In california set fire to a courthouse, damaged a Police Station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified. A peaceful demonstration intensified. You get that . You wonder what some of these journalists might have made of some of the most important events in history. What do you think, pearl harbor was bombed by japanese planes after tokyos peaceful protests against americas presence in the Pacific Region intensified. The media, of course, arent alone. Blaming any unrest on the federal government. On capitol hill this week Congressional Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee staged a show trial, im sorry, i mean a congressional hearing with attorney general william barr. Democrats repeatedly attacked mr. Barr for the deployment of federal Law Enforcement in portland, oregon, echoing remarks of local leaders who say its an act of aggression by the government against its own people. In this moment real leadership would entail deescalation. Instead, you use pepper spray on american citizens, and now you are projecting fear and violence nationwide in pursuit of obvious political objectives. Shame on you, mr. Barr. Can i just say shame on you. Gerry mr. Barr explained that the deployment was essential to protect federal property there. He had a question for the lawmakers. Federal courts are under attack. Since when is it okay to try to burn down a federal court . If someone went down to street to the beautiful courthouse at the bottom of the hill and started throwing kerosene balloons in and started fires in the court, is that okay . Is that okay now . Gerry he didnt seem to get an answer. In a moment, well take a detailed look at whats going on in portland and elsewhere with the leading figure in federal Law Enforcement. But it was a busy week elsewhere. On thursday we got a picture of how much damage the economy has suffered thanks to the coronavirus. The government reported gdp shrank at an annualized rate of 32. 9 , the steepest quarterly decline on record. That is a backwardlooking number, and the economy has been recovering. But we also learned that jobless claims rose again last week, a worrying indication that that the recovery stalling as more lockdowns are imposed in response to a new spike in virus cases. So this week leaders of the four Big Technology companies were grilled by a Congressional Committee together for the first time about their businesses and the power that they now wield. Their dominance has only increased during the lockdown. And later in the show well take a look at that power and what we should be doing about it. But lets start with the violence in American Cities. On wednesday an agreement was reached to withdraw federal agents from portland if its leaders would protect federal facilities. So how is that working out . And what are the last few weeks there and elsewhere, what have they taught us about whats going on . Rodney scott is the head of the u. S. Border patrol. Chief scott, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you for having me on this morning, appreciate it. Gerry can you tell us, first of all, this is situation in portland. An agreement was made this week that the federal agents whod been there will be withdrawn, and there were reports on thursday that there werent federal agents on the street on thursday night. Can you just give us an update on whats going on and how that situation is developing . Yeah, let me tell you a little bit about last night. So last night was the first time yes. First time in over two months that federal agents didnt face a direct and immediate threat of being burnt alive inside that Federal Building. The reason for that was because the state stepped up and partnered with us and actually took away the ability for the anarchists and these violent individuals to attack the Federal Building and the can courthouse at will from a park across the street from city property. That Partnership Together now has made that entire area significantly safer because the federal agents are doing the their job, and the state doing their job. And that partnership, when its together like that, works. Gerry so will federal agents, could they be back on the streets of portland, or do you now expect this partnership to hold . So the, that sounds weird, depends on who hears that. I want to make it very clear that protecting those Federal Buildings is a federal responsibility under federal protective services and the u. S. March halls. Theyll be there forever. So when you hear withdrawal, what do you mean by that . My agents and Additional Special Response Teams, they are stepping back to allow the state to do their job and the federal protective services to do their job because we only surged in because the federal protective services were being overrun, and their lives were literally at stake. Gerry so do you finish what was going on . Why were. The state the authorities, why were the state Law Enforcement agencies not working with the federal agents who were already there . Why was it, why did you need to do this deal . Why were those buildings not being properly protected, law and order properly protected on the streets of portland . So thats a question as a longterm Government Employee i cant necessarily answer. Ill stay out of the politics. The reality on the ground though was that protests, some peaceful, mom so the quickly some not, my parter ins, federal protective services cried out for help that they were being overrun, and we responded. I cant really address why or how the state makes the decisions that they make. Gerry do you expect your agents to be deployed in other American Cities . Theres violence unfolding across American Cities, as you know. Weve seen terrible violence in many, many cities and the federal government, the president has announced that the federal agents will be made available in other cities. I know that there have been discussions with other mayors and city authorities. Do you expect your agents to be involved . So the mutual aid, if you will, has been around since the beginning of time. Border patrol agents have been deployed during katrina to help with restoring peace after that and to do rescues, the l. A. Riots years ago, after 9 11 we served as u. S. Marshals. Another example the Democratic National convention, i saw some news that there were over a hundred Different Police departments that just made a decision about supporting that. But thats because this mutual aid exists across the entire nation, and often incidents exceed the capabilities of, the local capabilities, and we will surge in based on what ever that threat is. I expect that type of process to continue, and i think thats what the american taxpayer would expect as well. Gerry i think the mayor of seattle said what was going on in portland and this deployment of federal agents was a dry run for martial law. How do you respond to that . So, again, i try to stay out of the politics, but i would caution your viewers that rhetoric like that really roads trust in the federal process and federal erodes trust in the federal process and Law Enforcement in general is a real threat right now. The misinformation thats being spread by individuals, that can cause real, real damage long they term. The federal government has a responsibility to protect Federal Buildings. The federal government exists in almost every major city across the united states. Thats just how it works. You cant go in and burn down a Federal Building, and when i say burn down, the fireworks that you heard about being aimed at our personnel, those are commercial grade. Those are equivalent of the fourth of July Fireworks that go hundreds of feet up in the air aimed directly at our personnel. There is not a federal martial law response. This was doing a job that were clearly responsible for not just authorized, but responsible to do. Gerry coming up, were going to take a quick break, but coming up ill talk further with chief scott about Law Enforcement in portland and elsewhere and what weve learned in the course of the last few weeks. Stay with us. 1 in 5 people you meet wear dentures. Yeah. That many but right now, is not the time to talk about it. So when youre ready, search my denture care. Poligrip and polident. Fixed. Fresh. And just between us. Gerry im back with u. S. Border patrol chief rodney scott. Chief scott, the protesters and many of their political friends in these cities have been saying that it was your agents and other federal agents who actually were a provocation to the violence, that actually these were peaceful protests, you know, maybe one or two people were misbehaving, but that sending in your agents, especially your agents who are particularly well trained in robust tactics, they provoked the violence. How do you respond to that . I guess calling it a lie might be a little bit strong or, but they clearly are some all tier car motives there. When this started, the u. S. Marshals were inside that federal courthouse, they were not out on the streets. And then protests on county and state property shifted, and then like immediately that court mouths started being attacked. They were trying to light it on fire. They were breaking out windows, taking off protective sheetings, and it was a fullon attack. Our response was exactly that, it was a response, and it was the right thing to do to protect those federal facilities and the people inside which seem to be forgotten quite often in this conversation. Gerry and one criticism again of your agents was that, you know, they werent identified, they were arresting people or bundling people, detaining people in unmarked vehicles, that this was not according to with the rules of u. S. Law enforcement. What how do you respond to that . Again, a lot of misinformation. All the people that we deployed, it was my special Response Team called Border Patrol special Response Team if some of our special Response Teams. They were, as you saw, in camouflage. Thats the uniform they normally wear out in the field, and its not just that. That uniform provides extra protection. Its got extra pucketts and padding for pockets and padding k and they did deploy in that. But both of their arms had patches on them, they were clearly marked as application. Individuals are taking advantage of the fact that they were not in the normal, everyday Border Patrol uniform and making more out of that than there really is. Theyre especially training, theyre some of the best out there, and those uniforms are designed specifically for that situation. The use of unmarked vehicles is nationwide. Every Law Enforcement agency on the planet uses them. Again, thats being blown out of proportion. And then last but not least, our officers identify themselves. They clearly tell people who they are, what theyre doing. Even that video that went viral, it was a very calm video. You dont see any chaos. Agents approached the individual that was a target of being a criminal, they announced themselves, theyty towned detained that individual to further the investigation and then, ultimately, released that individual. Gerry and finally, chief, what happened to those detained . They were treated act exactly as they should be, read hu ran da rights and processed through the legal system, correct . Correct. During a chaotic situation like that, you need to get out of that area. To normally where we would have a longer conversation say on a desperate corner with Street Corner with an individual to make sure its who youre looking for, whatever the intelligence is we have, you couldnt do that right there. So on some occasions people were taken around a corner to a side street or into the lobby of the building to be interviewed and compared with criminals who we saw attacking agents and or the building. If they were not the individual, they were quickly released. About 98 individuals are being processed and charged. Gerry thanks for all the work you do for us. Coming up, big tech ceos were grilled on capitol hill this week. How powerful are these companies, and what should we do about it in thahahaha looks like they picked the wrong getaway driver. Theyre going to be paying for this for a long time. They will, but with accident forgiveness allstate wont raise your rates just because of an accident, even if its your fault. Cut sonny. Was that good . Line the desert never lies. Isnt that what i said . No you were talking about allstate and insurance. I just. When i. Lets try again. Everybody back to one. Accident forgiveness from allstate. Click or call for a quote today. And im an area manager here at amazon. When you walk into an amazon fulfillment center, its like walking into the Chocolate Factory and you won a golden ticket. Its an amazing feeling. My threeyearold, when we get a box delivered, he gets excited. He screams, mommys work when the pandemic started, we started shipping out all the safety stuff that would keep the associates safe to all the other amazons. All of these are face masks, weve sent well over 10 million gloves. And this may look like a bottle of vodka. When we first got these, we were like whoa [laughing] with this pandemic, safety is even more important because theyre going home to babies, theyre going home to grandparents. So, our responsibility is to make sure that they go home safe every single day. So,welcome to camplity tonsafun on xfinity its summer camp, but in your living room. Learn how to draw with a minions expert. How to build an indoor Obstacle Course plus. Whatever shes doing. And me, jade cattapreta. The host of es the soup camp tonsafun. Its like summer camp, but minus the poison ivy. Unless you own poison ivy. In which case, why . Just say summer camp into your xfinity voice remote to join. Gerry this week on capitol hill the leaders of america s Big Tech Companies were grilled by congress on their market power, competitive tactics and perceived bias. The ceos insisted, in fact, they werent really that powerful at all but faced plenty of competition. The Retail Market we participate in is extraordinarily large and competitive. Theres room in retail for multiple winners. Gerry tell that to investors who have placed a 1. 5 trillion the value on amazon. Just look at thursdays earnings from these companies. Apple posted a blowout third quarter. Amazon sales soared x facebook and google also beat expectations. So what did we learn this week . Joining me to discuss is a tech and social media commentator and former editorinchief of pcmag. Com. Lawrence, welcome. Thank you very much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Gerry so there they were facing their political masters, supposedly, all kinds of threats about regulating them. What did we learn of these Big Companies this week many. Well, you know, look, they were like we have lots of competition, but, you know, often times they didnt have answers to questions. Well look into that more deeply. I was more impressed with the Congress People than i have been in the past because they were asking some more pointed questions. There was some diversion, there were questions about shadow banning and conservative biases and things like that, that really didnt have much to do with antitrust, but there were some pretty detailed questions about, like, crosssite cookies, you know, and really understood they went back to amazons battle with the original diapers. Com where eventually consumed it and how they went about that. And, you know, a lot of what they were saying what was really interesting to me is what happened after the hearing because a treasuretrove of documents were released x. That kind of outlined how the information that they were using to pose some of these questions which really look back at how Companies Like amazon, google and apple and facebook have been dealing with competitors. Gerry one of the things weve certainly seen in the last few months during lockdown, during this coronavirus, they have actually seem their power seem to have grown greater. People are more dependent on tech devices, software, on all this technology to live their lives and to work. I think thats a source of concern for a lot of people, isnt it . Yeah, i think it is. You know, its a really i mean, you look back at even just the earnings that just happened this week, one of the things that you found is that, you know, while were concerned about these companies power, say, for example, facebook, the engagement numbers were rising. Why . Because were all track trapped at home. Digital is how we connect. So, you know, its a very interesting sort of dichotomy here when you have this concern about the power that is the centralized power that is growing with these companies and our desperate need for these companies. You know, were about to head into the back the School Season back to School Season, and a lot of people are not actually going physically back to school. Theyre going to be relying on the technology of some of these very same companies. So, you know, theres a concern about, well, what if we could do something right now to break them up. Which, by the way, we cant at this moment. But would that be too disruptive at a time when we need them most of all. Gerry what do you think finish the companies themselves say, look, what matters here the consumers interest. These companies produce great products, great services, low cost, prices in many ways certainly in terms of the value for money, consumers benefit from these things, why should we take any action to do anything to harm their market dominance when theyre doing so much good for people . Yeah, well, thats the problem. Consumers may be happy, but their choices could conceively be limited because there are fewer and fewer competitors. Amazon swallows up companies that they think might compete with, facebook, for example, swallowed up instagram which it clearly saw as a competitor especially as it grew, and now its growing within facebook which protects it from outside competition, also makes it easier for them to be back additional competitors beat back additional competitors in that space. And thats the question we have, we may think things are fine, but we dont know what were missing, those companies that can come in. And to your point about whats happened during this time, amazon in particular has grown incredibly powerful because we do all of our shopping from home. And its infrastructure was specifically built to deliver on that. If competitors like walmart, theyre growing but not at the same pace. Walmart is getting beaten by amazon. Gerry weve got to wrap, but one quick final question, lawrence. These companies, the amount of data that they have on us just grows and grows pretty well daily, and that surely is a concern, a privacy concern, a market power concern. Do you think thats something that regulators are going to have to deal with . Oh, absolutely. You know, we really need sort of a personal data bill of rights. The problem is that congress has moved very, very slowly on passing any kind of tech regulation. Everybody agrees it would be good, but we seem to be getting nowhere on it. Gerry weve got to wrap it up there, but thank you very much indeed, stir. Coming up, one university in this country appears to be taking a different stand on english grammar than weve been used to in the past. How far will our cultural elitist changes go . Well b b b b tara, did you know geico is now offering an extra 15 credit on car and motorcycle policies . Wow. Ok thats 15 on top of what geico could already save you. So what are you waiting for . Idina menzel to sing your own theme song . Tara, tara, look at her go with a fresh cup of joe. Gettin down to work early following her dreams into taxidermy oh, its. Tax attorney. I read that wrong, oh yeeaaaah geico. Save an extra 15 percent when you switch by october 7th. Give it up for tara gerry something we try to do on the show each week to expose how our cultural elites seek to impose their narrow, untolerant world view on everyone else. Weve seen it in the growth of cancel culture and environment on campuses, newsrooms and increasingly in businesses where its getting harder to dissent from the ve prerailing views without being publicly shamed or denounced. They try to control the language we use. The latest example from, of all places, the English Department at rutgers university. From now on, it would change the way it applied the rules of english grammar. Quote this approach challenges the familiar dogma that writing instruction should limit emphasis on grammar and sentencelevel issues so as to not put students at a disadvantage. Well, they could cheerily do with some english language writing lessons themselves, but what i think that means expecting people to abide by rules of grammar is racist, so instead students can put together words however they like. Apart from being a recipe for complete mutual incomprehension, theres more than a slight suggestion that black students maybe arent well enough educated. Now, if that isnt a racist statement, i dont know what is. Well, thats it for us this week. For the latest updates, be sure to follow me on twitter, facebook and instagram, and ill be back next week right here on the wall street journal at large. Thank you for joining us and have a great weekend. Jack welcome to barrons barrs roundtable where we get behind the headlines. Im jack otter. Coming up, Trevor Milton on how his company is competing with the worlds most valuable car company, tesla, and barrons pick for the best robo advisers. We begin with what we think are the three most important things investors should be thinking about right now. Big tech testifying in congress aztec giants reported blowout earnings. Wh
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