Trump's Covert Force Is Unconstitutional

Also: This Is No Time For Baseball, Or Any Other Sport ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( | [Donate [WBUR]]( [WBUR](  [WBUR]( July 26, 2020 Dear Cog reader, As we watched the news unfold in Portland, Oregon this week, I doubt we were the only ones asking ourselves: could Boston be next? After all, President Trump announced his plans to deploy more federal agents to Chicago, Detroit and Albuquerque – in spite of [vocal opposition]( from local officials. To try to make sense of all this, we turned to preeminent Harvard constitutional law professor [Laurence Tribe]( who is horrified by what he’s been seeing. He writes that the deployment of this clandestine force, answerable only to the president, is “manifestly unconstitutional” and a “worst nightmare of those [Americans] who sacrificed their lives … to keep authoritarian regimes from our shores.” You can read his full piece [here](. Also this week, we have a tribute to the late Congressman John Lewis by former Mass. [Governor Deval Patrick]( commentary from [Bill Littlefield]( on the return of baseball, and two policy-focused pieces: one, by the leaders of City Year, that calls for an [expansion of national service]( and another, by Mindy Lubber of Ceres, that pushes Massachusetts to invest federal recovery funds in ways that [prioritize the climate and equity](. And, of course, the question of how and when schools should reopen remains top of mind. (We’re the mothers of school-aged kids, remember, so we're also grappling with what the school year might look like.) As more cities and towns reveal their plans for the fall, we want to hear from you. Reply to this email, or send us a note at opinion@wbur.org, to let us know how you're thinking about the year ahead. — Cloe Axelson and Frannie Carr Toth Cognoscenti, Editors newsletters@wbur.org Must Reads url[‘A Profoundly Un-American Attack On Civil Society’: Why Trump’s Paramilitary Force Is Unconstitutional]( Deployment of this clandestine force, answerable only to the president, is manifestly unconstitutional, writes Laurence Tribe. [Read more](.   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    ['A Clear Example Of How To Behave': Deval Patrick Remembers John Lewis]( Congressman Lewis showed us how to push America closer to her ideals, writes Governor Deval Patrick. As a fellow civil rights warrior, as a Black man, and as an American, I feel enormously grateful for that. [Read more](. [I'm Sorry To Say It: This Should Be An American Summer Without Baseball]( I made a career out of covering sports, writes Bill Littlefield. But amid the pandemic and the fight for racial justice, now is not the time to bring them back. [Read more](.  Support the news [Let’s ‘Deploy This Army Of Goodwill’: Congress Must Expand National Service In Response To The Pandemic]( The CORPS Act could be a lifeline for communities hit hardest by the pandemic, while opening doors for young adults facing an abysmal job market. [Read more](. [After The Pandemic, Mass. Can Build A Climate-Smart Recovery]( The federal government has already spent $2.6 trillion to sure up the economy -- double what was spent during the 2009 financial crisis. We have the chance to make extensive long-lasting changes to the structure of our economy, writes Mindy Lubber. [Read more](. [Ebola Patients Paved The Way For An Effective COVID-19 Drug. But Africans Probably Won't Get It]( While our global struggle against COVID-19 is shared, access to treatment is not, write Dr. Cameron Nutt, Dr. Robert A. Bonacci, Dr. Wilfredo R. Matias and Meredith L. Kernan. [Read more](. What We're Reading "She acknowledged the insularity of the 'wives and daughters' argument: People who use the phrase often seem only to understand harm when they picture it befalling their own loved ones. But women are not harmed as wives or daughters; they are harmed as humans. Their pain exists regardless of whether the men in their life can see or imagine it. Their value does not come from their relationships to husbands and fathers, but from their own individual personhood. People are people whether you personally know them or not." ("[AOC’s Speech About Ted Yoho’s ‘Apology’ Was A Comeback For The Ages]( The Washington Post) "The Massachusetts Bail Fund has not released its fund-raising totals, but leaders of the charity say on their website that the 'incredible generosity' of donors has allowed them to increase the amount of bail they can pay. As recently as January, the group, which has just one paid employee, paid no more than $500, but last week it posted $85,000 bail to free a single prisoner." ("[Flush With Donations, Massachusetts Bail Fund Pays To Free Defendants Across The State — Many Facing Serious Charges]( The Boston Globe) "It's easy to spot overt racism — those old signs that said "whites only water fountain," or the use of racial epithets. But covert racism is harder to see or hear, particularly when it's ingrained in our language." (["The Language of Racism: Why It's Time to Get Rid of Master Bedroom, Cake Walk, Grandfather Clause]( Here & Now) "The goal of productivity is to get the things you have to get done finished so you can spend more time on the things you want to do. Don’t fall into the busy trap, where you judge your self-worth by how productive you are or how much you’ve contributed to your company or manager. We’re all just trying to keep our heads above water." ("[How To Stay Productive When The World Is On Fire]( Wired) “ As citizens of good faith, we would all like America to be great again. But at this point, we’d settle for stable, competently governed, and on the path to recovery. — Steve Almond, "[Trump Will Try To Subvert The Election. We Must Be Prepared]( ICYMI ['It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Your Fault': I Warn My Daughter About Police As My Father Warned Me]( Desmond Hall has personally experienced police brutality. He’s been recalling the anger and shame he felt during those incidents as his teenage daughter joined the protests against police violence. Be sure to listen to the [audio version](.      If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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