They Are All Anarchists!

Closing Thought–30Jul20

Out Dear Leader and his lap dog Barr are stating that Portland protests have nothing to do with the death of a black person…..

First Barr’s statement….

Attorney General William Barr is defending the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Barr will tell members of the House Judiciary Committee at a much-anticipated hearing on Tuesday that the violence taking place in Portland, Oregon, and other cities is disconnected from the death of Floyd, which he described as a “horrible” event that prompted a necessary national reckoning on the relationship between the Black community and law enforcement. “Largely absent from these scenes of destruction are even superficial attempts by the rioters to connect their actions to George Floyd’s death or any legitimate call for reform,” Barr will say of the Portland protests, according to a copy of his prepared remarks released by the Justice Department on Monday and reported by the AP.

Then there is Trump trying to make it out as some attempt to overthrow the government…..”they are all anarchists”…..but sadly Mr. Trump it is bigger than Portland.

  • Portland: A bag containing loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails was found at a park near where protests have been staged for two months in Portland, police said. A photo of the items was shared in a tweet from police that said someone pointed out the bag to officers at Lownsdale Square Park, per the AP. Meanwhile, the city’s protest late Sunday started peacefully, but intensified early Monday. US agents declared an unlawful assembly and deployed several rounds of what appeared to be tear gas, flash bangs, and pepper balls from the federal courthouse downtown.
  • Shots fired: The discovery came just hours after two people were arrested following reports that a shot was fired in the same Portland park. Officers responded just before 7:30pm. A person believed to be the gunshot victim arrived later at a hospital via a private vehicle with non-life threatening injuries, police said. It wasn’t clear if either incident was connected to the demonstrations.
  • Trump: “The ‘protesters’ are actually anarchists who hate our Country,” the president tweeted Sunday evening. He also took issue with the “wall of moms” in Portland, a group of women who stood together between federal officers and protesters, notes the Daily Beast. “The line of innocent ‘mothers’ were a scam that Lamestream refuses to acknowledge, just like they don’t report the violence of these demonstrations!”
  • Oakland: A protest in Oakland, Calif., in support of racial justice and police reform turned violent Saturday night when a small group of demonstrators wearing helmets and goggles and carrying large signs that doubled as shields set fire to a courthouse, vandalized a police station, and shot fireworks at officers, authorities said, per the AP.
  • Richmond: In Virginia’s capital, a dump truck was torched as several hundred protesters and police faced off late Saturday during a demonstration of support for the protesters in Portland. Police declared it to be an “unlawful assembly” at around 11pm and used what appeared to be tear gas to disperse the group.
  • Atlanta: In downtown Atlanta on Sunday, federal agents examined damage to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility where windows were shattered late Saturday.
  • Baltimore: People from a group of nearly 100 demonstrators spray-painted anti-police messages on a Fraternal Order of Police building and adjacent sidewalks on Saturday night in Baltimore.

This is how you handle the mothers that Trump say are not protesting…..please click on the links to see what this is all about……..

 
WE have MOTHERS protecting protesters…..then we have FATHERS with leaf blowers protecting the mothers that are protecting the protesters and now VETERANS are there to protect the fathers protecting the mothers who are protecting the protesters.
 
 
According to Donald the Orange….Mothers are anarchists….fathers are anarchists and now veterans are anarchists…..
 
In case anyone is interested (probably not) those protesters in the Antifa/anarchists have been linked to ZERO murders……
 

Donald Trump has made warnings about the threat of antifa and “far-left fascism” a central part of his re-election campaign. But in reality leftwing attacks have left far fewer people dead than violence by rightwing extremists, new research indicates, and antifa activists have not been linked to a single murder in decades.

A new database of nearly 900 politically motivated attacks and plots in the United States since 1994 includes just one attack staged by an anti-fascist that led to fatalities. In that case, the single person killed was the perpetrator.

Over the same time period, American white supremacists and other rightwing extremists have carried out attacks that left at least 329 victims dead, according to the database.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/27/us-rightwing-extremists-attacks-deaths-database-leftwing-antifa

Antifa is a convenient bogeyman……they can lie about these protesters like they have always lied about this they do not agree with…….

People continued to resist fascism, as this poisonous political plant took root in Latin America and thrived under Franco in Spain. Many leftists who fought these fascists did not call themselves antifa – but that’s what they were. Antifascism was and remains a frame of mind and a determination to act morally – against fascism.

So it was something of a surprise in the early twenty-first century to see antifascists smeared as dangerous, violent thugs. This reactionary recasting of an old struggle reached its zenith in 2020, when Donald Trump, a demagogue with fascist leanings, announced that he would designate antifa a domestic terror organization. No matter that doing so is probably illegal. No matter that antifa is not an organization. These people who fight fascism must be put down by the police, Trump said. And then, in Portland, Oregon, he proceeded, probably illegally, to do so.

The Antifa Bogeyman

The good news is that all those anarchist, the Moms, the Dads and the Vets have helped end the siege of Portland by Trump’s secret police……

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says she has reached a deal with administration officials that will see the “occupying force” of federal agents removed from downtown Portland. Brown said Wednesday that agents from the US Marshals Service and US Customs and Border Protection will begin a phased withdrawal Thursday and Federal Protective Service officers at the city’s federal courthouse will be bolstered by state troopers instead, the Oregonian reports. Brown said the agents “refused accountability and brought strife to our community” during nightly confrontations with protesters. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler—who was tear-gassed by federal agents last week—hailed what he called the end of an “illegal occupation.”

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf confirmed that an agreement had been made, although he described it in very different terms. “We are not removing any law enforcement while our facilities and law enforcement remain under attack,” he tweeted Wednesday. But “the state of Oregon is finally agreeing to cooperate with our federal forces,” he said in a second tweet, “exactly what we asked for since the nightly violence broke out two months ago.” He added: “We’re glad Oregon is now correcting their months long error.” President Trump said Wednesday that agents would remain in Portland until local authorities “secured” the city, the AP reports. “Either they’re gonna clean up Portland soon, or the federal government is going up, and we’re gonna do it for them,” he said.

Wolf will say whatever Trump wants him to say….he is that much of a puppet.

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Enter The Police State

That is a term that is batted around anytime the police are involved….but what the Hell does it really mean?

A state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic, and political life of the people, especially by means of a secret police force.

When protestors are kidnapped into unmarked cars and bystanders are told they will be shot if they are followed, you can be sure that the warnings of impending fascism are not exaggerated.

Does that sum it up nicely for you?

If not then this infographic may be of some small help as well…..

police_state

What makes me want to post on this situation now is the things happening in Portland Oregon……

Video footage and first-hand accounts of unidentified federal law enforcement officials snatching up Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon and throwing them into unmarked vehicles drew nationwide attention and outrage Friday, with members of Congress, human rights groups, and journalists accusing the Trump administration of deploying “secret police” to crush dissent.

“Unmarked federal agents in combat gear are pulling protesters off the street and jailing them without charge,” tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “That is what a police state is all about. Now is the time to defend our Constitution. Now is the time to come together and defeat Trump’s authoritarian policies.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/17/after-trump-deploys-secret-police-portland-imagine-what-happens-if-he-gets-four-more

The Mayor of Portland has finally come out with a demand that the president withdraw these thugs from the streets of Portland…..

Portland’s mayor threw down the gauntlet Friday after federal agents—some wearing camouflage in unmarked minivans—were seen grabbing people off the streets, the AP reports. “Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a press conference in a message to President Trump. “This is part of the core media strategy out of Trump’s White House: to use federal troops to bolster his sagging polling data. And it is an absolute abuse of federal law enforcement officials.” The agents have charged 13 protesters so far but also arrested people far from federal property the agents were assigned to protect. The ACLU calls it “extraordinarily concerning.” For more:

  • The defense: “We’re going to do our job,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told KPTV of the federal officers. “We’re going to do it professionally. But we’re not going to have these violent anarchists who show up about the same time every night for a series of hours, having that federal destruction to property.”
  • The accusation: Customs and Border Protection said Friday one arrest caught on video showed a suspect who had allegedly damaged property or assaulted federal agents, per the New York Times. CBP said agents identified themselves but didn’t show their names due to “recent doxxing incidents against law enforcement personnel.”
  • A lawsuit: The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and US Marshals Service on Friday, accusing agents of acting “over the widespread objections of local leaders” and “indiscriminately using tear gas, rubber bullets, and acoustic weapons against protesters, journalists, and legal observers.”
  • An investigation: US Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams called for an investigation Friday into the camouflaged agents’ behavior, per KHSU. He said the officers defended the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse against “an onslaught of commercial fireworks, laser strikes, glass, mortars, paint and anything else near at hand,” but in finding those responsible, may have acted questionably in “limited instances.”
  • Was it legal? Washington officials cited 40 US Code 1315, which allows DHS to deputize other federal agents in guarding federal property and make arrests “on and off the property in question.” But a historian tells the New York Times that this interpretation undermines other “checks and balances on DHS’ power because the officers’ power is effectively limitless and all encompassing.”
  • A secret memo: The Nation has obtained an “internal talking points memo” for the CBP that tells officials not to say where CBP agents are deployed and for how long. It also says there’s a special DHS task force—created in response to Trump’s order to protect US monuments and memorials—tasked with assessing civil unrest and using extra resources to stop it.
  • No more ribs: City and county police shut down a makeshift kitchen in downtown Portland—aptly called Riot Ribs—that served free sausages, ribs, and chorizo tacos to protesters for 12 days, Eater reports. It was used by people in a park where protests have been buzzing despite police use of tear gas and rubber bullets.
  • Shot in the head: Portland protester Donavan LaBella was shot in the head by a “non-lethal” round and apparently suffered skull and facial fractures, KATU reports. The 26-year-old has undergone surgery and is responding to doctors. Wheeler called the shooting “unacceptable.” The US Marshals Service is investigating.

Regardless whether you agree with the protesters or not….this situation is a violation of everything this country stands for and needs to be put in its place and made so that it will NEVER happen again.

The US does not need a Gestapo….we have the FBI for such chores.

Makes me ask….if this would have happened under the Obama presidency what would the Uber Right have said?

I mean they had a cow when some weapons from a sting op hit the streets…..they would have lost their minds if Obama had ordered the federal troops onto the streets of this country.

This is a pathetic use of the powers of leadership…..the world has seen all this authoritarianism before…..and it was defeated then and will be so today.

Now I wait for the defenders of these policies to show up and take me to task……

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–07Sep18

A few years ago one of the hottest stories in the news was the militarization of police departments across the country…..(not so much these days)…..I wrote a post about it last year……https://lobotero.com/2017/02/17/coming-of-a-police-state/

Since then the story has taken a backseat to the antics of Our Dear Leader but the militarization of police is still going on….the best question to ask is “with all this military equipment does it make the citizens safer”?  My thought is not really.

But I read an article that was posting on the Defense One website……

In the summer of 2014, unarmed protestors in Ferguson, Missouri were met with a startling and aggressive police response, and a national debate over the proper role of law enforcement in American communities—a dialogue we’ve initiated many times in our history, but never adequately resolved—reignited. For days, cable news networks saturated broadcasts with images of police in armored vehicles designed to withstand improvised explosive devices in Iraq, taking aim at civilians with high-powered rifles, clad in protective gear fit for a theater of war.

I wanted to understand why police had this equipment, why they used it, and what costs and benefits so-called “militarized policing” delivered. As a doctoral student in political science, I knew where to start—locating reliable data—but I didn’t know it would take me four years to assemble and analyze. This week, I published my findings: Militarized police units are deployed more often in black neighborhoods, even after controlling for local crime rates. And while militarized policing does not, on average, make either the public or police any safer, it may tarnish the reputation of police.

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/08/what-i-learned-studying-militarized-policing/150774/

Half tracks used against protesters is what dictators do….not in a supposedly “democratic” America.

Welcome America the newest Banana Republic….and getting worse.

Coming Of A Police State?

If you follow the news, and most of the readers of IST do, then you will recall the Ferguson Missouri problems a few years ago…the protests and the reactions……..you will also recall the the police appeared to be a military force confronting the protesters….and this situation has occurred over and over…..the police armed and equipped like a military force…..

Like I said this appears to e the wave of the future……

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “An injustice anywhere is a threat to just everywhere.” We should all be cognizant of King’s quote. In the 20th and 21rst centuries, U.S. policies around the world, both economically and militarily, have been questionable at best. They started with the Philippines in the beginning of the 20th century up to the Middle East today. These policies, more often incredibly violent, are coming back to haunt us. An example of this includes the U.S. international policy of “Low-Intensity Conflict” (LIC).

Source: The Militarization of U.S. Police Departments

What got me to thinking along this road was something the Trump said when he was addressing the Chicago wave of violence…..not the quotes about immigrants or thugs or anyhting along those lines….what it was was his statement that he would send in the Feds……”If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds.”

Send in the Feds?  Would that not be something akin to a police state?

It would appear that some of the folks who were hoping that Donald Trump was actually an isolationist “jobs” president, rather than the authoritarian white nationalist with imperial ambitions he clearly showed himself to be on the stump, are now being forced to face reality. Everything he has done since he was inaugurated proves him to be dead serious about unleashing the military and the police to enact his agenda, and he wants the other branches of government to understand that if they obstruct him he’s going to make sure his rabid followers know who to blame.

Source: Donald Trump’s Coming Police State: We Have a President Who Wants Unlimited Power and Won’t Respect the Rule of Law | Alternet

He may not have meant it in the way it was said….but that kind of talk is disturbing.

God I love it when a plan comes together!

From Red Scares to Orange Alerts

The most recent violence in Dallas has started the whole debate about the modern American police state…..plus all the deaths of civilians at the hands of the police……I have written about the militarization of the police forces in the past…..but I do enjoy my historic perspectives….

I found an excellent paper written for the Foundation of Economic Education on the subject……

By focusing on counter-subversion rather than rolling back the state, Cold War conservatism consolidated the imperial military establishment and laid the foundations for a domestic garrison state.

Following World War II, there was no general demobilization in the United States — something that had never happened before in the nation’s history. In 1947, Congress passed the National Security Act, which created the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and created the framework for a permanent, globe-spanning military establishment under the aegis of what was now called the Department of Defense. Five years later, the National Security Agency, which originated as the US Army’s Cipher Bureau and Military Intelligence Branch in World War I, was given institutional permanence as well.

Source: From Red Scares to Orange Alerts: How the Cold War Launched the Modern American Police State | Foundation for Economic Education

All I ask is that this article is read with an open mind……that may be an impossible task sometimes…but please try…..

“Papers? Show Me Your Papers.”

Remember those lines from every World War 2 movie you have ever seen?  Always some jack booted a/hole demanding to see the heroes papers before he gets on a train and escapes.

I even joked about it coming to that after 9/11 and the rush for everyone to have a proper ID (papers)…..this would guarantee our safety and help control the bad element……it was humorous post on my part…..but recent events have come to light that make it not so humorous anymore……

This from a short piece in Time’s leisure section…….

Starting in 2016, travelers from five U.S. states will not be able to use their driver’s licenses as ID to board domestic flights—a pretty major development considering an estimated 38 percent of Americans don’t have passports.

The standard licenses from New York, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and American Samoa are considered “noncompliant” with the security standards outlined in the Real ID Act, which was enacted back in 2005 but is being implemented in stages. Why are these specific licenses deemed sub-par? In these five states, getting a license doesn’t require proof of citizenship or residency.

The new rules will go into effect sometime in 2016 (the exact date has not been announced), and there will be a three-month forgiveness period, during which people with these licenses will be warned that their IDs are no longer valid for flights.

Here’s the breakdown: if you’re from one of these states, “acceptable” IDs include passports and passport cards, as well as permanent resident cards, U.S. military ID, and DHS trusted traveler cards such a Global Entry and NEXUS.  (what about those damn silly voter IDs?)

The TSA will also accept Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, the kind that are currently used to replace passports for travel to and from  Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Of the noncompliant states, only New York and Minnesota issue enhanced licenses.

For families from these states, at least children under 18 years old do not need ID when traveling with a companion.

Only thing missing since TSA and others are wearing black uniforms will be the line….”Papers?  Show me your papers”…….

As long as we are talking about flying and the chance of a TSA grope…..how about this piece about flying?

Source: Flying the Unfriendly Skies of America by Tom Engelhardt — Antiwar.com

Can you remember when traveling was an enjoyable pursuit?  I can.  Those days are gone, my friend.

Ferguson: Media Has A New Obsession

Most credible news organizations have just about exhausted all avenues of the Clinton e-mail scandal……..they have been pushing the bounds of good reporting to stay on the trail of the story……but now they can let out a sigh of relief and fixate once again…..

Two officers were shot in front of the Ferguson Police Department shortly after midnight as protesters gathered following the resignation of the city’s embattled police chief, a spokesman for the county police department says. Their conditions are unknown and no further details are immediately available, the spokesman says. The shots were fired as what had earlier been a crowd of about 150 people had begun to dwindle, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Some protesters fell to the ground and others ran. A huge police presence, including officers in riot gear, later surrounded the department.

I could turn this into a 2000 word diatribe but……why?

This is all the info that is available at this time……

From Occupation to “Occupy”: The Israelification of American Domestic Security | Al Akhbar English

With all the violence aimed at civilians the amount of dissent has risen to a high pitch.  There is a major problem that has been brewing for years but most Americans have turned a blind eye because it did not effect them……in other words they just DO NOT want to know.

But now they are confronted with the militarization of the police and the heavy handed treatment of civilians…all in the name of law enforcement.

The news has gotten out that some nations, including the US, are sending cops to Israel for training.  Training for what? How to oppress those in dissent?

I cannot think of a better country than Israel to train police in heavy handed tactics used against a population…..can you?

 

From Occupation to “Occupy”: The Israelification of American Domestic Security | Al Akhbar English.