Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“They all knew.”

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Come on, man.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

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

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

He really is that stupid.

The revolution will be supervised.

Petty moves from a petty man.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

You are here: Home / Justice / Criminal Justice / Shitty Cops / Well That’s Very Interesting

Well That’s Very Interesting

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Interesting:

Federal investigators descended Tuesday on the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, the union headed by fiery and controversial president Ed Mullins, the Daily News has learned.

While the details of the probe remained under wraps, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed to The News that the agency was “carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation” into the SBA.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment as to the purpose of the raid or its target.

I have no idea what this is about, but I hope the penalty is hard time.

Reader Interactions

175Comments

  2. 2.

    Kent

    Anyone who’s been around the halls of power as long as Mullins no doubt has LOTs of corruption buried and waiting to be found. My guess is tawdry financial corruption of some sort. Like union dues making their way into his personal accounts.  But that’s just a wild ass guess on my part.

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    I read this and thought to myself, “Is that the guy who gave an interview on Fox News with a Qanon mug visible in the background?” Yes. Yes it was.

    Unrelated to the police action outlined above as far as I know, but I’d like to reiterate that vaccine mandates are a once-in-a-lifetime, golden opportunity to root out the kooks, squirrely secret organization members and oppositional defiant-disordered babies currently infecting public service payrolls without arduous investigations, etc.

  4. 4.

    Mike in NC

    Well, it goes without saying that any probe of the corrupt cops in NYC has to involve the filthy criminals of the Trump family. Water is wet, etc.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    Federal investigators descended Tuesday on the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, the union headed by fiery and controversial president Ed Mullins, the Daily News has learned.

    None dare call it a raid.

  7. 7.

    JMG

    Cops almost never go down for acts of violence against unarmed civilians. They do, however, go down all the time for stealing. In just the past two years here in Mass., a number of members of the State Police and the head of Boston’s police union have been indicted (with several guilty pleas) of faking hours of overtime they did not work.

  9. 9.

    Kent

    @Betty Cracker: For sure.  In every profession.  I’m a teacher and the anti-vaxers are the worst and most toxic teachers of the bunch.  My wife is a physician and the anti-vax nurses are the worst of the bunch.  I expect it is the same in every profession.

  11. 11.

    Jay C

    Sorry, John: hopeful as we might all be to see corrupt cops/cop officials get the axe. it sounds like “what this is about” is likely:

    1. As Kent says above, some sort of grift/scam/hand-in-the-till “financial irregularity”

    2. It is extremely unlikely to result in any sort of real effect on the NYPD, because NYPD…

    Though we can always hope.

  12. 12.

    Kent

    @hells littlest angel: It actually makes some sense.  You don’t normally have both labor and management in the same union.  And to some extent, sergeants are “management” in that they supervise and discipline lower ranking officers.

    For example, I work in education and principals are NEVER in the same union as teachers.  Principals are management and teachers are labor.  The first thing that happens when a teacher gets promoted up to some sort of assistant principal job is that they leave the teacher’s union.

  13. 13.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Kent: ​
     

    My guess is tawdry financial corruption of some sort. Like union dues making their way into his personal accounts. But that’s just a wild ass guess on my part.

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  14. 14.

    burnspbesq

    Could the Feds be investigating civil rights violations by the NYPD? I think that’s too much to hope for, but I’m going to hope anyway.

    More likely they stole so much that they tried to stash some offshore, and forgot to file FBARs. Or sold drugs seized in raids to an undercover DEA agent, which would put them in the Dumb Crime Hall of Fame.

  15. 15.

    hueyplong

    Next on FoxNews, Patriot Cops Persecuted By Anti-American, Communist Dems!

    — Beloved FoxNews Contributors Not Immune To Vicious Abuse

  17. 17.

    PaulWartenberg

    There may be several things here:

    1. Most likely financial corruption. As mentioned above, the police rarely get investigated for violence but will get investigated for embezzling/grift.
    2. Possible ties to the January 6 Insurrection, given the number of police officers who showed up to *riot* for trump.
    3. A wide and vast criminal conspiracy reaching across the globe that would make for a thrilling espionage movie starring Daniel Craig, Ana De Armas, Kang Min-ah, Kiefer Sutherland as a mysterious economist, with a surprise cameo by Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock so they can tie it into the MCU.
  18. 18.

    JMG

    Union members pay union dues. Best guess is Mullins was skimming the take in some way, either directly or by directing union investments in ways that lined his own pockets.

  19. 19.

    scav

    The word Benevolent has certainly been tortured and misused and forevermore trashed beyond recognition by its association with such enterprises.

  20. 20.

    SWMBO

    I wonder if this was triggered by the Pandora papers?  That would certainly be a more financial angle than civil rights one.  It has happened conveniently close but that doesn’t mean causation.  Also in the Pandora papers, I have wondered if the name Trump came up?

  22. 22.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kent: Yep. It’s like a catch-all for selfish, militantly uninformed pricks who make workplaces more toxic. I can’t think of an easier and more effective way to get rid of the worst of them in one fell swoop than to enforce that mandate.

  23. 23.

    Elizabelle

    @Betty Cracker:   WaPost columnist Catherine Rampell had a great column on that, from August 12. Worth the click.

    WaPost: Good riddance to all the anti-vax police officers

    Around the country, police officers are threatening to quit if subject to a coronavirus vaccine mandate. And you know what? Good riddance.

    This is a useful opportunity to clear law enforcement ranks of their worst, most selfish and least-public-spirit-minded officers.

    … Around the country, local officials have begun requiring that some municipal employees, including police officers, get vaccinated — to protect the employees themselves, their co-workers, co-workers’ children not yet eligible to be vaccinated, and of course the many members of the public they interact with and ultimately serve. But a sizable contingent of police officers is refusing.

    In San Francisco, for instance, city employees working in jails and other high-risk settings are required to be vaccinated by Sept. 15, with exemptions for medical or religious reasons. The union representing sheriff’s deputies threatened that many of its members would “retire early or seek employment elsewhere” if the order were enforced. In Van Buren Township, Mich., the presidents of local unions representing police and firefighters estimated that 20 percent of their members might quit in response to a vaccine mandate.

    [NOTE from Elizabelle: In the weeks since this column was published on August 12, we are finding that 90 -95% of employees comply with vaccine mandates, sometimes up to 99%. See United Airlines, healthcare and hospitals. These police union types were and are blowing hot air. It’s an idle threat. Compliance has also been very high in the military, once the mandate was ordered. Once again, would be a great way to clear out the hard-right extremists and budding secessionists and terrorists.]

    … It’s not clear whether threats to resign — expressed by individual officers or union leadership — should be taken at face value. After all, many cops would lose seniority and retirement benefits if they quit early. But let’s assume they’re not bluffing.

    So what? Let them quit.

    We need better ways to screen out the officers who don’t feel the law applies to them; who are inclined to put their own whims ahead of public safety; and who are likely to take unnecessary risks or reject evidence-based policing measures in favor of whatever their gut tells them to do. The response to this eminently reasonable public health requirement, not so different from other health and fitness requirements that have long been imposed upon officers, is probably a decent filtering mechanism.

    If some police officers want to defund themselves, by all means let them. Let the bad cops go, and replace them with officers actually committed to the noble mission to protect and serve.

  24. 24.

    Roger Moore

    @Betty Cracker:

    Unrelated to the police action outlined above as far as I know, but I’d like to reiterate that vaccine mandates are a once-in-a-lifetime, golden opportunity to root out the kooks, squirrely secret organization members and oppositional defiant-disordered babies currently infecting public service payrolls without arduous investigations, etc.

    That’s assuming the police actually follow through on quitting rather than getting vaccinated.  I don’t think that’s going to happen.  People talk big about quitting rather than getting vaccinated, but that’s mostly an attempt to scare their bosses into not mandating vaccination.  If they are actually put on the spot, most of them knuckle under and get the shot rather than actually quitting.  I sincerely doubt the police will be any tougher on the issue than anyone else; their unions are just better at scaring the bosses into doing as they want.

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    I would love to see a raid, excuse me, descending upon the NYC FBI Field Office.

    Although perhaps a lot of those anti-Hillary bozos have retired on their comfortable pensions by now.

    Clean that rat’s nest out.  That may be happening.  AG Garland runs a professional ship, not a lot of leaks emanating from DOJ.

  26. 26.

    Roger Moore

    @hells littlest angel: ​
     

    Sergeants have their own fucking union? Ludicrous.

    It makes some sense. There’s a big conflict of interest problem with having the same union represent bosses and rank-and-file members. To avoid this, NYPD has separate unions for the different levels of police: one for regular officers, one for sergeants, one for lieutenants, etc.

  27. 27.

    Kent

    @JMG: Or just taking bribes to do ordinary stuff like provide cops to do private security work, look the other way about stuff, etc.   He has both a lot of power and controls a lot of money.  He could either be selling power or stealing money or both.

  29. 29.

    Kent

    @Roger Moore: In the hospitals and other organizations that have actually followed through and fired people the percentage of dead-Enders seems to be running about about 0.5%.  But if they are the right 0.5% it will still be a big improvement.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    @Kent: What you are saying about separation of management from labor makes sense, and that’s how it nearly always works.

    But just sergeants?  is there a separate Lieutenant’s union?  Captain’s union?  etc.

    That’s the part that seems crazy to me.

  31. 31.

    The Moar You Know

    Yep. It’s like a catch-all for selfish, militantly uninformed pricks who make workplaces more toxic. I can’t think of an easier and more effective way to get rid of the worst of them in one fell swoop than to enforce that mandate.

    @Betty Cracker: Sadly, the worst employee in our entire company, the CEO, is vehemently pro-vax (and yeah, hard Trump supporter, lifelong Republican, hardcore racist – but pro-vax!) and was literally the first one in the entire company to get it.  There are some other numpties who are going to get the mandate announcement in the next few days who I’d be very happy to see gone – but I am betting right now every one of them save for one special snowflake (who already has lawyered up) will cave.

  32. 32.

    Redshift

    @scav:

    The word Benevolent has certainly been tortured and misused and forevermore trashed beyond recognition by its association with such enterprises. 

    Hmm, I disagree. It’s meant to convey that the organization is benevolent to them, and aside from the odd bit of skimming and corruption, it seems like it is. Benevolent for the rest of us, not so much.

  33. 33.

    Elizabelle

    OT, a tad:  WaPost:

    Southwest Airlines is the latest U.S. carrier to require that all of its employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

    The Dallas-based carrier said Monday that employees will have until Dec. 8 to provide proof of vaccination or face the possibility of losing their jobs. The carrier said employees may seek religious, disability or medical accommodations exemptions.

  35. 35.

    MattF

    I expect (and hope) that Giuliani will be dragged into this in some way. He has a long history of being aligned with the very worst elements in the NYPD. So, here’s hoping.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:  WaPost:  Earlier story; American announced vaccine requirements last week.  A lot of airlines serve as government contractors, and decided to fall into line with Biden’s mandate.  Good.  Texas can cry in its beer.  American Airlines is headquartered in Forth Worth.

    American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue are joining United Airlines in requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as the Biden administration steps up pressure on major U.S. carriers to require the shots.

    The airlines provide special flights, cargo hauling and other services for the government. The companies say that makes them government contractors who are covered by President Joe Biden’s order directing contractors to require that employees be vaccinated.

    American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told employees late Friday that the airline is still working on details, but “it is clear that team members who choose to remain unvaccinated will not be able to work at American Airlines.”

    The pilot union at American recently estimated that 4,200 — or 30% — of the airline’s pilots are not vaccinated.

    Earlier, White House coronavirus adviser Jeffrey Zients talked to the CEOs of American, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines about vaccine mandates, according to three people familiar with the situation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the calls were private.

    Airlines are large employers that fall under Biden’s sweeping order that companies with more than 100 workers require employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing for the virus.

    However, they are also government contractors, who face a Dec. 8 deadline to enforce vaccination requirements — without the testing option.

    Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways said Friday they will require employees to be vaccinated as soon as Dec. 8 because they will be treated as federal contractors.

    “This means employees may no longer opt-in for regular testing and masking in lieu of getting the vaccine,” Alaska Airlines said in a memo to employees.

  41. 41.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ken:

    @Baud: There’s a remarkable number of companies that are telling state governments “ha ha ha No.”

    And the state governments might try to enforce their no-mandate rules on the small fry, but they’re not going to motivate a big outfit like Southwest to move its HQ elsewhere.

  42. 42.

    germy

    @Betty Cracker:  vaccine mandates are a once-in-a-lifetime, golden opportunity to root out the kooks, squirrely secret organization members and oppositional defiant-disordered babies currently infecting public service payrolls without arduous investigations, etc.

    The medical examiner up here in northern NY refuses to be vaccinated:

    wnyt.com/albany-new-york-news/vaccine-mandate-leaves-status-of-rensselaer-county-autopsies-unclear/6…

    Another side effect of New York’s new vaccine mandate for health care workers is that human bodies from Rensselaer County cannot get an autopsy where they usually would, at Albany Medical Center.

    This is because Rensselaer County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Sikirica is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

  43. 43.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Baud: The secret conspiratorial internet society sells swag

    Oh, and who was the one taking selfies of his new “I helped destroyed Western Civilization”   T-shirt with Soros in front of the microchip tracking booth at the last Trilateral Commission convention Baud?

  46. 46.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost today: Kay will be happy: Garland asks FBI to address recent ‘disturbing spike’ in threats against educators

    Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday ordered the FBI to work with local leaders nationwide to help address what he called a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against educators and school board members over highly politicized issues such as mask mandates and interpretations of critical race theory.

    In a memorandum to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and federal prosecutors, Garland wrote that the Justice Department will hold strategy sessions with law enforcement in the next 30 days and is expected to announce a series of measures in response to “the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel” in the nation’s public schools.

    …. Garland’s order comes days after the National School Boards Association, a group representing school board members across the United States, pleaded with President Biden for federal assistance to help investigate and stop the recent threats against educators. The group said in a letter to Biden that much of the vitriol has involved policies focusing on mask mandates to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The NSBA likened the harassment and abuse over face coverings in schools to domestic terrorism.

    “America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat,” the group wrote to Biden.

    … The order also comes as educators and elected officials nationwide are engaged in heated and fraught debates over how far teachers can go in teaching about history, race and systemic racism in the classroom. Most of those battles have been focused on critical race theory, an academic framework for examining the way laws and policies perpetuate systemic racism.

    I think this is great. Bring the FBI down on the people fomenting these actions. Make them paranoid for real reasons this time. I think you are going to find an interconnected web of violent snowflakes. Also, that a lot of this horrible behavior is not grass roots at all. It is bad actors.  We have already learned recently that Koch people are behind some of the mask resistance (didn’t a memo on that surface last week)?

    AG Garland has dealt with terrorist organizations before.  He knows what to look for.

  50. 50.

    Kent

    @WaterGirl: Yes, actually I think they do have separate unions for each rank.  I think the collaborate closely on issues that affect all police.  But they are separate when you go to your union rep for some sort of disciplinary issue.

  53. 53.

    germy

    @cain:

    Here’s how the rank and file are responding to the NY mayor’s remarks:

    Ed Mullins is RIGHT! The FBI has been weaponized as the Thought Police for political dissenters. They need to be reformed. Your daughter is a perp. Your wife is a perp and you are a perp. You get the FBI on someone for speaking the truth. You won't win.

    — Sean Odonohue (@SeanOdonohue4) October 5, 2021

    Well, this guy is a retired cop. But still a proud member of the blue team.

  55. 55.

    Ken

    @cain: That was my thought.  In a movie, they’d release the guy with a statement “Although we have evidence that he was skimming from the police union, we feel that this is an internal matter best handled by the union itself.”

  56. 56.

    scav

    @Redshift: Ah, so Benevelent has joined the ethical universe of Moral and Bible-Believing where their abortion, pillaging, rapine and insurrection  is righteous while anyone else’s actions are not.

  57. 57.

    Elizabelle

    @Omnes Omnibus:   Omnes, did you see this?  Some fool raised a Confederate flag at Rose Barracks, Vilseck.  Hearing that they have not yet found the perp.

    WaPost:

    Defense officials are investigating the theft of American and German national flags from a building at a U.S. military base in Germany, and the raising of a Confederate flag on a nearby flagpole at the same installation, an Army spokesman said on Tuesday.

    The flags were stolen by “an unknown individual” who entered the headquarters building of the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment — a 5,000-person detachment based in Vilseck, Germany, according to a statement from Maj. John Ambelang, the unit spokesman.

    The theft of the flags constitutes larceny of government property, Ambelang said. Investigators are looking at camera recordings, he added. The Confederate flag discovered on a pole outside the regiment’s headquarters was removed immediately, he said.

    The unit doesn’t have reason to believe the incident was anything more than an isolated act of misconduct by one person, Ambelang said.

  58. 58.

    germy

    theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/05/new-york-fbi-police-union-ed-mullins?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    Ed Mullins is in disciplinary proceedings for tweeting NYPD paperwork pertaining to the arrest last year of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter, during protests over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

    Mullins also came under fire last year for tweets in which he called a former health commissioner, Dr Oxiris Barbot, a “bitch” and a US congressman, Ritchie Torres, a “first-class whore”.

    In a radio interview in 2019, Mullins suggested that a murdered Barnard College student, Tessa Majors, went to the park where she was killed to buy marijuana. Police later arrested three teens, saying Majors was stabbed during an attempted robbery.

    Majors’ family called Mullins’ remarks “deeply inappropriate”.

    He seems nice benevolent, though.

  60. 60.

    Doug R

    @hells littlest angel: ​
     
    If they can discipline lower ranks, you can’t have them in the same bargaining unit. That being said, unions for middle management seem like a good idea considering how many hours middle management is forced into.

  62. 62.

    Baud

    @Doug R: I thought managers weren’t allowed to unionize.  Is there an exception for police?

    Where is Steve in the ATL when you need him?  Literally not here.

  63. 63.

    GoBlueInOak

    “Not all cops are bad. Its just few a bad apples!”

    Sergeant’s union elects total retrograde, sexist QAnon Trump Humper as its President.

    “NOT LIKE THAT.”

  65. 65.

    germy

    Mullins is usually pretty easy to reach, but his cell phone has been going straight to voicemail all morning

    — Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) October 5, 2021

    “I’m sorry but my cell phone is currently in a FBI evidence box and I am unable to answer. Please leave your name, number, and….”

    — Mr. Met (@OTlevel7) October 5, 2021

  66. 66.

    germy

    Here’s a story from ’19:

    gothamist.com/news/nypd-police-union-boss-sorry-for-sharing-racist-video-i-have-black-friends

    The president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, New York City’s second-largest police union, says he should not face consequences for circulating an explicitly racist video—in which black people are referred to as “monsters” and public housing as a “war zone”—because it was an “honest mistake.”

    On Tuesday, the NY Post reported that the hate-filled video was emailed to thousands of police sergeants over the weekend, along with a message from SBA President Ed Mullins, reading: “Pay close attention to every word. You will hear what goes through the mind of real policemen every single day on the job. This is the best video I’ve ever seen telling the public the absolute truth.”

  67. 67.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Elizabelle:  Also, in the old days, I could have seen something like that as a drunken prank by some lieutenants after a regimental event.  I would have gone with a pirate flag to avoid bad connotations, but anyway.   In today’s environment, I would not presume innocent intent.

  69. 69.

    Barbara

    @Elizabelle: ​Although it sometimes does have its downsides, preemption via federal contracting requirements is a legal doctrine that will neutralize state laws that would purport to prohibit private businesses from requiring their employees to be vaccinated. From firsthand experience, just about every major carrier has a contract with the USG to transport cargo, personnel or both. Texas cannot enforce a law in a way that would make it impossible for a business to carry out a federal contract. The difference between Trump’s people and Biden’s people is that the latter actually know things like that, and which levers of power are most likely to yield results instead of just public relations sound bites.

  73. 73.

    Elizabelle

    @Omnes Omnibus: 

    Should add this interesting part. The Confederate flag has become more prevalent in Germany, which has banned swastikas, as an emblem of far right politics. Heritage not hate, hardly.

    Last year [as in, during Trump Times], then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper issued a memo asking military commanders to reject “divisive symbols,” although he did not explicitly mention the Confederate flag. Individual commanders however, have subsequently ordered such flags removed.

    The episode also comes amid the increased use of Confederate flags by far-right activists expressing hate against sexual and racial minorities in America, and amid Pentagon concerns about the rise of extremism in its ranks. During the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, insurrectionists were seen carrying the Confederate flag; active service members and veterans are among those charged in the riot.

    … The Confederate flag has also become more noticeable in Germany, where symbols of racial extremism such as Nazi swastikas are strictly banned. The flags were flown at an anti-lockdown protest in Dresden in March, and they have also been spotted in apartment windows.

    That reflects a tendency among some Germans to search for alternative symbols that could represent racial hate as they are restricted from hailing symbols from the Nazi regime, according to Jordan Brasher, a professor of geography at Columbus State University in Georgia.

    It could also reflect some Germans’ equation of the Confederate flag to contemporary far-right politics in general, Sanders Bernstein, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, wrote in an article this spring.

    Here’s the Bernstein article; looks good: University of Southern California website:

    Germany’s strange nostalgia for the antebellum American South

    While the confederate flag is used by the far right in Germany, there is also a long history of the American South being romanticized going back to the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852.

  74. 74.

    Martin

    It cannot be overstated how corrupt the NYPD and FDNY unions are. My dad’s cousin headed the FDNY union during 9/11. Not saying they didn’t do a fair bit of good there, but the family stories are unreal to the point we don’t associate with that side of the family any more. I wouldn’t shed a tear if they all got locked up.

    And NYPDs union is unquestionably worse.

  76. 76.

    Fair Economist

    @Elizabelle: Turns out United Airlines has had a flood of applicants now that they’re requiring vaccination. I think it’s no accident that Southwest, American, JetBlue, and Alaska all decided to impose vax requirements in the past week. They have to so they can compete for new hires.

  78. 78.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    I think it’s a real failure of local policing. They have all the tools they need to investigate and charge threats against public officials. It didn’t need to be federal. Public schools in particular are heavily regulated.

    Here’s Tennessee:

    (c) Communicating a death threat concerning a school employee is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of thirty (30) days.

    It’s odd. Local police have never been this stumped about how to use the criminal code before. Weird that they can’t come up with anything at all they can charge these people with, so it just continues for months and months.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    @Barbara:

    The difference between Trump’s people and Biden’s people is that the latter actually know things like that, and which levers of power are most likely to yield results instead of just public relations sound bites.

    It’s been lovely, hasn’t it?  Under New Management.

  81. 81.

    Barbara

    @germy: I went to Wikipedia and found that, for the NYPD, “Of the entire 35,783-member police force in 2020: 47% are white and 53% are members of minority groups. Of 23,464 officers on patrol: 43% (10,162) are non-Hispanic white. 57% (13,302) are Black, Latino (of any race), or Asian or Asian-American.” 
    Maybe this is a side issue for the people who are members in the union that Mullins leads, but IMO it is unpardonable that Mullins speaks as if more than half of all NYPD officers simply don’t exist, or, for instance, that a goodly number of them don’t actually live in some of these locations.​

  82. 82.

    Doug R

    @Elizabelle: ​
      That NYCFBI office saw a former Senator and Secretary of State who had served their state and country well. And they backed the mobbed up crooked money laundering real estate promoter? SMH.

  83. 83.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay:   It is a failure of the locals.  Which is why they had to call in the feds.

    I am very glad to see the [allegedly parental — ha!] terrorism against school boards become a federal issue.

    It is going to be fascinating to untangle the web of these very bad actors.

  86. 86.

    Elizabelle

    @Doug R:   I know.  And they were Giuliani’s pals and leaksters.

    We are not safe when those people are in sensitive positions.  I am glad that the Biden administration is looking closely at all of this.

    While the press is covering a horse race, I am sure the administration is avidly pursuing all these threads, because one cannot count on more than a 4 year term to be a corrective to so much corruption and bad actions.

  88. 88.

    Cacti

    Large organization run by right wing Republicans.

    I’d say that there’s a 100% chance somebody had their hand in the till.

  90. 90.

    gvg

    @Redshift: I think the tradition it comes from is an organization of peers that would make sure their own widows and orphans got something if they died. It’s a very old kind of name that goes back quite aways. Pre reliable pensions and insurance I think.

    I am not saying that they are great now, just that the name is old.

  93. 93.

    smith

    @Fair Economist:  Turns out United Airlines has had a flood of applicants now that they’re requiring vaccination.

    I was wondering when we’d start seeing stories like this. If I were looking for a job today, I’d definitely be asking about vax policy at any prospective employer. Another thing I’m hoping to see is tradespeople noting whether they and their employees are vaxed or even directories of service companies with good vax policies. There is no way I’d want an unvaxxed plumber or electrician working in my house, nor do I want to go to an unvaxxed dentist.

  94. 94.

    germy

    @Benw:

    Always nice to adopt a senior.

    They know the rules, just show them the litter box and the food dish, and they’re good to go.

  95. 95.

    Betty

    @Baud: I am familiar with first line supervisors having their own union. They too have issues separate from top management.

  97. 97.

    Doug R

    @Elizabelle: ​
      I don’t want to sound too paranoid, but considering the Russian influence on right wing groups AND their pushing the anti-vaccine crap, it wouldn’t surprise me Putin’s involved. See also the Koch’s long history with Russia.

  100. 100.

    Elizabelle

    @smith:  Vaccination status turns out to be excellent shorthand for eliminating the crazed, easily duped, and types who value themselves over their community or customers/clients.

    Win all around.

  102. 102.

    JoyceH

    @Elizabelle: I am very glad to see the [allegedly parental — ha!] terrorism against school boards become a federal issue.

    I feel kind of like – ‘what TOOK them so long?!’ It’s not like it’s going to be a difficult investigation or prosecution when a lot of these really blatant threats are on video.

  103. 103.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Fair Economist:

    @Elizabelle: Turns out United Airlines has had a flood of applicants now that they’re requiring vaccination. I think it’s no accident that Southwest, American, JetBlue, and Alaska all decided to impose vax requirements in the past week. They have to so they can compete for new hires.

    Not to mention, keep their existing staff.  If I were working for a company that wasn’t requiring vaccinations, and a competitor that I could do pretty much the same work for was requiring vaccinations, I’d be updating the old resume in a hurry.

    @germy:

    He’s grown since then.

    :-D

  104. 104.

    JoyceH

    @smith: Another thing I’m hoping to see is tradespeople noting whether they and their employees are vaxed or even directories of service companies with good vax policies. There is no way I’d want an unvaxxed plumber or electrician working in my house, nor do I want to go to an unvaxxed dentist.

    It depends on where you live. My county is something like 40% vaccinated. I certainly wouldn’t go with an unvaccinated dentist, but for house work, I don’t ask –  I just wear a mask and stay out of their way. I’ve noticed that all the repair people will wear masks if I ask them to.

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay: 
    Yeah, it’s obvious when the police are actively avoiding enforcement. For me the obvious one here in the LA area is the sheriff’s department avoiding enforcing mask mandates on public transit. The sheriffs are responsible for fare enforcement and other law enforcement functions on our public transit system. Before the pandemic, they were a reasonably common sight on the train, and they would never pass up a chance to hassle a homeless person. Since the pandemic started, I think I’ve seen them on a train once. It would be a perfect chance for them to hassle homeless people- they’re among the worst offenders for not wearing masks- but they have completely passed it up. I guess refusing to enforce mask requirements on public transit is a higher priority than hassling homeless people.

  106. 106.

    smith

    @lowtechcyclist: Not to mention, keep their existing staff.

    I wonder when we’re going to see breathless reports in the media about all the employees quitting because their employers don’t have vaccine mandates?

  107. 107.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Mike G:

    @Elizabelle:

    AG Garland runs a professional ship, not a lot of leaks emanating from DOJ.

    But not a lot of prosecutions of coup plotters, either.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    @Mike G: Yet.

    What Omnes said. It takes time to build up airtight cases, and that’s what they (and we) want.  Give ’em time to do it right.

  109. 109.

    The Moar You Know

    It’s odd. Local police have never been this stumped about how to use the criminal code before. Weird that they can’t come up with anything at all they can charge these people with, so it just continues for months and months.

    @Kay: We had an incident in our district last week where groups of terrorists came on two high school campuses during school hours and tore down all the mask signage and replaced them with signs stating that “vaccination and masking = child abuse”.  They’re on multiple videos – unmasked.  The police were called.  They showed up well after the terrorists had left.

    The cops just have no idea what to do.

    The terrorists could just as easily have been carrying guns instead of signage.

  110. 110.

    Roger Moore

    @smith:

    I wonder when we’re going to see breathless reports in the media about all the employees quitting because their employers don’t have vaccine mandates?

    How about never? Does never work for you?  Seriously, political slant of the news media has never been more obvious.  They’re more than happy to take the side of anti-vaxers, whichever side that might be.

  113. 113.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Roger Moore:

    Yeah, it’s obvious when the police are actively avoiding enforcement.

    Here’s an example: Some anti-vaxxers overturned a mobile Covid testing stand in NYC, and the cops were in no hurry to stop it, or so much as hassle the perps.

    Who were white, of course, since black people would fully expect that doing the same thing would quickly find them face-down on the pavement with their hands cuffed behind them.  Nah, there’s no such thing as white privilege.

  114. 114.

    smith

    @Roger Moore: This is something that actually puzzles me. The only way I’ve ever been able to make sense of the media’s bias is to remind myself that their reportage always revolves around the needs of oligarchs. Granted that there are some wealthy RWNJs who largely determine what appears on Fox News, but the “respectable” media has always seemed more in the service of mainstream corporate powers.  Those powers appear to have largely woken up to the fact that anti-vax activity is prolonging the pandemic, and that a prolonged pandemic is bad for business. Thus we’ve seen a number of large corporations establishing vax mandates before any state or federal requirements were in place. Have they forgotten to tell their handmaidens in the press?

  115. 115.

    Old School

    @smith:

    I wonder when we’re going to see breathless reports in the media about all the employees quitting because their employers don’t have vaccine mandates?

    Well, obviously, those stories are covered by reporting on the poor business owner having difficulties finding employees due to Biden giving them too much money.

  116. 116.

    Bodacious

    @Elizabelle:  After checking with “my” airline – Delta, I’ve fired off a letter saying that I would not want to switch to a different carrier, but, if in the future they cannot guarantee that their flight crew and gate staff are fully vaccinated, I will have to choose another airline that has an employee vaccine requirement.

    Why they have not adopted a mandate, I do not know. They will only begin to charge unvaccinated employees +$200/month healthcare starting Nov 1. Not good enough for my health.

  117. 117.

    burnspbesq

    @JoyceH:

    Priorities for the 80-odd U.S. Attorney’s offices come down from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, which is part of Main Justice. This only became a priority yesterday.

    Also, any new cases arising from this will have to be shoehorned into AUSAs’ already ridiculous caseloads. And it remains to be seen whether the FBI will fully get with the program.

    Finally, the idea is not to get indictments and lose at trial due to half-assed preparation. The idea is to get convictions (or guilty pleas, which are even better from a resource-management perspective). Building airtight cases takes time.

    All of which is a long-winded way of saying “expectation management, y’all.”

  118. 118.

    geg6

    @smith: 
    On that note, we had a tech in yesterday to check the furnace before winter settles in and when he knocked on the door, he showed his vax card before coming in. This was different HVAC company than the one we usually call (having trouble getting an appointment with the old one) and they are now #1 in our book. Not only are they apparently concerned with customer safety, but the guy was super nice, he found stuff that the previous people should have taken care of (minor stuff, but stuff that could cause big problems down the road) and it cost less for a whole lot more work.

  120. 120.

    catclub

    @Elizabelle: ​
     

    The pilot union at American recently estimated that 4,200 — or 30% — of the airline’s pilots are not vaccinated.

    If I were a pilot and vaccinated I would refuse to fly with one who is not, in a small cockpit at close quarters for hours at a time.

  121. 121.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    “We don’t know what to DO”

    Really? A huge group of adults blocking a high school entrance and not allowing students past is just not at all covered in our 5 million word criminal code? They can use disorderly and then (inevitably and always) resisting, like they do for every other conceivable offeense. That’s without even going to “school” which has its own special subset and enhanced protections.

  122. 122.

    catclub

    @gvg: ​
      :

    There is a gas station I have passed that has ” 100% of our employees are vaxed ” on their sign……

    which brings out my refrain: “Important if true!”

  123. 123.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    It’s just ridiculous. Did these people object when their children were sent home from school for lice or scabies or pink eye? You’re not entitled to infect other children in a public school. There’s no “right” to that. It doesn’t matter at all if it’s “mild”. It never mattered before.

  124. 124.

    smith

    @geg6: It’s great that there are small businesses doing this proactively. Small businesses and self-employed people are the weak link in getting to a high enough vax level to get ahead of covid. They are not, by and large, affected by either state or federal mandates, and such companies are much more likely to be run by Trumpists than most other enterprises are. There will have to be consumer pressure applied, and it appears that in some places at least that’s being anticipated.

    .

  125. 125.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Give ’em time to do it right.

    Hard to disagree while at the same time feeling disgust at how slowly the wheels of justice grind for some. Giuliani and Goetz…how long before they’re charged? The freaking AG of Texas has been under indictment for years.

    Wish there was a finer line between getting it right and getting it done. The wrongdoing becomes lost.

     

  126. 126.

    Barbara

    @smith: ​ Small businesses are the least likely to be able to compensate when employees or owners get sick. I realize that anti-vax mentality is rarely a reflection of reasoned self-interest, but if it were, this issue wouldn’t even be close. And while I am thinking about it the relationship between wellness so-called “influencers” and the anti-vax movement is just driving me crazy. When someone says that they plan to rely on “natural” immunity, wtf do they think a vaccine does? The vaccine allows your body to establish “natural immunity” to the disease.​

  127. 127.

    rikyrah

    @Elizabelle:

     

    … It’s not clear whether threats to resign — expressed by individual officers or union leadership — should be taken at face value. After all, many cops would lose seniority and retirement benefits if they quit early. But let’s assume they’re not bluffing.

    So what? Let them quit.

     

    where are they going to find such a high paying job that requires little to no education.

  128. 128.

    geg6

    @smith:

    I have to say, we were shocked.  This is a very Trumpy county with only slightly over 50% fully vaxxed.  We barely leave the house.  But the owners must be smart.  This is also a county with a large proportion of elderly residents and I know that if I owned a small business, I would insist on my employees being vaxxed for fear of being sued if we infected someone.

  129. 129.

    The Moar You Know

    I know that if I owned a small business, I would insist on my employees being vaxxed for fear of being sued if we infected someone.

    @geg6: it’s not a concern for the small business owner because there is literally no way to prove that a specific person infected someone else.  You can make an educated guess, and it will likely be right, but without strict contact tracing under quarantine combined with daily testing you can’t even narrow the pool of potential infectors down to one group of people, never mind individuals.

    Which of course is why so many small business owners simply don’t give a fuck, and surely don’t fear being sued over spreading COVID.

  130. 130.

    catclub

    Stephanie Grisham: I told the Trumps my relationship with a White House staffer had turned abusive. They didn’t seem to care.

    They told me to keep abusing that person

  131. 131.

    rikyrah

    @catclub:

     

    If I were a pilot and vaccinated I would refuse to fly with one who is not, in a small cockpit at close quarters for hours at a time.

     

    I know that’s right.

  132. 132.

    Mallard Filmore

    @lowtechcyclist: 

    It takes time to build up airtight cases

    Will the investigation be done in time to keep the traitors out of elections next year? Will the DOJ honor the tradition of the 90 day pause before elections?

  133. 133.

    smith

    @Barbara: Small businesses are the least likely to be able to compensate when employees or owners get sick.

    Also the ones that can’t take too big a hit in lost customers. But some people can only learn from experience (and maybe not even then).

  134. 134.

    Roger Moore

    @smith: ​
     
    I think there are two things going on:

    1. Not all the media is treating anti-vaxers as inherently reasonable. I get the LA Times, for instance, and they don’t seem to be treating anti-vaxers with kid gloves. I think it depends heavily on the local environment.
    2. A huge driving force for media who aren’t just following the local environment is political. Anti-vax is now the standard Republican position. News rooms that are highly attuned to the political situation are going to treat anti-vaxers as representing the Republican position, which means they’re going to be treated seriously no matter how crazy their actual position is. Depending on the media, that might be anything from treating them seriously to accepting them as the default position.
  135. 135.

    geg6

    @The Moar You Know:

    Well, maybe not sued, but certainly word of mouth could hurt business if your employees are infecting people.  And help you if it goes around that your company is very safety conscious.

  136. 136.

    Cowgirl in the Sandi

    We have a heat/AC tech coming tomorrow.  I asked the company if he was vaccinated and they said they can’t say as it violated HIPPA (her spelling) laws.  So, can I ask him for his vaccination card when he gets here?

  137. 137.

    catclub

    Useless innumerate news from CNN:

    FAA figures released Tuesday show more disruptions on commercial flights in the past week than any week in the past two and a half months.
    The FAA says there were 128 new incidents reported by flight crews, bringing this year’s total to 4,626 incidents.

    But how many flights are there in a week? 45000 per day in the US means 300000 per week so 128 incidents
    is less than one per every 2000 flights. Atlanta airport has 1000 flights per day so that would be one incident at atlanta airport every other day.

  138. 138.

    PaulWartenberg

    They also raided the union president’s home. I’ve seen that before usually involving illegal kickbacks/embezzling, ’cause they’re grabbing personal bank records and stuff. Money shenanigans.

  139. 139.

    smith

    @Roger Moore:   I guess in my naivete I expect the media to be sensitive to when the interests of the oligarchs diverge from those of the Republican party. The non-nutsy oligarchs seem to understand where their interests lie vis a vis the pandemic, but I seem to be giving reporters too much credit.

  140. 140.

    Just Chuck

    @Cowgirl in the Sandi:

    I asked the company if he was vaccinated and they said they can say as it violated HIPPA laws.

    It’s not even remotely covered by HIPAA, but that’s a bog-standard wingnut squid-ink response.  If the tech is vaxxed then great, but I’d give the company a miss from now on.  And let them know why of course.

  141. 141.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Elizabelle:

    It’s gonna turn out to be some E-6 from the Provost Marshal’s shop feeling “economic anxiety”.

  143. 143.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Martin:

    Its almost like everybody completely forgot about the revelations triggered by Frank Serpico.

  144. 144.

    Roger Moore

    @smith:

    I think it’s a mistake to lay the blame on the individual reporters.  Reporters don’t set the reporting priority and overall tone of the newsroom; that’s the job of the editors and publisher.  This is very much a problem that comes from the top.

  145. 145.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Kay:

    “We’re sorry, but it’s just a strong set of opinions stated by freedom loving, hard working Americans. Don’t know what you’re going to do about it. Wish we could help, but we’ve got more pressing needs, what with the number of black motorists driving with overtinted windows, making wide turns, rolling through stops and having issues with intermittently inoperable turn and brake  signals.”

  148. 148.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @PaulWartenberg:

    “I’m busting’ my ass out heah, keepin’ the streets safe for jerks like youse. You begrudge me a taste? Me?!!!? Youse is nothin’ but punks!”

  149. 149.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Cowgirl in the Sandi: So that company is full of it and you can ask whatever you want. So can they.

    HIPAA applies to health care providers. They can’t share their patient’s records without the patient’s permission.

    The education equivalent is FERPA. I couldn’t share my students’ records without their permission. I couldn’t even say if they were in my class. But an employer can sure ask them if they have a degree and what their major or GPA was.

  151. 151.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Just Chuck:

    It’s not even remotely covered by HIPAA, but that’s a bog-standard wingnut squid-ink response.  If the tech is vaxxed then great, but I’d give the company a miss from now on.  And let them know why of course.

    The short version AIUI is, HIPAA keeps others with privileged access to your confidential medical records from revealing your health information to others.  But it’s your health information, and you can always share any info you want about yourself.  (Freedom!)

    So the tech coming to Cowgirl’s house can tell her whether s/he’s vaccinated; HIPAA’s got nothing to do with it.

  152. 152.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Elizabelle: They also a big Dukes of Hazards fan bois their Germany, so it’s can both racist and cheesy stupid at the same time.

  153. 153.

    smith

    @Roger Moore: Yes, I stand corrected — the tone is set ultimately by publishers. But wouldn’t you expect publishers in particular to be attuned to the needs of corporate powers? Most likely the depressing answer is that the only thing that really matters is whether they have to pay taxes, and we know which party can be relied on to ensure that.

  155. 155.

    The Moar You Know

    Speaking of confederate flags: Because it’s about history and heritage, in Michigan.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The “Fuck Joe Biden” flag is interesting.  I’ve seen a couple around here.  Very professionally done.  Would REALLY like to know who’s funding that; I suspect the inclusion of the word “fuck” may turn off a lot of the suburban mom vote (gotta explain that to the kids because they WILL ask) but I wouldn’t know and am probably wrong.

  157. 157.

    Kay

    Ron Filipkowski
    @RonFilipkowski
    · 19h
    People outside Sarasota Sch Bd member Shirley Brown’s house tonight: “We see you in there, Shirley. We want you to come out for a redress of grievances. This is the line we will die on. Shirley, come out. We have some questions and we have demands that need to be met.”

  159. 159.

    Elizabelle

    @catclub:   I know.  That 30% non-vaccinated pilots estimate is appalling.

    They’re not just pilots.  They are vectors.  How irresponsible.

  161. 161.

    Benw

    The cat is a smashing success! She’s sweet and snuggly with the FIL. My MIL is over the moon!

  163. 163.

    zhena gogolia

    @Just Chuck: We had a guy come today to service the furnace — no mask. He was in the basement the whole time, but I was pissed off. I haven’t called the company yet.

  165. 165.

    Kent

    @Elizabelle: I wonder what percentage fly international routes.  I can’t imagine very many countries are willing to put up with anti-vax Americans landing in their midst on a daily basis.

  167. 167.

    Elizabelle

    @Kent:   I was wondering that myself.  Europe, and the Caribbean.  Not to mention Asia and Africa.  Where it’s much harder in many countries to get vaccinated.  I would not allow those fools off the aircraft.

    They can’t all be flying the Tennessee to Wyoming route.

  168. 168.

    debbie

    I know people have complained Merrick Garland hasn’t moved quickly or decisively enough on the 1/6 insurrection. Incidents like this would indicate otherwise, I would think. I think he’s been very busy and very quiet about what all he’s up to.

  169. 169.

    Barbara

    @Elizabelle: ​ The article states that United mandates vaccines that are required by any country that the individual might be flying into, including unusual ones like yellow fever, which is required by some African countries. So, presumably, anyone flying European or Asian routes was already subject to a vaccine requirement.

  170. 170.

    Mary G

    I’ve had all kinds of people working on my bathroom and giving me estimates for roof replacement. I inquire about vaccines and make it clear masks are required in the house and they’ve all complied.

    We got .32 inches of rain yesterday against the average 3.1 so far, but far better than the zero of the past couple of years, so yay!

  171. 171.

    J R in WV

    @Cowgirl in the Sandi: ​
     

    …can I ask him for his vaccination card when he gets here?

    Hell Yes!! Of course you can. Just ask to see his card, tell him he can’t come in without that! His choice.

  172. 172.

    prostratedragon

    @MattF: Just got here, so don’t know if this has been mentioned, but there’s finally an article re-examining that cop riot outside City Hall in 1992, one of the featured attractions of which was none other that Rudolph Giuliani. I’ve been crying out in the wilderness about this event almost since it happened. Good to see it getting aired. (h/t digby)

    “White Riot: In 1992, thousands of furious, drunken cops descended on City Hall — and changed New York history,” by Laura Nahmias

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