Random Thoughts (Political Edition)

*Post directly above this one*

Ah, yes, it seems like the $1.1M that was diverted from Police funding to emergency services, while sounding like a bunch of money, it's less than 1% of MPD's budget. As such, I'd like to recant my statement on this one; though it makes me somewhat concerned if this is the effectiveness that they are having with their entire $193M budget. Lord knows what they will do with lower funding and the collective sense that everyone hates them.

I also worry that delay is more to see if the calls for defunding the police go away and they can just continue burying the issues that are clearly on display at MPD, from the treating of minorities to the apparent lack of enforcement. I've added a link to my original post that actually shows the call of the city council for increased policing. It seems to imply that some officers "have admitted that they’re purposely not arresting people who are committing crimes." This is a big problem, defund the police or not. More worrying is that the immediately next sentence is “This is not new”.

As for the image you shared, I hope this shows I am rather far away from that one. Especially as I am trying to keep this as its own issue rather than bringing the politicization of one or another side. The record of violence in the US since before the civil rights movement makes it abundantly clear that it does not matter who is in office, this will continue, as will the outrage over it, expressed reasonably or otherwise.

One final note, the article makes a reference to Councilman Phillipe Cunningham, who remains steadfast on the new community policing guidelines, suggesting "violence interrupters", who are [per the article] non-police people who would " intervene and defuse potentially violent confrontations." Is there a precedent of this working someplace? Because it seems to me that, although well intentioned, what they are doing is sending unarmed people to de-escalate situations in which one or both parties is already armed, angry, and likely to do something extremely stupid in the heat of the moment.
 
Breonna Taylor's killers are expected to be freed without charge, Louisville PD has activated their emergency plans and the mayor has preemptively declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the backlash. All police leave is cancelled and the national guard has been activated. The mayor assures everyone that this is for the protection of the protesters. I'm sure those are just Peace Clubs and Happiness Vapor Grenade Launchers that are being passed out.

https://www.npr.org/sections/live-u...emergency-ahead-of-breonna-taylor-announcemen

In other news, one of the accused officers sent an email to about one thousand other cops calling the protesters "thugs".

 
Last edited:
"Make sure you can justify your actions because everything down there is recorded" it's the moral thing to do.
 
Breonna Taylor's killers are expected to be freed without charge, Louisville PD has activated their emergency plans and the mayor has preemptively declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the backlash. All police leave is cancelled and the national guard has been activated. The mayor assures everyone that this is for the protection of the protesters. I'm sure those are just Peace Clubs and Happiness Vapor Grenade Launchers that are being passed out.

https://www.npr.org/sections/live-u...emergency-ahead-of-breonna-taylor-announcemen

In other news, one of the accused officers sent an email to about one thousand other cops calling the protesters "thugs".


Was reading a comment on reddit about someone in Louisville saying the same thing. The fucking city knows what they're doing is wrong and are preparing for the worst? Fucking hell... Good to know all they care about is protecting their friends.
 
The GOP had accused murderer Kyle Rittenhouse's mom as an event speaker in Wisconsin. She got a standing ovation just for showing up.

The GOP is a cancer.
 
The GOP had accused murderer Kyle Rittenhouse's mom as an event speaker in Wisconsin. She got a standing ovation just for showing up.

The GOP is a cancer.


This is the Trump effect. The GOP was reasonable 40 years ago, then they started the idol worshiping.
 
Yep, Trump is a symptom of the GOP's culture, not the cause of it.
 
Yep, Trump is a symptom of the GOP's culture, not the cause of it.

tenor.gif
 
Rep. Porter grills Big Pharma CEO for price gouging
 
I posted this in the 2020 election thread, but I thought it would be good here too. Weird Al summed it up well.

 
7 people are under arrest for planning to kidnap Michigan's Governor Whitmer. They are charged with a mix of state and federal charges. This is just being announced live, I will update later.
 
https://www.freep.com/story/news/lo...tchen-whitmer-kidnap-plot-militia/5921409002/

Militia group plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, feds say

LANSING — The federal government has charged six people with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in an alleged domestic terrorist plot, according to newly unsealed court records.

Members of a militia group purchased weapons, conducted surveillance, and held training and planning meetings, but were foiled in part because the FBI was able to infiltrate the group with informants, according to charges officials planned to detail Thursday.

Plans included kidnapping Whitmer and putting her on trial for treason, officials allege.

Col. Joseph Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police, which worked with federal agents on the investigation, called the case "unprecedented," and "one of the largest cases in recent history that the Michigan State Police has been involved in."

The FBI became aware early in 2020, through social media, that a militia group was "discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law enforcement components," and "agreed to take violent action," according to a sworn affidavit.

Members of the group talked about "murdering ... tyrants" or "taking" a sitting governor, according to the affidavit. One of the relevant meetings the FBI monitored was held June 20 in Grand Rapids. the affidavit alleges. Another meeting was held at a home in Luther, Mich., and in Munith.

Discussions included using 200 men to "storm" the Capitol Building in Lansing, kidnap hostages, including, Whitmer and try the governor for treason, according to the affidavit.

The group met for field exercises and training this year and conducted surveillance of the governor's vacation home on at least two occasions in late August and September, the affidavit alleges. They also purchased an 800,000-volt Taser and night goggles for use in the kidnapping plot, according to court records. Members of the plot said they wanted to complete the kidnapping before the Nov. 3 election, according to the affidavit.

Charged in the U.S. District Court in the western district of Michigan are: Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta, according to a criminal complaint. They are charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, according to the complaint.

All are residents of Michigan except Croft, who is a resident of Delaware, the complaint alleges.

More than a dozen people from several states met in Dublin, Ohio on June 6 and talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights, in which they could be self-sufficient. After that meeting, a militia group in Michigan was contacted.

The Michigan militia group involved in the plot was called the Wolverine Watchmen, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said at a Thursday news conference.

The FBI used confidential informants as part of the investigation and has paid one of them more than $14,000 and paid $8,600 to another, according to the affidavit.

A June 20 meeting was held at Fox's business in Grand Rapids, in the basement, which was accessed "through a trap door hidden under a rug on the main floor," according to the affidavit. Fox collected all of the attendees' cellular phones in a box and carried them upstairs to prevent any monitoring, according to the affidavit, but an FBI informant was wearing a hidden recording device. At that meeting, participants discussed plans to attack the Capitol and use "Molotov cocktails" to attack police, according to the affidavit.
 
A thread about the would be kidnappers.

 
ADF9AAB3-5B9D-4F89-9223-1740C48F02E6.jpeg
 
Here is an interesting thread about one of the guys from Michigan and how he may have ended up being involved in this plot.

 
So no spikes in the signs here, this is an intersection of 3 roads and people thought it was nice to litter with signs instead of planting in their own yard. You’ll notice the non standard Biden signs. That’s because they keep getting stolen while the Republican signs are left alone. And the left is the one who are snowflakes?

8B9B6E3F-1549-4230-A098-DA49F9863573.jpeg
 
Top