Pulse 23

Pulse

FEBRUARY 2026

ISSUE 23

BLACK HISTORY IS EVERYONE’S HISTORY

HARRIET VIS-À-VIS ELLEN

JUSTCOZ PODCAST LAUNCH

ICE ABUSE IS DIFFERENT

HOW LOW CAN HE GO?

The Pulse

ICE ABUSE IS DIFFERENT

Police agencies in the United States kill more than 1,000 people each year After many of those deaths, the agencies involved put out statements. Those statements often use what’s known as the exonerative voice to minimize officers’ involvement The first statement from the Minneapolis Police Department after George Floyd’s death, for example, said that the officers at the scene “noted that he appeared to be suffering from medical distress.” Quite the understatement. These communications often cast events in a light most favorable to the officers involved, sometimes to the point of deception. Too often, they’ll try to smear the deceased by citing a criminal record or suggesting a drug addiction or gang affiliation I have been covering policing for more than 20 years and have read and parsed a lot of these statements The Department of Homeland Security’s response after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis this month is something else entirely

For all their flaws, typical communications from police officials usually include a modicum of solemnity There are assurances that there will be a fair and impartial investigation, even if those investigations too often turn out to be neither. There’s at least the acknowledgment that to take

ThePulse

a human life is a profound and serious thing.

The Trump administration’s response to Ms Good’s death made no such concessions There were no promises of an impartial investigation. There was no regret or remorse There was little empathy for her family for her parents, her partner or the children she left behind. From the moment the world learned about her death, the administration pronounced the shooting not only justified but an act of heroism worthy of praise and celebration.

There are no disinterested parties. No innocent bystanders.

It isn’t just the lying; it’s that the lies are wildly exaggerated and easily refutable All the evidence we’ve seen so far, including a meticulous Times forensic analysis of the available footage, makes clear that at worst, Ms. Good mildly obstructed immigration enforcement, disobeyed ambiguous orders or perhaps attempted to flee an arrest. None of those are capital crimes, nor do law enforcement officers get to dole out punishment in such cases. At one point, President Trump justified her shooting by

claiming she’d been “very disrespectful” to immigration officers. That isn’t a crime at all. The lies this administration is telling about Ms. Good aren’t those you deploy as part of a cover-up. They’re those you use when you want to show you can get away with anything They’re a projection of power

For the past decade or so, since the protests in Ferguson, Mo , America has engaged in a highstakes dialogue about police abuse and accountability, the militarization of law enforcement and the push and pull between public safety and civil liberties Those discussions, while occasionally heated, have been based on a shared understanding that the primary job of domestic law enforcement is to serve the public What Mr Trump is doing with federal immigration forces has rendered those debates obsolete. . . .

was obstructing immigration operations. In fact, she was trying to get to a doctor’s appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center When immigration officers used pepper spray and possibly flash grenades on a vehicle with a family inside, sending three children to the hospital, the department posted to social media, “It is horrific to see radical agitators bring children to violent riots PLEASE STOP ENDANGERING YOUR CHILDREN ” The family was headed home from a child’s basketball game.

The Department of Justice is indicating that it doesn’t believe that preventing similar deaths is all that important.

Deceptive and reckless

In fact, nearly all of the administration’s responses to deaths in custody, shootings or other accusations of abuses have used maximalist language to venerate immigration officers, dehumanize their victims and villainize anyone who doesn’t support the Trump administration There are no disinterested parties. No innocent bystanders. People are either criminal immigrants or radical leftists who deserve what happens to them, or they are heroic, patriotic federal cops incapable of mistakes. There is no humanity for the civilians and no humility for the officers

Last week, after federal agents dragged Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen, from her car and arrested her, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson referred to her as an agitator who

In addition to such language, the administration has embraced fear tactics long associated with totalitarian regimes Until now, law enforcement officers in the United States rarely masked their faces, save for during specialty operations like SWAT raids For most agencies, this isn’t a written policy; it’s just been accepted that masked policing isn’t consistent with a democratic society We want law enforcement officers to see themselves as accountable to the community. And we want community members to see officers as approachable, so they’ll cooperate Masks undermine both. They instill fear in the community and encourage a menacing aura of infallibility among officers

Instilling fear is a drawback only if your goal is public safety. This administration has made clear that it doesn’t want marginalized communities immigrants, Somali U S citizens, residents of Latino neighborhoods and so on to feel safe It wants them living in fear This is why they mask It’s why they shatter car windows. It’s why Stephen Miller, the architect of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda, went on cable news to assure federal immigration officers, incorrectly, that they have complete immunity from criminal or civil liability and why, after Ms Good’s death, Department of Homeland Security social media accounts reiterated Mr. Miller’s claim. The administration has resurrected tactics that professional policing groups have deemed dangerous or counterproductive. ProPublica recently reported on 40 incidents over the past year in which federal immigration officers used potentially fatal chokeholds that are banned by

most police agencies Federal agents have shot into cars at least 10 times since September. This, too, is prohibited by most big city police agencies, in part because it’s too easy to mistake a driver’s intent

Videos from cities where Mr. Trump has sent federal agents have shown agents attempting to stop fast-moving vehicles with techniques that most police departments prohibit or reserve for rare confrontations involving exceptionally dangerous people. They’re now being used against people suspected of immigration violations or who are irritating officers with their protests. Mr. Ross was involved in a previous incident in which he reached into a car and used a stun gun on a person while the car was in motion reckless tactics that should have gotten him fired

Authoritarian tactics

It’s clear that immigration officials are routinely breaking the law. There’s persuasive evidence that they’ve been explicitly racially profiling people in Minneapolis and elsewhere (The Supreme Court effectively permitted profiling people by race and other factors in a September ruling ) They’ve been requiring U S citizens to produce proof of their citizenship on demand also a violation of federal law. And we’ve seen U S citizens dragged from their cars, homes and workplaces, then arrested or detained.

We’ve seen the unlawful arrest and incarceration of Somali refugees who have legal permission to be here, warrantless raids on private homes and reports that detainees are being denied access to lawyers And we’ve seen routine excessive force against protesters, from casual use of chemical irritants to physical violence to firing less lethal munitions at them from close range These are all violations of the law. Not only is there no indication that the administration has investigated any of this, but the videos it posts to social media even seem to celebrate it.

All of which brings us back to Ms. Good. Over the weekend, the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said on Fox News that there will be no federal investigation into her killing. The

administration has already said the F B I will not share the evidence it collected with the local police so they can conduct their own investigations, either. This is the very definition of a cover-up It’s just being done in plain sight

It

isn’t just the lying; it’s that the lies are wildly exaggerated and easily refutable.

There are still important, unanswered questions about what Mr. Ross and other agents did in the moments leading up to Ms. Good’s death and whether he was legally justified to use

In refusing to investigate Ms Good’s death, the Department of Justice is, at a minimum, indicating that it doesn’t believe that preventing similar deaths is all that important But the real explanation may be more sinister. Since she was killed, we’ve seen multiple videos in which immigration officers refer to her death to threaten people lawfully observing or recording them. The real motivation appears to be to make all the other Renee Goods out there, the liberal “wine moms” watching over immigration raids, wonder if they might be next

The Department of Justice instead opened a federal investigation into Ms Good’s partner, specifically into whether she obstructed federal agents in the moments before the shooting and if she has any ties to activist groups This prompted six federal prosecutors to resign. The administration then announced it had opened criminal investigations into whether Gov Tim Walz of Minnesota and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis obstructed immigration enforcement The department subpoenaed them and three other Minnesota leaders on Tuesday

It’s one thing to tank or slow-walk an investigation It’s quite another to publicly declare that no investigation will happen on any level and then announce that you’ll be investigating the victim’s partner and supporters instead Both paths are unethical and corrupt. Undermining an investigation at least pays lip service to the idea of accountability and public trust The administration’s actions in Ms. Good’s case are a declaration that there will be no accountability and that it would prefer to instill fear rather than trust.

Justice isn't just an idea—it's a call eliciting response. Join us for two days of transformative engagement where biblical grounding meets practical action. Through interactive workshops, we'll explore how Christian discipleship intersects with racial justice, immigration, housing equity, queer rights, indigenous solidarity, and more.

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HARRIET VISÀ-VIS ELLEN

I am fascinated by the parallels between Harriet Tubman and Ellen White. Their parallel lifetimes spanned the Second Great Awakening and abolitionism era, through the Civil War and reconstruction: Tubman is believed to have been born in 1822 and died in 1913; White was born in 1827 and died in 1915

They both rose to prominence as unlikely, physically small but powerful women leaders, overcoming traumatic head injuries and emotional devastation, as well as rising above many of the prejudices of their times. Both Tubman and White also reported vision experiences that guided their lives, work and leadership: Tubman as a forceful abolitionist and conductor in the Underground Railroad; White among the scattered Advent remnant in the aftermath of the Great Disappointment and then in the nascent Seventh-day Adventist Church and beyond

While their methods and actions diverged, perhaps the difference in the work for which each is best known was a direct result of the contexts in which they were born Tubman was born Araminta Ross as a slave in Maryland, whereas White was born Ellen Harmon in Maine. Tubman was Black; White was White

As such, these parallels provide an interesting Adventist-y lens through which to

watch or re-watch Harriet, the 2019 film that narrates the life and work of Tubman. This was the first feature-length film to portray her story and does so with a reasonable adherence to known history.

Both were adamant that faithfulness to God included standing up against injustice and risking themselves for the liberation of others.

Harriet opens with the juxtaposition between Tubman’s vision and the preaching employed to justify and perpetuate slavery This founds an ongoing discussion of the role of faith, what it meant for Tubman to hear the voice of God, and how she tried to make sense of disappointment when she believed she had followed God but her plans were frustrated. However, like White, whatever one might make of Tubman’s reported vision experiences, the impact of her work was undeniable History records that, after her own escape to freedom

in Philadelphia, she completed at least 13 trips back to the South, freeing some 300 others and hundreds more during the Civil War She became a symbol of freedom and hope, coming to be known as a “Moses” leading her people to freedom

The

closing song–sung by Cynthia Erivo of Wicked fame–almost upstages the movie.

Standing up

Despite being contemporaries, White’s writings made no direct reference to Tubman and her work, but she could not have been unaware of her, given the growing understanding we have of the connections between early Adventists and abolitionists, as is being highlighted by Dr. Kevin Burton’s historical research and publishing While the gun-wielding methods of Tubman do not fit with the Ellen White we are familiar with, White was no less strident in her advocacy for justice and action in the world As she wrote in the 1890s, “God spoke concerning the captivity of the

Both Tubman and White were adamant that faithfulness to God included standing up against injustice and risking themselves for the liberation of others, inspired by a powerful vision of the future. In Tubman’s case, it is only recently that her story has been told in the accessible format of this film More than 100 years ago, the work of her contemporary White was summarized by her longtime colleague A G Daniells at her funeral: “Slavery, the caste system, unjust racial prejudices, the oppression of the poor, the neglect of the unfortunate these all are set forth as unchristian and a serious menace to the well-being of the human race, and as evils which the church of Christ is appointed by her Lord to overthrow” (Life Sketches of Ellen G White, page 473) At least in such a strident understanding of their task, it seems Tubman and White would have found much in common

Stay watching Harriet for the credits because the closing song “Stand Up” performed by the film’s lead actor Cynthia Erivo (now of Wicked fame) almost upstages the movie, with its soulful injunction to step back into our world today and “keep on keeping on.” In doing so, we walk in the tradition of these two remarkable women, who sought to follow God in their time and place as they each experienced and understood it

JustPoetry

Hosea

You stand at the onramp with your sign that says our storehouses will be plundered and we will burn in an oven whose fires the baker need not stir. Easy for you to say, unencumbered as you are with our sin We walk trackless paths from one distraction to another, standing in lines before macaroon cafes and pet salons, blow-dry bars and sock boutiques, while you lie alone in the dry creek bed listening to the auguries of screech owls and freight trains We are a spreading vine, Hosea, choking everything in the land, feeding on the wind. Just today I tied leather wingtips that have never flown, strode, sure of my position, from car to office to juice bar to noon mass and back again, walking over the paved-under bones of the Chumash, the grizzlies, the smoke pipes of the Chinese railroad workers Our daughters cut themselves, Hosea, our sons kill screen-fulls of aliens, pixilated zombies, and Arabs Already, the rain has left the land. Every one of us is a divining rod pointing in a different direction We twitch, sleepless, under sweat-soaked sheets

while the earth keeps pulling us toward itself–pulling the heavy wetness at the center of each life toward the drought-stricken ground

You, who with us have fathered a child named Not Mine, and another named Not Loved, how long will you wait outside the city gate with your hatful of spare change? I promise one day we will stop, lipsticked and perfumed. Don’t give up on us

Buy us back. Stand with your 15 shekels and bag of recycled cans until your feet swell and your knees shake with our nearness There will come a time when we will listen, and together we will eat the bread of mourners.

THE JUSTCOZ PODCAST: WHERE JUSTICE MEETS LOVE

Launching March 2026, the JustCoz Podcast unites hearts and inspires action at the intersection of faith and social change

Rooted in the Micah 6:8 call to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God," each episode brings you into honest conversations with movement leaders, theologians, artists, and everyday activists living out Christ-centered justice.

Discover how Adventist pioneers blazed trails of social reform. Explore contemporary causes and movements addressing today's urgent challenges. Learn from those courageously combining biblical principles with grassroots activism to create meaningful transformation

This isn't just about ideas it's about building community Every episode concludes with practical steps and resources to help you connect with others and take action right where you are.

Whether you ' re a seasoned advocate or just beginning to explore faith-based justice, JustCoz offers compelling stories, theological depth, and hopeful pathways forward. Join us as we discover how justice plus love transforms communities and hearts

Coz when justice and love meet, something truly divine happens

INSPIRATION

COLLECTIVE

More podcasts we just love

A House on Fire: This Adventist Peace Fellowship podcast series is based on the excellent book on race and racism

Red Letter Christian Podcast: Christian commentary on the way of Jesus in the world today

Adventist Voices: Weekly podcast and companion to Spectrum designed to foster community through conversation

Adventist Pilgrimage: A lively monthly podcast focusing on the academic side of Adventist history

The Social Jesus Podcast talks about the intersection of Jesus, faith, and social justice today

Just Liberty: A fresh, balanced take on religious liberty where justice and liberty meet

BLACK HISTORY IS EVERYONE’S HISTORY

“They need to just get over it.” The college junior didn’t raise her head to say it to me She continued doodling on the paper in front of her I had told her class earlier about a wonderful victory that had been won the day before not in athletics, but over racism The previous year, our Conflict and Peacemaking class had written an official Union College Letter of Apology to students of color who had suffered racial discrimination by the school for decades in a churning ocean of demeaning ways.

My friend Oscar Harriott recounted stories to the class about his coming to Lincoln, Nebraska in the mid-1960s from Jamaica. Oscar showed up to Union before school had officially started and headed to Sabbath worship service at the big campus church. Upon entering, he was informed that he needed to sit in the balcony. As he looked down from the balcony, he thought, There are plenty of empty seats on the first floor. Though he watched others being seated below, he remained the only person on the balcony that day After more indignities ensued, Oscar decided not to attend Union. Later, while driving through downtown Lincoln at night, he was chased by a carload of rowdy Whites He told the class, “At least there was no lynch mob. ” At least there was no lynch mob. Can you imagine being grateful for that?

Oscar went on to become an ombudsperson for the State of Nebraska for 25 years. Following his talk to the class, the

students wrote a Letter of Apology and made alterations to the letter, which the class voted upon Some thorny problems arose, such as reparations. How could the aggrieved former students be fairly and adequately compensated? When one student suggested, “What if we gave them a free meal at Alumni Weekend?” another replied, “And you think that will cover what they had to put up with?”

With food deserts, people sold food out of their garages. No one could afford a car anyway.

After an arduous process lasting one year, the school’s Board of Trustees voted to affirm the apology letter, which included, “Today, Union College is an institution of diversity and unity,” and “Your pain was real; your voice is valued.” Oscar and I were present for the final Board meeting, and we celebrated downstairs afterward “You know, Chris,” he said, his eyes filling with tears, “this makes my past 50 years here worthwhile. News of this will resound around the world ”

The next day, when I recounted that story to a Creative Writing class, the students seemed attentive and appreciative all except one. Her

body language announced she was neither impressed nor interested After class, I asked her to stay and pulled a desk around to face her.

“So,” I began, “I picked up that you weren’t impressed by that Letter of Apology ”

“Well,” she said, “not really It’s not that big a deal. They need to just get over it. I’m from the South, you know ”

“Oh, yeah,” I said “I was in the South a few years ago. It seemed like everywhere I looked there were Confederate flags. And I thought, you know, they lost That war ended 150 years ago They need to just get over it ”

A poor district has schools that are poorly equipped. That is a racist system.

She looked up quickly “Oh, it’s not just about losing It’s about culture and history and identity and ” Suddenly she stopped. The light had come on.

“You can’t just get over it Can you?”

She shook her head. We sat in silence for a few moments as the truth seeped in.

“Okay,” I said, “you can go now ” In his book How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X Kendi points out the difference between nonracist and anti-racist In essence, non- is passive and anti- is active To be anti-racist is to stand up for people who are being victimized by racism and to stand against the systems and language and institutions that inflict and perpetuate racist thoughts, racist behaviors, and racist results.

He writes, “The opposite of racist isn't ‘not racist ’ It is ‘anti-racist ’ What's the difference? One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an antiracist One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an anti-racist One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial

inequities, as an anti-racist. There is no inbetween safe space of 'not racist.’. . . The good news is that racist and anti-racist are not fixed identities. We can be a racist one minute and an antiracist the next. What we say about race, what we do about race, in each moment, determines what not who we are ”

In Troubling the Water Ben McBride reveals the Quadrants framework The four quadrants are the Powerful, the Privileged, the Persecuted, and the Prevented, and we shift locations depending on the time and circumstance. He notes, “The fact that the location of any particular group in any particular quadrant is not entirely static should give us hope. It means that we can change our story, any story” (p 21) Defiant optimist Martin Luther King Jr maintains in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word ”

All of us have racial awakenings, and I’ve experienced multiple sunrises. Seeing people on TV blasted with firehoses and bitten by snarling dogs. Watching my dad stand up consistently for racial minorities. Meeting Billy, my Black roommate, teammate, and close mate to this date Traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana, with our basketball squad and experiencing Deep South racism, including hate stares Sitting on a picnic blanket with Yolanda Cervantes at Ontario’s John Galvin Park as a 10-year-old boy pedals by and yells, “Italian-White!” leaving us breathless with laughter Debating with my friend Delbert about whether the publishing house should capitalize Black and White. Protesting with hopes-dashed Dreamers alongside my friend Claudia Hearing my friend Dilys describe the deep weariness of the DEI purge: Here we go again. And, through it all, growing more aware that from my position of privilege a tall White cisgender English-fluent post-graduate middleclass married-with-grandchildren homeowner man I miss much of the inherent biases of our society, whether it’s Yolanda being watched

closely in an upscale store or Billy sensing stares and whispers from a nearby restaurant booth.

Climbing

One sunrise story for me stands out Yolanda and I were attending a Lincoln talk by renowned educator Jane Elliott, famous for the brilliant “Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes” active learning classroom experiment Because we’re professional educators, Yolanda and I wanted good seats, so we arrived early and sat in the front row. Shortly after Jane appeared, she involved the audience She chose from about 300 people two “volunteers” a young Black woman and . . . me. We walked up to the stage, standing on either side of Jane, who held the mic and began asking about our life experiences.

Jane would ask me a question I was to her left when facing the stage and I would answer She would comment on my answer, making sure to note my privileged position, then ask the same question of the young Black woman, whose answers were sometimes similar and sometimes different, and Jane pointed out why this might be the case each time Then Jane asked the question

“When you look in the mirror each morning, how often do you think about your skin color?”

I thought about my answer for a long moment This was a new consideration. I generally look at my hair, whether my beard needs trimming, shaving my neck, trimming my eyebrows, the bags under my eyes that deserve to be checked at airports . . . but skin color?

“I don’t think about it,” I said. Jane turned to the young Black woman standing not more than five feet from me. “How about you?” she asked. “How often do you think about your skin color?”

The young Black woman peered past Jane and looked directly into my eyes.

“Every day,” she said The memory of her look and tone stings even now Every day she thinks about something that I don’t have to think about at all. Every day I skip over something that to her is crucial Every day she deals with a different reality What makes this happen? Why did that question provide a new ray of light for me?

The root of the problem is power and policies. There exists systemic racism that is subconscious and subsidized People of color in this country are often suspected of being lazy and naturally violent. They are denied bank loans and job positions Even illegal drug use laws have been systemically racist One infamous example is the 100-to-1 powder cocaine versus crack cocaine sentencing disparity enacted by Congress in 1986 Under the law, it took 500 grams of powder cocaine typically used by Whites to trigger the same five-year mandatory prison sentence as someone caught with just 5 grams of crack cocaine. The disparity remained in place until 2010 when it was reduced to 18-to-1 In Minnesota in 1993, Black people were nearly 140 times as likely as Whites to be arrested for cocaine. Johns Hopkins reports, “Black individuals represent just 5% of people who use drugs, but 29% of those arrested for drug offenses and 33% of those in state prison for drug offenses ” Jesus does not call us to be comfortable in the face of evil.

Every Black parent in the U S knows they are going to need to have with their Black children what is called the talk and it’s not about sex. It’s about how to act around law enforcement officers Always keep your hands in sight Always answer politely. Always be careful. Always show no facial expression. White parents don’t have this talk with their White children They don’t have to think about it

In the film Stand and Deliver, a Hispanic math teacher in Los Angeles, Jaime Escalante, discovers his school doesn’t have computers because their school district is too poor. Many school districts are equipped and subsidized based on property taxes Thus, a poor district has schools that are poorly equipped That is a racist system.

Within inner cities there are what are called food deserts vast areas where tens of thousands of people live but they cannot buy fresh produce Yolanda and I listened to a superb, hilarious, and poignant audiobook by Trevor Noah titled Born a Crime. He talks about living in the township of Soweto, which was like a Black reservation in South Africa, where about one million people lived and there were no grocery stores People sold food out of their garages No one could afford a car there anyway This form of mistreatment leads to free-floating rage.

If we are uncomfortable with all this, good Jesus does not call us to be comfortable in the face of evil. Kendi observes, “My research kept pointing me to the same answer: The source of racist ideas was not ignorance and hate, but self-interest.”

No one race or group owns the exclusive right to be angry about evil And though we cannot change the entire unjust world, we can change our world. We can say, “Not on my watch ” We can stand up to bullies and sly remarks and ignorant lies and racist policies We can speak the truth in love. As Deuteronomy 16:20 asserts, “Justice, only justice, you shall pursue ”

William Shakespeare writes in his play Coriolanus, “Action is eloquence.” One of the most eloquent acts of anti-racism took place in 2015 Bree Newsome, a young Black woman from North Carolina, shimmied up a flagpole to take down the state flag of South Carolina the Confederate flag in front of the South Carolina State House. She said, “In the name of Jesus, this flag has to come down.” Police officers were yelling up at her, demanding that she come down, but she kept climbing and kept preaching: “You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence I come against you in the name of God This flag comes down today ”

The daughter of a Baptist preacher who became dean of Howard University School of Divinity, Bree knew her Bible

Casey Cep, writing in the June 11, 2020 issue of The New Yorker, reports that Bree Newsome had been thinking about that Confederate flag for some time Her ancestors had been enslaved

in South Carolina, and she had heard stories from her grandmother about the Ku Klux Klan there. On June 17, 2015, in a church in Charleston, a White supremacist murdered nine Black parishioners during a Bible study to which he had been graciously welcomed. Bree determined it was time for the flag to come down Ten days later, after practicing on a few lampposts, she climbed the 30-foot pole outside the State House, reciting Psalm 27 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident She rose higher and higher, unhooked the flag, and brought it to the ground, where cheering onlookers applauded, and the police arrested her Casey Cep writes, “Newsome spent about seven hours in jail, and the Confederate flag was restored before she had even been released But, by the second week of July, after millions of Americans had seen photographs or footage of her climb, the state legislature voted to permanently remove the flag from the capitol, and, in the years that followed, many other Confederate memorials and statues have come down around the country ”

The state flag of South Carolina now features a palmetto tree. Being from the South, Bree Newsome had seen the Confederate flag flying all her life

I guess you could say she just got over it.

InterAct

HOW LOW CAN HE GO?

Who of us hasn’t fantasized about being president of the United States? One energized by that notion of a politician skilled in representing the best of American ideals That charming, yet diplomatic figure as equally at home at a state dinner or a county fair? Unfortunately, for the next three years that ideal image will not be the reality for those of us who live in the United States. Now we tend to fantasize instead about what we would say to the president’s face

“I went to an Ivy League college. . . . I did very well. . . . I’m a very intelligent person.” In addition to those humble words of self-identification, U.S. President Donald Trump has gone on record to describe himself as “a very stable genius” who has an “outstanding vocabulary ”

Yet, both before and after becoming president, Trump has turned the insult into a (very low) art form When insulting those whom he considers adversaries, his vocabulary reflects that of a middle school bully Match the following descriptions with the individuals named

A. Alvin Bragg, District Attorney, Manhattan

B. Kaitlan Collins, CNN news anchor

C James Comey, former director, FBI

D. Kamala Harris, former U.S. vice president

E Don Lemon, television journalist

F. Seth Meyers, late night comedian

G Ilhan Omar, U S representative, Minnesota

H. Rand Paul, U.S. senator, Kentucky

I Katie Rogers, White House correspondent, New York Times

J Bernie Sanders, U S senator, Vermont

K. Bruce Springsteen, musician

L Maxine Waters, U S representative, California

“Are you okay?”

RECRUITS

We will not need geniuses, cynics, people who have contempt for others, or cunning tacticians, but simple, uncomplicated, and honest human beings.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

ANTICIPATORY GRIEF

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow It empties today of its strength.

Corrie ten Boom

WHERE THE SCALE TIPS

OPPORTUNITY

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible

Dalai Lama

Dilys Brooks UNPLUG

Jesus is not on the side of the powerful and privileged. We must unplug from the Matrix

Susan Doenim DETOX

I will not be poisoned by lies, ignorance, cowardice or cruelty.

Sorry I’m late. I have to leave early SEEN ON A SWEATSHIRT

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything it is a delight But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset

Oswald Chambers

Emma Donaghue BEYOND FEELING

Scared is what you’re feeling Brave is what you’re doing

The Pulse

“YOU ARE CRIMINAL THUGS”

This morning, on a street in Minneapolis, at least seven federal agents tackled and then [two of them] shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37year-old ICU nurse for the local VA hospital.

Video from the scene shows Pretti directing traffic on a street out of an area with agents around, then trying to help another person get up after she had been pushed to the ground by the agents The agents then surround Pretti and shoot pepper spray into his face, then pull him to the ground from behind and hit him as he appears to be trying to keep his head off the ground An agent appears to take a gun out of Pretti’s waistband during the struggle, then turns and leaves with it. A shot then stops Pretti’s movements, appearing to kill him, before nine more shots ring out, apparently as agents continue to fire into his body.

It looked like an execution

After he was dead, the agents walked away, apparently making no effort to preserve the crime scene, which people on the street later tried to secure by walling it off with trash bins

As journalist Philip Bump noted, administration officials didn’t even pretend to wait for more information before jumping straight to “the opponent of the state deserved it.”

Mitch Smith of the New York Times reported that federal agents have blocked state

ThePulse

investigators from the scene. Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a statewide investigations team that specializes in police shootings, told reporters his agency had obtained a search warrant a rare step but the federal government still refused them access.

Nine more shots rang out, apparently as agents continued to fire into his body.

Tonight, in a lawsuit against Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and other administration officials, Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison asked a judge for a temporary restraining order to prevent DHS agents from destroying evidence related to the shooting The suit noted the “astonishing” departure from normal investigations, seemingly trying not to preserve evidence but to destroy it A judge, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, immediately granted the restraining order, barring the administration from “destroying or altering evidence” concerning the killing

Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times reported that federal officials also “have refused

to disclose the identities of federal agents involved in Saturday’s shooting, as well as the names of federal agents who have shot people in recent days”

Issuing statements

Minnesota police have refused to obey the federal officers, though. Local law enforcement has been talking to witnesses and finding videos of the shooting Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said at a press conference: “Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity, and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands. We urge everyone to remain peaceful ”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that it, rather than the FBI, will investigate the shooting. But, as Alex Witt of MS NOW noted, DHS had already issued a statement about the shooting, which falsely asserted that Pretti had “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and that he “violently resisted” as “officers attempted to disarm” him. The statement continued that “an agent fired defensive shots” and added that Pretti “also had 2 magazines and no ID this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement ”

Patrol agents with a handgun and they tried to disarm him. But footage from the scene shows the man was holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, when federal agents took him to the ground and shot him.”

But lying to the American people is the only option for the administration when we can, once again, all see what happened with our own eyes. Pretti did have a permit for a concealed handgun and appeared to have carried the gun with him, although witnesses say he never reached for it. Tonight, Kristi Noem doubled down on the lie, saying again: “This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement ”

When the Democratic Party’s social media account posted: “ICE agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis this morning. Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller replied: “A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists ” The Democrats’ social media account responded: “You’re a f*cking liar with blood on your hands.”

Miller continued to bang that drum When Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said that “ICE must leave Minneapolis” and that “Congress should not fund this version of ICE this is seeking confirmation, chaos, and dystopia,” Miller responded: “An assassin tried to murder federal agents and this is your response ”

from the scene shows the man holding a phone in his hand, not

him

a gun,

Devon Lum of the New York Times wrote: “Videos on social media that were verified by The New York Times contradict the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the fatal shooting of a man by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday morning. The Department of Homeland Security said the episode began after a man approached Border “Footage

when federal agents took

to the ground and shot him.”

Miller is a white nationalist, who has recommended others read a dystopian novel in which people of color “invade” Europe and destroy “Western civilization ” Those who support immigration are, in the book’s telling, enemies who are abetting an “invasion” a word Miller relies on that is destroying the culture of white countries They are working for the “enemy.”

In the wake of Pretti’s shooting, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to Minnesota governor Tim Walz to suggest he could “bring back law and order to Minnesota” if he handed over the state’s voter rolls to the Department of Justice

Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) had more to say: “What we just saw this morning on the streets of Minneapolis is another outright murder by federal officials And let me just be clear, those federal ICE officers are absolute cowards. I am a Marine veteran standing here telling you to your face they are unprofessional, pathetic cowards. Because if a Marine, an 18-year-old Marine, did that in Iraq in the middle of a war zone, he would be court martialed because it is murder. And you pathetic little cowards who have to wear face masks because you’re so damn scared, couldn’t even effectively wrestle a guy [to] the ground, so you needed to shoot him? This is why ICE needs to be prosecuted. Yeah, I voted to defund it, but ICE, you need to be prosecuted, and Director [Todd] Lyons, who’s running ICE right now, I hope you’re hearing this from this Marine to you You guys are criminal thugs You need to be held accountable to law if you think you can enforce it, and you need to be prosecuted right now”

Tonight, Susan and Michael Pretti, the parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, issued a statement: “We are heartbroken but also very angry,” they said “Alex

was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact

“[We] do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.

“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man ”

JustSmile

SOME OTHER THINGS DONALD TRUMP WILL PROBABLY WANT TO BUY

President Trump keeps talking about buying Greenland Perhaps via a lump sum to Denmark, perhaps through individual payments to each Greenlander? We have reached the stage of the imperial presidency where we just start pointing at the map and demanding the things we see there. Formerly, when something bad happened in the news, the only people allowed to become immediately richer were defense contractors

Now there is something called a political betting market, where this kind of bad news can enrich anyone Just one of many things that’s great for our democracy at this time

I hesitate to suggest what other things on the map might be considered for purchase, lest someone feel inspired to actually write a check, but I will go ahead and make the relevant Polymarket bets so that I may make my fortune! (At least until they announce that based on how I phrased my wager, they will not deliver )

France (Odds: 1,789 to 1):

Have we ever looked into purchasing France?

Geographically not unlike Texas, but they do very different things with the vowels there. Would make a lovely fiefdom for Rubio or another attendant lord to rule in his spare time

Great Britain (1,215 to 1):

Somewhat depreciated after all this time, and they felt the need to put great in the name, which feels like try-hardism But we have a legacy connection there and are almost fluent in

the language. (I would not have put this on the list, but J D Vance says that the British and French are threats now!)

Canada (1,867 to 1):

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an adjacent country, in possession of a sufficient landmass, must be in want of annexation. But what could we offer individual Canadians as an incentive to join? Perhaps the opportunity to become mired in crippling medical debt?

We have reached the stage where we just start pointing at the map and demanding the things we see there.

China (9,000 to 1):

It looks almost as big and important as Greenland on the map! No, nothing can be as important as Greenland Look at the map!

Ireland (1,916 to 1):

I foresee zero difficulties with trying to make Ireland do anything against its will.

Liechtenstein (825 to 1):

This country is too small for the length of its name U S would look much nicer The

populace would certainly get on board if they understood that we were just trying to make them look better on the map

Prime Meridian (7 to 3):

This looks very important on the map and is even labeled “Prime,” but in the real world, it is invisible! We must buy it at once! An invisible line that runs through eight countries and three continents could be useful for spycraft.

Northwest Passage (70 to 1):

Do we get a finder’s fee?

They felt the need to put great in the name, which feels like try-hardism.

Iceland (6 to 1):

I think this is the one to buy, actually Way more verdant than Greenland Just got confused by the name! Oh well, too late now.

Vinland (5 to 1, if we can find it):

Which one is Vinland? We want that too

Atlantis (80,000 to 1):

If it’s under there, we absolutely want it! (Do they take bitcoin?)

Golden City of El Dorado (80,000 to 1):

Who wouldn’t want an entire city made of gold? Do they take bitcoin?

The Moon (1 to 1):

Has a whole Sea of Tranquility, a resource we could really use in these times We can put server farms there Also full of flags, and helpful for supplementing cheese reserves.

The Big Black Line That Outlines the Whole Map and Holds It Together in an Oval Shape (3,720 to 1):

Is this for sale? Could be fun to mess around with alternative world shapes if this is in play.

The Big A off the coast of North Carolina (Actually any of the letters the T L A N T I C or the O C E A N) (725 to 1):

Each letter is the size of Pennsylvania, if the world map the president is looking at is to scale, and could perhaps function as a naval base! (If the map isn’t to scale, we’re going to have a lot of problems.)

The Post–World War II International Order in Which We Respect Other Countries’ Sovereignty Because the Alternative Is an Ongoing MightMakes-Right Nightmare of Chaos and Bloodshed:

Don’t see this on the map anywhere; probably worthless

The Pulse

U.S. MUSEUMS, AI ID, AND STUDENT LOANS

Portion of U.S. museums that have lost federal grants or contracts since Donald Trump took office: 1/3

Portion of American girls and women aged 15 to 44 who say they want to permanently leave the country: 2/5

Percentage of people who cannot tell the difference between an AI-generated song and one composed by a human: 97

Percentage of U.S. CFOs who believe that their employees use AI to falsify travel expenses or receipts: 72

Percentage of U S workers who say that their boss understands how much it costs to live a decent life: 20

Portion of U S student-loan borrowers who were delinquent on their payments in 2024: 1/40

In 2025: 1/6

Portion of U S sports bettors who say they have taken out a loan from a friend or family member because of their gambling: 1/5

Who say they have hidden gambling debts from a loved one: 1/3

Percentage by which a driver is more likely to experience road rage if they drive a car with a bumper sticker: 39

By which drivers of electric cars are more likely to experience road rage than those of gas-powered or hybrid cars: 36

Peanuts Protection

I think it is more difficult these days to define what makes a good citizen than it has ever been before Certainly all any of us can do is follow our own conscience and retain faith in our democracy Sometimes it is the very people who cry out the loudest in favor of getting back to what they call “American Virtues” who lack this faith in our country. I believe that our greatest strength lies always in the protection of our smallest minorities

ThePulse

SEVEN LARGER TRUTHS

Truth 2

Everything matters

Truth 3

If we believe something enough, we'll do it.

Larger Truth 2

Everything doesn't matter equally

Larger Truth 3

If we do something enough, we'll believe it

Truth 4

Righteousness by faith

Truth 5

We need to repent and ask forgiveness

Truth 6

We leave this planet and go home to heaven

Larger Truth 4

Righteousness by love

Larger Truth 5

God cares more about our future than God cares about our past.

Larger Truth 6

We leave heaven and come home to this planet

Truth 7

Salvation is the goal.

Larger Truth 7

The goal is Jesus.

ReView

MARCHING ON

My whitewashed education about the American Civil Rights Movement mostly involved smiling photos of Dr King waving and giving speeches, and petite Rosa Parks sitting peacefully in her seat on an otherwise empty bus Warm, nostalgic images taught my classmates and me that nonviolent protests will result in a blessed change-of-heart amongst the public and group hugs all around Nobody gets hurt because it was all nonviolent If they did get hurt, it was a gunshot that the victim never felt. We can be sad for a moment and enjoy the day off of school in honor of Dr King It’s a real kumbayah moment as we hold hands and proclaim our brotherhood and sisterhood in Jesus; a nice thing to do every February and maybe even during a youth retreat if there is time before s’mores. Aren’t we glad that racism is finally over in the United States of America, friends?

Before his death in 2020, Congressman John Lewis decided that it was time to write his autobiography, focusing on his work during the Civil Rights Movement To the delight of middle school teachers everywhere, he chose the graphic novel format

March, a three-volume narrative, gives us John’s view from lunch counter integration efforts, freedom rides, to the historic march from Selma to Montgomery He does not hold back in telling readers about the violence that happens to activists who are trained in nonviolent civil disobedience Nonviolent civil disobedience is painful It can get you beaten to a bloody pulp, land you in jail, and may cost you your life. These

brutal facts are not sugar-coated. Lewis also introduces portraits of citizens with exceptional courage Be prepared to be challenged, inspired, and humbled.

To the delight of middle school teachers everywhere, he chose the graphic novel format.

During this Black History month, I could not help but make parallels to the events of 19631964 and our daily headlines Voter suppression, unchecked police brutality, political scumbaggery, beatings, shootings, bombings, arson, bullies hiding their faces, and ignorant racial profiling Does any of this sound eerily familiar?

I strongly believe that graphic novels are a gateway to literacy, and if Congressman Lewis and I were able to have a chat today, I think he would agree with me. This message in this format is deliberately published to make room for widening the perspectives we share about American history, with the hope that there are sanitized parts of it that we stop repeating. Share this stimulating book with a young person, a struggling reader, a borderline MAGA supporter, and any small library.

WHO WE ARE

Pulse is the monthly digital magazine of JustLove Collective.

This month’s issue is sponsored by Nicholas Zork. (Thank you.)

Designed by Jeffers Media.

Unless indicated otherwise all Bible references are from the New Revised Standard Version

U L S E C O R R E S P O N D E N T S

CHRIS BLAKE

Is professor emeritus at Union Adventist University where he taught English and communication courses, including Conflict and Peacemaking and Critiquing Film He has also served as academy teacher, editor of Insight magazine, author of many books and articles, and pastor of two small churches.

NATHAN BROWN

Is book editor at Signs Publishing, based near Melbourne, Australia He is author of 21 books, including Thinking Faith and Do Not Be Afraid (the devotional book for 2025), published by Pacific Press in North America.

STEPHEN CHAVEZ

Is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister, now retired after serving in pastoral and publishing ministries

MARCIA NORDMEYER

Is a circulation/reference associate at Union Adventist University's library in Lincoln, Nebraska She is happily married to Jeremy Their two children are encouraged to read banned books

CRAIG VAN ROOYEN

Is a poet, judge, and trustworthy friend living in San Luis Obispo, California His work has appeared widely in literary journals and he holds an MFA from Pacific University

Gratitude

We are particularly grateful for every contribution to JustLove Collective. Donations are tax-deductible. Though we are a global movement of volunteers, we do need to pay for expenses related to this magazine and to the Summit For more information, please see our website at justlovecollective org