldn’t contain their emotions, they should have skipped the speech. Instead, they ruined it for everyone.”

—Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark), on the decision by Wichita State University Tech, a community college, to cancel a commencement speech by First Daughter Ivanka Trump. [Cotton seems to be implying that Ivanka’s qualifications as an adviser to the president extend beyond being his daughter.]

“We want to make this year President Trump’s BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.”

—Text sent out by Trump campaign website, which provided a form for people to fill out and upload clips. The campaign promised to show Trump “the first 500 responses TONIGHT.” [What could go wrong?]

“It’s going to be really miserable for you until November.”

—Actor Ron Delaney response.

“You’re probably too busy to celebrate. You’ve got television to work, tweets to write, protesters to gas, intelligence reports to ignore, pandemic responses to (screw) up.”

—Actor Michael Ian Black response.

“My birthday is also June 14 and I invite you to send your selfie videos of you furious and screaming in your SUV to me instead.”

—Irate American who shares the same birthday.

“I weep to share this vile man’s birthday.”

—Rabia O’Chaundry response.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING about this administration astounds me every day.

—Antonio Javier response.

“Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, ‘There’s a great thing that’s happening for our country.’ This is a great day for him, it’s a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality. Nobody’s ever done for the black community what President Trump has done.”

—Donald Trump, invoking George Floyd’s name in a Rose Garden celebration of a May unemployment report that showed “only” 21 million people — 13.3 percent of the workforce — out of work. [Words fail me.]

“How would a better economy have protected George Floyd?”

–NBC’s Peter Alexander. [Trump didn’t answer.]

“In the federal system we don’t wear badges with our name. Agents don’t wear badges with their names and stuff like that, which many … non-federal police agencies do. And I could understand why some of these individuals simply wouldn’t want to talk to people about who they were if that in fact was the case.”

—Attorney General William Barr, defending the use of unidentified officers to disperse protesters.

“I’m kind of horrified by seeing the junta-looking Guard guys around D.C. I hate the optics of it.”

—Former Green Beret Col. Robert Wilson, on the sudden appearance of Utah National Guard troops facing off with an angry crowd near the White House on Wednesday.

“The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020. Remember the date…. Donald Trump isn’t religious, has no need of religion, and doesn’t care about the devout, except insofar as they serve his political needs. He failed to project any of the higher emotions or leadership desperately needed in every quarter of this nation during this dire moment.”

—Gen. John Allen (US Marines Ret.), in an essay published online by Foreign Policy magazine Wednesday.

“The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation. The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused.”

—Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, in defense of Gen. Jim Mattis who Donald Trump claimed he fired.

“John Kelly didn’t know I was going to fire James Mattis, nor did he have any knowledge of my asking for a letter of resignation. Why would I tell him, he was not … in my inner-circle, was totally exhausted by the job, and in the end just slinked away into obscurity. They all want to come back for a piece of the limelight!”

–Trump, on Kelly. [It’s a mystery how Trump finds time to be president while responding to each and every critic. 75 tweets just yesterday.]