masterofd1saster

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 21nov24

Good on her - democracy works

Shelley Luther, who gained attention for defying COVID-19 restrictions at her Dallas salon

Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115117929.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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Why should he ever get out?

A Colorado man was sentenced yesterday to 35 years in prison and a lifetime term of supervised release for his distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and involvement with a dark-web website dedicated to CSAM. According to court documents, while still on parole for a 2013 Colorado conviction for sexual exploitation of a child, registered sex offender Christopher Carl Meier, 41, of Denver, became a member of a dark-web website dedicated to CSAM depicting boys and the discussion of the sexual abuse of minor boys. On July 9, Meier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute CSAM and five counts of distribution of CSAM. Meier was a member of the website for more than 18 months and made more than 600 posts on the website. On this website, Meier advertised and distributed images and videos depicting minor boys engaged in sexual conduct. He made statements on the website admitting that he produced this material by tricking the boys into thinking that they were interacting online with a girl their own age and enticing them to disrobe and engage in sex acts on webcam. The FBI is aware of at least 65 victims of Meier’s conduct.***

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B/c ADA protects a right to sleep on a sidewalk and eat out of a dumpster?

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened an investigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into whether the State of Michigan unnecessarily institutionalizes adults with serious mental illness in state psychiatric hospitals. The department will investigate whether the state fails to provide necessary community-based mental health services to enable people to transition from the state psychiatric hospitals and remain stable in the community. Prior to the announcement, the department informed the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the State Attorney General’s Office of the initiation of the investigation.***

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Probably thought he was smarter than FBI, Secret Service, sheriffs

Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, pleaded guilty today to four counts of making interstate threats to injure the person of another. Filion faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. Filion is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2025.*** According to the plea agreement, from approximately August 2022 to January 2024, Filion made more than 375 swatting and threat calls, including calls in which he claimed to have planted bombs in the targeted locations or threatened to detonate bombs and/or conduct mass shootings at those locations. He targeted religious institutions, high schools, colleges and universities, government officials, and numerous individuals across the United States. Filion was 16 at the time he placed the majority of the calls.*** According to court documents, Filion became a serial swatter for both profit and recreation. He claimed in a Jan. 19, 2023, online post that his “first” swatting was like “2 to 3 years ago” and that “6-9 months ago [he] decided to turn it into a business. . .” On several occasions, Filion placed posts on social-media channels advertising his services and swatting-for-a-fee structure. On Jan. 18, Filion, then 17-years-old, was arrested in California on Florida state charges arising from a May 2023 threat he made to a religious institution in Sanford, Florida. In that threat, he claimed to have an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails. He said that he was going to imminently “commit a mass shooting” and “kill everyone” he saw. Filion pleaded guilty today in federal court to making that threat.***

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You're better than Twitter/X?

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Every society has crime

A stabbing attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi on Saturday left eight people dead and 17 others injured, local police said. The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, a smaller city within Wuxi, at around 6:30 p.m. local time, the Yixing police said in a statement. The suspect, a 21-year old male student surnamed Xu, was detained on site. Police said Wu had failed his examinations and could not graduate, and that he was dissatisfied about his pay at an internship. He decided to vent his frustrations via the attack, the statement said.*** This is the second deadly attack within a week after a man drove his car into people at a sports facility in the southern city of Zhuhai, leaving 35 people dead and injured 43 others. China has seen a number of attacks in which suspects appear to target members of the public at random.*** [3 other random mass attacks.]

If you think capitalism is alienating, try communism or socialism.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/china-knife-attack-yixing-stabbing-school-xu/2024/11/17/id/1188352

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Marlette has a point

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How could you work for an law enforcement?

White Plains, Maryland – An antifascist Redditor and self-proclaimed “anarcho-communist” has been unmasked as a Special Agent for the United States Secret Service (USSS). Thanks to publicly available information, counter-extremism researchers with the Justice Report can confidently name 30-year-old Thomas Jack “TJ” Hamil—an 1811 employee for the Department of Homeland Security—as a lifelong anarchist, left-wing extremist, and a devout follower of “Antifascist” shock jock Robert Evans. Hamil—who began his career in law enforcement as a uniformed officer for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in 2017—would climb the institutional ladder***

He even describes himself as a “walking talking infoshop” of anarchist political theory and credits online antifascists for radicalizing him against “the right” via several different corporate-sponsored podcasts.*** One now-deleted post made on November 8th appeared to be an urgent cry for help, with the user /u/endon40—now identified as Hamil—begging for forgiveness and asking for ways to “get out” of his “shameful” law enforcement career ahead of President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s impending second term.***

“I want to leave my job,” he said. “Maybe go work as an advocate for something like the ACLU or SPLC…I feel totally lost …Is it even possible for me to get back on the right side of things anymore?” He said. In response, Hamil’s post would receive a mixed assortment of comments from antifascists, with some outright disbelieving him, while others, staying true to their ACAB values, admitted he could never be trusted among them for being a so-called “glowie.” Frustrated, Hamil offered to show proof of his federal credentials to any one of the board’s anonymous ‘Antifa’ moderators to corroborate his claims.***

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“Keep Our Kids Safe.”

The small Columbia County town of St. Helens erupted in fury Friday over allegations that local school district officials badly mishandled the case of two St. Helens High School teachers arrested this week on charges of sexually abusing students for years. The allegations follow a $3.5 million payout earlier this year by the school district to a former student abused by another teacher and a promise nearly a year ago by Superintendent Scot Stockwell to make sure no other students would be harmed. By afternoon, Principal Katy Wagner had been placed on paid leave, school Board Chair Ryan Scholl had stepped down and the remainder of the board placed Stockwell on paid leave at a hastily called emergency meeting held via Zoom. Earlier in the day, students and their families took to the streets in protest to call for the school leaders to resign. School was canceled districtwide, with officials saying only that they hoped to be able to resume normal operations Monday.***

Stearns, 46, faces seven charges of second-degree sexual abuse and a charge of third-degree abuse after being arrested Tuesday at the school district, according to the St. Helens Police Department. Stearns is charged with abusing six students starting in 2015. Mark Collins, 64, is a retired St. Helens High School math teacher who was living in Beaverton at the time of his arrest on Tuesday, police said. He was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of attempted second-degree sexual abuse of three students starting in 2017, court records show.*** Hogue said two detectives contacted Weaver after learning of the video. They began monitoring comments on the post and contacting people who alleged inappropriate physical touching by teachers for years, Hogue said.

On Oct. 15, authorities served a grand jury subpoena on the school district seeking the personnel files of both Stearns and Collins and any complaints from a list of former students.*** The material obtained through the subpoena verified that students at the time had reported alleged inappropriate physical contact involving the two teachers to the school administration but that those reports were never shared with police or state officials as required by law, Hogue said.*** In response to his video, Weaver said he started getting private messages from students still enrolled at the high school, writing that sexual misconduct involving teachers was still a problem. Others directly commented on his video, sharing similar concerns.***

Janci’s suit on behalf of Jessica Doe alleged the district’s inaction allowed Wroblewski to groom the 16-year-old girl on the track team in 2017 and sexually abuse her on school grounds and at his home over seven months until his arrest in 2018. He was sentenced to four years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of second-degree sexual abuse of an underage girl.*** Stearns has pleaded not guilty. According to the indictment, he is accused of sexually abusing six students from 2015 to 2020. He allegedly touched their necks, chests, buttocks or mouth inappropriately, the indictment says. Collins also pleaded not guilty. He is accused of abusing three students between 2017 and Jan. 21, 2023, allegedly touching their inner thighs or in one case “attempting to cause” the student to touch his penis, according to the indictment.***

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Laken Riley murder trial

ATHENS, Ga. — Slain Georgia nursing student Laken Riley “fought for her life” for a staggering 18 minutes before her skull was crushed by an illegal migrant, prosecutors said Friday — as opening statements got underway for the shocking murder case that was a cornerstone of the presidential election. Riley, 22, was found viciously murdered on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, shortly after her friend reported that she had not returned from her morning run. On the first day of the bench trial, prosecutors claimed that suspect Jose Ibarra, 26 — an illegal migrant linked to the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang — smashed Riley’s head in and asphyxiated her when she resisted his sexual attack.***

After lunch, the judge was shown photos of Ibarra’s scratch injuries that were taken the day after Riley’s murder. The images showed cuts on his hands, wrists and arms. Riley had Ibarra’s DNA under her fingernails, prosecutors said.***

On Friday, defense attorney Dustin Kirby delivered less than 10 minutes of opening statements, focusing on the fact that the prosecution’s case was supposedly grounded in “circumstantial” evidence. “The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered,” Kirby said. “The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial.” Kirby said the judge shouldn’t accept the conclusions surrounding the DNA, fingerprints and other evidence. “Upon a closer look … the evidence that links Mr. Ibarra to that event is lacking,” Kirby said.

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Tues

What exactly is the context for "my bottom hurts and I like breaking the law?"

The board of commissioners chair at the center of the voting controversy in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, involving the Senate race between Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Republican challenger David McCormick said her comments about violating laws were “misinterpreted.” Diane Ellis-Marseglia tried to walk back her words on Monday, suggesting she did not mean she supported breaking the law or violating the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She claimed that what she said was misinterpreted, misconstrued, and taken out of context, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. She also apologized for her comment and the “confusion it caused.” “I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” said Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat in Bucks County. *** “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said last week. “So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.”***

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Daniel Penny trial

Prosecution rested on Mon. Defense started presenting evidence.

Daniel Penny’s sister and childhood friend pleaded his case to jurors at his manslaughter trial Monday — describing the former Marine as a “calm and peaceful” surfing buff who earned a reputation for honesty in their tight-knit Long Island hometown. “People always spoke so highly of him,” Alexandra Fay, who grew up on the same block as Penny in beachside West Islip, told Manhattan jurors of her one-time neighbor, who is charged with “recklessly” choking homeless man Jordan Neely to death on a subway train last May. “He was so kind. If anything he was extra kind … He always spoke up,” Fay added, grinning in the direction of Penny, 26, who sat at the defense table in Manhattan Supreme Court.*** NY Post

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Wed

Maybe he doesn't want a dirtbag for AG

Damaging testimony about former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general, was accessed by an unidentified hacker, The New York Times reported Tuesday. The hacker, using the alias Altam Beezley, downloaded a computer file Monday that contained sworn testimony from a woman who said she had sex with Gaetz in 2017 when she was 17, according to the report. One of the 24 leaked exhibits also contained corroborating testimony from a second woman who said she witnessed the encounter, according to the Times. The leaked documents include information that is under seal with the Department of Justice, which opted against filing charges against Gaetz in the matter, and the House Ethics Committee, which also investigated Gaetz until he resigned from Congress in the hours after Trump announced him as his nominee for AG last week.  None of the leaked information appeared to have been made public by the hacker as of Tuesday morning, and the person's possible motive is unclear, according to the Times.***

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/hacker-testimony-matt-gaetz/2024/11/19/id/1188643

***A lawyer for two women who spoke with the Ethics Committee told CBS News on Monday that they testified that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly for sex, and said Venmo transactions for the encounters were obtained by the panel. The attorney, Joel Leppard, also said the women told House investigators that Gaetz asked about "party favors" and "vitamins" at upcoming parties via text messages, which was understood to be code for drugs. One of Leppard's clients testified before the Ethics Committee that she witnessed  Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old against a game table during a July 2017 party, months after he was sworn in as a House member.

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That's going to be expensive

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Police on Okinawa arrested a Marine last week on suspicion of setting a hotel room on fire in an attempt gone wrong to create a romantic evening. A sergeant assigned to Camp Schwab was taken into custody at the Naha police station at 1:41 p.m. Friday after he “completely burned” the room the previous day, a spokesman for Okinawa Prefectural Police said by phone Tuesday. The Marine lit about 20 candles in the room, then left to pick up his girlfriend at Naha Airport, according to police. The room caught fire between 10 and 10:30 p.m., the spokesman said. The Marine told police he “lit the candles to prepare a surprise for his partner” and apologized for “putting the people of the hotel and surrounding area at risk,” the spokesman said.***

Pay them some gomen money, and the case might go away.

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Maybe, if Daniel Penny were not in a jury trial

It was just before 8:30 a.m. Monday, the police said, when a man approached a construction worker on West 19th Street in Manhattan and, without warning, stabbed him in the gut and ran off. The victim was soon declared dead. A violent spree was just starting, the police said. By 11 a.m., the assailant had fatally stabbed a man who was fishing by the side of the East River, and had attacked a 36-year-old woman near the United Nations. She was pronounced dead several hours later, the police said.

The rampage ended when a cabdriver who had seen the third stabbing followed the attacker from the crime scene and then alerted a police officer, who took the man into custody. The man’s clothes were spattered with blood, and he had two bloody knives, the police said. Late Monday, the police said the man, Ramon Rivera, was being charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Mr. Rivera, 51, appeared to be homeless, the police said. He was released from the Department of Correction’s custody last month after being jailed on burglary and assault charges, a spokeswoman for the agency said.*** Mr. Rivera had been arrested at least eight times in the city, most recently on a larceny charge in Manhattan in October, according to officials. That case remained active as of Monday, and the Legal Aid Society lawyer representing Mr. Rivera in the case declined to comment.***

Mr. Rivera was held in several city jails from Feb. 19 to Oct. 17, according to a Department of Correction spokeswoman. On May 7, while in custody, he was charged with assaulting a police officer and an emergency medical worker at a psychiatric prison ward at Bellevue Hospital, the police document says. His most recent arrest was the day he was released, when he was charged with larceny for stealing a bowl, the police document says. Mr. Rivera’s criminal record outside New York dates back to a battery charge in Polk County, Fla., in May 2003, the document says. He was arrested four more times in Florida on various charges from 2006 to 2010. In 2017 and 2018, he was charged with assault in two Ohio cases.***

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/18/nyregion/nyc-stabbings-manhattan.html

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Daniel Penny interrogation video - thank you Free Press

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Lake Riley

ATHENS, Ga. - Jose Ibarra, 26, was found guilty Wednesday on all counts in the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley. The verdict was delivered late in the morning by Judge H. Patrick Haggard after a high-profile trial that spanned several days of testimony and closing arguments.*** Following the impact statements, both the prosecution and defense spoke and then Judge Haggard delivered his sentence – life in prison without the possibility of parole on one count of malice murder; life in prison without the possibility of parole on one count of kidnapping; 20 years on one count of aggravated assault; 12 months for hindrance of an emergency phone call; 12 months for one county of tampering of evidence; and 5 years on one Peeping Tom count.***

https ://www .fox5atlanta .com/news/jose-ibarra-guilty-murder-laken-riley-georgia close gaps to make link work

Was the death penalty on the table in Laken Riley case? No, prosecutors before the trial chose not to pursue the death penalty against Jose Ibarra but, according to Associated Press reporting this month, did notify the court in a filing that they were seeking life without parole.***

https ://www .11alive .com/article/news/crime/trials/jose-ibarra-guilty-verdict-prosecutors-did-not-seek-death-penalty/85-fcdab416-7bb0-4051-8734-4196b31ddc04 close gaps to make link work

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Good

Thirty years after South Carolina killer mom Susan Smith was put behind bars for drowning her two toddler sons, a board unanimously voted to deny her parole after she appeared on a jailhouse court feed on Wednesday morning. Smith appeared emotional and crying on the feed.  "I know that what I did was horrible…I’m sorry that I put them through that...I wish I could take that back, I really do...I was just scared," she said. "I didn’t know how to tell the people that loved them that they would never see them again…I’m sorry, I know that’s not enough…just words, but they come from my heart."*** Smith will be eligible for parole again in two years. 

https ://www .foxnews .com/us/susan-smith-prosecutor-says-she-meant-serve-life-prison-killer-mom-gets-parole-hearing close gaps to make link work

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Idaho murders

Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, can face the death penalty, a judge ruled Wednesday. On Wednesday, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied their motion in his ruling. "The court concludes relief in defendant’s favor is not warranted on any of the motions," Hippler wrote in his 55-page order.*** Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, in connection with the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.***

https://www .foxnews .com/us/bryan-kohberger-can-face-death-penalty-convicted-idaho-college-slayings close gaps to make link work

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Want to see the insanity of unchecked bureaucratic power?

Http s://www .thefp .com/p/brittany-patterson-georgia-mom-jailed you'll have to fill the gaps in the link - thanks, tumblr

[masterofd1saster]

CJ court watch - surveillance camera case

7th Cir decided United States v. House, No. 23-1950 on Nov. 5.

Charles House was a weed and meth dealer working out of Anderson, Indiana. When police received a tip that he was dealing weed and meth from his house, they mounted a surveillance camera on a pole across the street from his house.

Police surveilled his house for about 13 months. He was indicted and convicted. He appealed from his conviction. His argument was

the “mosaic theory”—the idea that the “government can learn more from a given slice of information if it can put that information in the context of a broader pattern, a mosaic”—we will conclude that the warrantless and prolonged use of pole camera surveillance is unconstitutional.

The problem for House was that anyway you look at the mosaic, it was seen from a public place and revealed nothing that a passerby couldn't see. Moreover, the surveillance could not reveal facts retrospectively like cell phone records - the camera could only provide evidence of events that occurred after installation.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 14nov24

I seem to recall the Supreme Court saying something about such spectacle in the courtroom...

The carnival atmosphere at trial could easily have been avoided since the courtroom and courthouse premises are subject to the control of the court. Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 358 (1966)

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An elementary school? Jeff Epstein/Roman Polanski/Bubba say you're sick.

DENVER — Police have arrested a Denver Public Schools social worker on child sex assault charges. The Denver Police Department said Thursday that officers arrested 44-year-old Emilio Ramos-Avila for investigation of three counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust on Wednesday. The school district said Ramos-Avila has been employed with the district since August 2015. He is currently a social worker at Force Elementary School. Ramos-Avila has been on administrative leave since Oct. 17 and will remain on leave until the district can finish its investigation, said DPS.***

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Sorry, she's smart enough to tell you "get a life; GBTW"

Democrat U.S. senators and other party members are mulling convincing Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to resign so President Joe Biden can replace her with another leftist judge before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. The 70-year-old Sotomayor, nominated by then-President Barack Obama in 2009, is the oldest Democrat-appointed justice on the court. She's also a life-long diabetic. In 2018, paramedics were called to her home after the justice suffered "symptoms of low blood sugar." Lawmakers long have known about Sotomayor's health issues, but as with Biden's cognitive issues, Democrats refrained from admitting potential problems caused by the condition. Now, Democrats see Sotomayor's situation as a way to seat someone on the high court before Trump takes office with Republicans in control of the Senate. The GOP won a majority in the chamber during Tuesday's elections. A Democrat senator told Politico that the topic has been discussed by members, who realize making an attempt to replace Sotomayor would be "a risky play," according to the outlet.***

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/democrats-supreme-court-sonia-sotomayor/2024/11/08/id/1187246

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Who gets high bail?

Golden officer killed in suspected DUI crash identified; Colorado School of Mines professor arrested

The Golden police officers killed and injured Wednesday in a suspected DUI crash were identified Thursday. Earlier that day, a Colorado School of Mines professor accused in the crash appeared in court. Golden officials on Thursday afternoon said Evan Dunn, 33, was killed in the line of duty while responding to the crash on Colorado 58. Officer Bethany Grusing was seriously injured. Stephen Geer, a 43-year-old Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineering professor who was arrested and held overnight in the crash that killed Dunn, is being investigated for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. He appeared Thursday morning before Jefferson County Court Judge Thomas Vance, who set Geer’s bond at $250,000 and scheduled his next appearance for Nov. 14. Bruce Finley writes.

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Only 30?

Richard Anthony Reyna Densmore, 47, of Kaleva, Michigan, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child. Densmore pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, part of a broader indictment that charged him with other child exploitation offenses.*** Densmore is a member of 764, a network of violent extremists who seek to normalize the production, sharing, and possession of child pornography and gore material to desensitize and corrupt youth toward future acts of violence. Members of 764 gain notoriety by systematically targeting, grooming, and extorting victims through online social media platforms. Members demand that victims engage in and share media of self-mutilation, sexual acts, harm to animals, acts of random violence, suicide, and murder, all for the purpose of accelerating chaos and disrupting society and the world order. Densmore, known as “Rabid,” became notorious in the 764 network by creating online “Sewer” communities on Discord where members recruited children – including by infiltrating online gaming sites that children frequent – to cut themselves and engage in graphic sexual acts. Densmore boosted membership in “Sewer” by advertising livestreams of children engaging in self-mutilation (cutshows) and sexually explicit activity “on cam.” He threatened victims to cut themselves by telling them, “I have all your information. I own you. . . . You do what I say now kitten.”  Densmore kept child pornography and bloody images of “Rabid,” “Sewer,” and “764” carved into victims’ limbs, in some cases with razor blades and boxcutters nearby. Densmore also sexually exploited children. In October 2022, Densmore unsuccessfully tried to persuade a minor girl, Jane Doe, to send him an explicit picture with “Rabid” written on her bare chest. When she expressed discomfort with that request, Densmore contacted another Discord user and paid him Nitro, a form of Discord currency, to help secure a sexually explicit picture of Jane Doe. Densmore’s efforts were successful and Jane Doe, at the request of the other Discord user, sent Densmore and the user a nude video of herself with “Rabid” written on her chest.***

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Does the word "irony" mean anything to you?

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Recognize Boris & Natasha?

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Really? Write in didn't win?

DELTA TWP. - Former Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher, who resigned in September just after being arraigned on charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes, earned enough votes at the polls Tuesday to take office again on Jan. 1. Fletcher, a Democrat who ran unopposed on the ballot, received nearly 89% of the votes cast, according to unofficial results. That's despite being accused of having sexual conversations over text messaging and a dating app with a police investigator posing as a 15-year-old boy. He was charged as part of a sting run by a regional internet crimes task force that includes the Eaton County Sheriff's Office, Lansing police, Michigan State Police and Charlotte police, said Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd. Two write-in candidates, Richard Ott and Saturn Wells, filed to run after Fletcher resigned. Eaton County Clerk Diana Bosworth said it could take another week before the votes for each are tallied but neither received more votes than Fletcher. Just over 11% of the votes cast were for write-ins. ***

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tues

***In Florida, voters failed to approve a constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana, defying both expectations and the endorsement of president-elect Donald Trump. Voters in South and North Dakota defeated legal weed initiatives, too, by decisive margins—the second and third time for each state, respectively. Bright-blue Massachusetts had the chance to become the third state, after Oregon and Colorado, to legalize psychedelic drugs. Polls suggested Question 4 was too close to call, but Bay Staters ended up rejecting it by a 14-point margin. Even Cambridge and Boston could barely post majorities.  These votes came from the grassroots, defeating big-money campaigns for legalization. The pro-legalization camp in Florida, backed by the massive cannabis company Trulieve, spent nearly $150 million, more than any prior recreational marijuana campaign. The Yes on 4 campaign in Massachusetts spent just $7 million, but that was still 73 times more than the opposition.*** “It shows how drugs are not the winning issue many politicians have been tricked into believing,” Kevin Sabet, president of the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said. “As marijuana has become legalized, commercialized, and normalized, its effects are now so ubiquitous they are hard to miss.”  Indeed, Americans might finally be noticing that more permissive drug policy does not just mean that people can partake of a joint without the police hassling them. It also creates big social problems: car crashes (accounting for an estimated 1,400 fatalities per year), public disorder (a 35 percent increase in chronic homelessness in states that legalize), and surging insanity (a 70 percent increase in psychosis among teens that use). Even drugs like pot and psychedelics can make people less responsible, harder to employ, and more dysfunctional.   For the past decade, marijuana legalization has seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut. Since 2012, 24 states have legalized—14 in the past four years alone. Voters have been willing to permit others’ vices. But increasingly, they’re seeing that those vices have consequences for them, too.*** Today, voters can look at California, which is blanketed in unlicensed shops. They can talk to friends in New York City, who complain constantly of the smell of weed. They can learn about Colorado, where 15 percent of marijuana users report driving after using. Those impressions are backed by a growing body of research. Marijuana legalization has been shown to cause homelessness and addiction, as the availability of a harmful substance attracts and increases dysfunctional behavior. It causes more fatal accidents, as intoxicated drivers choose to get behind the wheel. It may even lower property values, as the proliferation of legal pot shops makes neighborhoods less attractive places to live or work. ***

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wed

Daniel Penny trial

The subway rider seen on video helping Marine vet Daniel Penny hold down Jordan Neely after an outburst on a Manhattan train took the witness stand on Tuesday after prosecutors agreed not to charge him in exchange for testifying in Penny's manslaughter trial, telling the court he said aloud that the former serviceman was not squeezing "tight enough" during the altercation. Although he initially gave detectives a different story, he arrived after Penny had already taken Neely down. "Everybody was frantic and saying, call the cops, call the cops,'" said Eric Gonzales, a 39-year-old father of two. "I see those two individuals on the floor, so I assumed one was trying to restrain the other until the cops came."*** Neely continued to struggle, but the two continued to hold him down, waiting for the police. Gonzales said he did urge Penny to loosen his grip but later told him to grab tighter.*** Gonzales also said he's still scared about testifying despite the prosecution's immunity offer – saying he believes he or his family could be harmed if he testifies in favor of Penny.***

+++

Since the Daniel Penny trial kicked off, witness after witness has described the abject terror they felt while riding the uptown F train as unhinged homeless man Jordan Neely entered the car, snarling and threatening straphangers. One teen testified that she was so frightened she thought she’d pass out. An older woman was “scared s–tless.” A 29-year-old man said he was “pretty terrified.” All testified that they’d never before experienced that type of acute panic while riding the train. But on Tuesday, one was visibly petrified to be in that courtroom, with protesters outside and multiple Neely supporters inside. Scared to be on the stand. To be a party to a potential acquittal of Penny and what that would mean for his personal safety.*** Despite his deal with the prosecutor, Gonzalez was still worried what would happen if his testimony were to help Penny go free. “You’re scared of people that are looking for a prosecution of my client?” asked Penny’s defense attorney Steven Raiser. “Yes,” Gonzalez said. Raiser added: “You’re afraid that if you testified in a way that’s helpful to my client, you may suffer repercussions, correct?” Affirmative. “All these protests going on, I am scared for myself, I am scared for my family,” Gonzalez, a father of two said, underscoring how politically charged this farce of a criminal case is.***

***

The Agency that Dare not Speak its Name, but has a website at www.cia.gov

A C.I.A. official has been charged with disclosing classified documents that appeared to show Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack earlier this year, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter. The official, Asif W. Rahman, was indicted last week in federal court in Virginia with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. He was arrested by the F.B.I. on Tuesday in Cambodia and brought to federal court in Guam to face charges. The documents were prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes images and information collected by U.S. spy satellites. It conducts work in support of clandestine and military operations. Mr. Rahman, who worked abroad for the C.I.A., was set to appear in Guam on Thursday.***

***

thurs

Ugh.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Three people are now facing federal charges for allegedly staging a hate crime during the Colorado Springs mayoral race in 2023. In the early morning hours of April 23, 2023, a burning cross in front a campaign sign for then-candidate Yemi Mobolade was found at the intersection of Union and Fillmore. The sign had been defaced with a racial slur. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado (USAOC) now says the entire scene was a hoax, intended to make citizens think that there was a group of racists in Colorado Springs strongly opposed to a Black mayoral candidate. In a news release Tuesday, the USAOC announced 35-year-old Derrick Bernard Jr., 40-year-old Ashley Blackcloud, and 38-year-old Deanna West had been indicted by a grand jury for their “maliciously conveying false information about a threat made by means of fire” and “their alleged roles in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about the threat.” In the indictment obtained by 11 News, the USAOC states the trio started plotting in early April 2023, the day after a runoff election was announced in the mayoral race, with Mobolade and Wayne Williams the projected candidates. The indictment included a series of emails it alleges were from the three suspects***

***

What? You couldn't get Bill Clinton?

Trump has apparently picked the skeeviest man in congress for AG.  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/matt-gaetz-faces-gop-senate-opposition-after-trump-selection-attorney-general  The good news is that Repub senators say the nomination is DoA.

Some wonder if Trump is playing 4D chess—that he knows Gaetz won’t get confirmed and ultimately has someone else in mind. If Republican senators die on this hill, then he can get the rest of his picks through. Maybe. But that all sounds a little too premeditated. 

https://www.thefp .com/p/rubio-gabbard-and-gaetz-oh-my

***

Worked out great for California, right?

Michigan House Republicans on Tuesday expressed their staunch opposition to a slate of Democrat-sponsored bills that will effectively eliminate cash bail requirements for certain offenders. In its meeting on Tuesday, the House Criminal Justice Committee discussed House Bills 4655-4656 and 4658-4661. The bills aim to revise the state’s bail laws and legally restrict judges from requiring criminal defendants to post cash bail as a prerequisite to obtain release while awaiting trial. The proposed reforms would not only render judges’ current ability to set bail for “low-level crimes,” but as well prohibit them from weighing a defendant’s criminal record, failure to appear in court, or whether the judge and prosecutors deem them potentially dangerous to the community.*** Harris served in law enforcement for 26 years, retiring as a Waterford Police sergeant. He noted that New York and California adopted similar bail reforms, which he said has led to increased rates of recidivism.  In New York City, for example, “nearly 50% of felony offenders released without bail were rearrested while awaiting trial.” “Without strong bail requirements, repeat offenders have caused a crime surge in other states,” Harris continued. “Michigan shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of California and New York. We should keep bail options available to protect our communities while ensuring defendants and victims receive their day in court.”***

Https: // www. Themidwesterner. news/2024/11/michigan-house-republicans-slam-dems-move-to-eliminate-cash-bail - if you close up the gaps, the link might work; tumblr won't let me post it as a link

***

Petty and vindictive

The FBI reportedly raided the Manhattan home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan early Wednesday morning after the election betting platform correctly predicted Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential race last week. *** The raid, as first reported by the New York Post, involved FBI agents seizing Coplan’s phone and other electronic devices while the 26-year-old CEO was at his SoHo apartment.*** The spokesperson emphasized in their statement that "Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections. We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good."***

https://www.foxbusiness. com/politics/fbi-reportedly-raids-polymarket-ceos-home-after-betting-platform-predicts-trump-win-political-retribution - you'll have to close up the gap b/c tumblr stinks

***

Allstate didn't get rich being gullible

Four people were arrested Wednesday in connection with insurance fraud when they claimed a bear damaged their car, but it was really a person in a bear costume, the California Department of Insurance said. Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale; Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy, the department said. The suspects filed a claim with their insurance company, saying a bear got into their car, a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, at Lake Arrowhead on Jan. 28, 2024, and damaged the inside with scratches. The insurance department said the suspects provided a video to the company, which showed the "bear" in the car. An investigation into the claim took a closer look at the video and found the "bear" was actually a person in a bear costume, the insurance department said. Investigators then took the video to biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to also look at the video. The biologists said, "it was clearly a human in a bear suit."***

https://abc7 .com/post/4-la-area-residents-accused-using-bear-suit-damage-cars-defraud-insurance-companies-officials-say/15544020/ - again, you'll have to take out the gap

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 7nov24

Society: Jordan's untouchable; you deal with him

Police detected a pulse on homeless man Jordan Neely after he was put in a chokehold by Marine veteran Daniel Penny, bombshell new bodycam footage reveals.  The video became public today as Penny's manslaughter trial began in Manhattan. *** NYPD officers arrived on the train at Fulton Station at 2.33pm. Two police officers confirmed that Neely still had a pulse when they arrived.  'I got a pulse,' one said. A second police officer confirmed that he too felt a pulse.  Neely was unconscious, lying on the subway car floor.   When asked how Neely ended up there, Penny replied: 'I put him out.'  Despite initially detecting a pulse, they issued Narcan - the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses - to Neely - and started CPR at 2.38pm. Paramedics from Northwell Health arrived on the train at 2.48pm - 15 minutes after the police. At 3.13pm - almost 45 minutes after police first arrived - Neely was still on the train, by then surrounded by paramedics. The bodycam released by the court today ends then. *** Among witnesses on the first day of evidence was an NYPD Sergeant who testified that none of his team performed mouth-to-mouth on Neely because he was a 'drug user'.  'He seemed to be a drug user.. he was an apparent drug user. He was very dirty. I didn’t want them to get… hepatitis. 'If he did wake up he would have been vomiting. I didn’t want my officers to do that.  'He was filthy. He looked like a homeless individual. You have to protect your officer, 'I wouldn’t want my officer to get sick if the person throws up,' he said. *** [Prosecutor told jury] ‘We pass people like Jordan Neely every day. As New Yorkers, we train ourselves not to engage, not to make eye contact, to pretend people like Jordan Neely don’t exist.’  Yoran told jurors that another man who helped to get Neely to the ground repeatedly told Penny that he could let go because he had a strong grip of his arms. ***

***

Crips are wonderful dirtbags

Denver teen found guilty of killing woman with AR-15 after fender-bender on Colfax

Prosecutors argued during a seven-day jury trial that Remi Cordova opened fire after a minor crash and killed Pamela Cabriales in an attempt to earn status within the Eastside Crips gang.

***

Gadsden Flag worthy

Note where this report was published. New York is world famous for stupid, petty cruelty.

This week, New York officials seized and euthanized a pet squirrel named Peanut, sparking outrage from his owner and a large social media following. Peanut, along with a raccoon named Fred, was taken on Wednesday from Mark Longo's home in Pine City, near New York's Pennsylvania border.*** Peanut was a social media sensation with almost 600 K followers on Instagram. Owned and cared for by Mark Longo, Peanut’s life was documented through 1,400 Instagram posts, showing him enjoying waffles, jumping through hula hoops, and bonding with Longo and his cat, Chloe. According to Longo, Peanut had become a central figure in P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, the non-profit organisation he founded to rescue neglected animals. The sanctuary currently shelters over 300 animals, with Peanut serving as its beloved symbol.*** The county health department and New York Department of Environmental Conservation reported they received complaints about “potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies” and the “illegal keeping of wildlife as pets.” According to NBC News, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) received multiple anonymous complaints about Peanut and dispatched "at least six officers" to Longo's home to seize Peanut and Fred.***

Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/114908967.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

What judge signed a warrant for a squirrel?

+++

***

You've never changed your mind?

CV NEWS FEED // As of October 30, patients in Quebec, Canada, who meet certain criteria no longer need to confirm that they want to undergo physician-assisted suicide immediately before they die. The patient can now request and provide “consent” for the assisted-suicide in advance, if he or she has been diagnosed with an illness such as dementia. The government of Quebec adopted the law in June 2023, and it went into effect earlier this week.  The government’s website specifies that patients who meet the right criteria can fill out an “advance request” for the assisted-suicide program called “medical assistance in dying,” or MAID. The “advance requests” can only be made by persons “who [have] been diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness leading to incapacity,” such as dementia, according to the website. ***

***

I'm sure he has a suit of armor and he'll obey the King's commands and rescue damsels in distress

hit piece in New York Magazine

Even when it’s not Halloween, a certain breed of religious traditionalist longs for the days when men donned capes and cloaks decorated with symbolic sashes and ribbons, got knighted, laid holy swords in caskets lined with red velvet, and pledged oaths to monarchs and popes. *** It turns out the last time Donald Trump was president, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito*** added a knighthood to his own résumé, pledging an oath to the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. ***

Oh no, maybe he'll pass out tootsie rolls like the Knights of Columbus!

***

tues

The law is sexist

A young woman in Iran removed her clothing and displayed her hair outside of her university to protest the “abusive enforcement” of the strict dress code. For this crime, she was swiftly and violently arrested, with footage showing her struggling beside a car with a group of men. Human rights organizations have called for an investigation into allegations of beatings and sexual assault during the arrest. Iran requires all women to wear a hijab in public, a mandate enforced by the country’s “morality police.”

***

The whole world is an impact area

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it uncovered 62 pages of records from the Department of Homeland Security thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit which show, contrary to what it told media, at least one U.S. Secret Service agent broke in to a hair salon and taped over the salon’s security camera in Pittsfield, MA, during a July 27, 2024, campaign fundraising visit by Vice President Kamala Harris. The records also show one agent telling colleagues that by covering the hair salon’s external security camera with tape, the Secret Service was “mitigating threats.”*** A Secret Service agent in the New York Field Office states in a July 28, 2024, email to an official on Harris’s detail whose name is redacted:

The owner [redacted] called the NYC Duty Desk stating she has pictures of agents going into the house, covering up cameras and using the bathroom. The address in question is 54 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, MA 01201. She just wanted to know who had given permission to go inside and use the space.

***

Peanut, the legend continues - Police may have been searching for pr0n.

Mark [Longo] tells TMZ when officials showed up they asked questions that had nothing to do with the animals. Mark says one of the first questions -- "Do you have any cameras in your house?" This seems telling, because Mark and his wife are big on OnlyFans and have done porn on the platform. *** the search warrant says there was probable cause to believe Mark committed a crime, he was issued no citation or other violation of law -- nothing.***

"Longo, a 34-year-old OnlyFans model, said the raid lasted about five hours and left his house in disarray."

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/dec-staff-work-home-amid-furor-peanut-squirrel-s-19887313.php

***

Maybe the fact there's so many means you're guilty

Discovery process continues in child pornography case against former Recount editor By Amanda Burke Verified|The Berkshire EagleVerified PITTSFIELD — The criminal case against former editor Slade Sohmer remains pending in Berkshire Superior Court as attorneys review thousands of images of child pornography Sohmer allegedly possessed. First Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey said the review may take until the end of February due to the volume of the images, which were uncovered during a police investigation into Sohmer for alleged child pornography possession.

***

Cali gets smart, etc

Prop 36, California’s tough-on-crime amendment, passed with overwhelming support. The ballot measure reverses Prop 47, a 2014 law that downgraded felonies like thefts of under $950 and drug violations to misdemeanors. Los Angeles district attorney George Gascón, a mastermind behind Prop 47, lost to law-and-order candidate Nathan Hochman.*** Massachusetts failed to pass a ballot measure that would have legalized psychedelics, including psilocybin (mushrooms) and DMT. If the ballot measure had passed, the state would have joined Oregon and Colorado as the third state in the nation to legalize the recreational use of psychedelics.*** On what the next president should do to unite America: “Promise to protect pet squirrels from government overreach.” —Kat Rosenfield***

***

Ann Arbor, of course

CV NEWS FEED // On November 5, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a 25-year-old man who has since been charged with allegedly sending a message threatening to attack conservative Christians with an AR-15 if Donald Trump is elected president. Isaac Sissel, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was charged in a federal criminal complaint with sending “a threatening communication,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. On November 2, the FBI National Threat Operations Center in West Virginia received an anonymous online message that in part read, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan reported:  “I shall carry out an attack against conservative christan, (sic) filth in the event trump wins the election. I have a stolen ar15 and a target I refuse to name so I can continue to get away with my plans. Without a specific victim or ability to find the place I hid the gun, there’s not a thing the FBI can do until I complete the attack.”***

***

New BJS pub on deaths in federal custody

In FY 2022: ƒ Homicides accounted for the largest portion (41%) of arrest-related deaths, followed by accidents (28%) and suicides (23%). ƒ In arrest-related deaths, 98% of decedents were male, 75% were white, and 53% were ages 25 to 44.***

***

How fed up are Californians with crime?

CV NEWS FEED // California Proposition 36, a ballot initiative aimed at substantially reducing the amount of crime in the Golden State, passed with over 70% of the vote on Tuesday. Voters in California backed the measure by a landslide despite the fact that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic Party had vehemently opposed it.*** By Wednesday afternoon, with over half of the vote in, an overwhelming majority of voters in all 58 counties of the reliably blue state backed the measure – including even deep-blue San Francisco County, where voters favored Proposition 36 by a two-to-one margin.*** Newsom had emerged as perhaps the proposition’s most high-profile opponent. At a September public event, the controversial governor urged Californians to vote against the initiative. “It’s about mass incarceration,” he claimed. “It’s about bringing us back to a 1980s mindset. The impact it’s going to have on the black and brown community is next-level.”***

Gavin is saying black and brown people steal more.

***

[masterofd1saster]

I tried this today, and 4/5 top results were positive characterizations of censorship. WTF? Google & google bros happened to America.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events Hallowe'en 24

Excellent article by Madeleine Kearns, October 24, 2024

***

Wasn't there something about separate sovereigns?

Florida filed suit against the Department of Justice for blocking the state's investigation into an assassination attempt against Donald Trump at the former president's golf course in West Palm Beach. State Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a complaint in a Florida federal court against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Bloomberg Law reported Wednesday. Moody asked the court to stop the federal government from preventing Florida's investigation into alleged would-be assassin Ryan Routh while the DOJ also probes the incident.***

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/florida-sues-doj/2024/10/24/id/1185293

***

National Review notes

◼ The Portland Press Herald released a searching report on Maine’s mental-health laws, which, had they been applied, might have prevented the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston by 40-year-old Robert Card. Card killed 18 people and shot another 13 that day. To the surprise of his acquaintances, he had been released from a New York psychiatric hospital in August. He had been acting strangely for months, believing that more and more people were out to get him. Medical staff diagnosed psychosis. He had a growing “hit list.” But after he made promises to take his meds and attend follow-ups, he walked out. Eighty-three days later, the massacre. Maine has a law to compel people like Card to comply with outpatient treatment or face involuntary commitment. But law-enforcement officials in the state hardly knew such a law existed, and the legislature has done little to fund programs that would make the law easier to use. What lies at the bottom of the Card case are a thicket of regulations, precedents, and prejudices that bias law enforcement and health-care workers toward releasing obviously psychotic patients into their own care. Those who might do so are discouraged from intervening decisively even in the presence of threats and are given a clear go-ahead only when psychotic patients do hurt someone. Not just safety but common decency and justice require that those suffering dangerous psychosis be put into the care of those trained to deal with them.

***

Really cold case

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) — Investigators have determined that a skull discovered in the wall of an Illinois home in 1978 was that of an Indiana teenager who died more than 150 years ago, authorities announced Thursday. The skull went forgotten until March 2021, when museum supervisors discovered it during an inventory audit. They called police, who sent the skull to the coroner's office. Working with Othram Laboratories, a forensic laboratory in Texas that assists law enforcement, the office was able to build a DNA profile from the skull that suggested it was that of Esther Granger, a 17-year-old woman who died during childbirth in Merrillville, Indiana, in 1866. The investigators matched the DNA profile to Granger's great-great grandson, Wayne Silvar, allowing them to confirm her identity.*** Burial records indicate she was interred in Lake County, Indiana. Kane County Coroner Rob Russell speculated in a news release that grave robbers may have dug up her body to sell it to physicians looking to learn more about human anatomy.

***

What new evidence? The cousin -Andy Cano - testified at trial.

Timing of DA Gascón’s decision on Menendez case raises questions for some

Gascón defends plan to seek resentencing for Menendez brothers; critics say he wants to help his reelection effort

By Linh Tat | ltat@scng.com

UPDATED: October 25, 2024 at 8:23 a.m.

When Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said earlier this month that he would revisit the famous murder case of Erik and Lyle Menendez and decide whether to ask a judge to consider resentencing the brothers, some people – including his political rival – questioned the timing of his announcement. Gascón, a Democrat who swept into office in 2020 thanks to a progress voter base made up of criminal justice reform advocates, is trailing by double digits in the polls in his bid for reelection this November. And on Thursday, Oct. 24, his opponent in the D.A. race, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, accused the incumbent of using the Menendez brothers’ high-profile case to score political points. In a statement, Hochman said the D.A.’s office received a petition back in May 2023 and a request to resentence them in February of this year.*** “With Gascón trailing by 30 points in the polls, his desperation is palpable,” Andersen’s attorney, Kathy Cady, said in a statement Thursday. “The upcoming election is less than two weeks away, and it seems Gascón is willing to manipulate the facts for a fleeting chance to salvage his political career. But justice should never be sacrificed for political gain,” Cady said. “His decisions must be grounded in truth and law, not a last-ditch effort to sway voters. Gascón’s failure to uphold his ethical responsibilities is a disgrace, and the victims of this horrific crime, including Mr. Andersen, deserve far better than being pawns in a politician’s game.” Gascón previously said he chose to reexamine the case because of recent new evidence – a letter that Erik Menendez reportedly wrote to a cousin years ago, which his attorneys say corroborates allegations that their father was sexually abusive, plus claims by a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo who recently came forward and said he was raped by Jose Menendez in the 1980s when he was a teenager. Public interest in the case was renewed because of two documentaries about the Menendez brothers released this year.*** Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys, the union representing nearly 900 deputy district attorneys in L.A., had a different take. The union has endorsed Hochman in the upcoming election. In a post on the union’s website, Hanisee criticized the D.A.’s decision, saying “Gascón’s actions make it clear that he is more interested in using his office for free media attention than in actual justice. His self-serving agenda has left victims and their families neglected while he chases the next headline.” Gascón’s campaign declined to comment for this article.

Erik testified about the alleged abuse in great detail for roughly seven full court days. In addition, Brian Anderson, a cousin of Lyle and Erik, testified about severe physical abuse that Petitioners suffered at the hands of Jose. Diane Vandermolen testified about physical and verbal abuse by both Jose and Kitty. Andy Cano, also a cousin, testified that Erik confided to him that Jose was molesting Erik. Cano testified also that Erik always had bruises on his body. Menendez v. Terhune, 422 F.3d 1012, 1033 (9th Cir. 2005).

***

One day of front page news from the Denver Post

Murder charges filed against different juvenile in Rotella Park shooting

A different juvenile suspect is now charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy at Rotella Park.

Denver cardiologist Stephen Matthews sentenced to 158 years in prison for serial sexual assaults

“You placed a substance in our tequila drinks and then proceeded to take full advantage of our minds, bodies and souls.”

Denver man convicted of trying to entice 13-year-old for sex

Gabriel Estrada, 30, was talking to an undercover agent who was impersonating a teenager on a chat app.

Denver Lyft driver convicted of 30 crimes, including kidnapping, sexual assault

Police said Pastor-Mendoza had a pattern of picking up women who were intoxicated and had sought safe rides home, posing as the driver assigned to their ride request.

***

tues

How do you go broke selling weed?

Green Dragon, one of Colorado’s largest cannabis companies, is preparing to cease operations. The company said in a notice to the state labor department last week that it plans to lay off all 59 workers at its 92,000-square-foot grow facility at 830 Wyandot St. in Denver by year end.*** Clark declined to comment when reached by email. Azzalino said he is unsure what Clark plans to do, but he is “certain” that what is currently Green Dragon will not exist in the future. He said the new ownership group is in wait-and-see mode. “Result of the election will play a major role in that, specifically Amendment 3 in Florida, which could be a catalyzing event,” he said. Amendment 3 would legalize recreational marijuana in the state. The state will vote on it Nov. 5. Eaze acquired Green Dragon roughly three years ago, but in mid-2023, Green Dragon co-founders Lisa Leder, Andrew Levine and Alex Levine sued the company for fraud. They alleged Eaze misrepresented its finances in the lead up to the sale and wrongfully fired the trio in February 2023, court documents show. The case was dismissed months later in November. Levine, still a shareholder in the company, filed another civil suit against Eaze on Aug. 6, court records show. The suit aims to investigate whether Clark and board member Thomas Jermoluk conspired to acquire the company’s assets at below-market value, according to Green Market Report.***

***

Wed

Daniel Penny trial update

NEW YORK (WABC) -- As jury selection continues in the Daniel Penny trial, Jordan Neely's family is pushing back against the hiring of a well-known jury consultant. Neely's family rallied alongside members of Black Lives Matter New York on Tuesday against Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, who is working with Penny's defense team to help pick the jury that will decide if he is guilty of manslaughter.*** Dimitrius has been seen with the Penny defense team every day since jury selection started last week. Most recently, she helped select a jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Rittenhouse was acquitted in 2021 in the shooting deaths of two Black Lives Matter protesters in Wisconsin. Dimitrius is well-respected and sought-after, having worked as a jury consultant for decades. She helped pick jurors for the trials involving O.J. Simpson, Rodney King and Kobe Bryant.***

***

Holy Smokes!

***

Expected to count?

Ann Arbor — A University of Michigan student who is from China and not a U.S. citizen allegedly voted Sunday in Ann Arbor and is being charged with two crimes, six days before a pivotal presidential election. The filing of the charges was revealed Wednesday in a statement from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's office. The press release didn't identify the student but described him only as "a non-U.S. citizen." The 19-year-old individual from China was legally present in the United States but not a citizen, which meant he couldn't legally cast a ballot, according to information from the Michigan Secretary of State's office. He registered to vote on Sunday using his UM student identification and other documentation establishing residency in Ann Arbor, he signed a document identifying himself as a U.S. citizen and his ballot was entered into a tabulator, according to the Secretary of State's office.*** The person is being charged with perjury — making a false statement on an affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration — and being an unauthorized elector who attempted to vote. The latter allegation is a felony punishable by up to four years behind bars and a fine of up to $2,000, according to Michigan law. The standard penalty for perjury in Michigan is 15 years in prison, but it's unclear what it would be in this case involving lying on an application to vote.  https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/30/chinese-university-of-michigan-college-student-voted-presidential-election-michigan-china-benson/75936701007/

***

women behind bars

Inmates in Minnesota's sole women's prison report feeling "scared" and "traumatized" by the presence of transgender women in their living quarters – a situation that arose after Gov. Tim Walz's endorsement of a controversial "sue and settlement" arrangement with a left-wing organization last year. Rebeca Warmbo, a former inmate at the Women's Correctional Facility in Shakopee, who spent more than a decade in and out of prison on drug and robbery charges, now considers herself an advocate for her friends still behind bars. Warmbo, 50, keeps in regular contact with several women, who've written to her about their experiences ever since the trans inmates were transferred in. "They're in fear, and they're scared all the time, and they feel traumatized," Warmbo told Fox News Digital. "Because [some of] these men are sex offenders, and a lot of the women in there have been abused or had sex offenses done against them."***

***

Bari Weiss's crew -

Investigators found the phrase Free Gaza scrawled on the explosives used to set fire to two ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon. Hundreds of ballots were destroyed in the arson attacks, most of which were in Vancouver, Washington where there is now 24/7 monitoring of the drop boxes. A third, undetonated explosive was found in Vancouver with the words Free Gaza and Free Palestine. Authorities in the two states—both of which rely fully on mail-in or drop-box voting—“have not yet determined the motive” of the attack. With those notes left behind, it’s definitely a tough case to crack.

***

Rioting b/c they won?

Los Angeles descended into chaos Wednesday night as belligerent baseball fans set a bus on fire while others clashed with cops and looters ran amok following the Dodgers’ World Series victory. The Los Angeles Police Department shared footage of a mob of looters running in and out of a boarded-up Nike store carrying merchandise and throwing it into cars parked outside the store about four miles from Dodger Stadium just after 11 p.m. The LAPD said it was “aware of the looting” and has made arrests but did not disclose how many suspects were taken into custody.***

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 24oct24

Daniel Penny case

Background on NYC subways

Olivia Reingold take on Daniel Penny case

Kat Rosenfield take on NYC subways includes

But the hustlers and fakers—and even, to a certain extent, the masturbators—signaled two important things. First, that the city’s underground spaces were home to a certain baseline level of antisocial behavior. And second, that this behavior had limits. The subway was like one of those Halloween houses where the actors will scream or rush at you, but never actually touch you. Uncomfortable, yes; dangerous, no. Because at the end of the journey, the train stops. The doors open. You leave—and the sea of waiting passengers dutifully parts, letting you off before they get on.***

***

Excellent article by Rupa Subramanya on de-banking

Banks are increasing silencing dissenters. It's turning America into the Chinese social credit system. The gov't doesn't need to incarcerate you if corporations will remove you from public life.

***

It did get a response....

PUEBLO, Colo. — A man has been arrested after the Pueblo Police Department said he falsely reported the kidnapping of a 13-year-old family member Wednesday night, resulting in an Amber Alert sent to cellphones across Colorado. After police received information that the kidnapping report was false, Daniel Reyes, 34, told police why he did it. His truck had been stolen before, and he said he thought that if he called police, he wouldn't get an immediate response. So he said he made up the story of a kidnapped girl to get a faster response, according to the arrest affidavit in the case.***

***

Real men of genius!

Boy accidentally kidnapped from Lakewood hotel by repo truck, police say A 13-year-old boy was accidentally kidnapped from a Lakewood hotel on Friday morning after a tow truck driver repossessed the car he was napping in, according to the Lakewood Police Department.

***

Douglas Murray writes

[Salman] Rushdie ***was stabbed, blinded in one eye, and very nearly killed. The attack took place on another stage, a few hundred miles upstate in Chautauqua. Last week, the trial of his assailant, Hadi Matar, was scheduled to begin. It was delayed when Matar’s lawyer demanded at the last minute that it take place in another county. According to The New York Times, his public defender, Nathaniel Barone, argued that the lack of a local Arab American community and publicity surrounding the case in Chautauqua County would make it impossible “to preserve [his] client’s right to a fair trial.” The implication here is that a jury assembled in a majority-white area is likely to find the American-born Matar guilty simply because his parents happen to be Lebanese—rather than because dozens of witnesses can attest to seeing him plunge a knife into an innocent author more than 10 times. Or indeed, because of the testimony of the victim, Rushdie himself, who—prosecutors confirmed last week—will testify in court when the trial finally begins. No writer ever really wants to stand, and speak, in the same room as a person who has tried to murder him for words he’s written. But Rushdie has lived with a fatwa on his head since 1989, issued upon the publication of his supposedly blasphemous novel The Satanic Verses. Necessarily, he has spent over 30 years patiently discussing things no writer wants to talk about.***

Rushie is not a wonderful human being free of flaws. He's a pretty strident critic of the West. Also, since when are Arabs not white? Are Greeks not white? What about Italians?

Things Worth Remembering: What Salman Rushdie Doesn’t Want to Talk About

In America, we have taken liberty for granted. The author of ‘The Satanic Verses’ tried to warn us, but we didn’t listen.

***

Espionage case

The United States is investigating the leak of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday. The documents appear to have been prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, describing U.S. interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite imagery from Oct. 15-16. They began circulating last week on the Telegram messaging app.***

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/israel-iran-us-documents-attack/2024/10/20/id/1184735/

***

tues

Did I mention that Orwell was English?

***A 51-year-old British man and army veteran named Adam Smith-Connor was just convicted of a crime for a 2022 incident where he silently prayed outside of an abortion clinic. Yes, seriously, that’s his “crime”: praying silently.  A judge ruled on Oct. 16 that, even though Smith-Connor was not on the abortion clinic’s property, his actions violated the “buffer zone” the government had created around the clinic, the Telegraph reports.  “He was given the opportunity to leave and chose not to comply with that,” the judge said.  For his part, Smith-Connor says that this verdict “criminalise[s] thought,” and his lawyers say they plan to appeal the conviction. ***

If you're an atheist, you must say there was no actus reus. Saying there was actus reus would be nonsense. If you're highly religious, you should say there was an act, but you'd deny that it was in any way guilty.

***

***Tyree Conyers-Page—a.k.a. Sir Maejor Page, the 35-year-old former leader of the BLM chapter of Greater Atlanta—was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for money laundering and wire fraud. Pocketing the $450,000 raised from 18,000 donors to “fight for George Floyd” and the “movement,” Page spent lavishly on himself, splurging on tailored suits, nightclub bar tabs, an evening with a prostitute, and, as he texted to a friend, “a big-ass cribo” that he bought in Ohio after he “won the lottery.”***

***

Madeleine Kearns notes

Imagine having to bribe your own dad. On Tuesday, an Orange County supervisor in California pleaded guilty to accepting over half a million dollars in bribes—in exchange for directing $10 million to a charity associated with his daughter. The funds were originally supposed to go toward feeding the elderly during the Covid pandemic. Instead, they went to Viet America Society (VAS), which the supervisor’s daughter Rhiannon Do then used to buy a $1 million home.*** Remember when Abercrombie & Fitch had Shirtless Guys outside every store? Remember the guy who conceived that idea? Mike Jeffries stepped down as CEO in 2014, but now he is back in the spotlight—and not in a good way. Yesterday, he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution, after the culmination of a yearlong FBI investigation into allegations he sexually abused multiple young male models between 2009 and 2015 at “sex parties” everywhere from Morocco to the Caribbean. Attendees were allegedly told that participating in the parties would lead to modeling opportunities and that not complying “could harm their careers.” Jeffries also allegedly paid an exclusive household staff to “facilitate and supervise the sex events,” giving partygoers alcohol, muscle relaxants, Viagra, and condoms. It’s all falling a bit short of the company’s mission, which partly states that it is “committed to quality” and “authentic goodness.”***

***

Witnesses shouldn't say "find him not guilty," but still...

Prosecutors in Daniel Penny’s trial on Tuesday asked the judge to prevent words like “hero” and “Samaritan” from being elicited from witnesses because they may draw sympathy for the Marine veteran who put a homeless street performer in a fatal chokehold on a New York subway last year. The judge presiding in the case, Maxwell Wiley, did not grant the request prosecutors asked for in hopes of not leading the jury to acquit Mr. Penny on manslaughter charges in the death of Jordan Neel. Judge Wiley instead resumed the time-consuming process of finding 12 impartial jurors. *** https://www.nysun.com/article/prosecutors-ask-for-caution-when-allowing-witnesses-to-use-the-word-hero-in-daniel-penny-manslaughter-trial

***

I'm sure they'll extradite him right after they sing the praises of Israel

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a military official with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran and three others with links to that government with plotting to assassinate an Iranian-American journalist in New York. The IRGC official, Ruhollah Bazghandi, was a brigadier general who previously served as chief of the corps' counterintelligence department, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn. Bazghandi, who the U.S. Treasury Department previously sanctioned, and the other three defendants — Fnu Lnu, also known as Haj Taher; Hossein Sedighi; and Seyed Mohammad Forouzan — are based in Iran and remain at large, prosecutors said. U.S. prosecutors have previously charged other suspects in the case, including one man in 2022 and two others in 2023. Though she was not named in this week's court filing, one of the previously charged suspects in the case was arrested for having a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad.***

***

[masterofd1saster]

Delta Airlines stinks

On Oct. 16 Delta Airlines pulled Catherine Banks, a 22 year veteran of the Marine Corps, out of her seat on a flight from San Francisco International Airport. Delta said that her t-shirt was threatening because it said "Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide."

Banks explained to Delta that the shirt was anti-suicide and that she was herself a Marine Corps veteran. Delta's flight attendant told her "I don't care about your service**** The only way you're going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now." She had no undergarments, so he forced her to change naked in front of him.

This is unsatisfactory. Delta has not denied that flight attendant acted as reported. Delta has not attempted to defend its action.

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/sfo-passenger-deplaned-delta-flight-due-to-shirt-19847128.php

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 17oct24 - a b/c tumblr stinks

wed

Sad, RIP

Two Detroit police officers were injured on Monday after exchanging fire with an off-duty Detroit police officer “struggling with a mental crisis” who went rogue. During a news conference Monday evening, Detroit Police Chief James White confirmed that one of the department’s active police officers made a 911 call while off-duty and subsequently opened fire on several of his colleagues who responded.  “He is asking for suicide by cop. He is struggling with a mental crisis,” White said as he recounted the scene. *** The off-duty officer who died had spent 13 years with the Detroit Police Department and had served on the department’s Special Response Team. He remains unidentified. White told reporters he would not be releasing further information and details as of Monday evening.  ***

***

Denver Post

***

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adam Uraine (@workpeeves)

***

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 17oct24

Community imitates life, especially Menendez

Community Troy: "My uncle put his finger in my no-no." https://youtu.be/KqAx624ljH4?t=107

By Alan Abrahamson

October 9, 2024

***

Besides, abuse does not justify or excuse a revenge killing. It may be a reason to reduce punishment. But killing someone isn’t self-defense unless you believe they’re about to kill you. That’s not the case with Lyle and Erik Menendez. Indeed, about four months after the killings, on December 11, 1989, the brothers met with their Beverly Hills psychologist, L. Jerome Oziel. They talked—in confidence—about why they killed their parents. If ever there would have been a time to confide their deepest, darkest secret, this would have been it. But no. Not once did either claim to have been sexually abused. Is it any wonder that the defense fought for four years to keep this tape secret? Because instead of saying they were afraid for their lives, Lyle said his father had been unfaithful, causing Kitty to turn to liquor and pills. So: “We thought that we would just kill Dad, and eliminate the problem.” The mother? Killing her was “putting her out of her misery, really.”

In the wake of the killings, the brothers did have some regrets. On the 61-minute Oziel tape, Lyle said, “You just miss having these people around.” Then, he said, “I miss not having my dog around. If I can make such a gross analogy.” In the courtroom, people gasped.*** Exhibit A: The brothers bought the shotguns days before the shootings. To buy the weapons, they went to San Diego and used fake IDs. That the killings were premeditated could not be doubted. Exhibit B: After breaking into the den and firing 13 to 15 shotgun blasts, with Lyle shooting his father in the back of the head, the mother, incredibly, was still alive. Lyle went outside, reloaded, and came back in.  “I just reached over and I shot her close,” Lyle testified. An autopsy report indicated Kitty was blasted in the left cheek, the gun barrel on her skin. Almost no journalist writing about the case today has cited the decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, issued in 2005, after the brothers were found guilty in their second trial. It destroys arguments advanced on behalf of the brothers. Lyle is dismissed in a footnote: “In fact, evidence that Lyle ever feared his parents is so weak in the record that his claim could be rejected without discussion.”***

***

Watch that grammy

Pro-life activist Heather Idoni is serving federal imprisonment for trespassing at abortion clinics.

Idoni has diabetes and suffered a stroke this past spring just a few months after being held in solitary confinement with the lights of her cell kept on continually for 22 days. *** While held in federal prison in Washington, D.C., Idoni was denied some of her diabetes medication as well as essential heart medication prescribed by her doctor following her stroke in March, until Congress directly intervened in the matter.*** While presently awaiting trial in Detroit, Idoni has been placed again in solitary confinement, detained in her cell for 23 hours each day, according to Zastrow.***

***

always helpful Babylon Bee

***

Fair point about impartiality

In an attempt to secure the integrity of the United States judiciary, the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct has issued new ethical guidelines restricting law clerks from pursuing employment with political organizations while serving in the court system. This guidance mitigates the risks associated with potential political entanglements that can compromise the court system's integrity.

Previous Guidelines

Existing codes of conduct already discourage judges from participating in political activity, and the judiciary has prohibited employees from publicly taking a partisan stance in the past. Judicial employees, including law clerks, were also already prohibited from engaging in certain political actions from previous guidance. The newly released ethical guidelines present a firmer stance, explicitly requesting that judges actively prevent their law clerks from seeking post-clerkship positions with political parties, advocacy groups, and organizations that take a political stance. The rationale behind the recommendation is that law clerks applying for roles in political organizations can create the impression of bias. This could potentially link the judge's chambers to political activities, undermining the judiciary's obligation to remain impartial.***

***

Brad, where's your wife?

OLMOS PARK, Texas – Suzanne Clark Simpson has been missing since Sunday, Oct. 6. Her husband, Brad Simpson, is facing charges unrelated to her disappearance. As of Friday, Oct. 11, the missing mother and Realtor has not been located. Authorities searched an area along Interstate 10 in Boerne — just about a mile from where Brad Simpson was arrested — on Friday, Oct. 11, but they did not say they found anything of significance.*** An arrest warrant affidavit states Brad Simpson reported his wife missing to the Olmos Park Police Department. Her cellphone was also missing.

On Sunday, Oct. 6, the couple attended a party at The Argyle, a private dinner club on Patterson Avenue, before returning to their home, which they share with their two children.

A neighbor told police that between 10-11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6 he heard arguing outside his bedroom window that became louder and “seemed closer to his window.” When the neighbor looked out his window, he saw the Simpsons in a physical altercation, the affidavit states. He said Suzanne Clark Simpson was trying to get away from Brad Simpson as he tried to pull her down. It appeared Brad Simpson “was clearly attempting to keep Ms. Simpson from running away,” the neighbor told authorities, according to the affidavit.

The neighbor told authorities he last saw the couple heading westbound. The neighbor went outside to investigate, and a short time later, he heard two to three screams from a brushy area east of his home, the affidavit states.

About an hour later, the neighbor saw Brad Simpson start his black GMC pickup truck and leave his house. The neighbor told authorities he saw Brad Simpson return one to two hours later.

At 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, their child’s school called Brad Simpson and advised him that their child had not been picked up from school, the affidavit states. Suzanne Clark Simpson typically picks up their child from school, Brad Simpson told police, according to the affidavit.***

***

Well earned time

An Ohio man was sentenced today to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release in connection with his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys. According to court documents, Ronald P. Bedra, of Etna, conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera. Bedra also mailed a thumb drive containing 64 videos of monkey torture to a co-conspirator in Wisconsin. According to a statement of facts signed by defendant Bedra, the videos in question included depictions of monkeys having their digits and limbs severed and monkeys being forcibly sodomized with a heated screwdriver. Bedra pleaded guilty in April.***

Hm, Dr Fauci, how do you feel about those beagle videos?

***

***

***

To be fair, it was ATF

***

Life imitates A Time to Kill

An Arkansas father was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a man who was found in a vehicle with the father's missing 14-year-old daughter. Aaron Spencer, 36, reported his daughter missing on Tuesday, and Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to his home. But as deputies were on their way to the residence, they learned that Spencer had found his daughter in a vehicle with Michael Fosler, 67. A confrontation ensued between the two men before Spencer allegedly shot and killed Fosler.*** Spencer's wife, Heather, said on Facebook that Fosler had a "no contact order" with her daughter for stalking and raping the 14-year-old over the summer and that she and her husband feared he might kill her. She said that she and her husband were unaware Fosler was again in contact with her child. "We absolutely called 911 during the entire event," she wrote. "We had no idea this man was in contact with our child again. He was waiting 6-9 felonies for what he did, not 2. He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness."*** Fosler had been arrested by another law enforcement agency in July and booked for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault, Staley told USA TODAY.*** [Heather] thanked other victims who reached out to her with allegations that Fosler attacked them. "We have gotten a clear picture of a predator who continuously worked with children and preyed on young girls," she wrote. "This man was Chief of police in Indiana and resource officer, giving us a better idea of why the Lonoke county courts have been protecting him and going after my husband."

***

Spot the Moron 101

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco headed a press conference Sunday evening after a man was arrested with illegal guns outside former President Donald Trump‘s rally venue in Coachella, California, a day earlier. He offered more details on the incident where Vem Miller, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident, was arrested after police found two unregistered guns in his vehicle.*** Before Trump had arrived at the rally, Miller was arrested after police found ammunition boxes, a loaded handgun, and a shotgun in his vehicle, both of which were unregistered. They also found passports and driver’s licenses with different names. The license plate on the vehicle was fake as well, as the car was unregistered, though Bianco did say the car was sold to him.

Hm, what kind of knucklehead does that?

In the press conference, Bianco tied Miller to the sovereign citizens movement, a group that believes they are separate from the U.S. government and do not have to pay taxes or hold necessary identification, such as a driver’s license or registration for a vehicle. A registered Republican, Miller holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and unsuccessfully ran for state assembly in Nevada in 2022.***

***

tues

You'll have to look at the pics

CHARLEVOIX COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- A 27-year-old Charlevoix man was arrested for larceny after police allegedly found 72 stolen political campaign signs at a home on Tuesday. Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Tholen said an "adjacent county" has recently been investigating several thefts of signs. "After reporting one of these thefts a homeowner placed an Apple 'AirTag' into a replacement sign and a camera was installed over the area of the sign," Tholen said. Tholen said the sign with the Apple AirTag was stolen on Monday and was tracked to a residence in Charlevoix County on Tuesday.*** while police were at the residence, the man's aunt arrived at the home. "She was interviewed by police and stated that she had told the man that she would pay him $10 for each sign he took that belonged to the presidential candidate. She claimed that this was a 'joke,'" ***

***

Good article on trafficking

***

You just couldn't stop yourself...

WESTMINSTER, Colo. — An administrator with Mountain Range High School was arrested Monday on suspicion of inappropriate conduct with a child, the Westminster Police Department announced. Westminster PD said it received several Safe2Tell reports over the weekend about Tate Drane, 27, alleging that Drane sent "inappropriate photos" to an underage student. Drane was arrested Monday afternoon for sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust - victim under 15 years or pattern of abuse, internet sexual exploitation of a child - observe subject's intimate parts, and internet luring of a child.

***

[masterofd1saster]

Couple good Gospels and couple good homilies

Today's Gospel was

 Mk 10:17-30 which starts

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.

Our pastor pointed out that Jesus was announcing his divinity. The man clearly used "good" correctly; Jesus was just using the man to reveal his unity with God.

Mark continued with the story of the man who didn't want to give up earthly possessions. He more or less ends with

They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.  All things are possible for God."  Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you."  Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age

The pastor noted that we must give up our attachment to things that keep us from God. If we do that, we'll be attached to God and be saved.

***

Saturday's Gospel was

 LK 11:27-28

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Our assistant pastor made a good point that the woman was complimenting Jesus and his mother. Jesus' response wasn't disrespecting his mother in any way. Indeed, Mary is the perfect example of one who hears the word of God and observes it.

One point that sometimes goes unnoticed is that Jesus was establishing that we are saved by Faith. We aren't saved by family relations or ethnicity. We are saved by Faith.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ court watch - EMTALA case

SCt refused on Mon, 7oct24 to hear the case of Becerra v. Texas, 23-1076. That means the 5th Cir. judgment remains in effect.

Becerra is the Secretary of Health & Human Services. He had told Texas that its abortion prohibition violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Texas sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. That court ruled in favor of Texas, and Becerra appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Cir.

EMTALA says a hospital must provide treatment to protect an "individual's health and, in the case of a woman in labor, the health of the unborn child." 42 U.S.C. §1395dd. Examination and treatment for emergency medical conditions and women in labor. (2024). Hard to argue that an abortion would protect an unborn child's health.

The 5th Cir., ruling against Becerra, said

The question before the court is whether EMTALA, according to HHS's Guidance, mandates physicians to provide abortions when that is the necessary stabilizing treatment for an emergency medical condition. It does not. We therefore decline to expand the scope of EMTALA.   

The 5th Cir. affirmed an injunction that said

(1) The defendants may not enforce the Guidance and Letter's interpretation that Texas abortion laws are preempted by EMTALA; and  (2) The defendants may not enforce the Guidance and Letter's interpretation of EMTALA both as to when an abortion is required and EMTALA's effect on state laws governing abortion within the State of Texas or against AAPLOG's members and CMDA's members.   

[American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA)]

After losing in both lower courts, Becerra then appealed to SCt.

Given that AAPLOG and CMDA operate throughout the US, this ruling may have wide effect.

The 5th Cir's opinion in Texas v. Becerra, No. 23-10246 (2024) is linked.

[masterofd1saster]

[masterofd1saster]

CJ court watch - the transgender cake case

Colorado Supreme Court decided Masterpiece Cakeshop v.  Scardina,  2024 CO 67 (Oct. 8, 2024).   Decision was 5-4

Scardina was a lawyer who was outraged by Jack Phillips's win in litigation about baking a cake for a gay wedding. Scardina set him up. Scardina called the cakeshop.

Scardina requested a pink birthday cake with blue frosting and was told that Masterpiece would make such a cake. Scardina then explained that the cake was intended to celebrate her transition from male to female. At that point, she was informed that the shop was unlikely to make the cake “because of the message.”

Scardina filed a complaint with the state civil rights commission. The commission had already been publicly embarrassed, and when Phillips sued in federal court, the commission settled with him.

Scardina then sued in state court with observing some technical aspects of civil procedure.

Scardina could have appealed the Commission’s decision to close the administrative adjudication without providing the statutorily mandated order but she did not. Instead, she brought her discrimination claim anew in the district court. The district court took up the case and, following a bench trial, determined that Phillips had [discriminated illegally.]   Phillips appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the judgment. We granted certiorari to determine, among other issues, whether Scardina properly filed her case in the district court. We conclude that she did not.

Accordingly, the Colorado SCt reversed the judgment against Phillips and Masterpiece.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 10oct24

I guess the shoe fits them....

Federal and local law enforcement today arrested 42 members and associates of the SFV Peckerwoods, a San Fernando Valley, California-based white supremacist street gang, on a 76-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they engaged in a years-long pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs — including fentanyl — illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud.***

***

They got their break in the travesty of the mistrial

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said during a news conference that attorneys for Erik Menendez, 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, have asked a court to vacate their conviction.*** Lyle, who was then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father and their mother with shotguns, but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father's long-term sexual molestation of Erik. Prosecutors contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents' multimillion-dollar estate.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/menendez-brothers-california-killings/2024/10/03/id/1182796

Community Troy: "My uncle put his finger in my no-no." https://youtu.be/KqAx624ljH4?t=107

***

Never understood why they beat him

Following a trial that lasted nearly four weeks, a federal jury in Memphis, Tennessee, found three former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers guilty of federal felonies related to the death of Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023. “All three former Memphis Police Department officers were convicted of federal felonies for their role in Tyre Nichols’ death,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “They join two additional former officers who had already pled guilty.  With these convictions, all five of the former officers involved in the death of Mr. Nichols have been convicted of federal felonies. Tyre Nichols should be alive today. We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Nichols. ***

Sentencing will be in Jan 2025.

***

National Review nails it

◼ U.S. district judge John Mendez ruled Wednesday that California’s law prohibiting what it called “election-related misinformation” doesn’t pass constitutional muster; the First Amendment protects political parody and satire even when members of the public might be fooled by it. The decision concerned video-maker Christopher Kohls, who goes by the handle “Mr. Reagan” on X. He produces deepfake-style political ads mocking progressives such as Kamala Harris. California’s law was so broad that it barred any deceptive communications likely to hurt a candidate’s reputation or electoral chances. Lawmakers should have known this provision could be interpreted as criminalizing a great deal of political speech that relies on exaggeration and humor. What is really bothering California’s lawmakers is not the access of citizens to the great traditions of political rhetoric—Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were never going to be harassed by such a law. What scares lawmakers is that the means for making effective, professional-looking political propaganda are being democratized. Average citizens as well as media behemoths can now make politicians look goofy with a well-edited video, and social-media companies such as X, which remain outside progressive control, help those clips go viral. As the election approaches, we expect more claims that average citizens are dupes and cat’s-paws of foreign powers, a treacherous excuse for denying them their First Amendment rights.

***

USAA

***Murrah contacted USAA and convinced the institution to conduct an investigation — but USAA allegedly told him there was no evidence of fraud, despite a $14,174 loss across two of his accounts, including his emergency savings. Then, the bank unexpectedly closed his account. “The transactions were taking place in totally different states, they could see everything,” Murrah said. “They knew it wasn’t me, but for some reason they said it wasn’t fraud.”*** In April, a federal grand jury in Louisiana indicted 21 people involved with stealing nearly $7 million from USAA customers — particularly the accounts of older individuals with high bank balances. Three of the defendants worked for a call center that provided customer service for USAA and helped the rest of the group to access customers’ banking details to create counterfeit checks, reports Dayton Daily News. Last year, the institution also reported a data breach that may have impacted around 19,000 members after employees at a USAA contractor shared their access credentials with unauthorized individuals. And in 2022, the bank paid a stunning $140 million in civil fines to two federal regulators — the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Comptroller of the Currency for falling behind in reporting suspicious transactions.***

The relationship between customer and bank is creditor and debtor. If the bank loses money, it loses the bank's money, not the customer's.

***

great

Chinese hackers accessed the networks of U.S. broadband providers and obtained information from systems that the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies are among the telecoms companies whose networks were breached by the recently discovered intrusion, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The hackers might have held access for months to network infrastructure used by the companies to cooperate with court-authorized U.S. requests for communications data, the Journal said. It said the hackers had also accessed other tranches of internet traffic.***

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/chinese-hackers-us/2024/10/06/id/1182990

***

Surprise, surprise!

***

free speech case

Last fall, deadspin published a lie

The lie accused a 9-y/o boy of the worst sorts of racism. When the family pointed out that it was a hurtful lie, deadspin reinforced and republished the lie. The family sued.

***On Monday, Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg denied Deadspin’s motion to dismiss the Armentas’ lawsuit, rejecting arguments that the article was opinion and thus protected from liability for defamation. “Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for its critique of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in its description of the child, crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims,” the judge wrote. “Having reviewed the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing H.A. of wearing black face and Native headdress ‘to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable,” Lugg added. Lugg also refused to dismiss the lawsuit based on Deadspin’s argument that it should have been filed in California, where the Armentas live, instead of Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. One month after the Armentas filed their lawsuit, G/O Media sold the Deadspin website to Lineup Publishing, and the entire staff was laid off.

***

Go ahead, tell me the law is sexist

*** Schardin, of Blaine, was at a hotel with her spouse and two children on Jan. 14 when she spotted the two teen athletes, who were traveling from Colorado with their team, and struck up a conversation with them, according to a complaint obtained by Law & Crime. While she was with the boys in the hot tub, her husband yelled, “If you don’t come upstairs, our relationship is over,”*** She allegedly told the boys they were young enough to be her kids, but then pressured them into sex acts with her while a third boy watched, according to the complaint. “You already have a 38-year-old woman, a female in your bed, don’t you want to do more,” she said, according to one of the victims. “(Victim 1) described feeling stuck in the moment and did not know how to say no,” the complaint reads. “He said that in his head, his response was ‘not really’ but he responded by saying ‘sure,’ though he ‘wasn’t totally on board with it.’” Following the encounter, Schardin tracked the boys down to a rink where they were playing a game the next day. “(Victim 1) said they all started getting nervous and he was shaking on the bench at one point because he wanted to leave what happened the night before in the past and she was trying to follow them, ‘it was really creepy,'” *** In exchange for her guilty plea, another criminal count was dismissed and prosecutors agreed to jail time of no more than eight months, the Star Tribune reported. She must also register as a predatory sex offender. Her sentencing is set for Jan. 10, 2025, according to CBS News Minnesota.

***

George Gascón, the progressive district attorney of Los Angeles, is floundering behind his challenger, Nathan Hochman, who has a 30-point lead in the polls. “People do not feel as safe as they did before George Gascón took office and they want a DA who will prosecute crime, restore balance, and improve public safety,” Hochman told the L.A. Times. 

***

[masterofd1saster]

Who killed Amber Thurman?

Amber Thurman was pregnant with twins in Georgia. She could not obtain an abortion in Georgia, so she went to an abortion clinic in North Carolina on August 13, 2022. That clinic gave her a drug, mifepristone, to cause a chemical abortion. Carolina Journal.

Mifepristone basically causes a miscarriage. Thurman went home to Georgia, and she miscarried. He babies were dead. She went to Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge. She needed a dilation and curettage, or D&C, to clear the afterbirth and any other non-baby products of conception. Carolina Journal. Piedmont Henry Hospital delayed performing the D&C until 2:00 p.m. the next day. Carolina Journal.

Media are conspicuously silent about what abortion clinic in Carolina gave her the mifepristone. Whoever gave her the pills must have seen the bold face warning on the package insert:

WARNING: SERIOUS AND SOMETIMES FATAL INFECTIONS OR BLEEDING*** Bleeding. Prolonged heavy bleeding may be a sign of incomplete abortion or other complications and prompt medical or surgical intervention may be needed. Advise patients to seek immediate medical attention if they experience prolonged heavy vaginal bleeding [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2)]. *** [emphasis added]

That person in the clinic then sent Amber on her way to have a miscarriage alone in her home, knowing that she might die.

Five days after taking the abortion agent misoprostol, which induces contractions to expel the pregnancy tissue, Thurman presented at the emergency room on a stretcher with heavy bleeding, vomiting, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, critically elevated white blood cell count, and dropping blood pressure. Thurman waited three hours before being administered antibiotics and more than 20 hours to receive a dilation and curettage, which involves dilating the patient’s cervix and surgically removing the remaining pregnancy tissue by scraping the inside of the uterus. But by that point, her organs had already begun to shut down, and she died on the operating table.*** Washington Examiner.

When Amber presented at Piedmont Henry, her babies were dead. Washington Examiner. She didn't need an abortion. She needed a D&C. D&Cs post miscarriage have long been legal and moral.

Since the nineteenth century, surgical evacuation of the uterus has been the standard treatment offered by gynaecologists to those requiring treatment following first trimester miscarriage. Dewhurst’s textbook of obstetrics and gynaecology. (7th ed, 2007), 96.

In the 19th Century, abortion was a serious crime throughout the U.S. But a D&C after a miscarriage has always been legal and moral.

No law in Georgia prohibited a doctor from performing a D&C on Amber. The pertinent Georgia statute, says abortion is using "any instrument or other means whatever upon any woman with intent to produce a miscarriage or abortion." Ga. Code Ann. § 16-12-140 (2012). Amber wasn't seeking an abortion in Georgia. Her babies were dead and miscarried. A D&C in those circumstances couldn't possibly produce a miscarriage or abortion.

Indeed, Georgia law contains an exception for when "abortion is necessary in order to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman." Ga. Code Ann. § 16-12-141 (2012).

Hm. How long as Georgia allowed abortion in order to save the life of the mother? Well back in 1954, the prosecutor was required to prove by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt "that the alleged abortion was not necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman." Holloway v. State, 90 Ga. App. 86, 87, 82 S.E.2d 235, 236 (1954)

There was no reason for a doctor treating Amber to fear prosecution.

There is plenty of blame to assign for Amber's death. One might reasonably blame the clinic that sent Amber home to have a miscarriage knowing the risk of death. One might blame Piedmont Henry for waiting so long to treat her for no apparent reason. Whomever you blame, you can't honestly blame Georgia's law.

[masterofd1saster]

Clumps of cells

Sarah Marie Switzer is a >25-year-old clump of cells. This is a photo of her before she was born.

The picture of her reaching out of the womb during surgery was taken by Max Aguilera-Hellweg.

***

Samuel Armas is a >25-year-old clump of cells. This photo was taken by Michael Clancy during another in utero operation.

Fox News censored this photo. Fox News wouldn't allow Matt Drudge to show it on camera.

***

Nevaeh Atkins was photographed reaching from the womb to grasp a doctor's finger during another pre-natal surgery in 2013. So Nevaeh is presumably a >14-year-old clump of cells.

The story is available at https://web.archive.org/web/20130107162143/http://www.azfamily.com/news/Baby-reaching-beyond-womb-picture-goes-viral-185393182.html?gallery=y&c=y

The photo itself is at https://web.archive.org/web/20150415155449/https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=574138265946664&set=a.222484704445357.77909.220633694630458&type=1&theater&notif_t=photo_comment

***

I hope all my fellow clumps of cells are having a nice weekend.