Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

In after Baud. Damn.

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Republicans would impeach Biden if he bit into a whole Kit Kat rather than breaking the sections apart.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Criminal Justice / Shitty Cops / I’m Confused, Please Help Me

Reader Interactions

118Comments

  1. 1.

    trollhattan

    Sadly, our barrel brigade is concentrating on finding a good apple, at this time.

    I would like Biden to dismantle DHS. W created it in our time of National Panic and it has never worked worth a damn, and is the source of much that is bad and/or evil. “Abolish ICE” doesn’t begin to address the problem.

  7. 7.

    waspuppet

    I just have to point out, as I often do, that the whole point of the “one bad apple” truism is that it DOES spoil the whole barrel. If the fascism enablers in our midst actually knew anything about the heartland folk they claim to love, they’d know that.

    Not that they’re the only ones. I blame The Osmonds.

  8. 8.

    Cermet

    A trick question because the gestapo has immunity here in the U..S of A.ssholes by the inferior court of the land.

  9. 9.

    randy khan

    I’ve seen people (using the term loosely) on social media saying that he deserved everything he got because he did not obey the orders of the law enforcement personnel. It is kind of remarkable that they don’t understand that, when the guy is just standing there, there is no legal justification for doing anything beyond arresting him. They just want to hurt the people they don’t like.

  10. 10.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Is it the one beating him on the legs?

    Yes.

    Or the one who blasted him in the face with pepper spray?

    Yes.

    Or the ones beating his upper torso?

    Yes.

    Or the ones cracking his hands with a baton?

    Yes.

  11. 11.

    Emerald

    They’re not cops. If real cops were on the street they would be arresting these goons for assault at the very least, not to mention false arrest and kidnapping from the other videos we’ve seen.

    I cannot believe this isn’t getting more coverage. Well, the goons are on their to Chicago now, so the coverage should become more prominent. Lori Lightfoot said she ain’t takin’ it. I wait to see what she’ll do with her own real cops, if she has any.

  12. 12.

    Pete Mack

    To be fair, these ain’t actually cops by any useful definition.  They are paramilitary.

  13. 13.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    According to Iron Man there these cops or military were in a panic and clearly had no idea what to do. This is just a reenactment of the Boston Massacre down to untrained soldiers dumped into a civil disturbance, what could go wrong?

  15. 15.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Pete Mack: From what I read it sounds like Trump admin grabbed a bunch of guys just out of training  in the military or law enforcement  and dumped them in Portland.

  16. 16.

    Joey Maloney

    Chicago cops are just another gang and by no means the smartest one in the city. What they lack in brains they more than make up for in mean, however. If the mayor can convince them to go up against the TrumpenTwaffel that’s going to be a rumble.

  18. 18.

    Bruuuuce

    @Emerald: From a public FB post by Heather Cox Richardson:

    Chicago, though, has not seen the sustained protests that Portland has, and the administration is using a different justification to send federal law enforcement to the city. The Chicago deployment will be under “Operation Legend” of the Justice Department, announced July 8 by Attorney General William Barr. Operation Legend has authorized federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, DEA and ATF to go into U.S. cities “to help state and local officials fight the surge of violent crime.” The initiative is named for LeGend Taliferro, a four-year-old Kansas City victim of gun violence.

    The scope of the deployment is unclear, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposes the move. “We don’t need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the streets and holding them, I think, unlawfully,” she said. If Trump truly wants to help Chicago, she said, he should focus on gun safety reforms and community development.

    On Saturday, John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, wrote a public letter to Trump aligning his union with Trump instead of the city’s mayor. “I am certain you are aware of the chaos currently affecting our city on a regular basis now,” he wrote. “I am writing to formally ask you for help from the federal government. Mayor Lightfoot has proved to be a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order here.”

    The local cops aren’t on the side of protestors, and not under the control of their supposed elected bosses. They’ve become and are now stretching into the role of Praetorian Guard, seeing that their privileges to harm people might get removed, and are on the wrong side of this fight.

  19. 19.

    Fester Addams

    What’s horrifying me most about this particular atrocity is that goon who broke Mr. David hand was so clearly swinging with intent to do permanent damage.

  20. 20.

    scav

    @Pete Mack: But — to be even fairer — they are increasingly the cops role models, icons and aspirational goals.  Ever more military’s toys and less accountability!

  21. 21.

    low-tech cyclist

    Rumor has it the DHS appropriation bill is coming up soon.  So here’s something the Democratic-controlled House could actually DO.

    Unless that appropriations bill passes the House, DHS (which includes CBP and ICE, if I recall) has no money after September 30.  The House could pass a bill defunding ICE entirely, and barely providing enough money for CBP to fund their responsibilities to man actual border crossings and ports of entry.  And then they could tell the Senate that they will not consider any other DHS funding bill.

  23. 23.

    Aleta

    Don’t forget the officer off camera who (it looks like to me) gives the OK (or the order) to the one who starts beating Christopher David.   (Before David is sprayed in the face.)

    I could be wrong, but watching it, my impression was that the officer who starts beating (first on David’s left) then moves around to his right, to hit him from that side and break his right hand.  And that in the beginning (when David is trying to talk and is forcefully pushed back)  that officer first moves into position,  then looks off to someone for the order before he starts.  Cold, methodical command structure and precisely trained delivery.

    Christopher David interview:

    Navy vet beaten by federal agents on the streets of Portland, Oregon: ‘They came out to fight’
    https://apnews.com/4c521336d47c25d76d18000a3ea04511

  25. 25.

    Served

    As far as Chicago goes

    1. The racist Trump-supporting FOP President sent a request to Trump to send in the goons
    2. The mayor is completely ineffective when it comes to regulating the police. Before she was elected, she defended corrupt cops in court. She defers any responsibility over them by directing all complaints to an ineffective review board, and she uses the same rhetoric as Trump to defend cops assaulting people freely.
    3. She sent a letter to Trump saying she “takes him at his word” that the goons won’t be used against protesters and only to address gun violence in neighborhoods which is both stupid, insane, and a wild abandonment of duty as mayor.

    Lightfoot gets good headlines for talking tough when it’s easy, but that’s about all she does

  26. 26.

    scuffletuffle

    Let’s look at all this from another angle, whose interests are being served by the actions of the alleged “law enforcers” when with no provocation whatsoever apart from existing, they are moved to beat with weapons and spray with chemicals a citizen of these United States…

    Certainly not his, nor my, nor your freedoms…

  27. 27.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @randy khan:

    There’s literally no justification for what they did to him. He wasn’t attacking them. He wasn’t a threat.

    That people can justify government goons beating up on a military veteran really does prove your point: they just want to see people they don’t agree with get the shit beat out of them.

    I’m sure they’ll greet the next veteran/active duty soldier they meet with a “Thank you for your service” without a hint of irony

    This also goes to show that their are limits to the protection that whiteness provides. It didn’t even matter to these guys that David was an older white guy

  28. 28.

    Emerald

    @Bruuuuce: Lightfoot says that the union president is a wacko, but that the real police are not like that.

    She says. I guess we’re about to find out.

  29. 29.

    Humdog

    I thought John would include the video of the naked white woman who strutted in front of the DHS goons and got them to retreat.

    the alignment of these goons with the police unions is very very bad news. Where is Steve in the ATL to let us know what the employers can do about a union undermining public safety?

  30. 30.

    different-church-lady

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    they just want to see people they don’t agree with get the shit beat out of them

    At this point I think it would be more accurate if you left out the middle clause.

  31. 31.

    Aleta

    Picture of street medic helping Christopher David:

    TAV @peyhubbard

    Here’s me giving @Tazerface16an ice pack for his broken had on (7/18/20)

     

    I got shot again in the leg last night (7/20/20 around 12:30am) while I was putting out a tear gas canister, I’m trying to locate a video of it happening, this is the sheild I was holding! I would appreciate if anyone has the footage to send it my way :-)

     

    Christopher David on twitter:

    Tazerface @Tazerface16
    ·Jul 19

    I would really, really, really like to thank Tav. She’s my street medic angel who pulled me out of the park and took me to safety when I couldn’t see anything anymore. She stayed with me the whole time and then her and her friends drove me around to find an ambulance.

  32. 32.

    Malovich

    Well, I can’t tell who the bad apple is, but I can sure see which one is a Legend.

    Remember kids, NCO is a terminal condition.

    Otherwise, ACAB.

  34. 34.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I remember old Bob Dole plaintively asking the ducks in the pond “Where’s the outrage?!” because Al Gore attended a fund-raiser in the gardens of a Buddhist temple in CA and when it turned out some Chinese nationals had paid to attend, which was a campaign contribution, which money was returned.(from memory, I may have some details wrong after twenty-five years)

    Bob Dole was lucid enough to endorse trump in ’16, with apparent enthusiasm. That I admit surprised me.

  35. 35.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    This whole thing is a powderkeg waiting to go off with these camo assholes. Are these areas where these goons at blocked off from traffic?

  37. 37.

    Roger Moore

    @randy khan:

    I’ve seen people (using the term loosely) on social media saying that he deserved everything he got because he did not obey the orders of the law enforcement personnel

    I’m sure many of the people saying that are also the people saying they need an AR-15 to resist an oppressive government.  Their inability to recognize one is remarkable.

  38. 38.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Not directed at me, but I’ll give my own answer. Basically don’t do this:

    1. She defers any responsibility over them by directing all complaints to an ineffective review board, and she uses the same rhetoric as Trump to defend cops assaulting people freely.
    2. She sent a letter to Trump saying she “takes him at his word” that the goons won’t be used against protesters and only to address gun violence in neighborhoods which is both stupid, insane, and a wild abandonment of duty as mayor.
  39. 39.

    Kelly

    Navy Iron Man asked them about their oaths. “Oath Breakers” seems an appropriate epithet many, many LEO’s in many agencies. I don’t come to this easily I have cop relatives. One of my dad’s fishing buddies was a state cop.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    @Roger Moore:

    I keep thinking of the Portland Nazi march last summer when those heavily armed camo-wearin’ assholes were escorted around the town by cops. Compare and contrast.

  43. 43.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    How? Anybody who takes Trump at his word is a fool at best. This is just an own goal, honestly

  45. 45.

    Baud

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    It’s not a blood oath.  People use that phrase all the time when dealing with people they don’t trust. It’s a way of saying “I’m going to hold you to your promise.”

    ETA:  When people say “bless your heart,” they aren’t literally wishing for people’s heart to be blessed.

  46. 46.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Roger Moore:

    I’m sure many of the people saying that are also the people saying they need an AR-15 to resist an oppressive government.  Their inability to recognize one is remarkable.

    I expect their definition of ‘oppressive government’ is one that oppresses them and their friends – like makes them wear face masks in stores.  If it oppresses people they don’t like, even when it injures and kills them, that’s A-OK with them.

  47. 47.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    I’ve always assumed “I take you at your word” means “I trust you’ll do as you promised”

    I guess, thinking about it more, I see your point

  48. 48.

    Sebastian

    This vet brings up a very important point. In the military you have rules of engagement and code of conduct. If you violate it you are being court martialed outside the civilian legal system. Also, there is Military Police which exclusively polices the military.

    Instead of the police unions we need a court martial system for the cops. We can set one up easily by getting a bunch of recently retired Army, Navy, Air Force, and USMC officers.

  49. 49.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Emerald:

    Well, the goons are on their to Chicago now, so the coverage should become more prominent.

    Best thing that could happen in Chicago is if the protesters stayed off the streets for the rest of the summer, or until the ICE goons got bored.

    People might even suggest that they help patrol some of the more dangerous parts of town, and make things safer for the people who can’t afford to live elsewhere.

    Not that I think the ICE goons would do anything useful like that.  They probably think that sort of police work is beneath their station.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    Resumption of federal executions concurrent with this unfolding of naked abuse of authority is not coincidental.

  52. 52.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Baud: I married a Southerner.  It’s impressive, all the different shades of meaning that “bless your heart” can carry.

  53. 53.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Unfortunately relevant:

    Dead Kennedys- Bleed For Me

    You’ve been hanging ’round
    With an enemy of the state
    Come with me
    To the building
    That no-one stops to watch

    C’mon bleed
    C’mon bleed
    C’mon bleed
    Bleed for me

    We’ll strap you to a pipe
    Electrodes on your balls
    C’mon scream
    C’mon writhe
    Face down in a pool of piss

    Whenever I heard that these “federal officers” were kidnapping people off the streets in unmarked vans, this is what I immediately thought of

  56. 56.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    Truth be told, I’d trust the Illinois State National Guard to arrest these Federales before the CPD. Directly under control of the Governor and no ties to police corruption. But then again, what’s to stop Trump from simply federalizing them?

  58. 58.

    Roger Moore

    @low-tech cyclist:

    People might even suggest that they help patrol some of the more dangerous parts of town, and make things safer for the people who can’t afford to live elsewhere.

    That sounds like a terrible idea.  If they actually tried patrolling the dangerous parts of town, they would wind up beating people up for going about their daily business while being too afraid to take on actual criminals.  That’s the last thing we need.

  59. 59.

    jl

    I agree with commenters above. They are not cops in any way. No correct attitude, no correct mission, no correct training, no constitutional, federal, state or local authority or jurisdiction, no due legal process or any process at all, no records, no recourse for local population for abuses, and criminal acts and deprivation or rights under the color of law.

    This is way beyond ‘bad cops’ and ‘bad apples’ territory.

    No nothing but brute force, illegal conversion of public resources for partisan political purposes, and provocative incitement for the sake of an effective war lord in the WH.

  61. 61.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Martin: I was more responding to this:

    The mayor is completely ineffective when it comes to regulating the police….She defers any responsibility over them by directing all complaints to an ineffective review board,

    I don’t know the law in Chicago, but I’m guessing that what she’s doing is following the law.

    also, this:

    She sent a letter to Trump saying she “takes him at his word”

    I haven’t looked up the whole letter, and I’m not going to, but I doubt these five words accurately represent the tone and purpose of the letter.  I suspect she’s working in concert with the governor, state AG and Congressional caucus to defuse the situation before trump can escalate it. He wants violence in the streets.

  62. 62.

    Kelly

    Note: Oregon allows Feds to enforce state laws but they must hand arrestees over to local authorities and follow Oregon procedures. It’s been useful for instance for Forest Service LEO’s to corral yahoos ruining our day beautiful outdoors.

    I’m not claiming the anonymous thugs are OK

  64. 64.

    trollhattan

    @NotMax:

    The stories about Governor Bush and Gonzo’s lighthearted attention to Texas executions come to mind as I ponder how Trump and Barr must celebrate their sanctioned killings.

    We are a very advanced nation, envy of the world.

  65. 65.

    jl

    OK, one bit of good news, if Pentagon is serious and keeps up pressure. Will reporters exert some pressure? Will be interesting to see if Esper or any of Joint Chiefs have some spine, if they can be flushed from their holes in the ground, and reporters ask them (rather than doing bland cosplay of ‘Hunger Games’ savvy hot take commenter crap).

    @LucaFoxNews

    Defense Secretary Esper Secretary has expressed “concern” within Trump administration about federal agents dressing up in military uniforms while handling protests and riots. “We want a system where people can tell the difference,” spokesman says

    https://twitter.com/LucasFoxNews/status/1285633169212035072

    Found via joshtpm twitter

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Kelly: Barr will sniff out any legal hook for trump to justify his desire for violence in the street. And Susan Collins will express her concern as she sprints for a door marked “Senators Only!” Cory Gardner won’t do that much.

  67. 67.

    rikyrah

    I  have been suspect about Oregon and the provacateurs.

    But, for me, the most encouraging sight from Oregon?
    The line of mothers in bicycle helmets.
    It’s so…I dunno…2020. but, in the best possible way.

     

    When soccer moms in bike helmets show up…
    No, it’s not going like you thought it would.

  68. 68.

    jl

    @rikyrah: “I  have been suspect about Oregon and the provacateurs.”

    I’m not sure what you mean by that. I have read that the groups making trouble (vandalism, etc.) for last few weeks, and messing up peaceful protests, are basically Proud Boys rolling into town for provocation, and some more aggressive antifa (or maybe black bloc?) groups confronting them.

    Edit: I agree with you on the Moms. And the Navy vet who did the right thing and went to ask the illegal fed forces what they thought they were doing, and stood his ground bravely to take the beating is getting some appropriate media attention.

  70. 70.

    Kelly

    @jl: The Portland protests usually have a pointlessly destructive and provocative fringe element. The fires built under the elk statue across the street are a classic example.

  71. 71.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Just turned on MSNBC and Brian Williams sounding pretty appalled by the goonery.

    I bet his bosses wouldn’t say no if he asked to be sent to do live reports from Portland. Or Chicago.

  72. 72.

    BlueNC

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Oh no. “I take you at your word” is code for “You’re lying, you asshole.” In the same way that “Bless your heart” means “You are too stupid to remember to breathe.”

  73. 73.

    raven

    @Kelly:

     
    There’s blood in the streets, it’s up to my ankles
    She came
    There’s blood on the streets, it’s up to my knee
    She came
    Blood on the streets in the town of Chicago
    She came
    Blood on the rise, it’s following me
    Think about the break of day
    She came and then she drove away
    Sunlight in her hair
    She came
    Blood in the streets runs a river of sadness
    She came
    Blood in the streets it’s up to my thigh
    She came
    Yeah the river runs red down the legs of the city
    She came
    The women are crying rivers of weepin’
    She came into town and then she drove away
    Sunlight in her hair
    Indians scattered on dawn’s highway bleeding
    Ghosts crowd the young child’s fragile eggshell mind

    Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven
    Blood stains the roofs and the palm trees of Venice
    Blood in my love in the terrible summer
    Bloody red sun of Phantastic L.A.
    Blood screams the pain as they chop off her fingers
    Blood will be born in the birth of a nation
    Blood is the rose of mysterious union
    There’s blood in the streets, it’s up to my ankles
    Blood in the streets, it’s up to my knee
    Blood in the streets in the town of Chicago
    Blood on the rise, it’s following me

  75. 75.

    patroclus

    Well, as a Chicagoan, I say that the best way to control the gun violence is to get the guns off the streets.  We have/had a good ordinance, but the SCOTUS effectively rendered it inoperative in the Heller case (which applied to D.C., but has de facto applied here too).  If the goons are coming to try and enforce the gun laws, I’d welcome them, but if they’re coming to escalate a confrontation with BLM protesters , then I’m against it.  I suspect the latter.  My prediction is that this isn’t going to end well.

  76. 76.

    catclub

    And here I thought the right wing loonies were worried that Jade Helm was when the federal government would take over their states rights by using federal agents to detain people in empty walmarts.  Not a peep from them about this version of jade helm. that I’ve heard these days.

  78. 78.

    catclub

    @patroclus: but if they’re coming to escalate a confrontation with BLM protesters , then I’m against it.

     

    the term outside agitators seems quite apt here.

  81. 81.

    Kelly

    Also there is video of PPD coordinating with the Feds last night several days after the mayor banned coordination. Police defiance of civilian authority hasn’t been surprising for a long time.

  82. 82.

    Mart

    @Joey Maloney: The cops follow the Union boss not libtard s/ Mayor Lightfoot. I had a few run ins with Chicago police back in the day, watched a few altercations. I was always careful to say yes sir, no sir, thank you very much sir. Boys and men that told them to fuck off got smashed bad, almost always no arrest. We were white, had some privelege. Relatives I know in the force are all Trumpers, social media posts are Qanon level stupid. I see the Chicago Police welcoming the feds.This could get horribly bad real fast. Hope I am wrong.I

    ETA – I should have read the post below yours…

  83. 83.

    Kelly

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    From what I read it sounds like Trump admin grabbed a bunch of guys just out of training  in the military or law enforcement  and dumped them in Portland.

    I read they are teams trained to kick down doors on drug cartel raids. Not a really good fit for the situation in Portland unless throwing gas on the fire is the plan.

  84. 84.

    patroclus

    @raven: Well, I’m not in law enforcement, but I’ve seen it on TV, and I think they could employ undercover agents who buddy up to suspected purveyors of large caches of assault-style weaponry, maybe they could add federal gun charges to already existing prosecutions of suspected criminals who also possessed illegal weaponry in the commission of their alleged crimes, they could check on licenses of those who sell guns and make sure they are in order, they could employ background checks and invest in better technology so as to enforce the existing  prohibitions on mental illness and previous convictions.  There are a lot of tools in the law enforcement arsenal that can be used by legitimate law enforcement agencies who are serious about enforcing existing laws.  (And they could advocate for further Congressional action).

  87. 87.

    Just Chuck

    @low-tech cyclist:

    “My offer is this: nothing.  Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.”

    Language they understand and all that.

  88. 88.

    patroclus

    @raven: Well, you look at the existing situation and say why and I imagine what could be and say why not.  Right now, the federal government (the SCOTUS by idiotic rulings, the Congress by inaction and the POTUS because he’s an sociopath who wants to enflame violence) is an impediment to Chicago enforcing its gun laws.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

  92. 92.

    Delk

    Despite the misplaced and incendiary rhetoric from you and your staff which is divisive and unhelpful, I will take you at your word that you want to assist the City in its effort to reduce violence…

    What we do not need, and what will certainly make our community less safe is secret, federal agents deployed to Chicago. “It is a bad idea and I urge you not to do it,” the mayor warned, pointing to issues with a separate federal deployment in Portland, Ore., over the weekend. Such agents would be ineffective, do not know Chicago’s neighborhoods and “will foment a massive wave of opposition

  94. 94.

    BK in NJ

    “All of them, Katie.”

    (92 comments and nobody used this?  What’s up here?)

  95. 95.

    Dan B

    @Aleta: Three degrees of separation here.  The brother of a friend of mine, Rasheed if I recall, was “Iron Man / Christopher David’s roomate in naval training school.  Apparently he was impressive then as well.  My friend Samia has been a progressive activist for decades driving while female in Saudi, promoting interfaith dialogue, speaking up for LGBTQ people, and just being a talented and delightful person.

  96. 96.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @Baud: In general, the Southernism “Bless your heart”  when spoken directly to someone can be loosely translated to “F*ck you”.  If said about someone, “Bless their heart” implies they have something sadly wrong with them and deserve pity.

  98. 98.

    raven

    @Dan B: So in SeeBee school after the academy? My understanding is that “Iron Man” was a wrestler and it makes sense the way he just flicked off the truncheons like they were flies.

  99. 99.

    Dan B

    @raven: I don’t know the details but it’s interesting that he was a friend and roommate of a Muslim guy.  Talk about being an ally!

  101. 101.

    Sab

    Where was Balloon Juice shrieking against Jim Webb with foreign wife when he essentially barred Uighurs. Not a peep out of BJ. I was there. I remember. Don’t complain now. You have no standing anymore.

  102. 102.

    joel hanes

    These are not cops.

    CBP/ICE are worse than police — it’s a culture that assumes than anyone in their hands has no rights at all.

    Also, Mark Morgan, who is speaking as if he were legally the acting head of CBP, has no such authority — his 210-day interim appointment expired some time ago.

  103. 103.

    polyorchnid octopunch

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:  From what I’ve read he grabbed the people that get used to knuckle recalcitrant prisoners and has turned them on middle-aged mothers in Portland, and they’re performing about as well as can be expected.

  105. 105.

    Jay

    As the country focuses on Federal violence in Portland, it's important to remember how we got here: through a deliberate campaign to repress dissent by the Portland Police, the State, and the far-right. Below is a brief overview of this collaboration over the last few years:— Always Antifascist (@RoseCityAntifa) July 21, 2020

  108. 108.

    Jay

    Tonight the citizens of Portland- a mix of moms and dads and black bloc and activists of all stripes- tore open the doors of a federal courthouse and then beat back the agents inside"Quelled" https://t.co/4OAU2u9bc9— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) July 21, 2020

  109. 109.

    Jay

    Local organizers write: "Militia members with guns + confederate flags convened across town to coordinate an assault…multiple images captured of police collaborating. Officers approached by women following assault and shown their bruised faces, but refused to take action…"— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) July 22, 2020

  110. 110.

    Jay

    "Something different in the air that day. A total lack of fear. Not because we felt ourselves safe, but because we knew we were not. Because we’d done this already for 51 long nights, and because we knew now retreat was no longer an option. Stand strong or die." pic.twitter.com/1wgBIcgVOU— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) July 21, 2020

  111. 111.

    Kay

    @patroclus:

     If the goons are coming to try and enforce the gun laws, I’d welcome them, but if they’re coming to escalate a confrontation with BLM protesters , then I’m against it.

    They’re working on Donald Trump’s political campaign. The point is to create violence and mayhem, because the Trump Administration thinks that works for them politically.
    They don’t work for the public. They work for Donald Trump and the Trump Family. We just get the honor of paying them.

  112. 112.

    Kay

    I saw the Trump Administration’s fear-mongering ad on you tube. It’s a terrible ad- a loud ringing phone and a bunch of lies about protesters. I wouldn’t think it would be effective- it’s so obnoxious your impulse is to immediately turn it off – clanging and really loud with weird background noise. It sounds  like insane people made it.

  113. 113.

    Kay

    If sending Chad The Lobbyist’s army of security guards into cities doesn’t work, if Trump’s poll numbers don’t rise, I wonder how they’ll amp it up. Will the Trump Administration actually invade a US city and occupy it?

    We’re all footing the entire HUGE bill for this campaign stunt. Millions and millions of dollars. All extracted from the public for the benefit of Donald Trump and the Trump Family.

  114. 114.

    Jay

    @Kay:

    HHS was supposedly formed to protect the American people from terrorist acts like 9-11.

    they probably shouldn’t have staffed HHS with terrorists.

  115. 115.

    Jay

    They've committed to closing the youth jail. I'm shocked. I'll believe it when I see it, but even this commitment is a huge step and a testament to the *years* of work put in by local organizers, who have given so much to this cause. I teared up a bit. We're really doing it. pic.twitter.com/dbIel6arPz— Spek the Lawless (@spekulation) July 21, 2020

  117. 117.

    chrisanthemama

    @rikyrah:  Well, if you like the Wall-of-Moms, then you’ll appreciate the Dads-With-Leafblowers (blow the teargas back on the camo-feds).

  118. 118.

    AnotherBruce

    @Emerald: Chicago has a population of almost 900 million black persons. I’m pretty sure that these assholes are going to be arrested by the mayor. Black people know what they’re up against. There is a huge Latino population also. I think these pretty boy soldiers are going to be punted to the next century. At least I hope.

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