#‘seditious conspiracy definition’

[flock-of-cassowaries]

Whereas I hate it when my boss and coworkers ask me about my plans for my vacation, because if I say:

“I plan to make progress on my various my extremely self-indulgent fanfiction projects, which are about the gay cannibal show, and also the horny+evil rich media heirs show; and it’s like, also extremely personal and kind of autobiographical in places, but also very horny, and no, you can never, ever read it (j/k you can, I will make a protestant version with all the sex scenes removed just for you! Do you want to hear the whole plot? I’m very, very proud of it.)”

…everyone will remember that forever, and it will make my working relationships with them even more awkward than they already are (just due to my high level of general social awkwardness).

i love it when my teachers ask about my interests because i get to yap about some gay cannibals from a decade old show and jack antonoff

[ross-hollander]

Conspiracy theories...

...either at rest or still in motion across the Inner Sphere and beyond:

The "Caravanserai Theory", founded during the 3060s by a handful of paranoid officers, which supposes that the so-called Homeworlds are, in fact, only a garrison en route from the Clans' true home turf. Generally discredited because not enough people believed the Clans would lie about it, although some hardcore faithful persisted, on the basis that the known Clans might not even know there were more of them out there.

The "Jingo Juice Theory", founded about a decade in the aftermath of the Andurien Crisis by a few researchers. They claimed that both sides of the war had experimented with Vita-Orange laced with combat stimulants and psychoactive elements that could clot seditious thought. (Not really a conspiracy theory as such; it actually did happen, with good documentation, although it never got too far. More hindrance than help.)

The "Voluntary Caucus of Free Individuals", typically shortened to the Caucus, an anti-government group in the Commonwealth who believe it is effectively a company town and all its laws don't apply to them if they use very specific terminology in court. They only do business in homemade gold coins, believing Lyran currency to be company scrip, and sign documents in thumbprint only.

The "Phantom Caste Records", originating specifically in Clan Jade Falcon, by researchers of Clan history who claim that a sixth official caste (not Bandit or Dark) was designed but never implemented. This is typically referred to as the 'Translator Caste', although nobody in the community can actually put a finger on when that name started getting used for it.

The "ilKhan't Theory", circulated by some ex-Republicans, regarding a suspicion that the so-called Alaric Ward is at least a dozen Alarics Ward in a sub-caste of cloned and honed perfected ruler figures. Believers attempt to dig up a lack of or contradictory evidence on Ward's background or catch pictures that show him looking too different from other photos.

The "Stone Age Button Theory", first found in the Confederation but spreading outwards, suggesting that 'mech failures are the doings of some shadowy cabal who have tech implanted in every 'mech in the galaxy that can- at their will -either hamper, cripple, or straight-up shut it down. Who exactly this is varies; in the Confederation, for instance, the answer is usually whoever tried to invade them last, but in the Combine it is always the Davion family.

The "Democracy Syndrome", created by a bright spark of especial nationalistic fervor in the Combine, who wrote a lengthy thesis explaining how refusal to submit to the divine majesty of the Dragon was, in fact, the mental impact of a poor diet on the part of their interstellar neighbors, and if everybody changed what they ate the Sphere would be unified in a decade or less.

The "Scorpion Sting Cabal", a deeply involved theory that tracks movement of specific power players just beneath the public surface, and claims that Operation SCORPION did succeed- putting Blakist deep-plants into command structures where they'd never be looked for, primed and ready to strike. Formulated purely to build up vitriol against certain politicians in the FWL; little to no hard evidence.

The "Dual-Pilot Thesis", a definite standout, by a lone author, PFC Ronnie Merritt of the AFFS Third Ceti Hussars. He spent sixteen years writing articles, blog posts and actual books detailing his grand theory: Pouncer OmniMechs have two pilots. Specifically the Pouncer, not even all OmniMechs. No explanation, nor detailed photos of several different Pouncer configurations, could dissuade him. Tragically, he perished in a bus crash at the age of 41, and fierce insistence could lacerate his heart no more.

[theculturedmarxist]

hi there, i saw your addition to that red scare post saying that the kkk is a subsidiary of the fbi. i tried doing some searches to find more information about it but the closest i can get is a few articles about undercover fbi agents in the kkk. could you recommend any articles or reports on the topic? i know there are definitely ties between the fbi and kkk but i want to do some more reading on it.

Here is a link covering the findings of the Church Committee, which was an investigation into the FBI's COINTELPRO related activities.

From an earlier post I made on it:

The fun bits:

-FBI informants made up 20% of the KKK -FBI was responsible for 70% of the new members of the KKK in one year -Despite all these informants feeding them information, their course of action was to forward the information to local departments -FBI knew from their informants that those local departments were often involved in KKK activities and violence -FBI informants often participated in KKK violence -While the FBI were powerless to stop the KKK, they DID have the time to leak news of Jean Seberg’s pregnancy to try and embarrass her and tarnish her reputation because she supported the Black Panthers.

However, what has been recently discontinued is funding to counter white supremacist groups like the KKK with the Trump administration “turning a blind eye” to white supremacists groups in what they have welcomed as “a signal of favor” to them. If the FBI was, in their own words, powerless against the KKK even while making up a large percentage of its membership through informants and agent provocateurs, it’s hard to imagine how effective the Bureau’s ongoing individual investigations against white supremacists will prove any more effective.

Despite relatively recent reports that the FBI has 1,000 ongoing investigations against white supremacists, this number actually includes all types of “domestic terrorists” - a label that the FBI has applied to anyone from protesters who vandalize cows made of butter to people who had pro-peace bumper stickers or were labeled suspected terrorists simply because of the people they knew.

And while not directly related to the KKK, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the FBI is continuing its old tricks.

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/fbi-had-informants-in-proud-boys-court-papers-suggest/

The FBI had as many as eight informants inside the far-right Proud Boys in the months surrounding the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, recent court papers indicate, raising questions about how much federal investigators were able to learn from them about the violent mob attack both before and after it took place.

The existence of the informants came to light over the past few days in a flurry of veiled court filings by defense lawyers for five members of the Proud Boys who are set to go on trial next month on seditious conspiracy charges connected to the Capitol attack.

In the papers, some of which were heavily redacted, the lawyers claimed that some of the information the confidential sources had provided to the government was favorable to their efforts to defend their clients against sedition charges and was improperly withheld by prosecutors until several days ago.

In a sealed filing quoted by the defense, prosecutors argued that hundreds of pages of documents related to the FBI informants were neither “suppressed” by the government nor directly relevant to the case of the Proud Boys facing sedition charges: Enrique Tarrio, the group’s former leader; Joseph Biggs; Ethan Nordean; Zachary Rehl; and Dominic Pezzola.

Sorry I don't have anything more recent on the topic of the FBI/KKK relationship, but I find it hard to believe that after inundating such a useful organization that the FBI would just let it off the hook. I firmly believe that one way or another, Langley is the headquarters of the KKK to this very day.

[infinitemonkeytheory]

The words nationalism and patriotism are sometimes used as synonyms, such as when Trump and his supporters describe his America First agenda. But many political scientists, including me, don’t typically see those two terms as equivalent – or even compatible.

There is a difference, and it’s important, not just to scholars but to regular citizens as well.

[…]

Nationalism is, per one dictionary definition, “loyalty and devotion to a nation.” It is a person’s strong affinity for those who share the same history, culture, language or religion. Scholars understand nationalism as exclusive, boosting one identity group over – and at times in direct opposition to – others.

The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys – 10 of whom were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol – are both examples of white nationalist groups, which believe that immigrants and people of color are a threat to their ideals of civilization.

[…]

There are many other nationalisms beyond white nationalism.

[…]

In contrast to nationalism’s loyalty for or devotion to one’s nation, patriotism is, per the same dictionary, “love for or devotion to one’s country.”

[…]

Patriotism encompasses devotion to the country as a whole – including all the people who live within it. Nationalism refers to devotion to only one group of people over all others.

[…]

George Orwell, the author of “Animal Farm” and “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” describes patriotism as “devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life.”

He contrasted that with nationalism, which he describes as “the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.”

[…]

Adolf Hitler’s rise in Germany was accomplished by perverting patriotism and embracing nationalism. According to Charles de Gaulle, who led Free France against Nazi Germany during World War II and later became president of France, “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.”

[originalleftist]

Yeah, that is really fucking clear cut- they support Hamas and its atrocities, and their stated goal is to bring that same violence to America, for the purpose of destroying America.

What is also striking is that they never mention Israel here at all, except indirectly/by implication. I don't doubt that they're full of anti-Semites who believe Israel should be "eradicated" just like America. But their focus here is clearly on the destruction of the United States. They are using Palestinian lives as a tool to pursue the stated goal of destroying the United States via violent revolution.

I support, in general, the right to protest and freedom of expression. And while being disgusted by the actions and rhetoric of many of them, and by the many others who quietly tolerated, associated with, and, excused it, I have tried to avoid painting all "pro-Palestine" protesters with the worst of them.

But freedom of speech and assembly should not-must not-extend to a right to incite, threaten, or perpetrate violence. And going off the above, SJP should be labeled a terrorist organization.

I also honestly don't think that a charge of Seditious Conspiracy would be out of line (probably not Treason, because the bar for that is really high in US law, though the statement quoted is certainly treasonous in spirit).

FYI, here is the definition of Seditious Conspiracy under US law (its a charge used against some of the Jan. 6th conspirators as well):

"If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both."

Sure would seem to fit.

Columbia Encampment: “We support Hamas and the destruction of Israel!”

Jews and multiple faculty at Columbia: “This… seems dangerous & violent?”

everybody else for months: “Psshhh no the Columbia encampment it’s just a peaceful anti-war protest! They just want Columbia to divest from the Israeli government!”

Columbia encampment: “In no uncertain terms, we are trying to extend the success of October 7th to America in the form of unrest and violence to bring about the total collapse of our University & eradicate America.”

[truthbombmemes]

The Proud Boys heard Donald Trump loudly and clearly when he ordered them to STANDBACK AND STANDBY and await his orders to overthrow the government of the United States. HE KNEW ALREADY that he had lost the election despite his FALSE claims of massive voter fraud. THERE WAS NO VOTER FRAUD and Mr. Trump knew it all along. TRUMP LIED because he LOST. Then, on January 6th, the PROUD BOYS willingly attacked the US capitol in the hopes of stopping the peaceful transfer of power to the LEGALLY Y ELECTED PRESIDENT. This is by definition SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY. #seditiousconspiracy #Trump #electionfraud #trumpismypresident #trump2024 #trumprally #truthsocial #fraud #donaldtrump #proudboys https://www.instagram.com/p/CjN43apLhII/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[memesnotwelcome]

Definitions Matter; specifically when people are throwing around the word “sedition”

18 U.S.C. § 2384 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure § 2384. Seditious conspiracy

If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

From FindLaw:

In order to get a conviction for seditious conspiracy, the government must prove that the defendant in fact conspired ---to use force---. Simply advocating for the use of force is not the same thing and in most cases is protected as free speech under the First Amendment. For example, two or more people who give public speeches suggesting the need for a total revolution "by any means necessary" have not necessarily conspired to overthrow the government. Rather, they're just sharing their opinions, however unsavory. But actively planning such an action (distributing guns, working out the logistics of an attack, actively opposing lawful authority, etc.) could be considered a seditious conspiracy.

Ultimately, the goal is to prevent threats against the United States while protecting individuals' First Amendment rights, which isn't always such a clear distinction.

Using the federal legal system, in however wasteful and stupid way they deem fit, is inherently not seditious.  Please stop parroting journalists that jump at the opportunity to use legal experts’ hyperbolic hot takes.

Instead, use your social media outlets to ask public figures why judges aren’t assigning penalties for frivolous lawsuits. 

[seekeroftheobjectivetruth2]

Donald Trump was charged with incitement of an insurrection in the the Articles of his 2nd impeachment. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/24/text

He was acquitted by the senate. No other person has been charged with sedition, insurrection, seditious conspiracy, treason or any other charges related to the insurrection and sedition act.

The idea of an "insurrection" on January 6, 2020 is a fallacy. A simple review of any reasonable dictionary definition of the word proves that.

Add to that, by definition, an elected office holder is not an "officer" of the United States, and the decision further disintegrates.

The Colorado Supreme Court justices are clearly legislating from bench and turning the constitution over to fit their political ideology. When the decision is overturned by the US Supreme Court, the Colorado Justices should all be recalled or resign.

The Colorado Supreme Court decision is based on fictional evidence and is laughable, at best.

[azuremallone]

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow pressed Newsom for details, though he would only say he had decided to utilize “the purchasing power” of California “as a nation-state"

Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-gov-newsom-wont-share-details-on-1b-mask-deal-with-china)

California Governor Gavin Screwsome, by saying that, is in direct conflict with the United States by declaring California independent “as a nation-state” (which it is not) of the United States and has committed an overt act of Sedition.

US Constitution

Article IV; Section 1:

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Seditious Conspiracy and Federal Law: The Basics

The federal law against seditious conspiracy can be found in Title 18 of the U.S. Code (which includes treason, rebellion, and similar offenses), specifically 18 U.S.C. § 2384. According to the statutory definition of sedition, it is a crime for two or more people within the jurisdiction of the United States:

To conspire to overthrow or destroy by force the government of the United States or to level war against them;

To oppose by force the authority of the United States government; to prevent, hinder, or delay by force the execution of any law of the United States; or

To take, seize, or possess by force any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof.

I’m pretty sure that this is why the entrenched Democrats in the California State Legislature are losing their shit over what Screwsome said on national public television. They don’t want to get dragged into this and fulfil the requirement necessary to be arrested by Federal Marshals.

[somethingjustsouthofbrilliance]

I Got You (chapter 5)

I am honestly beyond grateful for everyone’s encouragement on the last chapter.  I’ve been struggling to keep this story going, but your response definitely helped, and I am so thankful to you all 💕💕💕 I best express my gratitude with writing, so here’s another chapter for you, guys. Thank you!

Tagging:  @jamesrhodey @supernaturalyloki @chanderefk @aimeeroot21 @markedplaces @mostly-marvel-stuffs @matre-dee @le-ephemere @lo-anlurui @savedbyholmes @kimmycup @typicalcampbell @natty-ts70 @damnhiatus @pubzie @giulisetta

Links to chapter 1, chapter 4

Chapter 5

 “You know, this is a pretty decent family restaurant,” James points out, watching with a mildly disapproving frown as Stark tears into a plain-looking cheeseburger, all but moaning with pleasure as though he were savoring a most exquisite gourmet meal.  “You could have ordered some real food.”

 “What’s wrong with cheeseburgers?” Starks looks almost offended.

 “Nothing,” James shrugs, shifting his attention back to his own plate with its piece of herb-roasted chicken seasoned to mouth-watering perfection. “I just figured that after getting our breakfast and lunch orders at drive-through windows you’d want something a bit more sophisticated than a meal that usually comes in a greasy paper bag with an optional toy for customers 12 and under.”

 “I like cheeseburgers.” It’s Stark’s turn to shrug as he takes another hungry bite that drips grease and ketchup onto his chin. He reaches for a napkin, dabs it at his chin.  “S’comfort food,” he manages around a mouthful, winking at James over the remainder of his sandwich.

 James shakes his head, goes back to cutting up his food.  “Wouldn’t have pegged you for a junk food kind of guy.  Given where you come from, I figured you’d have a more… sophisticated palate,” he says, snagging a piece of chicken with asparagus onto his fork and sending the combination into his mouth.

It’s good.  It’s so fucking good and so welcome after the questionable-quality fast food Stark had forced on him earlier that he simply closes his eyes for a moment and lets himself enjoy the flavor, the texture and the aroma of actual, human food.  

 It’s why he doesn’t notice right away that something’s amiss.  Not until he opens his eyes again and finds Stark looking back at him, his expression guarded, tense.

 “Where I come from?” There’s an unpleasantly cold challenge in Stark’s tone, and James wonders what particular can of worms he inadvertently opened with this conversation, but the words are out now and it’s too late to take them back.  

 “You’re Howard Stark’s son, aren’t you?” he asks, trying for nonchalant as he goes to cut himself another piece of the chicken.  “Millionaire inventor?  One of the biggest names in weapon manufacturing? I didn’t make the connection right away, but I just haven’t seen any Stark tech around in years.  Our military contract had been picked up by Senator Hammer’s company after your father–”

 “Passed out drunk while working on an arc reactor prototype and blew up the entire mansion?”

 He frowns at the glacial callousness of Stark’s interruption, blinks uncertainly at the man.  “I’m sorry,” he tries.  

 “Don’t be,” Stark waves him off with an ugly grimace of a smile.  “Blowing himself up was the best thing he could have done with his life.  Although,” he drops his unfinished cheeseburger onto the plate, leans back in the chair, dabbing the napkin at his lips, “I heard rumors that he may have had some help leaving this world.”

 It’s so casual the way he says it, so matter-of-fact.   It makes James’ skin crawl.

 “You’re saying someone had him murdered?”

 Stark crumples up the napkin, tosses it onto the plate.  “Don’t know that for a fact,” he admits with a dispassionate shrug.

 “But?” James prompts, intrigued despite himself.

 Stark hums.  “Howard was many things – stupid wasn’t one of them. Being drunk wasn’t new for him, but he knew his limits.  He wouldn’t have gone down to his workshop if he was that hammered.” He chuckles unkindly.  “Hammered.  Now that’s a thought.”

 James feels a cold unpleasant shiver trickle down his spine.  “You’re not suggesting…”

 “The good senator?” Stark’s smile is positively predatory now, and he seems pleased somehow by James’ deduction even if he shakes his head in the negative.  “I’ve had the displeasure of observing Senator Hammer quite closely for ten very long and sadly irretrievable months of my life.  He’s a vulgar little shit with no sense of morals or civility.  But he doesn’t have enough brains or balls to pull off something like this.”  He cocks his head, winks conspiratorially at James. “Now if we assume that he was not acting alone, and we combine his financial means and his unbridled enthusiasm for fattening up his own pockets with, say, Vice President Stane’s formidable ruthlessness and an unhealthy craving for power–”

 “Stop!” James hisses, putting up his hand to shut the man up even as he glances furtively to the sides to make sure their conversation has not attracted any unwarranted attention. “Do you even realize what you’re saying? Accusing a high-ranking senator and the goddamn VP of conspiracy to murder?”

 Stark watches him calmly, seemingly unperturbed by his agitation.  “I’m not accusing them of anything, Sugar Plums,” he deflects easily, the sharp piercing gaze of his amber-brown eyes pinning James in place. “Don’t have enough facts for that. I’m merely pointing out that together those two individuals have both the appetite and the means for any sort of hostile takeover.” Stark’s eyes narrow ever so slightly.  “Such as, for instance, the removal of an undesirable president.”

 For a brief moment James forgets how to breathe.  Just sits there, blinking owlishly at Stark, his heart stuttering like a scared animal inside his chest.  “You...,” he chokes out, fingers tightening convulsively around the handle of his knife. “You’re insane.  Do you even hear yourself?”    

 Stark snorts quietly, picks up his glass of water, leaving a ring of condensation on the wooden surface. “Relax, Platypus,” he responds easily and takes a long drawn out sip before setting the glass back down onto the table. “This is all purely hypothetical at this point.”  The mask of feigned impassivity slips for a moment, his eyes flashing steel like the metal of a drawn sword.  “Believe me,” he says, leaning forward into James’ space, and his voice, though quiet, has that same unmistakable edge of steel as well, “if I had any concrete proof that they had anything to do with that bomb that landed Happy in the hospital, they both would have been dead by now.”  He waits a beat, lets the words sink in.  Then pulls away, settling back in his chair, the already familiar plastic smile firmly in place.  “Now, what was it you were saying about my… palate?”

 James blinks rapidly, thrown completely off balance first by the wild accusations bordering on seditious and now by the dizzying change of topics.  He needs time to think, to process everything that Stark just said. Because it can’t be right what he’s implying.  It’s crazy. It’s the words of a madman.  And yet… and yet…

 “Um…,” he begins inarticulately, looking down at his poor unfinished chicken as though somehow hoping to find inspiration there for something meaningful to say when his mind is drawing a complete stunned blank.

 “Hold that thought, Buttercup,” Stark interrupts him unexpectedly, and the subtle change in his tone, a slight but unmistakable strain of warning, draws James’ attention back to the man.

 Stark’s whole demeanor has changed.  He still sits sprawled against the back of his chair, looking for all the world like he’s relaxing over a meal and a friendly chat, but James can see a kind of battle-ready tension in him now, a cold wariness of a professional on the job.

 “What’s wrong?” he asks, knowing instinctively that he needs to whisper this part.

 Stark flicks a lightning quick glance somewhere past James’ shoulder, reaches once again for his water glass.  “Seems like your secret admirer wasn’t quite happy with you leaving Washington so abruptly,” he murmurs into the glass.  

 “He’s here?” James straightens out in his seat, fighting the urge to look around.  “Who is he?”

 “It’s not the puppet master himself,” Stark shakes his head, setting the glass back down.  “But I will bet good money that the merry little group that just sat down at the table behind us is not overly interested in today’s specials.”  

 James swallows tightly, rubs his suddenly sweaty palms.  “How many?”

 “Five that I can see. Probably more waiting outside.” Stark shifts forward a bit, casually leaning his elbows on the table, bringing him that much closer to where James is sitting.   Smiles a wide artificial smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.  “Listen to me very carefully,” he says, his voice so low that James has to strain to hear him even at this short a distance. “You’re gonna excuse yourself now and get up to go to the restroom – it’s in the back of that hallway behind me.  The moment you step inside that hallway, you take the first door to your left – that’s the kitchen.  You’re gonna go in and you’re gonna keep walking until you reach the back door. Don’t open it, just stay there and wait for me.  Understood?”

 Stark’s gaze bores into his, intense, burning, demanding, and James wants to object, wants to know what exactly is it that Stark plans to do while he makes his escape to the kitchen, wants to insist that he stay and help, but there’s a grim urgency in Stark’s expression that makes him hold his tongue.  He nods once, mutely, and finds himself oddly comforted upon seeing something in Stark’s posture relax slightly at his assent.  Decided now, he puts both hands on the table, takes a deep, steadying breath and pushes up, plastering on a painfully artificial smile of his own.

 “I’ll be right back,” he hears himself say, holding Stark’s gaze for a brief moment before gesturing widely in the direction Stark had indicated to him earlier.  “Just gotta use the little boys’ room.”  

 And he walks off, silently repeating to himself that Stark is a professional, that he can handle himself, that it’s his job…. And tries very hard to stop himself from turning back around when he hears the first telltale crash of splintering wood behind him.

[hereistheend]

Tweet from Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman)

Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) Tweeted:

So today Americans definitely found out that the guy on trial for seditious conspiracy was texting with a member of the secret service who was communicating with the former president of the United States while said president was waiting to see if Mike Pence was hanged. https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1578247818938298369?s=20&t=KrdC_R_Lht0jAJNKZKX3Aw

[theyoungturks]

As leaders of the Oath Keepers, a far-right Trump-loyalist militia, await trial on federal sedition charges for their role in the January 6th coup attempt, their legal team has crafted a defense that will definitely anger Donald Trump: the Oath Keepers seriously believed Trump was going to invoke the Insurrection Act, thus giving them legal protections as Trump’s personal federal militia. Cenk Uygur, Francesca Fiorentini, and Jordan Uhl discuss on The Young Turks. Watch LIVE weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live Read more HERE: https://www.businessinsider.com/oath-keepers-to-tell-jury-they-believed-trump-would-federalize-them-2022-6 "When nine accused leaders of the Oath Keepers go on trial this fall to face seditious conspiracy charges for their role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, jurors in the government's first big, showcase trial will hear a defense argument that will sound outlandish to many. Jurors will be told that the far-right extremists believed President Donald Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act as they gathered at the Capitol — 100 strong in their camo-colored tactical gear — and turn them into his own, ultra-loyal federal militia. Their fantasy mission? To "Stop the Steal," "Defend the President," and "Defeat the Deep State," according to since-deleted rhetoric from their website. A defiant Trump would officially be their commander in chief. "Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021," Inauguration Day. "Strike now," the Oath Keepers leader and founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, urged in an open letter to Trump on December 14, 2020." *** The largest online progressive news show in the world. Hosted by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian. LIVE weekdays 6-8 pm ET. Help support our mission and get perks. Membership protects TYT's independence from corporate ownership and allows us to provide free live shows that speak truth to power for people around the world. See Perks: ▶ https://www.youtube.com/TheYoungTurks/join SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE: ☞ http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=theyoungturks FACEBOOK: ☞ http://www.facebook.com/TheYoungTurks TWITTER: ☞ http://www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks INSTAGRAM: ☞ http://www.instagram.com/TheYoungTurks TWITCH: ☞ http://www.twitch.com/tyt 👕 Merch: http://shoptyt.com ❤ Donate: http://www.tyt.com/go 🔗 Website: https://www.tyt.com 📱App: http://www.tyt.com/app 📬 Newsletters: https://www.tyt.com/newsletters/ If you want to watch more videos from TYT, consider subscribing to other channels in our network: The Damage Report ▶ https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport TYT Sports ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytsports The Conversation ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytconversation Rebel HQ ▶ https://www.youtube.com/rebelhq TYT Investigates ▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNJt9PYyN1uyw2XhNIQMMA #TYT #TheYoungTurks #BreakingNews 220701__TA01Oathkeepers by The Young Turks

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The completely unnecessary news analysis

by Christopher Smart

July 20, 2021

IN UTAH, YOU COMMIT A HATE CRIME WHEN...

1 – In Utah, you commit a hate crime when you smirk at a cop.

2 – It could be a hate crime, in Utah, if you eat fries without fry sauce.

3 – It's a hate crime to teach white kids that discrimination still exists.

4 – In Utah it's a hate crime to say everyone should get vaccinated.

5 – You commit a hate crime if you say flag wavers are dangerous.

6 – In Utah it's a hate crime to put Jack Daniels in your Diet Coke.

7 – It could be a hate crime if you tell Mike Lee to shut the F--- up.

8 – You've committed a hate crime if you turn off your neighbors sprinklers.

9 – It's a hate crime in Utah if you throw red paint on the D.A.'s office.

10 – And it's a hate crime to dress as Capt. Moroni and attack the Capital.

JAN. 6 WAS NOT TREASON THEY SAY BECAUSE...

Just because former President Donald Trump for weeks urged supporters to come to Washington D.C. because the election was stolen, doesn't make it treason. Just because Trump told a crowd of up to 40,000 people to march to the Capitol to stop the election of Joe Biden from being certified, doesn't mean he was attempting a coup. Just because he said, “If you don't fight like hell you won't have a country anymore,” doesn't mean he was pushing the mob to insurrection. Of course not. The Constitution defines treason as one of two distinct, specific acts: “levying war” against the United States or “adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” But Carlton F. W. Larson, a treason scholar at U.C. Davis, told New Yorker writer Jeannie Suk Gerson that the attempt to stop certification of the election met the definition. “It’s very clear that would have been seen as ‘levying war'.” But he does not expect the feds to file treason charges against Trump or the mob because there are too many legal complications. However, seditious conspiracy, where two or more people conspire to overthrow, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against it is a much easier prosecution. Don't hold your breath.

GOV. COX: WE MOSTLY HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE

Our squeaky-clean governor, Spencer Cox, wants to assuage fears that any skullduggery is afoot and there really is nothing to see here. Sure, there are a whole bunch of documents that news reporters want to see about how no-bid inside deals with friends for the Covid response cost Utah taxpayers truckloads of dough. None other than Tribune hefe Paul Huntsman has filed suit against the state, contending Gov. Clean is delaying access to public documents because... well, just because. We already know about one boondoggle when Meds in Motion of Draper got an $800,000 no-bid contract to buy hydroxychloroquine touted by Trump that, of course, is not a treatment for Covid. Other records reveal that personal connections led state officials to let contracts to friends. As Midvale Democrat Andrew Stoddard told The Tribune: “[W]e’re spending taxpayer dollars without any accountability.” Like $18 million worth of gloves, gowns, masks from the vendor Future Stitch. Other no-bid contracts include a $2.75 million deal with mobile developer Twenty to create an app to track people potentially exposed to Covid. Of course, it didn't work. But don't worry because there really isn't anything to see here. And our nice governor isn't hiding a darn thing.

Post script — Well, that was the week that was here at Smart Bomb where we keep of the Apocalypse so you don't have to. It is conflagration season and it's so bad that 30,000 square miles of forest in Siberia has gone up in flames as temperatures in the Arctic have soared to100 degrees. Meanwhile, the Covid Delta variant is raging across the globe, including the U.S. where we are again up to 30,000 infections a day. But a lot of Republicans don't want to get vaccinated because QAnon says it's a plot. Well, let's just forget all about that stuff and have a good time. Nero fiddled while Rome burned and that seemed to have worked out all right. It's been a big week for Utah in the national news. Salt Lake City-based Black Rifle Coffee made The New York Times for it's great success with right-wingers. The Times also focused on the Utah Department of Natural Resources for stocking lakes with an airplane that drops fish by the hundreds from it's underbelly. And last but not least was Nathan Wayne Entrekin who dressed as Capt. Moroni for the Jan. 6 insurrection. OK, Entrekin is actually from Arizona but we can claim him on account Salt Lake City is the Rome of The Church with a really long name. And if that doesn't make you feel religious, what would?

Well Wilson, we're living in some pretty weird times. Maybe you and the guys in the band have a little something to capture its essence and help us through this, whatever it is:

Twas in another lifetime one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue, the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness a creature void of form "Come in," she said "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

In a little hilltop village they gambled for my clothes I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose I offered up my innocence, I got repaid with scorn "Come in," she said "I'll give you shelter from the storm" Well I'm living in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line Beauty walks a razor's edge someday I'll make it mine If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born "Come in," she said "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

(Shelter From They Storm — Bob Dylan)

[aion-rsa]

Fall River Review: The Satanic Panic Scares Up Another Bad Conviction

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Fall River, a four-part docuseries running on Epix, is structured like a rollercoaster. Every episode cranks up the suspense, building to a conclusion, and then drops the viewer into an emotional freefall. Almost 90 years after Lizzie Borden was acquitted of murder, Fall River, Massachusetts, hosted a second trial of the century. But this one was more like the witch hunts held in Salem, just over an hour’s drive away. Three women were killed in 1979, and the police and media blamed a devilish sect. The cult leader, a pimp named Carl Drew, declared himself Satan, and held his flock in scared awe by exacting human sacrifice at demonic rituals in the woods.

Fall River is one of the most graphic documentaries to come out of the recent glut of the televised true crime genre. Most of this comes from the archival footage the series uses to capture the atmosphere of the time and neighborhood. We see junkies fixing, prostitutes hooking, beat cops beating, and other sensational street scenes luridly captured in the gritty frames of low-grade celluloid. They are all bathed in red or orange glows, which give a red-light-district ambiance to the past.

The footage of Satanic rituals, from promotional films Anton LaVey made for the Church of Satan, to home movies from smaller sects, are obscenely seditious, and macabrely revealing. The full-frontal male and female nudity doesn’t come across in any way gratuitous, but it is completely exploitative. This proves to be subversive, because the tale intentionally undermines all the expectations laid out in the opening arguments. It is a consistent rhythm throughout each installment.

Director James Buddy Day (The Shocking Truth, Sex, Lies & Murder, Slender Man Stabbing: The Untold Story, The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell) conducted the last interview Charles Manson would ever give in his film Charles Manson: The Final Words. He is no stranger to the cinematic possibilities of charismatic manipulators, and he’s learned valuable storytelling lessons from his sinister subjects.

On October 13, 1979, the body of 17-year-old Doreen Levesque was discovered behind the Diman Vocational High School. Her wrists were bound with fishing line. She had also been stabbed in the head and sustained multiple skull fractures. Forensic evidence suggested a possible death by stoning. There were signs of sexual torture. Investigators found she had been working as a prostitute. A month later, a 22-year-old prostitute named Barbara Raposa is reported missing. Police only found skull fragments and clumps of hair from a third victim, Karen Marsden. All the women could be traced to the sex trade being plied in the Bedford Street area. The report noted concerns about a Satanic cult.

Carl Drew called himself the “son of Satan” and is immediately tagged as the head of the “Fall River Cult Murders.” He ran his Bedford Street district prostitution ring as a Satanic coven and kept everyone around him in line through fear. “Satan will take his toll,” he warned. The first episode lays out how Drew orchestrated the nighttime rituals, ordering Marsden’s throat slashed after her skull was crushed. Witnesses recount how Drew chanted and prayed in inhuman languages. One follower, Robin Murphy, says he painted a cross from the dead body on her forehead. The audience is pummeled with descriptions of how Drew beheaded the woman with his bare hands and told his followers he had offered the girls’ souls up to Satan.

But the episode closes with the revelation that Drew could not possibly have committed the crime.

The next episode does the same with another suspect. Tightening the noose around the neck until the eyes begin to bulge, only to give a last-minute reprieve because another detail has distracted the hangman. The documentary adds layers of duplicitous evidence over sheets of maniacal theoretics to present an investigation so twisted it’s a wonder anyone was arrested, if not everyone.

After he retired, the lead investigator on the original case, Sgt. Paul Carey, reinvestigated it because he was never convinced of the official conclusion. He didn’t reopen the files to sell a book, he says in a taped interview, but he pulls in new evidence which proves the first convictions were hastily concluded and presented a false narrative.

The mythology had been set in place since the anti-counterculture paranoia of Christian fundamentalists turned into the counter-cult movement. The Satanic Panic was sparked by religious fanatics, fanned by psychiatrists, and weaponized by the tabloids. To this day, an ear-shattering minority is screaming about how some Democrat-led Satanic criminal cabal is delivering dead baby spinal fluids in under a half hour, or your money back. The documentary expansively indulges former detective sergeant Alan Alves, who was one of the occult criminal experts on the original case. He spent his career in the satanic crimes unit of the Freetown Police Department, and testifies to the darkest of doings.

While there are a few self-styled Satanic criminal conspiracies doing dastardly deeds in the country, they are isolated from each other, as well as being few and far between. The Fall River Cult practiced crude theistic satanism. They worship the Devil like Christians worship God, only backwards. Not like the more populist LaVeyan Satanists who use it as a Darwinian metaphor. Carl Drew’s alleged cult resembles a Charismatic Christian sect. This might be because it is colored by the attitude of who is determining the definitions.

What Alves comes up with sounds more like a Hammer Horror movie than any real dark rite. He believes the cult exacts blood sacrifices every 30 days on the full moon in rituals where victims are offered up as a sacrifice to Satan, who rises from the center of a pentagram. Apparently, he does this personally. Alves describes orgies and rituals he’d never partake in because they’ve replaced the wine and the host of Catholic ceremonies with bodily fluids. Alan Silvia, a former detective at the Fall River Police department, says the details of the case caused him to put more faith in his faith.

Fall River gives extensive backgrounds on all the players. Carl Drew was raised on a small farm in New Hampshire. His father was an alcoholic who abused him, and traumatized him, with Silvia recounting one particularly damaging incident where the father lowered Carl down a well by his feet to get rid of a nest of rats. Fall River also gives a face and voice to the victims, who were marginalized because they were sex workers.

Karen Marsden was a 20-year-old single mother. She wound up working in the red-light area because she was a runaway and drug addict. She and Carol Fletcher took police to the Freetown State Forest, where the cult allegedly congregated. Weeks later, the top half of a human skull was found in Westport, a beach town not too far from Fall River. Authorities identified the remains as Marsden’s by comparing bone fragments with skull X-rays taken in 1978.

Maureen “Sonny” Sparda, a former prostitute who hosted Satanic gatherings, fingers Robin Murphy as Karen’s killer. Murphy was 17 at the time, although has a problematic childhood and relatively little schooling, we learn she has an I.Q. of over 137. Later we hear she had practiced Paganism before she was ten years old. The details of her eventual story are all so graphically convincing it makes the blood boil. But Murphy’s testimony doesn’t match the forensic evidence.

The first person interviewed for the Raposa murder was Andy Maltias, who denied any personal knowledge of the crime, but could clue police in on what he saw in a psychic dream. This included the exact location the dead woman’s body was found. Maltias was a pedophile who had been preying on Murphy since she was 11.

Maltias was convicted in the first-degree murder of Barbara Raposa and given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Carl Drew was convicted in the first-degree murder of Marsden. He is serving a life sentence, with no possibility of parole, at the MCI in Shirley, Massachusetts. The public believed this was the tip of the iceberg and a dangerous cult was active in the area.

But then everyone says they made the story up. Witnesses recant statements, saying the police pressured them into it. The District Attorney’s office worked with Murphy, used Carl Davis to threaten witnesses. Sunny Sparda was threatened by the D.A. and assistant D.A. We learn Drew’s public defender John Birkness not only had never worked a murder trial, but never defended anyone before. The court claims one witness, Carol Fletcher, was incompetent because she was on diabetes medication. Murphy confessed at her parole hearing that she had been lying all along.

Inasmuch as any true crime documentary about multiple murders can be, Fall River is a fun watch. Day seems to revel in the twists and turns of the case, turning contradictions into assaults and facts on their heads. We know along who did it because he says it up front, everyone who was put away, or anyone who got away with it. Maybe Drew took the fall for Maltias, possibly the 17-year-old true witch Robin Murphy manipulated the entire scenario by sheer force of her intelligence. Fall River lays out every fact, but also pulls the rug out from under every conclusion.

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Fall River premieres May 16 At 10pm on Epix.

The post Fall River Review: The Satanic Panic Scares Up Another Bad Conviction appeared first on Den of Geek.

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