At last count, there are 14 organizations planning to protest against President Trump’s rally in Phoenix on Tuesday, this according to a tally by the Phoenix Sun Times, a news organization that has attempted to track them all. The groups also have urged their members to request free tickets to the rally, then not attend — to lend the impression that there are empty seats in the humongous arena. Meanwhile, two groups will be on hand in support of the president.
“Donald Trump is coming to the Phoenix Convention Center to hold a rally. There have been plans for Charlottesville sympathizers to protest. We need our bikers to show up and keep people safe,” Bikers for Trump Arizona Cobra Chapter says in a “call to action” to the group’s members — in anticipation of a possible encounter with anti-Trump protesters, who will assemble at the arena an hour before Mr. Trump steps on stage in the early evening.
“They are supposed to start at 6:00. We think we need to be there by at least 4:00. That is when the doors open. If there are people outside waiting to get in, we don’t want anyone to harass them. Protesters have a right to protest, but they don’t have a right to threaten or intimidate. That is why we need to be there,” the notice explained.
There also will be a “Stand for Patriotism Rally,” outside the convention center. Organizers advise participants that “anti-American and “hate groups” will be in attendance.
“Let’s counterprotest them and stand up for God and country,” the planners suggest.
The other groups that also plan to assemble at the convention center include: the Democratic Socialists of Phoenix, Arizona Resist, Desert Progressives, Students for a Democratic Society, Puente Arizona, and Cosplayers Against Hate — a group with members who wear superhero costumes.
“Expect traffic restrictions and delays at security checkpoints. Be aware of your surroundings and if you see something, say something,” the Phoenix Police advise in a public announcement to citizens.
Yes, intrepid C-SPAN will cover the rally, beginning at 10 p.m. EST.
A MELANIA MOMENT
When a cheerful first lady Melania Trump returned to Washington on Sunday evening with President Trump and son, Barron, she wore dazzling smile — plus a sleeveless white Delpozo midi dress that featured a snugly belted waist plus insets within the generous skirt in pale gray and delicate pistachio.
Very nice. Very moderne, distinctive. Very feminine.
The dress also sold out within hours nationwide, this according to Lyst, a clothing industry group that tracks sales among 450 major retailers daily. Vogue magazine quickly took notice, adding that Mrs. Trump took “a minimalist approach to accessorizing, with little more than a pair of flat-top tortoiseshell shades and taupe stilettos to finish the look.”
Mrs. Trump has “effortless style,” writes John Binder, a reporter for Breitbart News.
SOME PRICEY BIAS
The National Science Foundation — an independent federal agency — is spending nearly $175,000 in tax payer money to fund a conference on “implicit bias,” reports Elizabeth Harrington, a writer for the Washington Free Beacon. Experts on “prejudice and discrimination” plan to gather at Stanford University at a future date to research, well, something.
“The implicit bias conference will look at whether scientific evidence backs up current unconscious bias training that has become prevalent in corporate America, and in government agencies,” Ms. Harrington notes.
“Unconscious bias training was popular under the Obama administration. The training was mandated for the Justice Department last year, and the intelligence community brought in a ‘global diversity’ manager from Google for a seminar on implicit bias.”
According to the grant literature for the event, the overall goal of the conference is to “bring together a group of the leading experts on racism and prejudice to review the literature, discuss strengths and weaknesses of existing evidence, and identify fruitful directions for future work.”
RECORD-BREAKING TREASURE CHEST
Support for the GOP is still out there no matter what the news media says. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and finance Chairman Steve Wynn say the organization raised $10.2 million last month, a record for any July of a nonpresidential year. In total, the GOP has tallied $86.5 million in donations this year, and has zero debt.
“Financial support for Republican candidates and the Republican agenda continues across the nation at record high levels,” says Mr. Wynn. “These fundraising achievements reflect the continuing desire of Americans for smaller, more efficient government dedicated to the betterment of the lives for Americans of every description, of every color, religion, and political persuasion.”
BERNIE ON THE MOVE
Will Ohio and Michigan feel the Bern? The trajectory of the incoming midterms already on his mind, Sen. Bernard Sanders is staging town halls in both states on Tuesday. The Vermont independent and self described socialist will appear at public rally in an arts center in Portsmouth, Ohio, in the morning, followed by a second one in Detroit later in the day. The audience could be sizable. Mr. Sanders’ campaign says that 12,500 fans turned out to see him at a recent grass-roots event in Montana.
Mr. Sanders, meanwhile, urges his followers to “organize.” The lawmaker himself continues to push back at the White House in no uncertain terms.
“President Trump — when you were on the campaign trail, you said that you would be a president for middle America and working families. Now you have the richest cabinet in the history of this country and support policies that will hurt regular Americans and give massive tax breaks to the 1 percent. This is unacceptable,” Mr. Sanders noted in a Facebook post Monday.
POLL DU JOUR
• 71 percent of Americans rate independent private schools as “good or excellent,” 17 percent call them “fair,” 4 percent say they are “poor.”
• 63 percent say parochial or church-related school are good or excellent, 21 percent call them fair, 9 percent poor.
• 55 percent say charter schools are good or excellent, 23 percent fair, 9 percent poor.
• 46 percent say home schooling is good or excellent, 31 percent call it fair, 15 percent poor.
• 44 percent say public schools are good or excellent, 35 percent fair, 19 percent poor.
