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Hmmmm....history

Obama was more show than substance, but he was hamstrung at every turn by his own party and a hostile GOP-controlled Senate.

A big part of police training is that they are told that when they enter an incident scene, they must immediately take charge and tolerate no questioning or dissent. The "logic" is that if they do not, they will lose control of the situation. "Taking charge" is subject to a large degree of interpretation and is situationally dependent, calling for judgement on the part of the officer. Unfortunately, some police cannot distinguish between minor and major incidents, and many take this attitude home with them, leading to a lot of failed marriages and violence. Police are one of the three professions with the highest domestic violence.

Footage of cops tackling grandma with dementia is a reminder of what AOC really means by 'defund the police' The Loveland Police Department in Colorado is facing heightened backlash amid the release of body cam footage showing one of its officers tackling a 73-year-old grandmother with dementia. The harrowing footage also serves as a reminder of what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez means when advocating for police to be defunded. According to VICE, a federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the Loveland Police Department and three of its officers on behalf of a 73-year-old grandmother named Karen Garner. The lawsuit which details Garner's disturbing arrest also offers a breakdown of her medical condition noting that she suffers from "dementia and sensory aphasia," and has "an inability to understand spoken and written speech." The bodycam footage shows Garner being approached by Loveland Police Officer Austin Hopp after she was accused of shoplifting from a local Walmart. When Hopp asked Garner why she did not stop walking when he turned on his patrol siren and lights, she only offered a blank stare and an inaudible response. As she attempted to walk away, the bodycam footage shows Hopp grabbing the 80-pound woman, throwing her down to the ground as he twisted both arms behind her back in what the lawsuit describes as a "painfully upward" position. Hopp and the officers who assisted him are also said to have "hog-tied her on the side of the road." The tactic is seen as a controversial restraining method that some law enforcement agencies have banned officers from using. Footage of cops tackling grandma with dementia is a reminder of what AOC really means by 'defund the police' - Alternet.org Cook County Prosecutor On Leave Over False Statements About Boy Shot By Police Assistant State Attorney James Murphy appeared to suggest that the boy, Adam Toledo, was still holding a gun as Officer Eric Stillman pulled the trigger, killing him. CHICAGO (AP) — A prosecutor who implied in court that 13-year-old Adam Toledo was holding a gun the instant he was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer was placed on leave a day after a video showing the boy’s hands were empty was released to the public. “In court last week, an attorney in our office failed to fully present the facts surrounding the death of a 13-year-old boy,” Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic said in a statement. “We have put that individual on leave and are conducting an internal investigation into the matter.” Cook County Prosecutor On Leave Over False Statements About Boy Shot By Police | HuffPost

Pro-Trump website 'TheDonald' confirms detailed plans to storm Capitol and kill members of Congress If there were any lingering doubts as to the violent intentions and motives of those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, those doubts may now be put to rest. From minute details, such as the most effective type of zip ties to restrain elected officials to the most effective methods of killing police officers, the rioters left a chilling and irrefutable electronic trail on a website dedicated to overturning the 2020 election on Donald Trump's behalf. Prior to Jan. 6, that website, "TheDonald.win," had generated over 1 million visits per day. A research group called Advance Democracy, formed by former FBI analyst and Senate investigator Daniel Jones, collected thousands of messages posted by pseudonymous users of the now-defunct website in the days leading up to the insurrection. The posts were distilled into a report and provided to The Washington Post. Jones' group had previously focused on the online effort to mobilize the riot, and it soon became evident that this particular website served as one of the rioters' primary organizational hubs. As reported by the Post's Craig Timberg: "The website, TheDonald, played a far more central role in the January 6th Capitol insurrection than was previously known," he said. "There are thousands of posts — with tens of thousands of comments — detailing plans to travel to Washington and engage in violence against the U.S. Capitol. The ultimate end goal of this violence was, on behalf of Trump, disrupt the Congress and overturn the presidential election." Because the posters on this site used pseudonyms, Advance Democracy could not identify them; the logical assumption is that the website and its contents are now being analyzed by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to track the former users through more forensic means. As the Post explains, the website itself grew out of a Reddit forum that served for some time as a "safe space" for racists and conspiracy theorists. Eventually, chafing at Reddit's moderation rules, the forum became a standalone site, with its web address owned by an Army Veteran named Jody Williams. Williams disbanded the site after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. The Post article cites a treasure trove of intensely violent comments and discussions on the site in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 assault. Many of those comments clearly go well beyond the aspirational fever dreams of "keyboard commandos," and involve meticulous and well-coordinated plans, including "shared diagrams of the tunnel systems beneath the Capitol complex," discussion of travel and funding resources, and most notably, proposed methods to inflict violence, some of which were then employed by the rioters. Pro-Trump website 'TheDonald' confirms detailed plans to storm Capitol and kill members of Congress - Alternet.org

Here in Canada, we have Ezra Levant and Rex Murphy. Same racist crap but in a slightly less obvious wrapping.

HAVING A BIG NOSE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT WEARING A MASK. FOR EXAMPLE, I STILL WEAR UNDERWEAR.

Check out Primus. Or IVC telecom- 100MBPS for $40.00 per month.

Secret Facebook groups reveal America's top soldiers' racist beliefs, election lies and QAnon theories A disturbing number of Facebook users who belong to America's military and other special forces have deep-rooted beliefs and views on racism and other conspiracy theories such as the QAnon movement and the falsehoods surrounding the presidential election. NBC News has conducted an analysis of hundreds of social media posts shared in four secret Facebook groups for "current and former Rangers, Green Berets and other elite warriors. The publication notes that most of the politically charged content was shared within two groups—SF Brotherhood - PAC and US Special Forces Team Room. Collectively, there are more than 5,000 Facebook users within those two groups with some users belonging to both private groups. Across the board, the U.S. Special Operations Command consists of approximately 70,000 personnel. Additionally, the special operations forces also have thousands more retired members. The highlighted Facebook posts cover a vast canvas of conspiracy theories. For example, in one of the posts, a special forces member raised concerns about one conspiracy theory as he claimed "several aides to former Vice President Mike Pence were part of a 'Concerted effort by the thieves and pedophiles walking the hallowed halls of the people's government.'" On Jan.7, just one day after the Capitol insurrection, a member of the U.S. Special Forces Team Room posted a message that read, "Trump was sabotaged once again!" adding, "trying to get to the bottom of the obvious election fraud now looks like it doesn't have a chance." According to the publication's analysis, there are many disturbing posts that are relatively similar. The analysis has raised concern about the mindset of many members of the United States' lethally trained forces. Jack Murphy, a former Army Ranger and Green Beret recently voiced his concerns about radicalization within the special operations forces community. Secret Facebook groups reveal America's top soldiers' racist beliefs, election lies and QAnon theories - Alternet.org

Sorry- the caption did not come through. New Zealand is proposing legislation that would band sale of tobacco and tobacco products to anyone born after 2004.

'The most nakedly nativist rhetoric': House Republicans launch caucus for 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions' Although former President Donald Trump has been gone from the White House for almost three months, many far-right Republicans in Congress continue to push an equally nativist "America first" agenda — and Punchbowl News is reporting that some of Trump's Republican allies in the U.S. House of Representatives are putting together an "America First Caucus" based on "Anglo-Saxon political traditions." According to Punchbowl, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona are "distributing materials" calling for a caucus that would express a "common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions." Punchbowl reports that according to an e-mail invitation it has obtained a copy of, House Republicans who have been invited to join the America First Caucus include Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama. (Racism by another name is still racism)

Its all just tribalism. Old wine on a new bottle.

This is why America is doomed to repeat another civil war, although it will probably be euphemistically renamed.

But it seems that the smaller and more irrelevant this group becomes, the louder and more aggressive they become.

Bill Barr sued by watchdog for records in potential DOJ corruption scheme On Thursday, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) announced a lawsuit against former Attorney General William Barr to obtain the records of a meeting he took with infamous Blackwater founder Erik Prince. "CREW is suing the DOJ for records on any meetings that Barr and Prince had since they could reveal potential preferential treatment for Trump's allies in Department of Justice investigations," said the group their press release. "Prince reportedly faced a DOJ investigation for apparently lying before Congress about the Russia probe following Representative Adam Schiff's request for a criminal investigation, but almost two years later, no investigation has been reported and no charges have been announced. In addition to charges related to making false statements to Congress, DOJ apparently was considering whether Prince violated U.S. export laws, but no charges have been announced in that case either." "Throughout his tenure, Barr consistently intervened in cases to the benefit of Trump's allies, including several Trump would later go on to pardon," continued the statement. "In his final days as president, Trump issued pardon after pardon to benefit himself and his cronies, including for four Blackwater guards convicted of killing of Iraqi civilians. Trump also pardoned Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, whose cases Barr and top DOJ officials had reportedly previously intervened in to withdraw stiff sentencing recommendations — in Stone's case, after Trump tweeted that the recommendations were unfair." Prince, who is also a GOP megadonor and the brother of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, was reportedly also involved in a meeting in the Seychelles to try to establish a backchannel to the Kremlin for the Trump administration. He is currently facing United Nations sanctions for allegedly violating an arms embargo in Libya. Bill Barr sued by watchdog for records in potential DOJ corruption scheme - Alternet.org

Laura Ingraham Blames Familiar Scapegoat For Cop Killings Of Black People The Fox News host went there after ex-Officer Kim Potter was charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright. Laura Ingraham on Wednesday blamed the news for police killings of Black people. The Fox News host deployed her twisted scapegoating after former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Officer Kim Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright. Potter shot Wright during a traffic stop and may have mistakenly thought she was using her Taser, according to her chief, who resigned with Potter two days after the killing. The homicide multiplied tensions from the ongoing murder trial of ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, who’s accused of killing George Floyd by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck. “Young Black men today are being told over and over again by a dominant media, a corporate media, that if you’re pulled over by the police, they’re going to shoot you,” Ingraham declared to guest Allen West, a former House member who is Black and describes himself as a Christian constitutional conservative. “Are they not ... sending that message to young Black men that you’re gonna be shot if you’re pulled over, so run, run, leave, speed away? And that’s when you have problems,” Ingraham continued. “You had it with George Floyd, who resisted arrest. You had it in this case. It’s some tragic circumstances. It’s horrific, but they’re running away. Maybe for a warrant. But they’re being told they’re gonna be shot no matter what, correct?” Laura Ingraham Blames Familiar Scapegoat For Cop Killings Of Black People | HuffPost

Top Republican To AIPAC: Trump Wanted To ‘Marginalize’ Palestinians In his final months in office, former President Donald Trump unveiled deals for four Arab countries to recognize Israel, saying it was a key step to resolve the decades-old Middle East standoff over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Trump administration repeatedly rejected criticism from foreign officials and national security experts that his approach made Israeli-Palestinian peace less likely by angering and isolating the Palestinians while boosting the Israelis. But according to previously unreported remarks by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chief Republican working on foreign policy in the House of Representatives, sidelining the Palestinians was Trump’s aim all along. “I think the goal here is to marginalize the Palestinians,” McCaul told donors and supporters of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in a closed-door meeting last month, referring to Trump’s negotiations with Muslim-majority countries. Top Republican To AIPAC: Trump Wanted To 'Marginalize' Palestinians | HuffPost

Looks like an explosive player who would be well suited to be a safety in the CFL. Crazy fast and quick.

Most would not believe how invasive it is.

Not surprising that someone in Alberta went on a Bender. <Lotsa liquor/porn stores there.

I hate: 1) Complaining 2.) Lists 3.) Pointless jeremiads

All empires, and America has conducted itself as an empire, fall from within. With power, individuals and groups have to decide whether to use that power as a responsibility to do good or to do harm through aggression and hubris. Sociologists have been predicting the end of America as THE world power for some 20 years. Americans, particularly right-wingers, are rabidly reluctant to accept that all empires fall, and that includes them. So they ratchet up their rhetoric and look for someone, anyone to blame. Similarly, Adolph Hitler and the militants refused to accept that they lost WW1 due to military reasons, so they created the lie that "inferior, malevolent people" were responsible and had to be rounded up and disposed of. If this sounds familiar, you just have to look at Trump and the fascists who adore him.