The Wilson grand jury finally made up its damn mind. Press conferences due later today. Try not to shoot yourself in the head.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.
He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.
If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.
They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.
It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.
Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.
It’s the corruption, stupid.
FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.
Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.
Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.
I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.
I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.
Peak wingnut was a lie.
When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.
The words do not have to be perfect.
T R E 4 5 O N
When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”
Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.
Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!
The worst democrat is better than the best republican.
A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.
Everybody saw this coming.
“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.
Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.
Patricia Kayden
We’ll survive. We’ll be upset, but we will survive.
Mike J
@Patricia Kayden: At least the people who aren’t shot by the cops will.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
I think that the response on the part of the residents of Ferguson will be non-violent, and I think the MSM is going to be sulky about it. Why didn’t they give us our riot footage? So mean!
Big ole hound
Prediction. Wilson will not be charged. Otherwise why wait for a workday instead of last weekend for the “demonstrations” to start. I do hope I’m as wrong about this as my NFL card was this weekend.
CONGRATULATIONS!
At least the grand jury walked back their plan to create a weekend-long riot, which I guess is nice.
Belafon
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Maybe they can talk about the woman that shot herself with the gun she bought for Ferguson. (For the record, I kind of think the boyfriend did it).
Cacti
The fix has been in since Jay Nixon preemptively declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard.
Wilson will walk and will be making the rounds on Fox News and AM radio in the coming days.
srv
If they had waited until Friday they could have gotten a nation-wide riot. Fox could have been a sponsor.
Laertes
@Cacti:
I’d say the fix has been in since McCulloch was given the case. For all practical purposes, Wilson has been on trial in a proceeding with a defense attorney and no prosecutor. They’re announcing their verdict today, but such a process has only one possible outcome.
The Dangerman
@Cacti:
IANAL, but he could still be charged in the future even if the Grand Jury doesn’t indict. If I am correct and I was his lawyer, I’d tell him to shut his fucking mouth for the rest of his life (or until double jeopardy kicked in, which I presume means a trial).
I’m still predicting indictment for something.
ETA: Do we have a time for announcement?
Darkrose
@The Dangerman: Is there any chance he could get tried for a civil rights violation?
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Darkrose:
There was a story in the WaPo claiming there would be no civil rights prosecution, but the Justice Department strongly refuted the story, so it sounds like it may still be on the table.
TooManyJens
And of course, after months of McCulloch saying that all of the evidence would be released if the grand jury didn’t indict, it turns out that that was apparently bullshit:
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@The Dangerman: Sadly, my prediction is that there will be no MO state indictment. What the Dept of Justice will do is an open question (duh).
Betty Cracker
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): It might still be on the table for political purposes, but it would be pretty damn hard to successfully prosecute Wilson for civil rights violations, given the standard of proof required and the available evidence (that we know about). I’ll be really surprised if the feds go that route, though it makes all kinds of sense for them to leave it on the table as an option so people don’t lose all hope for justice all at once.
ETA: I’m not a lawyer; just my $0.02 after reading up on it.
PS: Good luck with that interview!
skerry
Tumbler page to coordinate national action after Grand Jury announcement
The Thin Black Duke
I saw the trailer for Selma last weekend, and I thought to myself, “This ain’t history no more”. What the fuck happened?
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Betty Cracker:
They successfully prosecuted a couple of the Rodney King cops on federal charges, so I have some hope that there could be federal charges in Brown’s killing.
And thanks! My palms are sweaty as hell and the interview’s not for another 3 hours. ☺️
Punchy
Predictions with similar probabilities: The sun rises in the East, the BoSox overspend for marginal players, and my spawn demands I read “Shoe La La” at bedtime tonite.
shelley
God, three guesses. Fuckity-fuck.
Face
Can they charge Wilson with something other than manslaughter? Conduct unbecoming, like in A Few Good Men?
Pogonip
OK, who in the betting pool picked today?
Violet
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Good luck on the interview! Do some deep breathing exercises before you go in. If nothing else it’ll be good for you. Should also saturate your body with oxygen and both energize and calm you down some. Repeating some positive statements can also help: “I am smart and capable. I am a good fit for this job.” That kind of thing.
Timurid
From the CNN live blog:
“The grand jury looking into the shooting of Michael Brown has been released and sent home, local and federal law enforcement sources tell CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz. The prosecutor will formally announce at 5 p.m. ET that a decision has been reached by the grand jury. The announcement of the actual decision will come later, the sources said.”
So they’re only going to announce that a decision was made, but no other details? Even with the jury released and no further changes possible? Are they planning to sit on this all week to protect Thanksgiving and Black Friday?
lamh36
So I’m seeing announcement to come at 8pm. Just after nightly news and just in time for nightfall
Omnes Omnibus
@Timurid: That actually could mean that the jury returned a true bill on some count. Under MO law, an indictment cannot be announced until the defendant is in custody.
Elizabelle
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Good luck!
RE topic: Darren Wilson very recently married a fellow cop, with whom he’s apparently been living (although not at their house, which they abandoned not long after the M Brown shooting).
My first thought: now she can’t testify against him.
Maybe it was trulove …
Tree With Water
Powers that be in the republican party relish the prospect of massive civil unrest. If that sounds over the top, recall those people plotted and unleashed the Iraq War.
Garbo
@Elizabelle: My first thought, too.
TooManyJens
@Garbo: Mine too. I’d feel bad about being so cynical but, well…
Another Holocene Human
@Laertes: a-yup.
Another Holocene Human
@The Thin Black Duke: 30 years of hollowing out the American Dream brought all that reactionary white rage right back up to the surface.
Also hate radio. I wouldn’t discount how much they normalized and affirmed more and more open racial hate and enacting that hatred. And they provide some sort of (made up) fodder every day to keep the fires burning.
Hate propaganda works.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: That’s a good point, in that it provides time for Wilson to turn himself in. Alas, I’m not that much of an optimist.
Pogonip
Per CNN (admittedly not the most reliable source) it will be announced today at 1700 that the grand jury has reached a decision. The decision itself will be announced “later.” I can still win the pool!
lamh36
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
What Violet said.
TooManyJens
Sounds about right.
Michael Bersin
The outgoing (due to term limits) Speaker of the Missouri House isn’t helping:
Speaker Tim Jones (r): not particularly helpful or enlightening
catclub
@Another Holocene Human:
Rwanda.
Elizabelle
@catclub:
Rwanda.
Oh, yeah. And for that reason, I think we should see that hate radio is dialed back. It’s not “entertainment.” It can have very real consequences.
bobbo
re the woman who shot herself in the head:
I am not buying the boyfriend’s story at all, sorry. She jokingly waved the gun, he ducked, rear ended another car, the gun went off, bullet got her in the head. Too many implausibles.
ellennellee
isn’t this great? we get another george zimmerman in our midst.
i’d say pass the popcorn for a parallel story arc, but could anything be more predictable or boring? or more disgusting.