On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, the Santa Clara, California, District Attorney’s office removed Judge Aaron Persky from an upcoming sexual assault case.

Persky gave Brock Turner, a student at Stanford University, a 6-month jail sentence for raping an unconscious woman with an object — resulting in an enormous backlash, including a petition to remove Persky from power, which over 1.2 million people signed. Prosecutors had asked for a 6-year sentence.

Persky had said since Turner was intoxicated he had “less moral culpability” and that “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him” (Turner is in a local jail, not state prison; he will likely be out in just 3 months for good behavior).

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the decision to remove Persky was “rare and carefully considered.” Further, “We lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing.”

The new case involves a male nurse, Cecil Webb, accused of touching the genitals of an anesthetized woman before her surgery at a hospital in late 2014.

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“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it.”

Those were Republican Senator John McCain’s words on the Orlando, Florida, shooting, offered to the press Thursday morning, June 16, 2016.

A Florida man who pledged allegiance to ISIS, but also expressed vehement hatred for homosexuals, massacred 49 people, wounding 53, at a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday night.

“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it,” McCain said, “because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq. So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies.”

The Seattle Times described McCain as “visibly angry.”

McCain doubled down when prodded. “Directly responsible. Because he pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It’s a matter of record, so he is directly responsible.”

ISIS indeed formed after American troops left Iraq (though unquestionably the American invasion itself destabilized Iraq and widely attracted and birthed new terror groups, some of which later formed ISIS, making one wonder if George W. Bush is also “directly responsible” for the Orlando shooting, following McCain’s logic).

But the Obama administration played a slightly greater role than simply withdrawing. A classified Pentagon report from August 2012, exposed in May 2015, revealed the U.S. supported Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the Muslim Brotherhood, and other extremist groups in their fight against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad (this was later acknowledged by the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency). The report predicted these extremists would combine to form something like the Islamic State, helpful in “unifying the jihad” against Assad, but warning it could “create grave danger” to the region. The U.S. decided to continue supporting the extremists despite this risk.

That is how ISIS came to be; who it targets is also determined by foreign policy. It is commonly acknowledged, by Western intelligence agencies and by ISIS itself, that primary ISIS (and other terror group) targets are nations involved militarily in “Muslim lands” — such as the U.S., currently battling ISIS in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere.

Facing criticism for blaming the president, by early Thursday afternoon, McCain was already trying to walk back the comment — sort of — on Twitter: “To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obama’s national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself.”

McCain seemed to be changing his tune from “direct” to “indirect” blame of the president, making a distinction between Obama’s decisions (indirect) and the idea that Obama literally committed the shooting (direct). A simple distinction between Obama’s decisions and Obama himself makes less sense, as one would be hard-pressed to separate Obama from Obama’s decisions.

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On Monday, June 20, 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, John McCain, and other Republicans called for an expansion of FBI surveillance powers as a response to the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people at a gay nightclub. The Senate vote is expected by Wednesday.

The bill would allow the FBI to view a suspect’s web browsing history, I.P. addresses, and who he or she corresponds with via email without a warrant. Authority would be granted under “national security letters,” which currently limit the FBI to looking at phone information without a warrant. The Obama administration is a proponent of this expansion of FBI power.

The bill would also make permanent the ability of the Justice Department to monitor “lone wolf” suspects that do not have known ties to terror groups.

The Patriot Act of 2001, passed after 9/11, opened the door to broad expansion of State surveillance, which culminated in National Security Administration analyst Edward Snowden exposing details of the NSA’s massive domestic spying program. The intelligence files he leaked to the press revealed the government was keeping records of nearly 2 billion phone calls, text messages, and emails every day. Despite the fact that some Americans labeled Snowden a “traitor,” a massive public uproar against the government spurred by Snowden’s revelations pushed President Obama to terminate the spying program in June 2015.

The current bill is viewed by liberal opponents as yet another egregious violation of privacy and liberty, an unacceptable expansion of government. Conservative supporters believe “it is important our law enforcement have the tools they need to conduct counterterrorism investigations,” as McCain said.

The call for greater surveillance came on the same day Republican senators voted down measures that would have expanded background checks for gun buyers, banned people on the terror watch list from buying guns, and other steps.

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On Friday, June 24, 2016, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said “an independence referendum is now highly likely” for Scotland in the near future, due to Britain’s 52-48% vote to leave the European Union — the “Brexit” referendum result that shocked the world.

“I want to make it absolutely clear today,” Sturgeon said, “that I intend to take all possible steps and explore all options to give effect to how people in Scotland voted, in other words to secure our continuing place in the EU…”

62% of Scotland voted to remain in the EU.

This would not be the first time Scotland voted on whether to continue its centuries-old political bond with Britain. In 2014, 55% of Scots voted to stay in the U.K., 45% voted for independence. But Ana Nicolaci de Costa writes, “One key reason Scots rejected independence in a referendum almost three years ago was because independence meant leaving the EU too. After Thursday’s vote, the question is whether some Scots who wavered but eventually voted to stick with the UK in 2014, may now prefer to join the secessionists.”

Jonathon Freedland wrote in the Guardian,

Scotland (like London) voted to remain inside the European Union. Every one of its political parties (bar Ukip) urged a remain vote. Yet now Scotland is set to be dragged out of the EU, against its collective will.

The demand will be loud and instant for Scotland to assure its own destiny by breaking free of the UK. This is precisely the kind of “material change” that the Scottish National party always said would be enough to warrant a second referendum to follow the one held in 2014. And this time, surely, there will be a majority for independence. So a first legacy of 23 June could well be the imminent break-up of the UK.

Further,

The implications will be profound for Northern Ireland too… Note this morning’s warning from [political party] Sinn Féin that the British government has “forfeited any mandate to represent the economic and political interests of people in Northern Ireland”.

Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU with a nearly 56% majority.

Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness called for a poll to judge support for leaving the U.K. and uniting with Ireland. Northern Ireland has a history of violence from the 1960s to the 1990s between Protestants who wished to remain part of the U.K. and Catholics who wished to unite with Ireland.

The Brexit vote has already wrought enormous consequences. A member of parliament may have been murdered for her pro-EU, pro-refugee stance, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, and the stock market plunged.

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At the BET Awards on the evening of June 26, 2016, actor and activist Jesse Williams had the audience roaring with applause as he spoke of social justice for black Americans. Williams received the Humanitarian Award for his involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, including creating the Stay Woke documentary. Here are the most powerful lines from his speech, and some appropriate reactions:

“NOW, THIS AWARD, THIS IS NOT FOR ME. THIS IS FOR THE REAL ORGANIZERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THE ACTIVISTS, THE CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEYS, THE STRUGGLING PARENTS, THE FAMILIES, THE TEACHERS, THE STUDENTS THAT ARE REALIZING THAT A SYSTEM BUILT TO DIVIDE AND IMPOVERISH AND DESTROY US CANNOT STAND IF WE DO.”

“THE MORE WE LEARN ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE GOT HERE, THE MORE WE WILL MOBILIZE.”

“THIS IS ALSO IN PARTICULAR FOR THE BLACK WOMEN IN PARTICULAR WHO HAVE SPENT THEIR LIFETIMES DEDICATED TO NURTURING EVERYONE BEFORE THEMSELVES.”

“WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING IS LOOKING AT THE DATA AND WE KNOW THAT POLICE SOMEHOW MANAGE TO DEESCALATE, DISARM AND NOT KILL WHITE PEOPLE EVERY DAY. SO WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IS WE’RE GOING TO HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY OR WE WILL RESTRUCTURE THEIR FUNCTION IN OURS.”

“NOW, I GOT MORE, Y’ALL.”

“YESTERDAY WOULD HAVE BEEN YOUNG TAMIR RICE’S 14TH BIRTHDAY. SO, I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE ABOUT HOW FAR WE’VE COME WHEN PAID PUBLIC SERVANTS CAN PULL A DRIVE-BY ON A 12-YEAR-OLD PLAYING ALONE IN A PARK IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, KILLING HIM ON TELEVISION AND THEN GOING HOME TO MAKE A SANDWICH.”

“TELL REKIA BOYD HOW IT’S SO MUCH BETTER TO LIVE IN 2012, THAN IT IS TO LIVE IN 1612 OR 1712. TELL THAT TO ERIC GARNER. TELL THAT TO SANDRA BLAND. TELL THAT TO DARRIEN HUNT.”

“THE THING IS, THOUGH, ALL OF US IN HERE GETTING MONEY THAT ALONE ISN’T GOING TO STOP THIS. ALL RIGHT? NOW DEDICATING OUR LIVES TO GETTING MONEY JUST TO GIVE IT RIGHT BACK. TO PUT SOMEONE’S BRAND ON OUR BODY WHEN WE SPENT CENTURIES PRAYING WITH BRANDS ON OUR BODIES AND NOW WE PRAY TO GET PAID WITH BRANDS FOR OUR BODIES.”

“THERE HAS BEEN NO WAR THAT WE HAVE NOT FOUGHT AND DIED ON THE FRONT LINES OF. THERE HAS BEEN NO JOB WE HAVEN’T DONE. THERE’S NO TAX THEY HAVEN’T LEVIED AGAINST US. AND WE PAY ALL OF THEM. BUT FREEDOM IS SOMEHOW ALWAYS CONDITIONAL HERE. YOU’RE FREE, THEY KEEP TELLING US, BUT SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE IF SHE HADN’T ACTED SO…FREE.”

“FREEDOM IS ALWAYS COMING IN THE HEREAFTER BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT, THOUGH, THE HEREAFTER IS A HUSTLE. WE WANT IT NOW.”

“THE BURDEN OF THE BRUTALIZED IS NOT TO COMFORT THE BYSTANDER. THAT’S NOT OUR JOB… IF YOU HAVE A CRITIQUE FOR THE RESISTANCE, FOR OUR RESISTANCE, THEN YOU BETTER HAVE AN ESTABLISHED RECORD OF CRITIQUE OF OUR OPPRESSION. IF YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN EQUAL RIGHTS FOR BLACK PEOPLE, THEN DO NOT MAKE SUGGESTIONS TO THOSE WHO DO. SIT DOWN.”

“WE’RE DONE WATCHING, AND WAITING WHILE THIS INVENTION CALLED WHITENESS USES AND ABUSES US. BURYING BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND, WHILE EXTRACTING OUR CULTURE, OUR DOLLARS, OUR ENTERTAINMENT LIKE OIL — BLACK GOLD. GHETTOIZING AND DEMEANING OUR CREATIONS THEN STEALING THEM. GENTRIFYING OUR GENIUS AND THEN TRYING US ON LIKE COSTUMES BEFORE DISCARDING OUR BODIES LIKE RINDS OF STRANGE FRUIT. THE THING IS, THOUGH, THE THING IS, THAT JUST BECAUSE WE’RE MAGIC DOESN’T MEAN WE’RE NOT REAL.”

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