Far-Left Radicals Furious that Biden ‘Picked the Cop’

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Far-Left Radicals Furious that Biden ‘Picked the Cop’

The dust hasn’t yet settled on presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden‘s announcement that he would select California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Already, though, critics of the Biden campaign have begun to point out what may be a major vulnerability: Both have troubling records that do not align with the Left’s current vision of criminal justice (or lack thereof).

Among several past policies criticized as “racist,” Biden has caught flak for his lead role in writing and sponsoring a 1994 crime bill that resulted in mass incarcerations, many of them within minority communities.

While hoping that Harris would lend him cachet with the minority community following a series of racist gaffes, Harris—who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, the daughter of two university professors who was brought up in the lap of privilege—is eyed suspiciously by many African Americans and other lower-income minorities.

Prior to entering politics, she served as a San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. During both terms she garnered a reputation as an aggressive attack-dog when it came to enforcing the laws.

She controversially supported a measure to incarcerate the parents of children who were truant within the schools, for example.

Republicans and Libertarians were quick to see the irony, putting together humorous memes to lampoon the pair’s deviation from the “Defund the Police” movement and other far-left criminal justice agenda items.

Some used the “ACAB” slogan of radical groups like Antifa during recent race-riots to underscore even further the irony.

But progressive Democrats were less-than-pleased with the tone-deaf choice.

“Joe Biden picked the cop,” said the leftist Gravel institute.

It went on to reply to a post from conservative-libertarian radio personality Ben Shapiro that called Harris a “far-left radical” by lamenting “if only.”

Responses were mixed, signaling that the selection is likely to through the Democrats further into disarray rather than unify the party.

But the far-left fringe was clear in its disapprobation.

Referring to Harris as a “cop,” The Democratic Socialists of America seemed ready to discount her from the very start. “Our stance will always be: abolish the police,” it said in a statement, according to Forbes.

Sen. Bernie Sanders’s former campaign secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, also denounced the pick via Twitter, saying Biden had shown “contempt for the base.”

Biden has made overtures toward Sanders and other radicals on the Left’s socialist fringe, raising concerns among many that he, too, has been radicalized.

Both he and Harris have been notoriously indecisive in their positions as the younger generations of leftists continue their drift from the center.

Both have modified their stances to support some variation of leftist measures like “Medicare for all” and the “Green New Deal,” as well as unqualified support for abortion.

Interest in Homeschooling has ‘Exploded’ Amid Pandemic

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Interest in Homeschooling has ‘Exploded’ Amid Pandemic

(Associated Press) As parents nationwide prepare to help their children with more distance learning, a small but quickly growing number are deciding to take matters entirely into their own hands and begin homeschooling.

Some are worried their districts are unable to offer a strong virtual learning program. For others who may have been considering homeschooling, concerns for their family’s health amid the coronavirus and the on-again, off-again planning for in-person instruction are leading them to part ways with school systems.

Mindy Kroesche, a freelance writer and editor from Lincoln, Nebraska, had leaned toward homeschooling her 12-year-old son, who has autism and ADHD diagnoses that made middle school a challenge. But she always felt her 10-year-old daughter was “built for school.” Now with the pandemic raging, she is pulling them both out for the year.

“We just saw that with her wearing a mask for the entire day, that would make learning more difficult for her,” she said. “It was going to be such a different environment. We didn’t think it would be as beneficial for her.”

Homeschooling applications are surging in states including Nebraska, where they are up 21%, and Vermont, where they are up 75%. In North Carolina, a rush of parents filing notices that they planned to homeschool overwhelmed a government website last month, leaving it temporarily unable to accept applications.

There were about 2.5 million homeschool students last year in grades K-12 in the U.S., making up about 3% to 4% of school-age children, according to the National Home Educators Research Institute. Brian Ray, the group’s president, is anticipating that their numbers will increase by at least 10%.

“One day the school district says X and four days later they say Y,” Ray said. “And then the governor says another thing and then that changes what the school district can do. And parents and teachers are tired of what appear to be arbitrary and capricious decisions. They are tired of it and saying we are out of here.”

Interest in homeschooling materials also has been surging, driven in part by parents who are keeping their children enrolled in schools but looking for ways to supplement distance learning.

The National Home School Association received more than 3,400 requests for information on a single day last month, up from between five and 20 inquiries per day before the coronavirus. The group had to increase the size of its email inbox to keep up.

“Clearly the interest we have been getting has exploded,” said J. Allen Weston, the executive director of the suburban Denver-based group. “That is really the only way to describe it.”

Some parents in rural parts of Nebraska are turning to homeschooling because staffing and limited access to home internet leave districts unable to offer a virtual learning option, said Kathryn Dillow, president and executive director of Nebraska Home Schools, a support and advocacy group.

Homeschooling applications continue arriving in Nebraska, where the number of homeschoolers already had risen to 3,400 as of July 14, up from 2,800 at the same time a year ago, said David Jespersen, a spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Education.

Jespersen said there is “a lot of confusion” and that “parents are delayed in making their decision” because so much is changing.

Regardless of the final number, Jespersen doesn’t expect that the increase will bust districts’ budgets because homeschoolers will still remain a small fraction of about 326,000 students spread over the state’s 244 school systems.

Most other states don’t have homeschooling numbers, either because they aren’t collected at the state level or it’s too early. But all indications point to increases across the country.

“Now is when the reality sets in,” said John Edelson, president of Time4Learning, an online curriculum provider, which has seen business explode. “People have postponed the decision, but we are at this great inflection point. And it is hard to see what the angle is going to be, but it is definitely up.”

In Missouri, calls and emails pour into the homeschool advocacy group Families For Home Education each time a district releases its reopening plan, said Charyti Jackson, the group’s executive director. She said families are in a “panic” about virtual starts to the year and hybrid plans in which students attend classes parttime and study at home the rest.

“They are asking, ’What am I supposed to be doing with my children when I am working full time?’” she said.

For the families who only plan to homeschool for a semester or two, some in small groups or pods, her advice is focused on how to make sure students can transition back to public schooling smoothly when the pandemic ends. That’s trickier for students who receive special education services and high schoolers who need to meet their district’s graduation requirements.

There also are some indications the exodus to homeschooling could continue well into fall. Christina Rothermel-Branham, a psychology and counseling professor at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, said she is going to attempt remote learning through her local school district for her 6-year-old son. But she said the virtual learning she oversaw in the spring was “very monotonous” and that she plans to switch to homeschooling if the first month goes poorly.

“If there is a lot of stress between the two of us it is probably going to get him pulled out,” she said.

Rothermel-Branham, 39, already has scouted out curriculum as a backup and has signed up for art and music classes through Outschool, an online learning platform that is reporting 30 times year-over-year growth since March.

“It is such a big mess,” said Outschool CEO Amir Nathoo. “A lot of schools spent all summer preparing for a social distanced reopening and now it looks like that isn’t going to happen because of the virus.”

He said the demand for classes has been particularly strong in states that moved aggressively to reopen, including Texas, Florida, Georgia and Arizona.

Chris Perrin, the CEO of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Classical Academic Press, said curriculum sales to homeschoolers are up by 50% and that enrollment in its online Scholé Academy has increased by 100% amid the pandemic. He said some there was “understandably a lot of bad online learning” in the spring and that some parents were “appalled” as they oversaw it.

“They are saying I can’t stand by and do nothing,” Perrin said. “So they are becoming homeschoolers.”

JUDGE: Homeless Can Occupy Parks — Cities CANNOT Fine or Remove Them

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JUDGE: Homeless Can Occupy Parks — Cities CANNOT Fine or Remove Them

(Associated Press) An Oregon city has joined Boise, Idaho, in eliciting a precedent-setting court ruling that could change how cities nationwide cite and fine people living outside.

A U.S. judge decided last week that Grants Pass, Oregon, violated its homeless residents’ Eighth Amendment rights by excluding them from parks without due process and citing them for sleeping outside, The Oregonian reported.

The ruling builds on the landmark 2018 Martin v. City of Boise case that said cities cannot make it illegal for people to sleep or rest outside without providing sufficient indoor alternatives.

Grants Pass City Attorney Mark Bartholomew said the city plans to appeal.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year refused to hear the Martin case, forcing cities to rethink how their policies and law enforcement officials handle growing populations of people without housing.

In Grants Pass, people have been complaining for years to the Oregon Law Center office that their ability to rest was made impossible by local ordinances.

Debra Blake was one of them. She lost her job and then her housing about 10 years ago and lives in Grants Pass. On Sept. 11, 2019, Blake was lying in her sleeping bag in a park when she was cited for illegal camping and prohibited conduct. The same day she was cited for criminal trespass on city property.

The fines with those tickets totaled $885 and she was also excluded from the parks. The city has said Blake owes $5,000 in stacked up fines and fees.

She is one of several people who joined the case, many with similar debts.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke wrote in his ruling, “Let us not forget that homeless individuals are citizens just as much as those fortunate enough to have a secure living space,” he said.

Many cities and counties were thrown by the Boise case, which has been widely interpreted as saying that it is unconstitutional to arrest people for what are called “sit-lie laws” — resting and sleeping in public — if the jurisdiction does not provide adequate shelter or affordable housing.

The Boise case was based in part on the Eighth Amendment — that arresting homeless people for simply being homeless is cruel and unusual punishment.

Clarke went further in the Grants Pass case, saying the city’s policies amount to excessive fines for doing something that all humans must do — sleeping, staying dry, staying warm, sitting down — only applied to a small group of humans.

“Those activities are just unavoidable and tied up in the status of being unhoused,” said Ed Johson, head of the Oregon Law Center.

Johnson said the decision still leaves room for cities and counties to regulate how and where people camp.

“I hope what cities take from it they have a wide range of tools at their disposal, but the tools are not punishing people in their community who have no choice but to be living outside,” Johnson said.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty joined the Oregon Law Center in taking Grants Pass to court. Tristia Bauman, senior attorney, said she hopes the Boise and Grants Pass cases push cities to rethink how they invest in dealing with homelessness now that criminal and civil punishments can be unconstitutional, if broadly applied.

Ilhan Omar Holds Off Well-Funded Primary Challenger

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Ilhan Omar Holds Off Well-Funded Primary Challenger

(Associated Press) Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota survived a stiff Democratic primary challenge Tuesday from a well-funded opponent who tried to make an issue of her national celebrity, the latest in a string of victories by a new generation of emboldened progressive lawmakers.

Omar, seeking her second term in November, easily defeated Antone Melton-Meaux, an attorney and mediator who raised millions in anti-Omar money.

Omar and her allies gained confidence in her reelection chances after primary victories last week by fellow “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and by Cori Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist who ousted a longtime St. Louis-area congressman. They also claimed momentum from the renewed focus on racial and economic justice after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

“Tonight, our movement didn’t just win,” Omar tweeted. “We earned a mandate for change. Despite outside efforts to defeat us, we once again broke turnout records. Despite the attacks, our support has only grown.”

Melton-Meaux used the cash to paper the district and flood airwaves with his “Focused on the Fifth” message that portrayed Omar as out of touch with the heavily Democratic Minneapolis-area 5th District, which hasn’t elected a Republican to Congress since 1960. He conceded defeat and acknowledged that his efforts weren’t enough, while declining to speculate on why.

“I’m also incredibly proud of the work that we did, that garnered at least over 60,000 votes from the district, from people who resonated with our message of effective leadership grounded in the district, and bringing people together to get things done,” Melton-Meaux told The Associated Press.

Omar in 2018 became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, building on a national profile that started when the onetime refugee from Somalia was elected to the Minnesota Legislature just two years earlier. Her aggressive advocacy on liberal issues, and her eagerness to take on Donald Trump, made her even more prominent.

Omar rejected Melton-Meaux’s attacks, saying they were funded by interests who wanted to get her out of Congress because she’s effective. She also downplayed Melton-Meaux’s prodigious fundraising before the vote, saying, “Organized people will always beat organized money.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and Republican challenger Jason Lewis easily won their primaries in the only statewide races on the ballot. Elsewhere, in western Minnesota’s conservative 7th District, former state Sen. Michelle Fischbach won a three-way Republican race for the right to challenge Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson. Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is one of the GOP’s top targets to flip a House seat in November.

After entering Congress with fanfare, Omar hurt herself early with comments about Israel and money that even some fellow Democrats called anti-Semitic, and found herself apologizing. She also came under scrutiny when her marriage fell apart and she married her political consultant months after denying they were having an affair.

Republicans also raised questions about continuing payments to her new husband’s firm, though experts said they aren’t necessarily improper.

In the wake of Floyd’s death, police reform also emerged as an issue. Omar supported a push by a majority of the Minneapolis City Council to replace the city’s police department with something new. Melton-Meaux did not support that but did support shifting some funding away from police to more social service-oriented programs. Both touched on the issue in personal ways, with Omar saying she wanted her son to grow up safely. Melton-Meaux, who is also black, told a personal story of being detained while at the University of Virginia by police seeking an assault suspect reported to have run into his apartment building.

Wendy Helgeson, 57, a consultant, backed Omar two years ago, even installing a lawn sign in her yard, and said she was “awfully proud of her being the first Black Muslim woman that we elected.” But she said she was concerned about campaign payments to Omar’s husband’s firm as well as her national presence, and found it easy to vote for Melton-Meaux, whom she said has been her friend for 12 years.

“I admire her as a woman,” Helgeson said of Omar. “As a candidate, ehhh … I have some reservations.”

John Hildebrand, a 47-year-old teacher in Minneapolis who voted for Omar, said her national profile is an advantage.

“I think just her presence encourages other Muslims and Somalis to run for office and to seek to be represented,” he said. “I think she just engages people in the political system more and more.”

Blake Smith, 23, a parks worker who is black and described himself as a leftist, also backed Omar. He’s concerned about climate change, Medicare for all and getting money out of politics, and he sees her as an ally.

“It’s more time for radical change than like small — I don’t think we have time for incremental change anymore,” Smith said.

Seattle’s Police Chief Quits Over Lack of Respect for Officers

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Seattle’s Police Chief Quits Over Lack of Respect for Officers

(Associated Press) Efforts to cut spending on police — a key demand of anti-racism demonstrators across the nation — have claimed an unlikely target: Seattle‘s first black police chief, who enjoyed deep support in its minority communities, is stepping down in protest.

Carmen Best announced her retirement Monday night, just hours after the City Council voted to cut her annual $285,000 salary by $10,000, as well as the salaries of her command staff, and to trim as many as 100 officers from a force of 1,400 through layoffs and attrition.

She said Tuesday that she was OK with her pay cut, but not with having to lay off young officers, many of them minorities hired in part to improve the department’s diversity. “That, for me — I’m done. Can’t do it,” she said at a news conference.

“It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers.”

Best, a military veteran who joined the department in 1992, was named chief two years ago. Mayor Jenny Durkan initially left her off a list of finalists for the job, but selected her after an outcry from community groups who had long known Best and wanted her to be chosen.

Durkan praised Best’s service and commitment to improving policing in the city Tuesday. She noted that Best had established a “collaborative policing bureau” to focus on youth violence prevention and other issues, added mental health workers in precincts, brought back community service officers and sought ways to reduce the burden of 911 calls — all before the protests that erupted after George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police.

“Of all the major cities in America, Seattle had the chief that not only understands the lived experience of Black America — because it is her experience — but has the deep experience in policing needed to change it,” Durkan said.

Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz, who heads the collaborative policing bureau, was named interim chief when Best’s resignation takes effect Sept. 2. Durkan said she would not begin looking to hire a permanent replacement, given the city’s dire economic outlook amid the pandemic as well as uncertainty about the future role of policing.

City Council members and residents alike had criticized Durkan and Best for the department’s response to protests against police brutality prompted by Floyd’s killing.

Best insisted that officers had a right to defend themselves.

Many of her supporters — even those who considered the department’s protest response heavy-handed — saw her retirement as unfortunate.

“All these organizations that have been pushing for police reform, we all believe Chief Best is a good chief,” said Linh Thai, managing director of the Vietnamese Community Leadership Institute. “We want her at the helm.”

Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County issued a statement demanding that the council “stop prioritizing performative action that solely suggests the appearance of change.”

“It does nothing to further our fight for authentic police accountability and the safety of black lives, that the first black woman to hold the position of Chief of Police of the Seattle Police Department has been forced out of her job by the Seattle City Council,” the organization said.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr also lamented Best’s departure: “This experience should be a lesson to state and local leaders about the real costs of irresponsible proposals to defund the police.”

The council voted Monday to cut the department’s current $400 million budget by less than 1%, which advocates described as a down payment on more ambitious cuts — including removing 911 dispatch from the department and other changes.

Council members Lorena Gonzalez, Teresa Mosqueda and Tammy Morales issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they were saddened by Best’s sudden departure. Separately, member Lisa Herbold called Best’s decision “a staggering loss to leaders of the Black and Brown community.”

Herbold said she was sorry if Best felt targeted or disrespected by the council’s actions.

“Every major city in the nation has a police chief who is learning that leadership means understanding that they may need to figure out how to accept — and get their departments to accept — that the public wants less policing and more community safety,” Herbold said.

Most Portland Rioters Will NOT Be Prosecuted

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Most Portland Rioters Will NOT Be Prosecuted

(Headline USA) People who have been arrested since late May on non-violent misdemeanor charges during protests that have racked Oregon’s largest city for more than 70 days won’t be prosecuted.

The new policy announced Tuesday dismisses the often violent protests in Portland as well as recognizing the more practical realities of the court system, which is running more than two months behind in processing cases because of COVID-19, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said.

At least several hundred people who have been arrested in the past few months will not face criminal prosecution, according to statistics provided by Schmidt’s office.

People arrested on similar charges in future demonstrations will also not be prosecuted, he said, which will invite more illegal activity.

“The protesters are angry … and deeply frustrated with what they perceive to be structural inequities in our basic social fabric. And this frustration can escalate to levels that violate the law,” Schmidt said. “This policy acknowledges that centuries of disparate treatment of our black and brown communities have left deep wounds and that the healing process will not be easy or quick.”

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, who was told of the policy change on Friday, said it doesn’t change Oregon law and still holds accountable people who commit violent acts or intentionally damage property.

“Committing a crime is different from demonstrating,” Lovell said in a statement. “The arrests we make often come after hours of damage to private property, disruption of public transit and traffic on public streets, thefts from small businesses, arson, burglary, attacks on members of the community, and attacks against police officers.”

Protests have dominated the news in Portland for more than 70 days since the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer held a knee to his neck for nearly eight minutes after Floyd resisted arrest.

Nights of unrest that increasingly targeted a federal courthouse prompted President Donald Trump to dispatch U.S. agents to guard the building in July.

The presence of the agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service was intended to tamp down on the riots but instead reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement.

The U.S. agents began drawing down July 31 under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Democratic Gov. Kate Brown.

But riots have continued nightly at different locations since then.

Police precincts in the north and east of the city, the police union headquarters and a building that houses police offices have been frequent targets.

Officers made dozens of arrests last weekend and this week after clashes with rioters who have thrown eggs, bottles and rocks at officers; started fires and punctured the tires of police vehicles.

Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.

Judicial Watch Sues for Footage in Md. Police Killing of 21-Year-Old Gun Owner

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Judicial Watch Sues for Footage in Md. Police Killing of 21-Year-Old Gun Owner

(Headline USA) Conservative legal watchdog Judicial Watch is suing a Maryland police department for copies of any body camera videos of a fatal shooting of a man whose family says he was asleep in his bedroom when police opened fire.

The group filed its lawsuit against the Montgomery County Police Department, which hasn’t publicly acknowledged whether it captured any video of the March 12 shooting of Duncan Lemp.

Prosecutors in neighboring Howard County are reviewing Lemp’s shooting.

The 21-year-old man’s death bore similarities to the controversial shooting of Breonna Taylor, a black Kentucky woman who was shot after police made a drug raid on her boyfriend’s home.

Taylor’s case has become nationally significant as one of several that groups like Black Lives Matter are using to protest police brutality and criminal justice reform.

Lemp, meanwhile, has been embraced as a martyr by civil libertarians who are equally outraged by police abuse of power while focused on corruption in pro-big-government sanctuary cities, many of which have become aggressively hostile to Second Amendment gun rights also.

Members of a tactical unit were serving a “no-knock” search warrant at Lemp’s home around 4:30 a.m. on March 12 when an officer fatally shot him.

Lemp’s girlfriend and parents say he was asleep in his bed beside his girlfriend when police fired at him from outside the house in Potomac, Maryland, according to family attorney Rene Sandler.

The family’s account contradicts a statement issued by the police department, which said Lemp was armed with a rifle and ignored commands to show his hands and get on the ground when officers entered his family’s home.

The department also said police found a “booby trap” affixed to the frame of Lemp’s bedroom door.

Judicial Watch sued the police department on July 28 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

It accuses the department of violating the Maryland Pubic Information Act. The group said the department failed to respond to its June 18 public records request for videos of the shooting.

“Given the vastly differing accounts of what happened, the Montgomery County Police Department needs to release all body-cam footage from the SWAT team raid on and shooting of Duncan Lemp,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement Tuesday. “Withholding basic public information about a police shooting undermines public confidence in law enforcement.”

The Associated Press filed a public records request for any such videos a day after the shooting.

The department’s records custodian denied the request on April 3, saying it was an open case and that “disclosure at this time would interfere with valid and proper law enforcement proceedings.”

A police department spokesman didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to an email and text message seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Yolanda Vazquez, a spokeswoman for Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson, said that office will not release any details of the case until it is concluded.

Sandler said Lemp’s family appreciates Judicial Watch for “pursuing accountability and transparency of police conduct” during officers’ entry of their home.

Sandler has criticized the police department for refusing to release any videos of the shooting or even confirm whether such evidence exists.

“For five months after police killed Duncan Lemp in his own bedroom, police have said nothing, revealed nothing, and have refused the grieving Lemp family any information about his death,” she wrote in an email Tuesday.

A post on Lemp’s Instagram account shortly before his death depicted two people holding up rifles and included the term “boogaloo.”

Sandler, however, has said Lemp was not a part of any anti-government group.

Detectives obtained the warrant to search the home Lemp shared with his parents and younger brother after receiving an anonymous tip that Lemp was illegally possessing firearms, police said.

The officer who shot Lemp was placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure after police shootings.

Trump Surprised by Biden’s Choice of Kamala Harris for VP

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Trump Surprised by Biden’s Choice of Kamala Harris for VP

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump says he’s “a little surprised” that his presumptive Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Trump told reporters at a White House briefing that Harris “was very disrespectful to Joe Biden” during the Democratic primaries, and said “it’s hard to pick somebody that’s that disrespectful.”

He also noted that Harris ”did very poorly” when she ran for the nomination—she dropped out in December—and says, “That’s like a poll.”

Harris was particularly harsh in her criticism of Biden’s troubling record on social-justice issues, such as his support for segregated busing during the 1970s.

Harris also scoffed at the suggestion that she would be Biden’s running mate, suggesting that it was sexist by saying “I think Joe Biden would be a great running mate. As vice president he’s proven that he knows how to do the job.”

Trump also warned that Harris—whom leftist media have sought to portray falsely as a “moderate”—wants to raise taxes, slash funds for the militarily and ban fracking.

He noted her tough questioning of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing.

“She was my No. 1 draft pick and we’ll see how she works out,” Trump said.

Biden’s campaign announced his decision to pick Harris as his running mate earlier Tuesday.

Trump last month had said she would be “a fine choice.”

Meanwhile Vice President Mike Pence welcomed his Democratic rival to the race and used the opportunity to attack the Biden–Harris ticket.

“As you all know, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have been overtaken by the radical left,” Pence said.

“So given their promises of higher taxes, open borders, socialized medicine and abortion on demand, it’s no surprise that he chose Sen. Harris.”

Pence then plugged the Oct. 7 vice presidential debate, scheduled to take place in Utah.

“So my message to the Democratic nominee for vice president: Congratulations. I’ll see you in Salt Lake City!”

The Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization, likewise condemned Harris for her stance on abortion.

“It is no surprise Joe Biden chose such an extremist as his running mate. If elected, they will immediately begin rolling back President Trump’s pro-life gains, as well as longstanding policies like the Hyde Amendment,” the group said in a statement.

“They will stack the Supreme Court with pro-abortion ideologues, setting the pro-life cause back for generations,” it continued. “Together, Biden and Harris constitute the most pro-abortion presidential ticket in American history.”

Biden said he picked Harris as his running mate in part because she “is ready to lead” and “understands the pain that so many people in our nation are suffering.”

Obama’s former vice president said in an email to supporters that Harris can be the partner to help him deliver on his promises to make sustainable changes to the country, which he characterizes as damaged by Trump’s presidency.

Referencing his time as vice president, Biden said his pick of Harris reflects a “governing decision” rather than a political one, noting that they would inherit “a nation divided, and a world in disarray.”

Biden says he and Harris would be holding a fundraiser Wednesday “so she can get a chance to talk to some of the grassroots supporters who have powered this campaign.”

REPORTS: Biden Picks Kamala Harris as Running Mate

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REPORTS: Biden Picks Kamala Harris as Running Mate

Preliminary reports from Politico on Tuesday signaled that Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., would be presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden’s choice for a vice-presidential running mate.

Politico appeared to have the inside track on the nomination. Last week it had posted—apparently by accident—a list of the prospective running mates that identified Harris as the winner.

It was followed shortly thereafter by another apparent accident—an accidental leak of Biden’s notes in a photograph, which showed Biden offering glowing praise for Harris.

Even so, some remained skeptical that the leaks were more than a ruse to throw speculators off course. Other names, including former national security adviser Susan Rice and California Rep. Karen Bass had drawn considerable focus in media coverage of late.

Biden, who has encountered repeated gaffes that have offended minorities and others, made good on his pledge to name a minority woman with the choice.

However, some may be wary of Harris, a former San Francisco prosecutor and California attorney general, whose hard-nosed demeanor has been as much a liability as an asset to her political ambition.

With the radical left clamoring to defund police, Harris’s own prosecutorial record may come under scrutiny. That includes a controversial decision to support the arrest and incarceration of parents whose children were truant to school.

The Biden campaign likely was optimistic, though, that Harris could help provide balance to the ticket and to reassure voters that an experienced lawmaker would be in line to replace him.

The 77-year-old has appeared to be in a state of cognitive decline, adding to the importance of a competent second-in-command.

Harris also was a prominent critic of Biden’s during the drawn-out Democratic primary, attacking him in heated debate moments over his blighted record on racial matters, including support for segregated busing in the 1970s.

One area where the two candidates will not round each other out, though, is the propensity for flubs.

While Biden has been notorious for flip-flopping on issues like China and abortion, Harris also has garnered a reputation for her indecisiveness in areas like socialized health care.

BLM Organizer Defends Violent Looting, Rioting As ‘Reparations’

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BLM Organizer Defends Violent Looting, Rioting As ‘Reparations’

Black Lives Matter activists defended the rioting and looting that took place in downtown Chicago over the weekend, arguing that the destruction is tantamount to “reparations.”

“I don’t care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats,” said Ariel Atkins, a BLM organizer, according to NBC Chicago.

“That makes sure that person has clothes,” Atkins said. “… That is reparations. Anything they wanted to take, they can take because these businesses have insurance.”

Rioters caused at least $60 million in property damage and injured 13 police officers, according to Fox News.

But instead of condemning such violence, BLM activists decided to host a rally on Monday in support of the looters who were arrested.

Soon afterward, the Chicago branch of the BLM organization released a statement calling for the complete dissolution of the Chicago Police Department.

“The mayor clearly has not learned anything since May, and she would be wise to understand that the people will keep rising up until the [Chicago Police Department] is abolished and our Black communities are fully invested in,” the group said in a statement.

The group went on to warn Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot that the unrest would not stop until “the safety and well-being of our communities is finally prioritized.”

The organization also refused to condemn the violent rioting, arguing that rioting is actually a form of protest that Chicago officials must accept.

“Over the past few months, too many people—disproportionately Black and Brown—have lost their jobs, lost their income, lost their homes, and lost their lives as the city has done nothing and the Chicago elite have profited,” BLM Chicago said in a statement, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“When protesters attack high-end retail stores that are owned by the wealthy and service the wealthy, that is not ‘our’ city and has never been meant for us,” it said.

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