Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Facebook post from the St John's church rector:

Friends, I am ok, but I am, frankly shaken. I was at St. John's, Lafayette Square most of the afternoon, with fellow clergy and laypeople - and clergy from some other denominations too. We were passing out water and snacks, and helping the patio area at St. John's, Lafayette square to be a place of respite and peace. All was well - with a few little tense moments - until about 6:15 or so. By then, I had connected with the Black Lives Matter medic team, which was headed by an EMT. Those people were AMAZING. They had been on the patio all day, and thankfully had not had to use much of the eyewash they had made. Around 6:15 or 6:30, the police started really pushing protestors off of H Street (the street between the church and Lafayette Park, and ultimately, the White House. They started using tear gas and folks were running at us for eyewashes or water or wet paper towels. At this point, Julia, one of our seminarians for next year (who is a trauma nurse) and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was coughing, her eyes were watering, and we were trying to help people as the police - in full riot gear - drove people toward us. Julia and her classmates left and I stayed with the BLM folks trying to help people.

Suddenly, around 6:30, there was more tear gas, more concussion grenades, and I think I saw someone hit by a rubber bullet - he was grasping his stomach and there was a mark on his shirt. The police in their riot gear were literally walking onto the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with these metal shields, pushing people off the patio and driving them back. People were running at us as the police advanced toward us from the other side of the patio. We had to try to pick up what we could. The BLM medic folks were obviously well practiced. They picked up boxes and ran. I was so stunned I only got a few water bottles and my spray bottle of eyewash. We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear. We were pushed back 20 feet, and then eventually - with SO MANY concussion grenades - back to K street. By the time I got back to my car, around 7, I was getting texts from people saying that Trump was outside of St. John's, Lafayette Square. I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN'S - a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day - SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED!!!!

I am deeply shaken. I did not see any protestors throw anything until the tear gas and concussion grenades started, and then it was mostly water bottles. I am shaken, not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of a cough I still have, but by the fact that that show of force was for a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. The patio of St. John's, Lafayette square had been HOLY GROUND today. A place of respite and laughter and water and granola bars and fruit snacks. But that man turned it into a BATTLE GROUND first, and a cheap political stunt second. I am DEEPLY OFFENDED on behalf of every protestor, every Christian, the people of St. John's, Lafayette square, every decent person there, and the BLM medics who stayed with just a single box of supplies and a backpack, even when I got too scared and had to leave. I am ok. But I am now a force to be reckoned with.

https://www.facebook.com/gini.gerbasi/posts/10157575422089624

This is horrifying. A church pastor was driven away from his church, from holy ground, by tear gas and concussion grenades so that man could have a cheap photo op.

+100

Absolutely unbelievable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Sigh. I miss him, I miss this time of General peace and rebuilding. I never lost hope that we would pull through the economic crisis, or that we wouldn’t be kept safe. Osama Bin Laden’s death was reported, and left alone — not glorified and used to threaten and further escalate. He led us through that. He and his family have blessed our country in immeasurable ways. If he ever did anything again, I would jump in a heartbeat to serve the public as a part of his team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Sigh. I miss him, I miss this time of General peace and rebuilding. I never lost hope that we would pull through the economic crisis, or that we wouldn’t be kept safe. Osama Bin Laden’s death was reported, and left alone — not glorified and used to threaten and further escalate. He led us through that. He and his family have blessed our country in immeasurable ways. If he ever did anything again, I would jump in a heartbeat to serve the public as a part of his team.

The rewriting of St. John’s as a symbol continued Wednesday. A group of clergy — including the region’s Episcopal bishop, Mariann Budde — planned a large afternoon prayer vigil outside the church. They had to move it a block away, however, because of an expanded security perimeter created by police agencies trying to control another day of mass protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This piece by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Robin Givhan sums it up nicely, I think.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/tru...a-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html

Wonder what kind of handbags Ms. Givhan carries. And, FWIW, how often did she mention the price of Ms. Obama's clothes?

And, gee, I remember when Ivanka was criticized for wearing one of her own "off the rack" dresses to the GOP convention.

Using the presidency/presidential race to plug your own brand is kinda tacky, you have to admit.

Not unless you’re the president. I honestly don’t Give a damn what Ivanka wears or how much it costs. I’m much more interested in the actual constitutional violations and civil rights abuses than how much her purse cost. What a bizarre thing to focus on at this moment.

The question came up, where did the Bible come from. Answer: Ivanka carried it over in her super-expensive handbag.

I know, I just don’t care. We already know she uses extravagantly expensive stuff. Not like she’s going to suddenly produce a purse from Target just to hold the Bible. The better question would be why does the president feel that displaying a Bible and doing nothing else is effective (or constitutional - talk about a potential violation of the Establishment Clause ...).