#Minnesota unrest
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Minnesota State Patrol guards the State Capitol on reports of possible protests following a January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol. 3 Trump supporters at a rally.
#MinneapolisUprising#Minnesota#Minnesota State Capitol#Police#St. Paul#State Capitol#Storm The Capitol#Unrest#insurrection
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"It was the IWW [Industrial Workers of the World or Wobblies] and the Finns that initially took the lead in supporting the Russian Revolution, which had profoundly influenced political developments in Finland.
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According to A.T. Hill, local Wobblies “hailed the Russian Bolshevic [sic] revolution as something that had followed the IWW economic blueprint.” Mass meetings to protest the continued involvement of Canadian armed forces in Russia were organized. A “Friends of Russia” committee, composed of workers representing a number of organizations and trade unions in Port Arthur and Fort William, was also established. And, as Hill remembered, within the columns of the newly created Vapaus newspaper, members of the Finnish community could engage with recent events in Russia and forge closer bonds with fellow Finns working in other lumber camps. Many Wobblies viewed the Russian Revolution in much the same way as other socialist organizations in North America. Its success was seen as an indication that the end of capitalism was at hand and that workers in North America should take heart from the events in Russia. Despite becoming largely inactive in the region during the second half of the First World War, the IWW remained vigorous across the border in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Most notably, the Superior District Lumber Workers Industrial Union No. 500 continued to agitate and to lead strikes. It was among the lumber workers in Wisconsin and Minnesota and in classes taken at the Work People’s College in Duluth, Minnesota, that Hill spent much of the war.
Drawn to the growing unrest at the Lakehead, Hill moved to Port Arthur in 1917 and dedicated himself to the activities of local Finnish socialists. On behalf of the IWW LWIU [Lumber Workers International Union], Hill and those he recruited toured much of Northwestern Ontario in an attempt to organize workers and drum up subscriptions for Vapaus. Much of the IWW’s attention was focused on the Russell and Newaygo Timber Company and its operations within the district of Thunder Bay. Despite high hopes, in the end Hill was fired (both for his agitation and for conflicts with Lutheran Finnish workers). There now existed within the camps [thanks to the Russian Revolution] a rift between non-socialists and socialists, and debates over the various interpretations of Marxism.
The IWW appealed greatly to immigrant workers in Northwestern Ontario. As Holmer Borg, a Swedish lumber worker and IWW organizer, recalled in 1972:
The IWW organized through its members. Every member was expected to organize, not necessarily by having well organized meetings, [but] simply by talking among workers.
The IWW also tended to focus on the immediate issues that faced workers where they organized. In addition, many recent immigrants were drawn to unions whose organizers actually spoke their language. Most of the other established trade unions tended to send English-speaking organizers who had little or no actual experience in the regions they were visiting or with the workers they were trying to organize.
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One report by the Dominion Police referred to the Finns in Port Arthur as “anarchists pure and simple.”"
- Michel S. Beaulieu, Labour at the Lakehead: Ethnicity, Socialism, and Politics, 1900-35. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2011. p. 53-55.
#thunder bay#fort william#port arthur#finnish immigration to canada#industrial workers of the world#canadian socialism#northwestern ontario#russian revolution#world war 1#world war 1 canada#working class struggle#union organizing#lumber workers#pulp and paper workers#academic quote#reading 2024#labour at the lakehead
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Christian Paz at Vox:
Tim Walz was just over a year into his first term as Minnesota governor when a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in May 2020, touching off a generation-defining summer of global protests against police brutality and racial inequality. Four years later, Walz’s handling of the demonstrations — which included mass unrest in Minnesota’s largest cities — is under new scrutiny after Vice President Kamala Harris tapped the governor to be her running mate on Tuesday.
At least two people died during the violence in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, more than 600 arrests were made in the initial days of unrest, and the whole span of rioting and law enforcement response made it one of the most costly and destructive periods of civil unrest in US history. Minneapolis and Saint Paul sustained hundreds of millions of dollars in damage during those riots, and hundreds of buildings were heavily damaged. Conservatives have charged Walz with essentially allowing rioters to “burn Minneapolis to the ground” and waffling on the deployment of National Guard troops to quell the violence. Walz wasn’t the main authority in charge of responding to the unrest — that was the task of local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. But the task eventually passed to him once it was too much for local officials to handle. Both Walz and Frey’s governments have traded blame and presented their own versions of the events of those days of rage, but the full story of what happened is still not completely known.
What did Walz do during the unrest?
The main line of criticism of Walz’s response to the late-spring riots hinges on the time it took for him to deploy the Minnesota National Guard and coordinate with other state and local officials in restoring order.
Floyd was killed on May 25, and large protests, with some vandalism and police violence, began the next day. By the evening of May 27, largely peaceful protests grew more violent, with looting and arson around the city. Frey, the mayor, reportedly contacted Walz that evening and asked for help from the Minnesota National Guard. The city’s police chief then sent Walz’s office a written request for 600 troops, in addition to some other logistical notes. Walz and his office did not sign an executive order authorizing National Guard deployments until the following afternoon, May 28, at which point much of the city had shut down, businesses were closed and boarded up to prevent looting, and buildings were smoldering after overnight arsons. That night saw some of the worst rioting, violence, and arson, as well as one of the indelible scenes of the protests: the breach and burning of the Minneapolis police’s Third Precinct police station. A few hundred National Guard and Minnesota State Patrol officers had been deployed to Minneapolis by then, but were charged with protecting federal buildings and downtown areas of the city, as well as escorting first responders, instead of immediately going to hot spots.
Walz would later say that the city had not specified where the troops should go — and state and local officials later reflected that there was a breakdown in communication, coordination, and understanding of just how long it would take to get National Guard troops prepped. The next morning, once National Guard troops and the state patrol had taken control of the area around the station, another lasting moment occurred: the arrest of CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew while reporting live near the police station. At a press conference on May 29, Walz would take responsibility for the state patrol’s mishandling of the news crew, saying, “There is absolutely no reason something like this should happen. Calls were made immediately … I failed you last night in that.”
That press conference was also the first time Walz acknowledged that local officials’ response had been an “abject failure” and that he would now be leading the response. He said he had spoken with President Donald Trump and said that his tweets about “shooting” starting after looting were “unhelpful.” He deployed more National Guard troops and instituted a curfew. Still, more violence and vandalism occurred. The following day, Saturday, May 30, Walz would fully mobilize the National Guard, speak with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and acknowledge that the situation had gotten worse because “outside agitators” had entered the region. The protests and riots wouldn’t be fully tamped down in the Twin Cities until June 7.
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Republicans are attacking the governor’s response now that he’s on the VP ticket
Since the Walz announcement, Republicans have assailed him as “weak, failed, and dangerously liberal,” and zeroed in specifically on his response to the Floyd protests and their aftermath. Given that the racial reckoning that the Floyd murder kicked off included the rise to prominence of the “Defund the Police” slogan and movement, some conservatives have also claimed that Walz was being “soft on crime” for supporting police reforms in the state that banned chokeholds, created new mental health resources for police and first responders, and required excessive-force trainings. And others in right-wing media have conflated his response to the Floyd murder specifically, which he connected to “systemic issues” with policing and “institutional racism,” with Walz offering excuses for the violence.
During the immediate aftermath of the George Floyd protests that escalated into riots in 2020, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D)’s response to the protests has been facing scrutiny from Republicans who saw Walz as responding too slowly.
#Tim Walz#Criminal Justice Reform#Criminal Justice#George Floyd Protests#Black Lives Matter Protests#Black Lives Matter#Murder of George Floyd#Minnesota#Minneapolis#Jacob Frey#Defund The Police#Police Reform#National Guard
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Actively dying, and 2022 are the most recent articles I can find on her.
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i'm not american, but i am from an asian country, and my cousin is studying in Minnesota rn. I texted him today asking him how he was, if there was any unrest He said he was fine, but he was disappointed he was in a state that Kamala won. He wanted MN to turn red so that the economy would get better and that Kamala doesn't "look" like she knows how to be an actual economist My heart dropped to my chest I tell you. This is someone who I've grown up with. Someone who's aware of how fascist our home country's politicians have been all our lives. He is a poc immigrant, and to say he wants Trump, a felon, a rapist, a pedophile, because he (in very veiled terms) doesn't think a woman would be capable of running a country is so heartbreaking.
I told him that Trump will be merciless to immigrants, and I'm glad he's in a blue state so it'll be slightly harder for any trouble to come your way. And he says "I'm not an illegal immigrant. Why should I care?" I didn't even try to broach the topic of abortion. I didn't think he'd be on board with Harris, but I'll never look at him the same way again now that I know he's stupid enough to think Trump thinks about the welfare of people like him.
i’m so so sorry that this betrayal happened to you and i really hope, for everyone’s sake, that he learns how ignorant he is
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A UCLA professor was suspended for not providing special treatment to black students in the light of George Floyd's death. The professor is suing the University of California Los Angeles for more than $19 million over the well-publicized incident that garnered national notoriety.
Gordon Klein – a lecturer of accounting at the Anderson School of Management – made headlines in June 2020 when he refused to give preferential treatment to black students.
As Blaze News previously reported, Klein was asked by a student if black students would be given special accommodations because of George Floyd's death and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.
"The student requested a no-harm and shortened final exam, and extended deadlines for final assignments and projects in consideration of black students' well-being in light of nationwide protests against police brutality," the Daily Bruin reported.
Klein responded by writing:
Thanks for your suggestion in your email below that I give black students special treatment, given the tragedy in Minnesota. Do you know the names of the classmates that are black? How can I identify them since we've been having online classes only? Are there any students that may be of mixed parentage, such as half black-half Asian? What do you suggest I do with respect to them? A full concession or just half?
Klein asked the student if "a white student" from Minneapolis "might be possibly even more devastated" by the death of George Floyd.
Klein then quoted Martin Luther King Jr., and asked, "Remember that MLK famously said that people should not be evaluated based on the 'color of their skin.' Do you think that your request would run afoul of MLK's admonition?"
A student took a screenshot of the email conversation, and it quickly circulated online.
UCLA students claimed Klein's email was "backhandedly racist" and that it undermined the Black Lives Matter movement.
The same day as Klein wrote the email, a Change.org petition was launched, and it demanded Klein be "terminated for his extremely insensitive, dismissive, and woefully racist response to his students’ request for empathy and compassion during a time of civil unrest."
The petition — with more than 21,000 signatures — read, "His behavior is not reflective of the equity, respect, and justice that UCLA stands for as an institution."
Two days later, Anderson School Dean Antonio Bernardo announced that Klein was suspended and an investigation was initiated into the "troubling conduct."
"Providing a safe, respectful and equitable environment in which students can effectively learn is fundamental to UCLA’s mission," Bernardo declared. "We share common principles across the university of integrity, excellence, accountability, respect, and service. Conduct that demonstrates a disregard for our core principles, including an abuse of power, is not acceptable."
"I deeply regret the increased pain and anger that our community has experienced at this very difficult time," Bernardo added. "We must and will hold each other to higher standards."
Klein was reinstated less than a month after the incident.
However, Klein alleges that the public backlash had caused irreparable damage.
Klein derives significant income from his expert witness practice.
The College Fix reported, "He has testified, for example, in several high-profile court cases, including Michael Jackson’s wrongful death, Apple’s acquisition of Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones, and the valuation of General Motors’ assets in bankruptcy."
Klein’s attorney – Steve Goldberg – told the College Fix this week, "He was one of the top damages experts in the country who was historically bringing in well over $1 million dollars a year and trending upwards when it happened."
"That practice went to ashes right after he was suspended," said Goldberg, a member of the Markun, Zusman & Compton law firm.
Klein, who continues to teach as a full-time lecturer at UCLA, is suing the university for "well over $19 million in damages."
Klein's lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial on March 4 at the Santa Monica Courthouse.
Klein, who joined the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1981, first filed a lawsuit against the school in September 2021.
UCLA did not respond to repeated requests for comment by The College Fix.
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Globalists are cultivatating professional thugs of anarchists whose goal is to usher in their so called "new world order" through the destruction of the world's cities.
It pains me to see people who look like me rewarded for theft, vandalism and even murder. Once upon a time in black culture, lawlessness was discouraged. Now, mayors (like the one in Baltimore) tell the police to give rioters "space to destroy." Morally corrupt Maxine Watters threatened jurors in Minnesota that a "not guilty" verdict in the case against officer Derek Chauvin would cause violence & destruction.
Two (2) of these gangs have names: Antifa and BLM. Antifa recruits students or entry level young professionals who seek career advancement. This first rung up the anarchist's ladder of success serves as an initiation into more sophisticated anarchist circles. It can lead to lucrative job opportunities and political appointments.
Participants are often rewarded with tenured teaching posts in colleges and universities. They also move up the ladder in various corporate and legal firms and they are positioned for political appointments.
BLM and the lower level "gangs" are made up of the nameless, disposable radicals meant to be sacrificed for "the greater good." Organizations like the NAACP and so called "black leaders" like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Michelle & Barack Obama serve as plantation DRIVERS who are assigned to manipulate the minds of the "disposable" anarchists.
The collapse of American cities into lawless cities is strategic. It is no coincidence that over 400,000 Americans have fled "Gotham" NYC as it is destroyed from the inside out.
New York is redefining what constitutes an actual crime. The result is their statistics don't tell the full story of how failure to prosecute criminals has destroyed New York City and in turn, millions of lives. The dirty cop, DA Alvin Bragg only has dismal 49% success rate prosecuting crime.
A native New Yorker:
A silver lining to these fraudulent Trump indictment(s) is a bright spotlight on criminal INJUSTICE at the hands of dirty DAs, AGs, State's Attorneys, Judges and so-called special prosecutors.
Our American House of Representatives hosted a NYC field hearing for victims of violent crime.
Below please find heartbreaking testimonies of the victims. They are cautionary tales of how lawlessness has impacted everyday people around the United States of America. Sadly, the residents of these cities don't understand that they voted for their demise.
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America's Lawless Cities
Seattle
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Washington, DC
Portland
New Orleans
Chicago
New York City
San Francisco
Starbucks, Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Whole Foods fleeing due to "security concerns."
Portland, OR
"An open air insane asylum." Portland's Meltdown: "A Progressive Experiment That Has Gone Colossally Bad. Controlled Demolition."
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Chicago, IL
Walmart Closes 4 Chicago Stores Shoppers complain but they just voted for another mayor who is soft on crime.🤦♂��
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The company has pledged to offer more safety training for workers and clarify safety procedures, such as when to call 911, and making changes to store formats and layouts. The measures include “closing a restroom, or even closing a store permanently” where safety is no longer possible, according to a letter posted on the company website.
Social Disorder Insurance Claims $2 Billion during a Historic Summer of Anarchy
"The most expensive outbreak of civil unrest in U.S. history, costing insurance companies an estimated $2 billion to cover protestor wreckage in the days following George Floyd’s death.
The sky high price tag comes from an assessment by Property Claims Services (PCS) published in Axios which has tracked claims related to social disorder since 1950. The company classifies any violent outbreak sparking more than $25 million in claims a “catastrophe.”
The $2 billion figure covering claims made from rioting across 20 states between May 26 and June 8 dwarfs the dollar-amounts doled out by insurance companies in the aftermath of previous periods of unrest isolated to individual cities.
“It’s not just happening in one city or state – it’s all over the country,” Loretta L. Worters, a spokesperson for the group told Axios. “And this is still happening, so the losses could be significantly more.”
Indeed, the initial Floyd riots merely kicked off a historic summer of anarchy sweeping the nation’s cities where
in Portland, Oregon, militant social justice warriors surpassed 100 days of consecutive terrorism. Protestors launched repeated assaults on state and federal law enforcement featuring mortar-style fireworks and lasers that can cause permanent blindness.
Protestors launched repeated assaults on state and federal law enforcement featuring mortar-style fireworks and lasers that can cause permanent blindness.
The only prior outbreak to come close to producing the same level of carnage as the 14 days of rioting after Floyd’s death, measured by insurance claims, are the 1992 Los Angeles riots causing $775 million in insured losses, or more than $1.4 billion in today’s dollars, according to PCS.
Consequent research on the nation’s pandemic of domestic terrorism this summer has further highlighted the breadth of the destruction. The map below shows where the nation suffered nearly 570 violent riots between May 24, the day before Floyd’s death, and Aug. 22, the day before Jacob Blake was shot in Kenosha, Wisconsin triggering a second wave of chaotic demonstrations reaching smaller communities."
Cracker Barrel Manager Killed During Robbery
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An Inconvenient Truth: To neutralize the threat, you fire until the threat is neutralized.
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#anarchy#blm is a terrorist organization#blm#antifa#anarchists#nyc#jim jordan#alvin bragg#manhattan district attorney#gothem city#crime#field hearings
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Police arrest 150 as unrest spreads to multiple towns in France after 17-year-old killed by police
The killing of 17-year-old Nael during a traffic check Tuesday, captured on video, shocked the country and stirred up long-simmering tensions between young people and police.
NANTERRE: Protesters angry after police fatally shot a 17-year-old boy set cars and public buildings ablaze in Paris suburbs and unrest spread to some other French cities and towns, despite increased security efforts and the president’s calls for calm.
The killing of 17-year-old Nael during a traffic check Tuesday, captured on video, shocked the country and stirred up long-simmering tensions between young people and police in housing projects and other disadvantaged neighborhoods around France. Authorities have not released Nael’s surname or his family.
Clashes first erupted Tuesday night in and around the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where Nael was killed, and the government deployed 2,000 police to maintain order Wednesday. But violence resumed after dusk.
Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish many blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls, or other public buildings, according to a spokesperson for the national police. The national police on Thursday reported fires or skirmishes in multiple cities overnight, from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north, though the nexus of tensions was Nanterre and other Paris suburbs.
Police arrested 150 people around the country, more than half of them in the Paris region, the spokesperson said. She was not authorized to be publicly named according to police rules.
They did not immediately release the number of injured.
French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency security meeting Thursday about the violence.
Protesters set ablaze multiple vehicles in Nanterre and shot fireworks and threw stones at police, who fired repeated volleys of tear gas. Flames shot out of three stories of a building, and a blaze was reported at an electrical plant. Fire damaged the town hall of the Paris suburb of L’Ile-Saint-Denis, not far from France’s national stadium and the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The police officer accused of the killing is in custody on suspicion of manslaughter and could face preliminary charges as soon as Thursday, according to the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.
Nael’s mother called for a silent march Thursday in his honor on the square where he was killed.
French activists renewed calls to tackle what they see as systemic police abuse, particularly in neighborhoods like the one where Nael lived, where many residents struggle with poverty and racial or class discrimination. Government officials condemned the killing and sought to distance themselves from the police officer’s actions.
Macron called the killing “inexplicable and inexcusable” and called for calm. “Nothing justifies the death of a young person,” he told reporters in Marseille on Wednesday.
Videos of the shooting shared online show two police officers leaning into the driver-side window of a yellow car before the vehicle pulls away as one officer fires into the window. The videos show the car later crashed into a post nearby.
The driver died at the scene, the prosecutor’s office said.
Bouquets of orange and yellow roses now mark the site of the shooting on Nanterre’s Nelson Mandela Square.
Speaking to Parliament, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, “The shocking images broadcast yesterday show an intervention that appears clearly not to comply with the rules of engagement of our police forces.”
Deadly use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States, though several people have died or sustained injuries at the hands of French police in recent years, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests against racial profiling and other injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota.
Asked about police abuses, Macron said justice should be allowed to run its course.
A lawyer for Nael’s family, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press they want the police officer prosecuted for murder instead of manslaughter.
French soccer star Kylian Mbappe, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Bondy, was among many shocked by what happened.
“I hurt for my France,” he tweeted.
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A rightwing extremist boasted of driving from Texas to Minneapolis to help set fire to a police precinct during the George Floyd protests, federal prosecutors said.
US attorney Erica MacDonald said on Friday that she had charged Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old Texas resident, with traveling across state lines to participate in a riot. The charges are the latest example of far-right extremists attempting to use violence to escalate national protests against police brutality into an uprising against the government, and even full civil war.
The case also reveals the extent of the coordination between violent members of the nascent far-right “Boogaloo Bois” movement operating in different cities across the country.
According to the criminal complaint against Hunter, on 26 May, as intense protests broke out in Minneapolis over the killing of George Floyd by a city police officer, a “Boogaloo Boi” based in Minnesota posted a public Facebook message: “I need a headcount.”
Hunter, a resident of Boerne, Texas, which is roughly 1,200 miles away, responded: “72 hours out.”
Another “Boogaloo Boi”, based in North Carolina, posted a public message the same day: “Lock and load boys,” he wrote, adding, “the national network is going off.”
“Boogaloo” has long been used on online message boards as an ironic term for a second civil war, one that might be sparked by any government attempts to confiscate Americans’ guns. But in 2019 and early 2020, the memes about a coming “boogaloo” began to coalesce into an anti-government, pro-gun movement, with armed “Boog bois” showing up at protests, some wearing the “Boogaloo” uniform of a bright Hawaiian shirt paired with a military-style rifle.
In the late winter and early spring of 2020, researchers noted a growing number of “Boogaloo” groups on Facebook, many of them posting explicitly about military tactics and killing government officials, as well as the proliferation of “Boogaloo”-themed merchandise for sale, such as flags, patches, and Hawaiian-print gun accessories.
Prosecutors say that Hunter would later describe himself to Austin police officers as “the leader of the Boogaloo Bois in south Texas”.
By 28 May, during a night of the most intense unrest and destruction in the city, Hunter was in Minneapolis, just as the 3rd precinct police station, known locally as a “playground for renegade cops”, was being set on fire.
Video shot that night shows a person later identified as Hunter firing 13 rounds from a semiautomatic assault-style rifle on the 3rd precinct police station while people believed to be looters were inside. He then high-fived another person and shouted, “Justice for Floyd!” according to the complaint.
Later, he privately messaged Steven Carrillo, another alleged “Boogaloo Boi” in California, urging him to “go for police buildings”, according to the federal criminal complaint.
“I did better, lol,” Carrillo allegedly replied.
Hours before Carrillo sent that message, according to the complaint, federal prosecutors say Carrillo had driven to Oakland with an accomplice, and, as protesters were demonstrating blocks away, shot two officers guarding a federal courthouse in downtown Oakland, killing one, David Patrick Underwood.
Carrillo was later charged with killing another law enforcement officer, a Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputy, in an ambush attack in June.
According to the complaint, Hunter would later post multiple messages on Facebook bragging of his actions in Minneapolis on the night of 28 May and morning of 29 May, writing, “I set fire to that precinct with the Black community,” and, “My mom would call the FBI if she knew.”
“I’ve burned police stations with Black Panthers in Minneapolis,” he claimed in one message, and in another, “The BLM protesters in Minneapolis loved me.”
Police in Austin, Texas, stopped a pickup truck, in which Hunter was a passenger, on 3 June for multiple traffic violations. Hunter had six loaded magazines for a semiautomatic rifle in a tactical vest he was wearing. Officers also found multiple firearms in the truck.
Several days after the stop, federal agents learned of Hunter’s online affiliation with Carrillo. MacDonald said Hunter made his initial court appearance on Thursday in San Antonio, Texas. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Hunter is the third alleged “Boogaloo Boi” to be charged in connection with protests in Minneapolis. Across the country, the “Boogaloo” movement has been linked to more than two dozen arrests and at least five deaths this year, including the alleged plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer.
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The original post is a useful exercise in how a set of statements can convey an impression at odds with what a fuller, more nuanced description would provide. (Also, as one of the previous respondents notes, slipping in one or two falsehoods among the true statements to facilitate the direction of impression.) Now that I think about it some more, I think it might be a psyops post hung on the framework of left-leaning politics, designed to dampen support for him on the left, when actually he may be better for leftward positions that Harris. (remains to be seen)
The Washington Post just had an article today about his involvement in the George Floyd protests. If you run into a paywall, you can paste the link at archive.is and get a copy.
The article has embedded in it a clip of an appearance by Keith Ellison, Attorney General of the state of Minnesota (and former congressman), who prosecuted the George Floyd case. In it, Ellison says, "The governor sent the National Guard as soon as he was legally able to do so. And when he did, he helped calm down and quell civil disturbances. When he appointed me as lead prosecutor in the case of George Floyd—the Derek Chauvin case—that also helped to calm people down quite a bit." [emphasis mine] As others noted, Walz tapped Ellison to lead the case, which indicated that Walz was serious about obtaining justice. He even pissed off police unions.
Walz called the Minnesota legislature into special session to consider a set of law enforcement reform bills (which passed). "The legislation banned chokeholds, required officers to step in if a colleague was using excessive force and banned 'warrior-style' training for police officers. Walz also supported funding for mental health response teams."
Also: "In the 2021 interview, Walz said he felt acutely the need to consider the pain felt by protesters traumatized by what they saw as a clear case of police brutality and racism. It was not enough to clear the streets, he said; law enforcement had to respect the rights of Minnesotans at the center of a searing moment."
Finally, I'll quote Keith Ellison's son. "Walz’s opinions were congruent with 'the pace and direction that Minnesota wanted to go in' after Floyd was killed, said Jeremiah Ellison, a Minneapolis City Council member since 2018 who walked the streets during the unrest and is a strong advocate of police reform.
“'I never got the impression that he was dismissive of the need for change,” Ellison said. 'I felt like his approach to reform was urgent, it was moderate, it was reasonable — maybe not what I would want, but certainly a reflection of what probably most Minnesotans could handle and were demanding at the time.'"
Someone in tune with the extent of how much the people could be moved and with values aligned with mine and my goals is exactly who I'd want in office. They'll be able to get the most done--far more than a purist.
Not to be a debbie downer but Tim Walz was in the military for 24 years, including during the Iraq war. He called the national guard on protestors following the George Floyd murder. He supports Israel. He's approved an oil pipeline across indigenous lands that break treaties.
It's weird to celebrate a man who goes against all leftist values
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Minnesota State Patrol guards the State Capitol on reports of possible protests following a January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol. 3 Trump supporters at a rally.
#MinneapolisUprising#Minnesota#Minnesota State Capitol#Police#St. Paul#State Capitol#Storm The Capitol#Unrest#insurrection
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HEADLINES IN ANOTHER AMERICA…
SANDERS ELECTED PRESIDENT
President-Elect Bernie Sanders addresses the nation from Vermont after surge in election-week polls to victory.
Above is the final electoral map showing a victory for Bernie Sanders and Tim Walz over former President Donald Trump and Jeb Bush.
As the tumultuous 2024 Election Cycle comes to a close as the final votes are now counted, IAA News confirms their Election Night projections with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont being elected as the 47th President of the United States, accompanied by Vice Presidential selection: Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Despite an early election boom for former President Donald Trump, the late-stage momentum gained from impressive debate showings led Sanders to securing a wide margin of victory.
Sanders led a strong campaign focused on environmental protection, support of unions, and support of Medicare and Medicaid. The battleground region of the “blue wall” was reformed by Sanders late in the election cycle, with his dismantling of Trump’s platform in the second presidential debate being key for why many voters in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions shifted blue this year. Despite expectations, voter turnout reached an all-time high with both candidates securing more votes than any other in history.
The approximation of votes is listed below:
• Bernie Sanders (D) - 119,330,000 votes
• Donald Trump (R) - 92,430,000 votes
Former President Trump has still not been reported to have conceded the election to President-Elect Sanders. Despite this, Sanders addressed the nation this morning, urging “unity and acceptance in times of great unrest” as his key message. Sanders has not accepted the title of President-Elect, choosing to be a “good sport” and allow Trump to concede. Sanders, in his address, also doubled down on statements he made during the race - confirming that he would not be running for the Oval Office in 2028 whether or not he was elected this year. The Democratic Party is already looking to the future, with numerous party hopefuls eyeing the nomination in four years.
More news is still to come on the election cycle, with millions of Americans waiting for an official concession from Trump and transfer of power from the Biden administration to the Sanders administration.
This article will be edited with coming updates. Return to this post periodically to stay updated.
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Reforming the Badge: Accountability and Transparency in Law Enforcement
We see it time and time again. George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor… the list goes on and on…
These horrific incidents, fueled by racial bias and a culture of impunity, have shattered the trust between communities and the very institutions meant to protect them. It is imperative that we demand justice, reform, and a commitment to true accountability from our law enforcement agencies. Only then can we begin to heal the wounds of the past and build a future where everyone feels safe and respected.
Systemic racism and bias in policing:
There are many institutionalized ways that racial discrimination affects law enforcement practices and outcomes, many of which are rooted in historical and societal factors influenced by our country’s pervasive history of racism.
From the “slave patrols” in the antebellum south that were used to surveil, control, and punish black people, to today’s destructive “stop-and-frisk” policies, and other “proactive policing” policies that are overly aggressive and associated with racial disparities, the cycle of racial profiling, police brutality, and increased policing has disproportionately affected the black community.
According to The Sentencing Project, “African Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences. African-American adults are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated than whites, and Hispanics are 3.1 times as likely. As of 2001, one of every three black boys born in that year could expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as could one of every six Latinos—compared to one of every seventeen white boys.”
According to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, “The best available evidence reflects high rates of use of force nationally, and increased likelihood of police use of force against people of color, people with disabilities, LGBT people, people with mental health concerns, people with low incomes, and those at the intersections of these groups.”
Excessive force and police brutality:
While instances of police brutality have occurred throughout the nation's history, the problem has been particularly acute in Black communities. This is due to a number of factors, including:
Historical context: The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and systemic racism has created a deep-seated distrust between Black communities and law enforcement.
Racial profiling: Black individuals are more likely to be stopped, searched, and arrested by police, often based on racial stereotypes.
Over-policing: Black communities are often over-policed, leading to increased contact with law enforcement and a higher likelihood of being subjected to excessive force.
Key events and figures in the history of police brutality in the United States include:
The Tulsa Race Massacre (1921): A horrific event in which a white mob attacked, burned, and looted the Black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s): This period saw numerous instances of police brutality against Black protesters and civil rights leaders, including the beating of Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama.
The Watts Riots (1965): A series of riots that broke out in Los Angeles after a traffic stop escalated into a violent confrontation between police and the Black community.
The Rodney King beating (1991): The brutal beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, which was captured on video and sparked widespread outrage and civil unrest.
The killing of George Floyd (2020): The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ignited a global movement against police brutality and racial injustice.
The enduring impact of slavery and segregation in the United States is far-reaching and continues to shape society today. The legacy of systemic racism has resulted in persistent disparities in areas such as education, housing, employment, and the criminal justice system. These disparities have disproportionately affected Black communities, leading to cycles of poverty, inequality, and limited opportunities. Additionally, the historical trauma associated with slavery and segregation has had a profound psychological impact on Black Americans, contributing to issues such as mental health challenges and generational trauma.
Public Trust and Confidence
Public trust in law enforcement is essential for a functioning democracy. When citizens have faith in the police, they are more likely to cooperate with them, report crimes, and follow the law. This trust is crucial for preventing and solving crimes, as well as maintaining public safety.
The relationship between law enforcement and their communities is equally important. Police officers rely on communities to provide information and assistance in solving crimes. A strong relationship with the community can help to build trust, cooperation, and understanding. When police officers are seen as partners in the community, they are more likely to be effective in their work.
Moreover, a positive relationship between law enforcement and the community can help to reduce crime. When citizens feel safe and respected, they are less likely to engage in criminal activity. A strong relationship can also help to prevent civil unrest and promote social stability.
All research, statistics and evidence show that force is used disproportionately and there are clear racial disparities in arrests and sentencing. There is also evidence to support that implicit bias influences how law enforcement perceives and interprets information and their decision making. These biased judgements lead to increased use of force.
The consequences of our nation’s sordid racist history have resulted in widespread negative stereotypes and prejudices which have impacted law enforcement practices. Further complicating the problem, persons of color are often underrepresented in police departments. This can significantly contribute to a lack of empathy and understanding for diverse communities. That, coupled with inadequate training on implicit bias has fostered an environment that is rife with corruption and misconduct.
Lack of accountability for misconduct:
The lack of accountability for police misconduct is a complex issue with multiple contributing factors.
Internal Investigations
Would you eat at a restaurant that was allowed to do their own health department inspections? Yeah. Me neither! But police departments often conduct internal investigations into officer misconduct. Where is impartiality in this process? It is well known that there is a culture of solidarity in law enforcement, which makes it difficult to hold colleagues accountable for their wrongdoing. Also, since internal investigations are often time-consuming, limited departmental resources can lead to de-prioritization.
Prosecutors and Grand Juries:
It’s not uncommon for a prosecutor to face pressure, political or otherwise, not to charge their own officers with misconduct – especially in cases involving well publicized or sensitive issues. Even when a trial does move forward, those same prosecutors have significant influence over what evidence is presented in a grand jury trial (which requires a majority vote to indict).
Getting justice for police misconduct in the criminal system is difficult. Internal investigations can prevent police misconduct from ever seeing the light of day, interdepartmental politics can pressure prosecutors into not pressing charges, and prosecutors can tailor which evidence is presented at a jury trial. But getting justice in the civil system has equally arduous obstacles.
Qualified Immunity:
If a healthcare professional makes a mistake in the course of their work that results in injury or death, they can face a malpractice suit. If a legal professional provides bad legal advice or mishandles evidence, they can face a malpractice suit. If a financial professional commits fraud or offers bad investment advice or even fails to disclose conflicts of interest, they can be susceptible to a civil lawsuit. This is standard in many professions, as we see it in most industries such as medical, legal, financial, architectural, engineering, real estate, and construction – just to name a few.
In the United States we have a legal doctrine that protects government officials (including law enforcement) from civil lawsuits unless their actions clearly violate established law. So as long as an officer is following established procedures, they are not at risk of civil lawsuits even if those actions were wrong or resulted in harm. Who decides whether or not qualified immunity is enforceable? The courts. And those courts set a very high bar for plaintiffs to prove that an officer’s actions were unconstitutional.
One example of this is the case of Anderson v. Creighton (1991). In this case, police officers executed a no-knock warrant at the wrong home, believing it to be the home of a drug suspect. During the raid, the officers shot and killed the homeowner. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the officers, granting them qualified immunity. The Court reasoned that the officers' actions were objectively reasonable under the circumstances, even though they had mistakenly executed the warrant at the wrong home.
Fraternal Order of Police (FOP):
Unions are great. Unions play a crucial role in protecting workers' rights and improving their working conditions. They negotiate collective bargaining agreements with employers to secure fair wages, benefits, and job security. Unions also advocate for workers' rights, such as the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike. Additionally, unions provide their members with support and resources, such as legal representation and educational opportunities.
However, in the case of the FOP (a powerful police union) they have a history of exerting significant influence over both investigation and prosecution of officer misconduct. Between the influence they have over these types of cases and the powerhouse legal teams that they have secured; it is a recipe for avoidance of accountability.
Public Perception:
Media coverage is often sensationalized on both sides. This type of biased coverage can make it very difficult to assess the credibility of allegations. This divided public opinion can influence the decisions of not only prosecutors, but juries.
These factors contribute to a system that can make it difficult to hold police officers accountable for misconduct, even when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing. To address this issue, it is necessary to implement reforms that increase transparency, accountability, and public trust in law enforcement. We know what the problems are. Now we need to take practical no-nonsense approaches to resolving them.
Practical Approaches Everyone Should Implement
· Get Social: Social media platforms have a myriad of groups of like-minded individuals. Many have groups that are specific to your geographic location, so the activities can go beyond online posts to include gatherings, events, fund raising, etc.
· Contact your Representatives: Your representatives are elected by their constituency and paid with taxpayer dollars to represent them. Don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard. Express your views on important issues and encourage them to take action.
· Grassroots Organizations: Grassroots Organizations are groups of like-minded people who work together to achieve a common goal. These goals are often social, political, or even environmental. They are typically initiated and driven by ordinary citizens rather than by institutions or large corporations.
· Volunteer or Donate to a Non-Profit Organization: Find organizations that support police reform and volunteer your time or make a donation.
o 1M4 is an excellent organization that aims to empower mothers to become politically active and advocate for policies that benefit families and children. They hope to leverage the power of mothers to create positive societal change.
· Know Your Rights: The ACLU has excellent resources for knowing your rights and protecting your civil liberties. The NAACP also has excellent resources.
· On-Demand Recorded Legal Support: Get on demand legal support for interactions with police to protect yourself and your interests.
o Mobile applications like iWTNS (pronounced eye-witness) for Apple and Android allow users to connect to on-demand legal representation while recording the interaction to their secure cloud server.
· Vote!: Vote in every election. This is the most fundamental way to participate in the political process and select the elected officials that help mold the laws in your jurisdictions.
Changes to Laws, Policies, and Standards
Independent Oversight
· Civilian Review Boards: Establish independent civilian review boards to investigate complaints of police misconduct and recommend disciplinary actions.
· Independent Prosecutors: Appoint independent prosecutors to investigate cases of police misconduct, ensuring impartiality.
Data Transparency and Reporting:
· Public Release of Data: Require law enforcement agencies to publicly release data on police encounters, use of force, and complaints.
· Standardized Reporting Systems: Implement standardized reporting systems to ensure consistency and accuracy in data collection.
· Privacy and Transparency Standards: Implement policies to protect privacy and ensure transparency.
Community Policing and Engagement:
· Fostering Positive Relationships: Foster stronger relationships between police departments and the communities they serve.
· Community Input: Involve communities in policing decisions and policies.
· Open Communication Policy: Promote open communication between police departments and the public.
Training and Education:
· Comprehensive Training: Mandate comprehensive training for police officers on de-escalation, implicit bias, cultural competency, and use of force.
· Ongoing Professional Development: Provide ongoing professional development opportunities for officers.
Accountability and Transparency:
· Stricter Standards: Implement stricter standards for accountability and transparency in law enforcement.
· Body-Worn Cameras: Require police officers to wear body-worn cameras to document their interactions with the public.
· Transparency as a Standard: Encouraging transparency in decision-making processes, like The Sunshine Act requires federal agencies to do.
Legal Reforms:
· Revise Qualified Immunity: Revise the qualified immunity doctrine to make it easier to hold officers accountable for misconduct.
· Strengthen Civil Rights Laws: Strengthen civil rights laws to protect individuals from discrimination and abuse by law enforcement.
Addressing Systemic Issues:
· Tackle Root Causes: Address the underlying systemic issues that contribute to racial profiling, excessive force, and racial bias, such as poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunity.
· Invest in Communities: Invest in communities, particularly those that have been disproportionately affected by police misconduct.
· Addressing broader societal issues: Tackle systemic racism and inequality in other areas of society, such as education, housing, and employment.
Media Relations:
· Information dissemination guidelines: Establish clear guidelines for media interactions and information dissemination.
· Public Access: Promote public access to information through press conferences and media releases.
The recent incidents of police brutality against Black individuals have sparked widespread outrage and calls for reform. These incidents are fueled by systemic racism, bias, and a lack of accountability within law enforcement. To address these issues, it is necessary to implement reforms such as independent oversight, data transparency, community policing, officer training, and legal reforms.
In May of 2022, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order into law to increase accountability, ban chokeholds, restrict no-knock entries, and more for federal law enforcement officers and incentivized and encouraged state and local officers to do the same. There are currently many bills in process to address police reform on a local and national level. Get involved in your communities today! Together we can build a more just and more equitable society for everyone. By: Jennifer Bartholomew, The iWTNS Stand
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okay i wrote tags and then realized I'm not done.
the people who dislike Walz in MN mostly do so because he responded quickly on COVID and established lasting lockdowns, and on not deploying the national guard 'fast enough' in response to the civil unrest after George Floyd's murder. so like, there are reasons conservative votes have been ticked off at him, but most of those reasons are from 4 years ago, and he won reelection after dealing with that.
and Walz is the guy who said, “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.” -- after having hugely successful legislative sessions in which he signed into law many of the things discussed above. He gets it. You get the job so you can get the job done.
His lieutenant governor, who will replace him as governor if he's elected with Harris, is a Native American woman who would be the first indigenous person to hold a governorship in the US (!). Just think that's neat and worth knowing about.
Last year, Walz signed a bill that allowed undocumented immigrants in MN to get drivers' licenses.
(Sidebar: in Minnesota, the Democratic party isn't *just* the Democratic party -- in 1944, the state Democratic party merged with the Farmer-Labor party, so in MN it's called the "DFL" for Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. IMO this really does affect how people relate to the Democratic party and view it as representing the interests of working-class people.)
Minnesota became a trans safe haven and an abortion safe haven state under Walz's leadership.
Spending on education became indexed to inflation under Walz's leadership.
Every Minnesota worker will be guaranteed a legally protected amount of PAID sick leave thanks to a law passed under Walz's leadership - which can be used for "a person where there is a clear reliance relationship regardless of whether there is a family tie or housing connection" -- not just you, your partner, or your child. (This officially begins in 2026 but many companies are getting into compliance earlier.)
The state eliminated the tax on Social Security for about 75% of recipients (benefiting those who have less income the most) under Walz's leadership.
Minnesotans have automatic voter registration thanks to a law passed under Walz's leadership.
Y'all, just go read through this article, this was all in one year!
But what I'm getting at here is not just that Tim Walz has a great record in Minnesota.
I keep saying "under Walz's leadership," because nearly all of these achievements have happened since 2022, when the state legislature flipped to a DFL majority in both the House and the Senate. these accomplishments are made possible by voting down-ballot.
VOTE in the local elections. VOTE in the state elections. VOTE for your representatives in the US Senate and the US House.
If the Harris-Walz ticket wins, awesome. But we need the legislature, too. These changes are possible for the whole USA, if we can win Congress and the presidency.
Kamala Harris just announced that her vice president will be Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Based on the coverage so far I'm really reassured by this decision.
The Washington Post did an obviously great job of making a prepared article for each option, considering how long an article they had up 7 minutes after the announcement.
((Okay technically it's not an official announcement yet it's "according to three people familiar with the pick, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that is not yet public." But listen. I am 99% sure this is a weather balloon. (Meaning: a deliberate leak to gauge reaction.) Because the sheer weakness or incompetence on the part of the Harris campaign that it would take for three people to all confirm that within a few hours hours of each other and the planned announcement it is massive.))
-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024
Honestly this decision, from everything I've read and can tell, looks like it's brilliant politics.
Important Context: The vice president(ial candidates)'s job in an election is not to be similar to the president. The vice president's job on the ballot is very, very much specifically to be different from the president. Why? So they can cover each others' weaknesses. Especially regionally.
(Sidenote: I feel a bit ridiculous saying this. But genuinely if you want to get a stronger understanding of how US elections really work. Go watch seasons 6 and 7 of The West Wing. Genuinely, a lot of politicians have said - especially back in its day - that that was the most accurate depiction of an election they'd ever seen. Also specifically features an entire arc about a contested Democratic primary convention, so also very good if you're interested in understanding weird nominating convention shenanigans.)
From the article:
"Harris’s choice for a running mate was among the most closely watched decisions of her fledgling campaign, as she sought to bolster the ticket’s prospects for victory in November and rapidly find someone who could be a governing partner. In picking Walz, she has selected a seasoned politician with executive governing experience and signaled the importance of Midwestern battleground states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.
Walz’s foray into politics came later in life: He spent more than two decades as a public school teacher and football coach, and as a member of the Army National Guard, before running for Congress in his 40s. In 2006, he defeated a Republican to win Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District--a rural, conservative area--and won reelection five times before leaving Congress to run for governor.
Walz was first elected governor in 2018 and handily won reelection in 2022. Though little-known outside his state, Walz emerged publicly as one of the earliest names mentioned as a possible running mate for Harris, and in the ensuing days he made the rounds on television as an outspoken surrogate for the vice president...
“These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room. … They are bad on foreign policy, they are bad on the environment, they certainly have no health care plan, and they keep talking about the middle-class,” Walz told MSNBC in July. “As I said, a robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are? They don’t know who we are.”
Walz also has faced criticism from Republicans that his policies as governor were too liberal, including legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, protecting abortion rights, expanding LGBTQ protections, implementing tuition-free college for low-income Minnesotans and providing free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren in the state.
But many of those initiatives are broadly popular. Walz also signed an executive order removing the college-degree requirement for 75 percent of Minnesota’s state jobs, a move that garnered bipartisan support and that several other states have also adopted.
“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn, and women are making their own health-care decisions,” Walz said sarcastically in a July 28 interview with CNN when questioned whether such policies would be fodder for conservative attacks, later adding: “If that’s where they want to label me, I’m more than happy to take the [liberal] label.”
Walz also spoke at a kickoff event in St. Paul for a Democratic canvassing effort, casting Trump as a “bully.”
“Don’t lift these guys up like they’re some kind of heroes. Everybody in this room knows--I know it as a teacher--a bully has no self-confidence. A bully has no strength. They have nothing,” Walz said at the event, sporting a camouflage hunting hat and T-shirt.
Walz has explained that he felt some Democrats’ practice of calling Trump an existential threat to democracy was giving him too much credit, which prompted his decision to denounce the GOP nominee instead as being “weird.”
“I do believe all those things are a real possibility, but it gives him way too much power," Walz said on CNN’s “State of the Union” regarding the Democrats’ rhetoric. “Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter, shocking sharks, and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind.”
If Walz is elected vice president, under state law, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) would assume the governorship for the rest of his term. Minnesota Senate president Bobby Joe Champion, a Democrat, would become lieutenant governor."
-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024
--
This guy. Sounds like. fucking Moderate swing-state/rural/Midwestern/southern/"heartland"/working class white voter catnip. He sounds like he's also a very smart politician and strong campaigner. And he's apparently genuinely a good guy with a good record, too.
He sounds like he's going to do a really good job of appealing to voters in several of the big deal swing states without being from any of them specifically. Which means it doesn't feel like pandering to one of the states involved (and thereby spurning the others), which is also great.
(Also he was the one who started "weird" @ conservatives and I think we should take that seriously as a very good political instinct/move. Judging in large part by how it has so clearly hit an actual nerve with conservatives like so little else. Also hugely relevant: that post going around about how part of why conservatives are so upset about "weird" is because in the Midwest, "weird" specifically also implies anti-social or harmful behavior.)
Officially feeling more optimistic about Trump not winning in November
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BBC 0421 22 Aug 2924
12095Khz 0358 22 AUG 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 55445. English, dead carrier s/on @0358z then ID@0359z pips and newsday preview. @0401z World News anchored by Stewart Macintosh. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted his party’s nomination for vice president Wednesday night, using his Democratic National Convention address to thank the packed arena for “bringing the joy” to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Chancellor Scholz has pledged ongoing support for Ukraine amid concerns about budget constraints. Germany aims to remain the largest European supporter of Ukraine while also assisting Moldova in its EU membership goals. Senior officials from the U.S. State Department and the White House met with the Dalai Lama in New York on Wednesday and "reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans," the State Department said. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said China was "gravely concerned" over the meeting and urged the U.S. to have no contact with the Dalai Lama. A tense standoff on Colombia’s Pan-American Highway turned violent as indigenous protesters clashed with security forces in the southwestern department of Cauca. The confrontation culminated in a powerful explosion in the municipality of Cajibío, leaving one person dead and another injured. The unrest is grounded in growing discontent among indigenous communities over unfulfilled government promises and demands for greater recognition and territorial autonomy. Brazil will begin imposing restrictions on the entry of some foreigners from Asia who use the country as a launching point to migrate to the United States and Canada, the justice ministry’s press office said Wednesday. An undelivered postcard has finally reached its intended destination - about 121 years after it was first popped off in the post. The Christmas-themed card was delivered to Swansea Building Society’s Cradock Street branch last week even though it was originally sent in 1903 - so only just over a century too late. Staff say they hope to find relatives of a Miss Lydia Davies, who previously lived at the address and who the card was addressed to, to reunite them with it. The Royal Mail said it is likely the postcard was "put back into" their system, rather than "being lost in the post for over a century". @0406z "Newsday" begins. Backyard fence antenna, "Single-2222" home-built 1 transistor regenerative radio, 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2258.
More about the "Single-2222" home-built 1 transistor radio: https://www.tumblr.com/swldx/728981825983250432/
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It is not just Republicans who are raising criticisms of the way Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) handled the George Floyd riots in his state.
CNN spoke to a woman who lived in Minneapolis at the time — a Democrat — who described it as “very scary.”
“I do have some serious problems with how our governor dealt with the riots,” she said. The narrating reporter noted, “What leaves her unsettled even now is how her Democratic Gov. Tim Walz responded to the riots years ago.”
The segment said Walz had acknowledged that some of the criticism of his response is valid, but that he felt additional reinforcements could have fanned the flames of unrest even more.
CNN spoke to another Minnesota resident — an independent who leans Republican — who said, “I think that was a failure on his part. I don’t know why he waited. I don’t know why he let the city burn, but I think it’s horrible, and people shouldn’t forget that.”
WATCH:
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley has expressed the same sentiments, telling Breitbart News Daily this week that it is crucial that voters do not forget that Walz — Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate — owns the riots in Minneapolis.
“The number one image that I think needs to be burned literally into every American’s mind is Minnesota rioting and Minnesota burning to the ground for four days while he refused to call in the National Guard,” Whatley said of Walz, also calling out Walz’s wife for speaking so highly of smelling the city burning.
“The fact that his wife brags about opening the window so she could enjoy the smell of Minnesota burning and his daughter was out there protesting with them,” he said, referencing the following remark made by Walz’s wife:
“I would say those first days you know, when there were riots, I could smell the burning tires,” she said. “And that was — that was a very real thing, and I kept the windows open for as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was — what was happening.”
Walz was focused on “defending the rioters and saying that it was based on a lack of inclusion and equity in Minnesota,” Whatley continued, blasting Walz for letting the city burn.
“The fact that that city burned like it did, that he sat aside and refused to call in the National Guard to quell those riots,” he said, adding greater perspective to Walz’s radical nature, “the fact that he says Minnesota is going to be a sanctuary state, the first one in the country, that he would invest in a ladder company to help people climb over the wall.”
Whatley continued enumerating Walz’s acts as governor: “That he’s giving illegal immigrants health care, free college education, and you know, is doing everything he can to try and bring that border up to Minnesota, places every Minnesotan at risk,” he said, describing the vice presidential hopeful as “truly dangerous.”
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