Unexpected Warriors

One of the important life lessons we should learn by the time we get about halfway through junior high school is that you don't fuck with librarians.

It would seem Mr Trump and his Qult45 devotees are getting a refresher.

18 US Code § 2071(B) willfully and unlawfully removing and destroying Presidential documents is punishable by 3 years in prison a fine and disqualification from serving in public office.

I'm tellin' ya - the people we take for granted as being meek and mild are the ones who'll step up and save our asses. Because that's how it's always been.

NYT: (pay wall)

‘The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu,’ by Joshua Hammer

A story of librarians in Mali standing up to asshole religion freaks who sought to keep the truth from a world that deserves to know that truth.

But anyway - to clear things up - there was no raid on Mar-A-Lago.

But c'mon - nobody's going to doubt the high probability that Trump would have to be forced to comply with the Presidential Records law, the same as we have to force him to follow every other law. Especially knowing about his habit of tearing up official notes of official White House meetings.

Besides the prospect of middle-aged women in comfortable shoes flashing their badges as they storm the storage lockers at Mar-A-Lago is pretty damned funny. I just can't help myself.

Palm Beach Daily News:

The National Archives last month obtained 15 boxes of presidential records that were being stored at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club.

Keeping the boxes of records at Mar-a-Lago violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires that the government keep all forms of documents and communications related to a president's or vice president's official duties.

"As required by the Presidential Records Act the records should have been transferred to NARA from the White House at the end of the Trump Administration in January 2021,” the National Archives and Records Administration said in a statement on Monday.

Today's Reddit

I imagine we can expect an all-out legal presence sponsored by the NRA in a cynical effort to bolster the claim that no one but the shooter can possibly share any of the responsibility. The object being their intention to protect the gun makers at any cost. They'll be using James and Jennifer Crumbley as surrogates.

And the eternal American tragedy continues. This is 9 kinds of fucked up.

The Continuing American Tragedy

This story perfectly illustrates the fallacy of "A Good Guy With A Gun".

Oh, you acted on impulse and did a little vigilante shit for us? Great - here's a fatal bullet wound in the back, courtesy of the cops you were "helping". Thanks. Anything you want us to tell your family?

A gun fight is ridiculously fluid and chaotic. The last thing the actual good guys need is for some random asshole with a gun and a Wyatt Earp complex to make it worse.

The Denver Post: (pay wall)

2 minutes, 20 gunshots, 3 dead: How the Olde Town Arvada shootings unfolded minute by minute

Law enforcement released some details over five months, but new documents paint fullest picture yet

Twenty gunshots exploded in Olde Town Arvada one Monday afternoon last June, shattering windows, killing three and undermining the sense of safety previously held by those who live and work nearby.

In less than two minutes, the scene turned from a pleasant summer day in suburbia to a cacophony of screams and sirens. Diners sitting outside restaurants in the Colorado sunshine heard shotgun pellets whiz by their ears. People in the busy commercial district hid behind dumpsters and in restaurant attics.

In the end, three men lay bleeding outside the library: a beloved police officer, a gunman intent on killing as many law enforcement officers as possible, and a nearby shopper with a legally concealed handgun who stepped in and prevented further bloodshed.

In the five months since the June 21 shootings, police and prosecutors have released information in fits and starts. But records obtained by The Denver Post after First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King announced on Nov. 8 that she would not prosecute the Arvada police officer who shot and killed “good Samaritan” Johnny Hurley offer the most complete picture of the chaos that day and how law enforcement responded.

The 1,090-page report includes interviews and accounts from dozens of law enforcement officers who responded to the scene as well as descriptions of radio traffic and witness interviews. Though Arvada police officers did not wear body cameras at the time of the shooting, The Post used the documents, surveillance videos and body camera footage from other responding agencies to piece together the following account of the chaotic scene.

“It was the absolute scariest thing I’ve been a part of in 15 years at this police department,” said one of the first officers on scene, whose name was redacted from the report. “I thought that I was going to have to either have to use lethal force or I was going to be murdered.”

One witness, a guitar teacher, told investigators he heard gunshots and saw Beesley fall. He fled as the sound of more gunfire echoed in the square.

“I was visualizing that Olde Town Square was a bloodbath,” the witness, whose name also was redacted, told police. “I was freaking out.”

- more -

The piece goes on to detail the kind of cluster fuck we all knew was coming. And what we all know this is bound to happen again and again until we figure out how to sit down and hash out a few sensible rules to govern the sick shit growing from the worship of guns and violence here in USAmerica Inc.

I Gotcher Conspiracy Right here

Hey, "conservatives", do you really wanna do that conspiracy thing? Here's one.

What if you make a political move that takes cops off the streets, and do it thru the unions, which kinda short-circuits the lefties' pushback?

Put this together with - oh, I dunno - that horseshit going on down there in Texas where they've legalized Vigilantism, and whaddya got?

The Guardian:

Police departments face a shortage as unions enable officers to refuse vaccines

Representatives say the mandates violate the officers’ rights while city leaders are trying to keep the public safe

Sgt Randy Huserik and all other officers with the Seattle police department who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 are prepared to report at 7am Tuesday morning to any of the city’s five precincts rather than their usual assignments. Some detectives could even be responding to 911 calls instead of following up on their case load, he said.

That’s because the city is implementing a vaccine mandate for officers on 18 October and preparing to fire hundreds of officers who refuse to get the vaccine, which could leave the department significantly understaffed.

“We will have additional bodies available to handle 911 calls but obviously there is going to be a backlash on that for all the officers assigned as detectives who then won’t be working on their caseload, which will then back up as additional cases come in,” said Huserik, who has been with the department for 28 years and works in public affairs.

The standoff between the city and officers is just one conflict among many across the United States, with city leaders stating that they are trying to keep the public safe and some officers and their union representatives saying that the mandates violate their rights. In Chicago, the issue has even led to the mayor and the local police union trading legal actions.

While the penalties for officers who decline to get the vaccine differ from city to city, there is a common resistance among police unions to various restrictions.

And policing experts warn that even if officers’ resistance to the vaccination is misguided, issuing mandates could further deplete departments that are already understaffed and thus hurt public safety.

“I think you should encourage them, but I don’t think you can make anybody do anything and think that relationship is going to be amicable and trustworthy down the line,” said David Thomas, a professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coast University.

The resistance to the vaccines comes despite the fact Covid-19 has caused 473 deaths among law enforcement officers in the United States, making it the largest cause of death for the group in 2020 and 2021, according to Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks the deaths.

“You would think that is enough to encourage everybody to get vaccinated,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, which advises police departments across the country. “It’s just mind-boggling to think that the creation of [police] unions was to protect officers’ rights and what could be more significant than the right to live a good life?”

Brian Higgins, a former police chief and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, attributes the resistance in part to the fact that police “are a little more skeptical” and “are not used to being told what to do”, he said.

And there it is - the cops "are not used to being told what to do."

Well then, you need to get used to it, fellas.

You are not the law.

You are not above the law.

You will comply with the fucking law.

Today's Beau

Justin King - Beau Of The Fifth Column

Following up - WCVB-Boston:

Massachusetts State Police aware of only 1 possible resignation over vaccine mandate, source says

There is conflicting information about the accuracy of the claims made by the union representing members of the Massachusetts State Police regarding resignations over the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration are requiring state workers, including state troopers, to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by Oct. 17. If they cannot show proof of vaccination or receive approval for an exemption, those executive branch employees will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

The State Police Association of Massachusetts is standing by a statement that it made last week, which reads, "To date, dozens of troopers have already submitted their resignation paperwork."

However, a source within the Massachusetts State Police told 5 Investigates that the department is only aware of one person who has submitted paperwork to resign as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The union will not provide a specific number of troopers that it claims are planning to resign beyond saying dozens.

On Monday, Baker said the state will hire new troopers to fill the ranks of retiring troopers, regardless of the reason for their retirement.

"I think it's really important for public officials who deal directly with the public on a regular basis — who have no idea whether the people they're dealing with are vaccinated or not, and those people who are dealing with them ought to be able to believe that they are vaccinated — I think it's critically important for those folks to get vaccinated," the governor said.

The conflicting numbers from SPAM and MSP come after the union unsuccessfully attempted to fight the mandate in court.

It is possible for state troopers to file retirement papers directly with the Massachusetts State Retirement Board, but the source said the department is not aware of that happening.

Closer Than We Think

The Balance - Careers:

The first recorded case of a United States Military officer using the "I was only following orders" defense dates back to 1799. During the War with France, Congress passed a law making it permissible to seize ships bound for any French Port. However, when President John Adams wrote the authorization order, he wrote that U.S. Navy ships were authorized to seize any vessel bound for a French port, or traveling from a French port. Pursuant to the President's instructions, a U.S. Navy captain seized a Danish Ship (the Flying Fish), which was en route from a French Port.

The owners of the ship sued the Navy captain in U.S. Maritime Court for trespass. They won, and the United States Supreme Court upheld the decision. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Navy commanders "act at their own peril" when obeying presidential orders when such orders are illegal.

Even though he's a hardass and a fairly typical authoritarian military-minded kinda guy, I think Mark Milley is going to come out of this mess looking like the very model of a modern major league general.

(my apologies to Gilbert-n-Sullivan, and to anyone who still has the tiniest bit of sensibility left in this ridiculously non-sensical period of political madness)

And I think the reason for Milley's supposed turnaround, is that he's not a guy who's going to roll over and beg for a belly rub from any random puke - even a POTUS - when he knows the guy is playing him for a fool.

Axios:

Trump's Situation Room shouting match

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly blew up at President Trump over how to handle last summer's racial-justice protests, The Wall Street Journal's Michael Bender writes in his forthcoming book, "Frankly, We Did Win This Election."

The backdrop:

Trump wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and put Milley in charge of a scorched-earth military campaign to suppress protests that had spiraled into riots in several cities.

Milley — now a GOP villain for his testimony last week on critical race theory — pushed back, Bender writes in a passage Axios is reporting for the first time:

Seated in the Situation Room with [Attorney General Bill] Barr, Milley, and [Secretary of Defense Mark] Esper, Trump exaggerated claims about the violence and alarmed officials ... by announcing he’d just put Milley "in charge."

 

Privately, Milley confronted Trump about his role. He was an adviser, and not in command. But Trump had had enough.

"I said you're in f---ing charge!" Trump shouted at him.

"Well, I'm not in charge!" Milley yelled back.

"You can't f---ing talk to me like that!" Trump said. ...

"Goddamnit," Milley said to others. "There's a room full of lawyers here. Will someone inform him of my legal responsibilities?"

"He's right, Mr. President," Barr said. "The general is right."

Asked for a response, Trump told Jonathan Swan through an aide: "This is totally fake news, it never ever happened. I'm not a fan of Gen. Milley, but I never had an argument with him and the whole thing is false. He never talked back to me. Michael Bender never asked me about it and it's totally fake news."

Trump later added: "If Gen. Milley had yelled at me, I would have fired him."

Bender then told Swan:

• "This exchange was confirmed by multiple senior administration officials during the course of hundreds of hours of interviews with dozens of top Trump World aides for this book."
• "Contrary to Mr. Trump’s assertion, I asked the former president for his side of this particular argument in a written question — as he requested — along with other queries included in my thorough fact-checking process. He did not reply.”

A spokesman for Milley declined to comment.

P.S. At Trump's Ohio rally on Saturday night, he attacked Milley without naming him: "You see these generals lately on television? They are woke."

The brink of disaster is always something we should keep in mind.

Lately, we've been dancing at the edge of the abyss.

 

AKA: Consciousness Of Guilt

Glenn Kirschner, on Bill Barr's interview in The Atlantic:

And be sure to catch the Mitch McConnell piece of it (starting at about 6:50).

These guys crooked as fuck. I'll go ahead with a blanket condemnation, saying all politicians are first and foremost concerned with gaining and keep and wielding power. The cliche is true - you can't do as much if you don't win the election.

OK fine, but when you have to stay in power in order to stay out of prison, you've taken things just a few steps too far.

Spontaneous My Ass

The big lie is morphing into denial of the lie itself, and a whole new lie to take its place - that is, that the "demonstration" on Jan6 was just rambunctious kids who let things get out of hand a little bit, and after all, we certainly didn't have anything to do with it - musta been them AntiFa guys.

The new news is that the FBI is on the trail and there could be some pretty bad shit coming down the pike that could definitively put this thing inside Trump's White House - which might explain the GOP's recent insistence on pimping Mr Potato Head and Dr Seuss as national scandals.

NYT: (pay wall)

F.B.I. Finds Contact Between Proud Boys Member and Trump Associate Before Riot

A leader of the far-right group separately said he had been in touch with Roger Stone, but an official said it was not the same contact investigators found through electronic communications records.

A member of the far-right nationalist Proud Boys was in communication with a person associated with the White House in the days just before the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Location, cellular and call record data revealed a call tying a Proud Boys member to the Trump White House, the official said. The F.B.I. has not determined what they discussed, and the official would not reveal the names of either party.

The connection revealed by the communications data comes as the F.B.I. intensifies its investigation of contacts among far-right extremists, Trump White House associates and conservative members of Congress in the days before the attack.

The same data has revealed no evidence of communications between the rioters and members of Congress during the deadly attack, the official said. That undercuts Democratic allegations that some Republican lawmakers were active participants that day.

Separately, Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the far-right nationalist Proud Boys, told The New York Times on Friday that he called Roger J. Stone Jr., a close associate of former President Donald J. Trump’s, while at a protest in front of the home of Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida. During the protest, which occurred in the days before the Capitol assault, he put Mr. Stone on speaker phone to address the gathering.


A law enforcement official said that it was not Mr. Tarrio’s communication with Mr. Stone that was being scrutinized, and that the call made in front of Mr. Rubio’s home was a different matter. That two members of the group were in communication with people associated with the White House underscores the access that violent extremist groups like the Proud Boys had to the White House and to people close to the former president.

Mr. Stone denied “any involvement or knowledge of the attack on the Capitol” in a statement last month to The Times.

Mr. Tarrio was arrested in Washington on Jan. 4 on charges of destruction of property for his role in the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner that had been torn from a historic Black church during a protest in Washington in December. He was asked to leave the city, and was not present when the Capitol was attacked. His case is pending.

The Justice Department has charged more than a dozen members of the Proud Boys with crimes related to the attack, including conspiracy to obstruct the final certification of President Biden’s electoral victory and to attack law enforcement officers.

In court papers, federal prosecutors have said groups of Proud Boys also coordinated travel to Washington and shared lodging near the city, with the intent of disrupting Congress and advancing Mr. Trump’s efforts to unlawfully maintain his grip on the presidency.

The communication between the person associated with the White House and the member of the Proud Boys was discovered in part through data that the F.B.I. obtained from technology and telecommunications companies immediately after the assault.

Court documents show F.B.I. warrants for a list of all the phones associated with the cell towers serving the Capitol, and that it received information from the major cellphone carriers on the numbers called by everyone on the Capitol’s cell towers during the riot, three officials familiar with the investigation said.

The F.B.I. also obtained a “geofence” warrant for all the Android devices that Google recorded within the building during the assault, the officials said. A geofence warrant legally gives law enforcement a list of mobile devices that are able to be identified in a particular geographic area. Jill Sanborn, the head of counterterrorism at the F.B.I., testified before a Senate panel on Wednesday that all the data the F.B.I. had gathered in its investigation into the riot was obtained legally through subpoenas and search warrants.

Although investigators have found no contact between the rioters and members of Congress during the attack, those records have shown evidence in the days leading up to Jan. 6 of communications between far-right extremists and lawmakers who were planning to appear at the rally featuring Mr. Trump that occurred just before the assault, according to one of the officials.

The Justice Department is examining those communications, but it has not opened investigations into any members, the official said. A department spokesman declined to comment.

The F.B.I. did, however, say on Thursday that it had arrested a former State Department aide on charges related to the attack, including unlawful entry, violent and disorderly conduct, obstructing Congress and law enforcement, and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon.

The former midlevel aide, Federico G. Klein, who was seen in videos assaulting officers with a stolen riot shield, was the first member of the Trump administration to face criminal charges in connection with the storming of the Capitol. His lawyer declined to comment on Friday.

Right-wing extremists, including members of the Oath Keepers, a militia group that mainly comprises former law enforcement and military personnel, have been working as security guards for Republicans and for Mr. Trump’s allies, such as Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone, who was pardoned by Mr. Trump after refusing to cooperate with the investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russian intelligence, has known Mr. Tarrio for some time and used Oath Keepers as bodyguards before and on the day of the assault on the Capitol.

The Justice Department is looking into communications between Mr. Stone and far-right extremists to determine whether he played any role in plans by extremists to disrupt the certification on Jan. 6, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak about the investigation.

Should investigators find messages showing that Mr. Stone had any connection to such plans, they would have a factual basis to open a full criminal investigation into him, the people said.

Mr. Stone said last month that he was “provided voluntary security by the Oath Keepers,” but noted that their security work did not constitute evidence that he was involved in, or informed about, plans to attack Congress. He reiterated an earlier statement that anyone involved in the attack should be prosecuted.

The Justice Department has charged more than 300 people with crimes stemming from the Jan. 6 assault. It has used evidence gathered in its broad manhunt for assailants — including information from cellular providers and technology companies — to help piece together evidence of more sophisticated crimes, like conspiracy.

It is also looking at possible charges of seditious conspiracy, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

Today's Ammosexual

The Death Of Irony, part ∞

When the law-n-order crowd is one of the main causes of this totally fucked up anarchical libertarian mess.

Denver Post:

The Loveland man who allegedly held two roofing salesmen at gunpoint because he thought they were members of antifa reportedly kneeled on the neck of one of the victims, who is African-American, and pointed a gun at his back, according to an arrest affidavit.

Scott Gudmundsen, 65, is facing charges of felony menacing and false imprisonment in connection with the alleged incident that took place June 11 in the 600 block of Edinburgh Drive in Loveland.

According to his arrest affidavit, the salesmen told the police they had been in the neighborhood the day before, on Wednesday, selling roof inspections. They contacted Gudmundsen at his home, and he asked them to leave.

While they were talking to another resident, Gudmundsen approached them and demanded to see their identification, the affidavit said. They showed him their IDs, and Gudmundsen reportedly apologized and left.

While they were canvassing a different area of the same neighborhood Thursday, Gudmundsen approached them again with what looked like a small assault rifle, the affidavit said. He started yelling at them to get on the ground and calling them terrorists, the affidavit said, saying that they were with antifa and that he would shoot them.

The two victims are not being named to protect their privacy. One of them is a football player for Colorado State University.

According to the affidavit, one of the victims told police he did not want to die so he lay on the ground as Gudmundsen ordered.

The other victim, who is African-American, told police that Gudmundsen kneeled on his neck and jammed a gun into his back.

“He asked Gudmundsen not to kill him,” the affidavit said. “Gudmundsen told him he was not going to kill him; the police would.”

Gudmundsen called police to tell them that he was holding antifa members hostage. Several witnesses also called the police to report that a man was pointing a gun at people.

Loveland Police Department officer Matt Sychla responded to a 911 call and arrived at the scene to see Gudmundsen standing over the victim pointing a pistol at his back, the affidavit said. Gudmundsen was armed with two loaded pistols and had more ammunition in a tactical vest he was wearing.

Officer Geoff Reeves responded to a 911 phone call from Gudmundsen on Thursday in which he told dispatchers that he was confronting antifa members in his neighborhood.

“Gudmundsen reported he was wearing tactical gear, was armed and was a former police officer,” the affidavit said. “He told dispatchers when we arrived he would drop to the ground to show he was not a threat.”

Dispatchers received additional calls about a standoff, and when Reeves arrived at the scene at 6:02 p.m. Sychla was holding Gudmundsen and the two victims on the ground at gunpoint, the affidavit said. The officers took Gudmundsen into custody at 6:14 p.m.

Gudmundsen was released from Larimer County Jail on a $500 bond and is scheduled to have his first appearance in court Thursday.

Gudmundsen has no prior criminal history in Colorado, according to court records.

Gearing Up

Getting ready for Mueller to drop the bomb or lay the egg tomorrow morning starting at about 8:30.

The Investigation: A search for the truth in 10 acts

PRESSURE ON COMEY TO END PROBE OF MICHAEL FLYNN

This includes the president’s statement to then-FBI Director James Comey regarding the investigation of then-national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump told Comey: “I hope you can see your way to letting this go.”

PRESIDENT’S REACTION TO THE CONTINUING RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

Among the evidence is the president telling then-White House counsel Don McGahn to stop Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself from the Russia investigation and Trump’s subsequent anger at Sessions. Trump also contacted Comey and other intelligence agency leaders to ask them to push back publicly on the suggestion that Trump had any connection to the Russian election-interference effort.

FIRING OF COMEY AND AFTERMATH

Mueller’s report says “substantial evidence” indicates Trump’s decision to fire Comey in May 2017 was the result of the FBI director’s unwillingness to say publicly that Trump was not personally under investigation. On the day after Trump fired Comey, the president told Russian officials that he had “faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”

APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL AND EFFORTS TO REMOVE HIM

Trump reacted to news of Mueller’s appointment by telling advisers that it was “the end of his presidency.” The president told aides that Mueller had conflicts of interest and should have to step aside. His aides told Trump the asserted conflicts were meritless. Following media reports that Mueller’s team was investigating whether the president had obstructed justice, Trump called then-White House counsel Don McGahn at home and directed him to have Mueller removed. McGahn refused.

FURTHER EFFORTS TO CURTAIL THE SPECIAL COUNSEL’s INVESTIGATION

Trump instructed former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to have Sessions publicly announce that, notwithstanding his recusal from the Russia investigation, the investigation was “very unfair” to the president, the president had done nothing wrong, and Sessions planned to meet with Mueller to limit him to “investigating election meddling for future elections.”

EFFORTS TO PREVENT PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF EVIDENCE

In summer of 2017, Trump learned that the news media planned to report on the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between senior campaign officials and Russians offering derogatory information about Hillary Clinton. The president directed aides not to publicly disclose the emails setting up the meeting. Before the emails became public, the president also edited a press statement for Donald Trump Jr. by deleting a line that acknowledged that the meeting was “with an individual who (Trump Jr.) was told might have information helpful to the campaign.”

ADDITIONAL EFFORTS TO HAVE SESSIONS TAKE CONTROL OF INVESTIGATION

At several points in between July 2017 and December 2017, Trump tried to get Sessions to declare that he was no longer recused from the Russia investigation and would assert control over it. The report says there’s evidence that one purpose of asking Sessions to step in was so that the attorney general would restrict the investigation’s scope.

TRUMP ORDERS WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL TO DENY THAT PRESIDENT TRIED TO FIRE MUELLER

In an Oval Office meeting in February 2018, Trump told McGahn to “correct” a New York Times story that reported Trump had earlier instructed McGahn to fire Mueller. Trump also asked why McGahn had told Mueller’s investigators about the directive to remove Mueller. McGahn told Trump he had to tell the investigators the truth.

TRUMP’S ACTIONS TOWARD, FLYNN, MANAFORT AND OTHER POSSIBLE WITNESSES

Mueller looked at whether Trump’s sympathetic messages to Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort and others were intended to limit their cooperation with Mueller’s investigation. When Flynn began cooperating with prosecutors, Trump passed word through his lawyer that he still had warm feeling for Flynn and asked for a “heads up” if Flynn knew of information implicating Trump. Trump praised Manafort during and after his criminal convictions, and refused to rule out a pardon for his former campaign chairman.

TRUMP ACTIONS TOWARD MICHAEL COHEN

Mueller noted that Trump’s conduct toward Cohen, a former Trump Organization executive, changed from praise to castigation after Cohen began cooperating with prosecutors. The evidence could “support an inference that the president used inducements in the form of positive messages in an effort to get Cohen not to cooperate, and then turned to attacks and intimidation to deter” cooperation and undermine Cohen’s credibility, Mueller wrote.

A PSA

How To Prevent Rape

1. Don’t put drugs in a woman’s drink

2. When you see a woman walking by herself, leave her alone

3. If you pull over because a woman’s car has broken down, always remember not to rape her

4. If a woman steps into an elevator with you, don’t rape her

5. Should you encounter a woman who’s asleep or otherwise unconscious, the safest thing to do is not rape her

6. Don’t break into a woman’s house, and don’t pounce on a woman in the parking garage, so as not to rape her

7. Remember, some women go alone to the laundry room or storage lockers - avoid raping them at all times

8. Use the Buddy System - sometimes, a friend is all you need to help you not rape

9. Be honest with her - state your intentions so a woman doesn’t get the mistaken idea that you’re not going to rape her

10. Always carry a Rape Whistle. If you’re about to commit rape, blow the whistle until someone comes and stomps your punk ass into a greasy spot on the pavement

Thank you for your time and attention. We hope you find this helpful as you navigate the tricky world of interpersonal dealings at a human level.

The Management

Shenanigans

Seems like an idea whose time has come.

But, as always, we have to understand that civil disobedience and political mischief of this kind are illegal, so be ready. 

You can't very well stand up to the law if you're not equally willing to stand up for the law.

You don't throw rocks and then hide your hands.

This is the difference between living democratic principles and the kind of mob rule currently on display at any given Hillbilly Nuremburg Rally.

Virginia Law:

§ 46.2-832. Damaging or removing traffic control devices or street address signs.Any person who intentionally defaces, damages, knocks down, or without authorization interferes with the effective operation of, or removes any traffic control device or a street address sign posted to assist in address identification in connection with enhanced 9-1-1 service as defined in § 56-484.12 is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§ 18.2-11. Punishment for conviction of misdemeanor.
(a) For Class 1 misdemeanors, confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.

Paraphrasing that strange little brown man in the funny clothes:

"They can arrest me. They can beat me. They can kill me. They will then have my dead broken body, but they will never have my obedience."

DIY Tip

I'm a big fan of law-n-order. I like it best when we can count on people to behave themselves according to a set of clearly defined rules, which includes a proper course to follow when somebody crosses the line. Due process, dontcha know.

But sometimes, you just gotta fuck 'em back, right fucking now.

He grabs her ass, so she drops his ass. from r/funny

Nicely done, young woman.

Not That It'll Matter

I seem to recall the Wingnut Dis-Infotainment Industry screaming about "the war on cops unleashed by crazed hordes of Black Lives Matter and blah blah blah".

Brett Samuels, The Hill:

The number of police officers who died in the line of duty decreased in 2017 and nearly hit its lowest number in 58 years, USA Today reported Thursday.

As of Thursday, 128 officers died in the line of duty this year, down from 135 in 2016. Since 1959, only 2013 saw fewer officers die while on duty, when 116 were killed, according to data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
So if you're scoring at home - or even if you're alone (thanks Keith), that's:

• Cops killed with guns - 47
• Civilians killed by cops - 971 (so far in 2017)

That's a kill ratio of 20:1, fellas - I don't think you're losing this one.

Crime And Punishment

Sturm und Drang abounds over the "Murder-by-Text" trial (and as of yesterday the sentencing) of Michelle Carter.

The Hill, David Shapiro:

With the news in that a Massachusetts judge sentenced homicide-by-text defendant Michelle Carter to fifteen months in prison and six years on probation, many are outraged at the perceived leniency of the sentence.

They may have a point, but only because brutally harsh sentences have become the norm in American criminal justice, and with devastating effects. The past decades have witnessed massive “sentencing inflation” as periods of incarceration have become longer and longer.
In the past 40 years, the incarceration rate in the United States skyrocketed by 500 percent. The United States now locks up more of its people than Russia and China — some 2.2 million of us. According to the Sentencing Project, “Changes in law and policy, not changes in crime rates, explain most of this increase.” 

If Carter’s sentence seems short, it is because we are weighing it on a broken scale.
Increasing rates of incarceration at best has a minimal effect on crime, and may have no effect at all. In other words, mass incarceration is all about politics, not public safety.


We've been through a long and damaging period of "Law-n-Order" that's done little but make real the grotesque Dickensian villainy of the Prison Entrepreneur, and a Coin-Operated Justice System.

Maybe we're seeing something of a backlash now.

But we still have to contend with certain Daddy Staters, per Charlie Pierce:

Were you wondering if Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was still the prickly authoritarian yahoo that he's always been, now that he has gotten on the bad side of the president*? Wonder no longer, says The Washington Post.

It's Who We Are Now

From deep in Real America, we get the story of another 45* voter, learning that selective thinking can easily end up looking a whole lot like bad karma.

Buzzfeed:

A Mexican man who spent almost two decades living in the United States was deported back to his home country late Tuesday, separating him from his US-born wife, who voted for President Donald Trump.

Roberto Beristain, 43, had been in custody since he was detained on Feb. 6 during a routine check-in with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. After spending almost two months in detention centers across six states, the Indiana resident was suddenly taken alone to Juarez, Mexico, late Tuesday night, he said in a statement released by his attorneys, who had filed legal petitions requesting his release.
- and -

For many years, ICE agents took no action against Beristain, despite the order of removal against him. As he bought a local restaurant in Granger, Indiana, he checked in annually with officials, and was even able to obtain a driver's license, social security card, and work permit, according to his family.

Under Obama-era directives, ICE had concentrated mainly on deporting criminals and those who posed a threat to public safety. However, following President Trump's signing of an executive order in January on immigration, emboldened ICE agents have been detaining hundreds of undocumented immigrants, including those not charged with any crimes.

Helen Beristain told Indiana Public Media she voted for Trump, believing he would not deport "good people."

We Could Call It Progress

Beat on your neighbor - you go to jail.

Beat on your dog - you go to jail.

Beat on your kids - well, the little boogers gotta learn some respect, dammit.

Panama & Meh

Between $21 trillion and $32 trillion are sheltered in tax havens according to the Tax Justice Network. pic.twitter.com/8H0ts59qx1

— The Int'l Spectator (@intlspectator) April 5, 2016

OK so I'm wrong a lot, and I'm hoping I'm real wrong on this one.  But I don't see much changing because of the outrage over what's being "revealed" in The Panama Papers about a really fucked up system.

Maybe we'll see a lot more about how bad and illegal all this shit is, and maybe we won't.

Maybe we'll get all het up over it and demand something be done, and maybe we'll just shrug it off.

We've been conditioned to accept a coupla things. First, if you're rich enough, then you're well-enough connected to political power, which means you can do just about anything you want and not have to worry about "the law".  We see this shit every time (eg) when some Wall Streeters get caught dirty dealing and then negotiate their way out of it - "agreeing" to pay some skimpy little fine - which may sound enormous until you notice it amounts to about 1/80th of what they fucked us all over for - and which was factored into the cost of doing business from the start.

Second though is a perversion of the Zorro / Scarlet Pimpernel thing. The noble scamp plays at being loyal to the crown while doing everything he can to countervail what he sees as the evil-doings of a corrupted king.

We've accepted the conditioning that Da Gubmint is rotten and that spending Federal Revenue on anything but Defense and Relieving The Tax Burden of The Rent Collectors is nothing but theft, so everything you do that can plausibly be tied to "fighting back" is not only understandable, it's the right thing to do. Tax Evasion is the right thing that all the smart guys are doing.  And all the smart guys are rich because they're smart because they're rich.  And I wanna do what's right for them because I'll be rich and smart some day too, and I'm sure they'll be eager to return the favor.

So we'll sit, and we'll watch, and we'll do nothing.

I'm not advocating anything other than solidly passive and peaceful political resistance - please, nobody do anything stoopid - but I do have to wonder when we can expect to see the first wave of kidnappings and assassinations.

It goes on like this and it's all but guaranteed not to end well for anybody.

Call It A Win

She's headed for a jail cell, at least temporarily, but the fact she survived the initial encounter - plus the simple fact there was a good buncha witnesses - just might combine to make it more likely she'll stay alive thru the rest of her ordeal.  

And that could mean that whoever's next stands a tiny bit better chance of being treated a tiny bit better as well.

Watchfulness and locks help honest people stay honest.  Transparency and citizen oversight help good cops stay good.

hat tip = AlterNet

Crumbling

hat tip = FB buddy LM-M

Basically - we don't wanna bust the biggies because that'll be bad for business; it could hurt some companies that are very important to all of us in a lot of ways, and could have a really bad impact on the economy as a whole.

By that logic, we don't wanna bust the meth peddler on the corner down the block because that could drive down the property values of the whole neighborhood(?)