CraigM
6378
DJ with his usual thoughtful deep legal analysis on the issue.
I was going to cynically suggest that Blackwater mercs were doing this. Throw a bone to loyal toady Betsy DeVos. Turns out they are!
Trump and Republicans don’t have to worry about the loyalty of the FBI and military if they outsource the enforcement of their fascism to soliders of fortune.
How the heck is this even remotely legal?
There are reasons that a democratic society limits who can legitimately use force against its citizens. If you can just hire any Nazi off the street into your police/federal agency as a “contractor”, the laws are just pointless. You might as well just label it the Private Army of the POTUS and be done with it - there’s clearly no actual limits on the President’s power.
Where in the US is the Rubicon?
CraigM
6382
Several weeks thataway
gestures in the general direction of downtown
Wisconsin, it would seem.
CraigM
6384
Its not. What is happening is highly illegal, immoral, and evil.
I would acquit anyone who shot one of these stormtroopers it would be justifiable self-defense.
Carto
6386
Portland will immediately ban all police bureau members from cooperating with federal law enforcement or intentionally using force on or arresting journalists and legal observers, under new policies the City Council passed Wednesday.
I think the federal judge will also issue his ruling on the temporary restraining order against the Feds today or tomorrow.
“The commission has made their ruling, now let them enforcement it.” - PPB, probably
Except Wheeler runs the PPB, right?
We’re talking about the same dude that just got tear-gassed by the PPB. Viewing from a distance, I wouldn’t be sanguine about his ability to control them. I’m also unclear on why he couldn’t just have put this in place already as the guy that runs PPB.
Carto
6390
Are you sure it’s the PPB, not the feds? In the video he was at the fence line by the courthouse, where the Feds are.
Fair point. I believe it was feds.
ShivaX
6392
It was.
Ted loved to tear gas the fuck out of people for well over a month before the Feds showed up.
He went down there to get tear gassed as a political stunt to shift attention to the Feds.
It didn’t really work for the people of Portland. “Fuck Ted Wheeler” was and is a very popular chant still.
I did hear a few people on live streams saying “Well, at least Ted got gassed with us, I sort of respect that.”
Which was countered by, “Yeah, but he was gassing us every day all last month.”
“Oh, right. Man, fuck Wheeler.”
Carto
6393
The Inspectors General for the Department of Justice and Homeland Security announced probes into their agencies’ roles in Lafayette Square and Portland. The Dept. of Interior IG will also be involved in the Lafayette Square investigation.
They mention the van abductions and the assault on Captain Portland as topics of investigation, however the article seemed to imply that they aren’t investigating the U.S. Marshal who shot Donovan LaBella with a less lethal round.
Timex
6394
Well that IG’s gonna be fired.
Carto
6395
He’s going to have to fire three: DOJ, DHS, and DOI.
Yeah, this happens in my house all the time. My daughter will be sitting on the couch and I’ll say, “Hey, scooch over,” but she’s busy watching Tic Toc and doesn’t move so then I’ll start screaming at her aggressively, “YOU’RE GETTING ON MY LAST FUCKINGNERVE MOTHERFUCKER. YOU’VE GOT ABOUT THREE SECONDS TO COMPLY OR INWILL MAKE YOU COMPLY!!!” and then when she’s asks me to stop screaming I’ll tell her that she asked for it and start hitting her with a baton and my wife will usually jump in and taze her and then I’ll taze her again and then I’ll drag her off the couch and hit her with the baton some more and maybe tear gas the dogs who are getting too close.
It may seem extreme but she refused to comply with a lawful order. If she would just do what’s she’s told it wouldn’t happen.
(Footnote for child services: This is satire, I don’t actually hit my daughter.)
