WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Trump's federal cops descend on Portland. Chicago is next. 

Nearly two dozen lawmakers blasted Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara's letter in a joint statement Sunday.

"We resoundingly condemn FOP President John Catanzara's request that President Trump intervene in Chicago. This is a blatant attempt to instigate further violence against the young people who are leading the fight for real safety and justice in Chicago, and is particularly frightening given the situation in Portland, where unidentified federal agents have been throwing protestors into unmarked vehicles," the elected officials' statement said. "Yet as terrifying as the reports from Portland are, we must situate Catanzara's letter in the Chicago Police Department's own history of civilian torture and kidnappings. We stand with the organizers and activists who have called for an immediate end to such practices by the CPD, and the closure of Homan Square and all CPD black sites." -- ABC7

Trump tells Chris Wallace...

“I'm not losing, because those are fake polls."Not only did Trump deny the hard data, he also refused to say if he will accept the result of November’s presidential election if he comes out the loser.
“I have to see,” he said. “Look … I have to see. No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no..." -- Fox News Sunday

I don’t, for the life of me, understand why ppl ask @realDonaldTrump of he will “accept” the results of the election if he loses...Did I miss something in believing that it’s not up to him one way or the other...and that asking him so politely makes him believe its optional?

— Keith Eric Benson, Ed.D (@KeithEricBenson) July 19, 2020

Joe Biden
...called on Congress to provide billions of dollars in emergency funding for school districts, which say they cannot openly safely without federal assistance to make the changes necessary and purchase enough protective equipment.

“If we do this wrong, we will put lives at risk and set our economy and our country back,” Biden said in the video. -- Washington Post

Rep. Al Green (D-TX)

"America's race problem demands radical solutions like a Department of Reconciliation." -- Think

Prof. Nathaniel Persily, Stanford Law School

 It’s Not Too Late to Save the 2020 Election. Avoiding a debacle for U.S. democracy will require getting as many Americans as possible to vote by mail and ensuring that polling places are safe, convenient, and plentiful. -- Wall Street Journal

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

“Mark Curran’s public attack on John Lewis just days after his death is disgusting. To disparage Congressman Lewis, a truly selfless hero and relentless fighter for civil rights and equality is a new low for Curran. It is time for responsible Illinois Republican Party leaders to clearly repudiate Curran’s hateful rhetoric.” -- NBC5 

Yikes: A day after John Lewis died, Republican Senate candidate Mark Curran blasted him, says he may have been “instrumental” in civil right fight “at one time” but “got in bed with Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry.” Links it to Chicago gun violence.

— Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) July 19, 2020