White Iowa Cop Sought Immunity for Pepper Spraying a Black Woman in the Face while She Recorded a Protest. Request Denied by the 8th Circuit Ct of Appeals

From [HERE] The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of a Des Moines police officer's motion for qualified immunity on civil rights claims stemming from his decision to pepper-spray a woman in the face while she was live-streaming a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Welch participated in protest activities in downtown Des Moines on the evening of May 30, 2020, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. At one point, protestors threw rocks at an historic county courthouse and broke glass. Welch was near that scene, recording the events on her cellular phone.

The incident in question occurred about thirteen minutes later, after Welch had moved across the street to the vicinity of a different courthouse facility. Welch was then broadcasting a video of events taking place in front of the second courthouse building. According to the facts assumed by the district court, no property damage was occurring at the time of the incident, and much of an erstwhile crowd had migrated away from the courthouse.

Welch was standing “before” a scrimmage line of police officers who were protecting the courthouse, and she was located on the “edge” of the line. Video evidence confirms that Welch was standing on a public sidewalk several feet away from a line of officers—forward and to the right of the line from the perspective of the officers. See Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380-81 (2007).

Dempsey arrived behind the police line in an armored vehicle, walked around a group of officers who were taking no action against Welch, approached Welch while she was live-streaming the events, and sprayed her in the face with a chemical agent. Dempsey gave no warning to Welch, and he was on the scene for only twelve seconds before he deployed force. [MORE]

Colorado Springs Mayor calls for Investigation after Cops were Caught Threatening to Murder Black People and Protesters During Protests in 2020 and 2021

From [HERE] Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers is calling for an investigation into comments allegedly made by police officers during protests and marches in 2020 and 2021. The incidents were captured on body cameras worn by police.

The first video is alleged to have been recorded prior to a Black Lives Matter protest in Colorado Springs on June 2, 2020. The clip was provided to KRCC by a lawyer representing one of the protesters who sued CSPD for use of excessive force.

Earlier this year, the protester — Tara Hadam — was awarded $140,000 in a settlement with the city. In the video, someone can be heard singing and altering the words to the song "We Will Rock You" to include threats of gassing people. Another individual can be heard laughing at the lyrics.

A second recording was captured by the body cam of an officer at a march for affordable housing in Colorado Springs in July 2021. It was provided to KRCC by Jon Christiansen of the Chinook Center, one of the organizers of the march. On that tape, officers allegedly joke about the marchers being stoned to death.

Christiansen said the footage shows that "with no provocation and no indication that any crime is taking place, officers gleefully imagine protesters being violently murdered.” 

In a statement, Suthers called both the statements “wholly unacceptable.”

“While local law enforcement was under considerable duress related to protests during those times, the statements are wholly unprofessional and, if they can be attributed to specific CSPD officers, should be fully investigated and be the subject of potential discipline,” Suthers said. “The CSPD has made considerable effort in the aftermath of the protests to ensure officers act professionally in all such encounters going forward, but that does not mean officers who previously engaged in inappropriate conduct should not be held accountable.” [MORE]

10th Circuit Rules Capital Prisoners Don’t Have a Right to Have Counsel Present During their Execution. Atty Argued Counsel Could Intervene if Authorities Make Mistakes While Conducting Murder

From [HERE] On October 19th, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled against Oklahoma death-row prisoners who had argued that they should be allowed to have their attorney present throughout their execution so that counsel could intervene and file for emergency relief if a problem arose during the execution. 

The prisoners presented evidence of a rash of botched executions in Oklahoma since 2014. Five of the eight executions performed in Oklahoma since April 2014 have involved significant problems, including failure to properly set an IV line and administration of incorrect drugs. Despite those failures, the Court of Appeals determined that the 28 petitioners failed to demonstrate that the pattern of malpractice is likely to continue in their individual executions. The court wrote, “Oklahoma’s earlier problems in the execution chamber are not enough to show that future similar problems are imminent, much less problems rising to an Eighth Amendment violation.” 

Oklahoma’s protocol bars a prisoner’s attorney from being present during the preparation for an execution, and gives the facility director discretion over whether the attorney may witness the entire execution. Attorneys are not given access to a phone during the execution. This means that if the execution goes wrong, the attorney might not be aware that there is a problem, or even if they are, they will not be able to contact a court for intervention, leaving their client to suffer a botched, painful execution. [MORE]

"Not in the Public's Best Interest" for Authorities to Murder Black Man: Federal Prison Warden in Louisiana Denies DA's Request to Transfer John Fitzgerald Hanson to Oklahoma to Execute Him

From [HERE] A federal prison warden has denied an Oklahoma District Attorney’s request to transfer John Fitzgerald Hanson (pictured) to Oklahoma’s custody to be executed, stating that the transfer “is not in the public’s best interest.” Hanson is incarcerated at a federal prison in Louisiana.

In 2000, Hanson was sentenced by the federal government to life in prison plus 107 years for a series of armed robberies. He was later sentenced to death in Tulsa County, Oklahoma for the 1999 murders of Mary Bowles and Jerald Thurman. Hanson’s co-defendant, Victor Miller, was the ringleader of the crime, but Miller’s death sentence was overturned and he is now serving a life sentence. Hanson’s death sentence was also overturned, but he was resentenced to death. Oklahoma has scheduled Hanson’s execution for December 15, 2022.

In August 2022, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen A. Kunzweiler requested that Hanson be transferred to state custody so he can be executed. On September 28, Acting Complex Warden S.R. Grant replied that federal law “authorizes the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to transfer a prisoner who is wanted by a State authority to that State authority’s custody if it is appropriate, suitable, and in the public’s best interest. The Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC) has denied the request for transfer, as it is not in the public’s best interest.”

Kunzweiler sought the intervention of Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor, who wrote to BOP Regional Director Heriberto Tellez, requesting a response by October 24. O’Connor noted that the transfer request was also intended to facilitate Hanson’s attendance at his November 9 clemency hearing. Nowhere in the letter did O’Connor challenge the BOP’s assertion that Hanson’s transfer is not in the public’s best interest. The letter did not specify the actions O’Connor would take after the deadline he imposed.

Federal officials did not indicate whether the denial of the transfer is related to the moratorium on federal executions that was announced in June 2021. President Biden expressed his opposition to the death penalty during his campaign, and Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on June 30, 2021 that the administration would put federal executions on hold in order to review policies adopted under the Trump administration. One statement by Garland could potentially explain the BOP’s action, as he applied the rationale of the moratorium to all prisoners in the federal system, saying, “The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely. That obligation has special force in capital cases.”

Hanson is one of 25 people for whom the state of Oklahoma set execution dates in July 2022, with the executions set to be carried out over a two-year period. Hanson’s attorneys say he has multiple mental illnesses, brain damage, and autism.

Can Unelected Federal Reserve Authorities, Issue a Digital Dollar without Support from Congress or Public Input or Review?

From [HERE] The White House’s exploration of a government-backed digital dollar is raising an implicit question that has received little attention: What role does Congress have in the decision?

Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have said the central bank wouldn’t issue a digital dollar without support from Congress, but that leaves open at least the possibility that the Fed could move forward with buy-in that falls short of legislation. And that, in turn, raises a new question: What would buy-in have to look like to satisfy the Fed?

“The definition of support is the piece that remains murky,” said Jennifer Lassiter, executive director of The Digital Dollar Project. “We know they're looking to the administration and to Capitol Hill for some type of concurrence or guidance to move forward, but we don't know what shape that takes.”

Congress’ role could prove decisive in a project that may profoundly change how Americans handle their financial affairs and that some see as essential to U.S. standing in the global financial system. Depending on how congressional support is expressed, it could undermine consumers’ confidence in a digital dollar, raise legal challenges that stop the project in its tracks or fail to deliver the stability the rest of the world has found in the dollar for decades.

In eight reports on digital assets released in September, the White House sidestepped the question of whether legislation is needed. The reports, done in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order in March, included two that examined potential technical designs and policy objectives of a government-backed digital dollar should it “be deemed in the national interest and pursued.” 

The administration, however, declined to release a Justice Department document commissioned by the same executive order assessing whether legislation would be needed to issue a digital dollar. The administration didn’t respond to questions about why the assessment was withheld or whether it will be made public in the future.

“It's kind of the missing piece to the puzzle in order to fully understand what the next step is,” Lassiter said in an interview. 

‘Bipartisan concern’

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including some of the earliest supporters of a digital dollar, say the Fed should not issue a central bank digital currency without legislation clearing Congress first. 

The undisclosed Justice Department document didn’t escape the notice of members of Congress. A handful of House Republicans led by Financial Services ranking member Patrick T. McHenry, sent a letter this month to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland asking for a copy of the assessment. 

“I think there's bipartisan concern about it and an interest in better understanding these trade-offs,” McHenry, R-N.C., said in an interview. He and other committee Republicans also sent a letter to Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard in September asking her to clarify whether legislation is needed. 

Gun Ownership Among Law Abiding Black People On the Rise, according to researchers [defying liberal clogic that possessing a gun somehow makes you less safe]

From [HERE] Gun ownership trends in Ohio and across the country are shifting, especially in the Black community and among women, authorities say.

Annette Sumlin is one of the faces of that trend.

“I know a lot of single African American women of all ages, and they’re scared to leave their homes at night, and sometimes in the day because they are afraid something may happen to them,” said Sumlin, 36, of Cleveland. “I also believe that my gun gives me my sense of security and it ensures that I can protect my home no matter what happens.”

The country began to see a spike in firearm purchases in 2019, when a little more than 13 million background checks were recorded. The numbers increased to 21 million in 2020 amid the pandemic, then decreased to 18.5 million in 2021, according to an analysis conducted by the National Sports Shooting Foundation. This year is set to fall in place as the third highest year for background checks.

In 2021, there were more than 5.4 million first-time gun buyers, a decrease from the 8.4 million in 2020. Half of guns the guns purchased were handguns.

Over 33% of gun buyers in 2021 were women. [MORE]

Mississippi Courts are Helping Cops Keep Search Warrants Out Of the Public’s Hands

From [HERE] No-knock warrants remain under fire as they continue to needlessly increase the death toll of residents who often have no idea who’s violently entering their home and, therefore, respond in unpredictable ways. Supposedly obtained to increase officer safety, these warrants often seem like a handy way to put officers in “fear for your safety” mode, thus justifying the violence that follows.

But how often are they obtained? That’s tough to tell. Very few law enforcement agencies are willing to speak openly about their use/abuse of these warrants. Fortunately, public records and court proceedings will often provide the information cop shops and prosecutors won’t share freely.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Warrants and affidavits are part of the court record in criminal proceedings. Warrants and their accompanying paperwork are often sealed by court orders, preventing the public from seeing them until the government (judge, law enforcement agency, etc.) feels comfortable sharing them.

In Mississippi, however, the status quo is even worse than the hit-and-miss warrant access available elsewhere in the country. This ProPublica report shines a light on the seemingly concerted effort to keep warrant documents out of the public’s hands across the state. (via FourthAmendment.com)

The opening details the struggles of public defender Merrill Nordstrom, who was simply trying to challenge the warrant (which happened to be no-knock) that had led to her client’s arrest. Police had violently entered her client’s home searching for drugs — an assault predicated by the alleged sale of less than a gram of marijuana to an informant. No drugs were found but cops came across a gun her client wasn’t allowed to own. 

Hoping to find warrants showing a pattern of violent no-knock raids predicated on alleged criminal acts that seemingly would not require this show of force, she went to the Greenville courthouse to read through other warrants. That’s when she discovered the court did not keep these records. Perversely, the local justice system was lending itself to injustice.

Though she had the search warrant for Bryant’s home, she couldn’t find records for most other raids in the city. The search warrants and supporting documents weren’t at the courthouse, even though the state Supreme Court’s rules require law enforcement to return warrants to the court.

Instead they were at the Greenville Police Department, hidden from view because law enforcement agencies, unlike the courts, can claim a broad public records exemption over records in their possession.

Wow. It’s as if no one in the Greenville courthouse is aware files can be copied, either physically or digitally. The police have no right to stash away the sole copies of search warrants in their own files, especially when it appears the sole purpose is to invert the presumption of openness that guides court proceedings.

It’s a statewide problem.

An investigation by the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and ProPublica has found that almost two-thirds of Mississippi’s county-level justice courts prevent access to some or all search warrants and related documents. So do municipal courts in at least five of the state’s 10 largest cities, including Jackson, the capital.

The court-enabled opacity takes multiple forms. Some courts violate state law by not requiring law enforcement to turn in search warrants and other documents once the warrants have been served. In some cases, courts don’t even bother having cops do the dirty work. They simply refuse to give the public access to these documents.

It’s this opacity that encourages abuse of no-knock warrants. The public defender discussed above discovered a majority of warrants issued in Greenville were no-knock. And most were likely approved by Municipal Judge Michael Prewitt, the only circuit judge in the area for the last two decades. Judge Prewitt admitted as much when questioned by the defender, stating that he’d issue a no-knock warrant to “search for a sweater.” His excuse? There’s a lot of drug crime in Greenville.

This information came from the judge himself. The court claimed it had no records of any searches authorized by Judge Prewitt, despite his two decades of service. And it didn’t. The only person with access to the documents was the person who rubber-stamped them to send cops searching for sweaters.

Prewitt said in an email to the Daily Journal and ProPublica that he personally keeps copies of all search warrants that are returned to him.

The courts in Mississippi are serving law enforcement, rather than the public. Multiple court clerks were questioned by ProPublica. Far too many admitted they weren’t in the business of assuring public records were accessible by the public.

“We don’t keep those,” said Lamar County Justice Court Clerk Sandra Owen.

“Usually the return goes back to the sheriff’s offices,” said Jones County Justice Court Clerk Stacy Walls.

“I hardly ever see search warrants — before, during or after,” said Marion County Justice Court Clerk Wynette Parkman.

Once again, government employees are conveniently pretending it’s impossible to make a copy of a court document before giving it back to a law enforcement agency. In other cases, they’re simply pretending the rule ordering law enforcement to provide these documents to the court following a search doesn’t apply to them or the cops.

There is some justifiable ignorance tucked into all the law enforcement subservience. In many cases, clerks aren’t made aware that warrants have been signed by judges. As such, there’s no way they would know documents cops are mandated to return to the court have not been returned. 

But there’s also a lot of seemingly willful ignorance. Clerks seem to be aware of law enforcement’s obligations. However, they claim that, despite the clear wording, they’ve never been explicitly told these documents must remain in the hands of the court when (or, more likely, if) they’re returned by law enforcement officers. 

The entire report is an infuriating read. The general tone that comes across is that both involved government parties — law enforcement and courts — believe the general public has no right to access these documents, despite them clearly being part of the public record, in terms of court proceedings. [MORE]

Alabama Prisoners Continue to Strike Over ‘horrendous’ conditions. Inmates Refuse to Work for no pay in Prison jobs in food service, laundry and maintenance

From [HERE] An estimated 80% of prisoners from Alabama’s “major male facilities” went on strike on September 26th, in response to a wide range of conditions and grievances. Inside organizer Kinetik Swift Justice stated,

Basically, the message that we are sending is, the courts have shut down on us, the parole board has shut down on us. This society has long ago shut down on us. So basically, if that’s the case, and you’re not wanting us to return back to society, you can run these facilities yourselves.

The strike has now entered its third week, and at least five facilities, each with around 7,000 prisoners, continue to participate. Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has punished prisoners by drastically reducing their meals, essentially attempting to starve them off the strike. “They have been killed, they have been abused, they are being tortured right now as we speak,” said Eric Buchanan, a formerly incarcerated person who spoke at a rally for the strike.

They are retaliating against our brothers right now by giving them very little food to eat.

ADOC has also used lower-custody prisoners to help break the strike, threatening to re-classify them back to a higher security facility if they refused to scab. Some of these minimum custody prisoners have still refused, however. One prisoner, who was thrown in solitary for refusing to help break the strike, stated,

They forced me to come over here from Decatur to put my life in jeopardy by working against the inmates, my own people, in this peaceful protest… I believe in what y’all doing. I’ve got a 21-year sentence. Y’all are helping me.

Statements From The Small Prison

From : All confined citizens in Alabama prisons.

Since the peaceful labor strike within the Alabama Department of Corrections began on September 26, those who are striking have faced relentless attempts to break our spirit by the correctional staff. We have been starved, placed into solitary confinement and suicide cells as retaliation, and forced into dangerous situations as ADOC tries to turn us against each other. In spite of this, international media and activists have turned their attention toward Alabama and its inhumane treatment of and policies around incarcerated individuals. The world is watching.

We will not relent under these retaliatory tactics. Our brothers, particularly those with health conditions, addiction and mental health challenges, have faced challenges not only to their psychological well-being but also their very lives.

Especially alarming is ADOC’S intentional “bird feeding” food deprevention, which presents a severe health risk to those who suffer from diabetes and other illnesses that require a wellness diet.

Unlike the ADOC we value life.

By no means are we waiving a white flag of defeat. We are still demanding our concerns be heard before our Legislators and other elected officials. We also demand that our outside representatives be given a platform to be our voice and the public hear our arguments.

At this time, some have chosen to returned to work to ensure that ADOC does not continue to target the most vulnerable in our population. Others will continue to strike.

We will continue to escalate our strike, peacefully, until our voices are heard.

Alabama Confined Citizens

Individual Statement from Prisoner at Donaldson

My name is Gerald Griffin#247505. I’m serving a 22 year sentence under the Habitual Offender Act that’s is unconstitutional and that has the Alabama prisons over crowded in inhumane conditions prisoners here in Alabama connected their daily struggles for humanity and survival to the broader political context we entered collectively as one whole.

The prisoners in Alabama are tiered. Prisoners across the United States right now are actively engaging in some of the most passionate, consistent and effective rebellion in the country. The Alabama prisoners want better living conditions, workers pay incentives for programs they’ve completed, stop the abuse mentally and physically by ADOC officials, to put in action to oversee these unconstitutional sentences from the Hibitual offender act law, and for them to let go these elders that been in prison for excessive sentences at Donaldson Correctional Facility.

We are going to stay strong. Thank you for the ones that support us in this shutdown.

Break every chain to have a opportunity to hug my mother and sister again…

UN Experts: ‘Almost Impossible’ for Countries to Administer Death Penalty without Violating Defendants’ Human Rights

From [HERE] Two leading United Nations human rights experts have condemned capital punishment as incompatible with international legal requirements, saying the death penalty is “almost impossible” to administer while respecting the human rights of the accused.

In a joint statement issued from Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 10, 2022 in connection with the observance of the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty, Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and Morris Tidball-Binz, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions called death-penalty abolition “the only viable path.” “Although the death penalty is permitted in very limited circumstances under international law, the reality remains that in practice it is almost impossible for States to impose capital punishment while meeting their obligations to respect the human rights of those convicted,” they said.

The Special Rapporteurs criticized death-row conditions, torturous execution methods, and the use of capital punishment against vulnerable classes of defendants and as an instrument of political oppression. “A number of states continue to impose the death penalty for non-violent crimes such as blasphemy, adultery and drug-related offences, which fail the ‘most serious crime’ standard for the application of capital punishment under international law. A growing trend of imposing the death penalty on those exercising their right to peaceful political protest is deeply worrying,” they wrote.

The Pulaski Cty Sheriff Presented 43 Minutes of Video from Terence Caffey's Arrest but Omitted the Part Where 1 Cop Held his Neck while Another Put a Knee in His Back Moments Before He Died

From [HERE] A controversial video was released last month by the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office about the arrest of Terence Caffey at the Movie Tavern theater last December.

Family members of Caffey said when the video was released, authorities didn't show all of the video. They believe more than 10 months ago, Caffey took his last breath at the movie theater while in police custody.

During a press conference on Wednesday, you can hear chants of "Justice for Terence Caffey" throughout the room. National civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his legal team showed unreleased video to the public for the first time.

According to Crump's legal team, the nearly 43 minute video released by PCSO never showed an officer holding their hand on Caffey's neck while another placed their knee on his back. Nearly four minutes later from that vantage point, officers back Caffey up and place him into a squad car. Crump believes at this point Caffey was no longer alive.

"Our medical examiner believes he's dead at that point, and they did put him in the car," Crump said. "They put him in the car and its like no problem they him stay there and they all just kickin it, talking like no problem at all. Finally, one of the officers goes to check in the back of the police car with their light and they say oh we got a problem. Maybe he wasn't just saying he can't breathe."

Crump's legal team said they believe the video they showed should've been included in last month's released and presented to a grand jury. Attorney Elizabeth White said the people of the community deserve to make the decision from themselves, not the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney.

"They made the decision not to even present the case to the grand jury, not to let the people of this city decide what happened to Terence Caffey and who is responsible," White said.

KATV reached out to Pulaski Count prosecuting attorney Larry Jegley for answers. He told KATV the case was not sent to a grand jury because the state's constitution allows the prosecuting attorney to decide criminal charges without presenting evidence to a grand jury. When asked why not one officer was criminally charged in Caffey's death he said, "The laws the law, the evidence is the evidence, and the investigation is the investigation and our ruling is our ruling,"

In a letter sent to Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins, Jegley states at no time did any officer use more physical force than is authorized by law to restrain Caffey. Here is the full letter below that was sent to Higgins by Jegley.

Caffey family member Nigel Caffey told KATV, this entire process has been deeply hurtful to their family. He said everyone involved needs to held responsible.

"He had a colostomy bag on face down, face down on with a colostomy bag, it's murder man, no other way you can put it," Nigel said.

According to Jegley's report, the medical examiner states Caffey died from a sickle cell crisis due to being restrained and struggling with officers. It also states Caffey suffered no other trauma that would've resulted in his death.

Another attorney on Crump's legal team, Kenneth Abbarno told KATV they were let down on the criminal side of the case that no officers would be charged. He said they are looking to hold everyone accountable through the civil justice system.

"It was ultimately ruled a homicide, we do not disagree with the ruling that this was a homicide in any way shape or form," Abbarno said.

Abbarno said Captain Mark Swagerty, Deputy Ryan Crancer, Deputy Antonio Swygart, and Deputy Ricky Wheeler were placed on administrative leave following the death of Caffey. According to PCSO the deputies have since returned to work.

Crump said the family is now asking the Department of Justice to open a federal civil rights investigation into Caffey's death.

Erik Cantu's Family Retains Ben Crump. In Attempted Murder a White SAPD Cop Opened Fire on a Latino Teen Wrongly Believing his Car was Stolen, Continued Shooting Him as he Fled and Posed No Threat

From [HERE] High-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, is now representing the family of Erik Cantu, the 17-year-old shot by former San Antonio Police Department officer James Brennand.

The announcement was made in a press release from Crump's law firm, Ben Crump Law PLLC. Crump said the shooting was wholly unjustified.

"It should go without saying that our children should be able to eat a meal in peace without being gunned down by police, but here we are — yet again," Crump's statement said.

Brennand shot Cantu multiple times on Oct. 2 after he approached Cantu's vehicle in a McDonald's parking lot and demanded that he get out because he wrongly believed the vehicle was stolen.

After Cantu reversed to flee, and Brennand then shot multiple times into the vehicle. As Cantu put the car in drive and attempted to drive away, Brennand shot at the moving car several more times.

Brennand was fired two days later by the SAPD. He was charged on Oct. 11 with two counts of first-degree felony aggravated assault by a public servant, which carries a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 99 years.

In Crump’s announcement, he called the aggravated assault charges "woefully inadequate," but did not say what charges he thought should be brought against Brennand.

Activists and supporters of Cantu have previously called for the former officer to be charged with attempted murder.

In the press conference when he first announced the charges, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said his department did not come to the conclusion that attempted murder charges fit, but that the district attorney's office had the last word on the decision.

"That's not the conclusion that we came with right now," McManus said. "That would be up to the DA [Joe Gonzales] if he decides to change that, but our case led us down the path of aggravated assault by a public official."

In a previous statement from Cantu's parents, they said he was still struggling nearly every day and had undergone multiple surgeries to repair bullet damage to his stomach, lungs, liver and diaphragm.

Cantu's parents also said there had been fake GoFundMe pages created that were not associated with the family. They said the only legitimate GoFundMe for Cantu was called "Support for Erik Cantu," organized by Ruben Carranco and Natalia Farias-Carranco.

Cantu is still on life support, according to Crump’s announcement. Crump said he considered it his mission to "push for justice in his name."

Brennand is currently out on bond after turning himself in and then posting a $200,000 bail. A pre-hearing is set for Nov. 23.

Bullshit Charges Dropped against Randy Cox, Black man Paralyzed by New Haven Cops

From [HERE] A Black man partially paralyzed after sliding head-first into the back wall of a Connecticut police van has had all charges against him dropped, the deputy chief clerk for the New Haven Superior Court said Thursday.

Randy Cox, 36, was arrested on June 19 on suspicion of illegally possessing a handgun.

Video of his arrest shows Cox getting into a police transport van that had a long bench but no seat belts.

When the driver makes an abrupt stop, Cox – who was handcuffed – slides down the bench head-first into the back wall of the van.

He is now paralyzed from the chest down, attorney Benjamin Crump said.

Mayor said the incident was ‘terrible and completely unacceptable’

Police footage shows Cox repeatedly asking for help, saying he cannot move and thinks his neck is broken.

When he arrives at a detention center, officers tell him to sit up or get up off the van floor.

Cox again says he cannot move.

“You’re not even trying,” one officer says.

The video also shows an officer telling Cox he drank too much and to sit up. [MORE]

Louisiana Prisons Routinely Deny Inmates Access to their Attorneys, “Resulting in Grievous Harm.” ACLU asks DOJ to Investigate

From [HERE] Louisiana's ACLU is asking federal officials to investigate allegations that incarcerated people in Louisiana aren't given access to their attorneys.

The ACLU of Louisiana and the law firm Wilson Sonsini sent a letter today to the Department of Justice (DOJ) calling for an investigation into the lack of access to counsel within Louisiana’s prison system.

According to a release from the ACLU, through a series of interviews with local public defenders, the interviewers learned that jails throughout Louisiana are engaged in a widespread practice of denying incarcerated people access to counsel, in alleged violation of the United States Constitution and Louisiana law.

The letter specifically mentions Beauregard, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Evangeline, Orleans, and Lafayette parishes. We've reached out to all of Acadiana's sheriffs to get a copy of their counsel access policy, and we'll update this story as we receive them.

“No person should be required to navigate the criminal legal system without the ability to communicate confidentially with a criminal defense attorney — thwarting this constitutional right is an atrocious and egregious violation that demands action,” said Nora Ahmed, ACLU of Louisiana Legal Director. “That this practice appears routine at multiple jails is astounding. In our letter to the DOJ, we provide a non-exhaustive list of how incarcerated people’s right to counsel is being denied at multiple facilities. We urge the Department, as part of its ongoing investigation into the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, to investigate these harmful practices immediately, and, if warranted, pursue civil action against all facilities actively thwarting incarcerated people’s right to counsel.”

Both the United States Constitution and Louisiana law require prison personnel to allow incarcerated people reasonable access to private consultation with attorneys.

However, the release states, Louisiana prisons appear to have extensive practices that deny or gravely interfere with incarcerated persons’ constitutional right to counsel, resulting in grievous harm. [MORE]

NJ Police Must Now Be Licensed to Obtain the Right to Attack People [if all Power Comes from the People and people can’t give something they don’t have then How Did Cops Obtain their Right to Attack?]

From [HERE] New Jersey became the 47th state to establish a police licensure program when Governor Phil Murphy signed bill S2742/A4194 into law in July 2022. The new legislation, allocating $6 million for the program, requires all law enforcement officers to hold a current, valid license issued by the Police Training Commission (PTC) in order to become and remain employed anywhere in the state. To obtain a license, which must be renewed every three years, officers must pass training courses and psychological evaluations and adhere to uniform, statewide, professional standards.

“Officers holding these licenses will be proven professionals who fulfill their duties with honesty and integrity, helping law enforcement strengthen and rebuild the bonds of trust between police and residents,” says Murphy.

The new law also grants the PTC the authority to remove the license of any officer who violates professional standards, including being convicted of any crime or act of domestic violence, having two or more DUI offenses, and supporting violence, hatred, discrimination or bias against any race, creed, sexual orientation or anything else protected by the federal law against discrimination.

“The bill, while it is progress, is not as strong as it could or should be,” says Racquel Romans-Henry from the Trenton-based advocacy group Salvation and Social Justice.

“We were looking for there to be an addition of some group that represents communities most impacted by policing,” says Yannick Wood from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. His organization also calls for the creation of a public, national, government-owned database of licensing decisions and civilian review boards for complaints of police misconduct.

Media Pretends Waukesha False Flag Theater is a Contested Trial; “Darrel Brooks” is Unrepresented, Can't Cross Examine, Do Discovery/Investigate, Contest Evidence or Defend Himself Like a Real Trial

According to FUNKTIONARY:

bullshit – a barnyard epithet expressing utter disbelief at a statement or discourse that has been suggested to one by another. 2) authentic, verifiable, and true; that which we should have really known all along. Up to 2016, the word used to refer to anything devoid of truth and/or significance. Bullshit is authentic or ordinary man’s psychological weapon of defiance in the face of his inability to change the circumstances surrounding the absurdity or naked lies being offered as reality. Wherever you have illogical thinking and irrational bias merging, you will find its by-product—Bullshit. Bullshit often comes in the form of semantic disinformation—the exploitation of language over perception. Bullshit is something you should be allergic to and never be immunized or inoculated against. “Bullshit” is a far better term than “rationalization” but they basically mean the same. “Bullshit” is an organic, living and breathing word; whereas rationalization is dead-letter clinical term used by academicians with Ph.D.’s. [MORE]

SOME BULLSHIT From [HERE] A member of a group of grandmothers that performs at local parades testified in court on Thursday about the deaths and injuries the group’s members suffered in a crash at a Waukesha, Wisconsin, Christmas parade last fall, and a medical examiner gave emotional testimony about the autopsy of an eight-year-old killed in the crash.

Laura Thein described the “sisterhood” between the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies in her testimony at the homicide trial of Darrell Brooks, who is accused of driving an SUV into a parade just before Thanksgiving last year, killing six people, including three members and one volunteer with the Dancing Grannies. 

The group — membership of which requires only that one be a grandmother — was performing at the Christmas parade as part of its usual seasonal parade schedule, which involves costumed, choreographed dance routines in about 25 parades per year, according to their website.

Their pompom-heavy routine was interrupted that day, Thein said, by a commotion from behind her. All of a sudden, a red SUV drove near her and hit two members in front of her, one of whom initially survived but died later during surgery.

“It all happened so quick that I was still dancing,” Thein said.

Right. The victims may be real but this trial and this “Darrell Brooks” AFRO-INTELPRO negro are not real.

WHO BENEFITS FROM FALSE FLAG THEATER? Due to the contrived nature of the evidence and weird timing of the incident, Waukesha feels synthetic and should be suspected as a false flag operation conducted by the government until proven otherwise. If Crimethinc would create fake vaccines for the purpose of genthanasia and biocide then surely It would have no problem executing 6 white people at a X-Mas parade.

Unlike other false flags this one doesn’t involve a gun grab by liberal simpletons (however, its not clear why do-gooders don’t seek to ban cars based on this episode; thousands of felonies are committed using vehicles each year). But it involves race. Uncle Brother’s purpose here would be primarily to distract us and secondarily to make white people hate, fear or feel superior to Black people more than they already do.

Here, false flag means “staged psychological operations by government operatives and shadow elite orchestrated and perpetrated against the civilian population. False flag operations does not necessarily mean that oftentimes real people don’t die.” FUNKTIONARY

During the week of Thanksgiving and after the conclusion of multiple race related criminal trials involving white male defendants, we are now presented with Mr. “Darrel Brooks” and his conduct in a 90% white city of Waukesha. At the time of the incident observe the common name and generic look in which he can be easily confused with many other middle-aged light skinned Black males with long dreadlocks covering much of his head and a beard concealing much of his face. Dood looks and sounds like police or an actor not a rapper. Is the driver on the grainy video actually “Darrel Brooks?” No one will ever know.

What’s missing is cell phone video evidence of the actual incident – although there were probably hundreds of people present with their cell phones recording the parade, there appear to be only a few videos [HERE] and [HERE] of the incident – which is not normal but common in false flags. Like other false flags, Brooks’ alleged “intentional murder planning” is undermined by having no getaway plan, which we deduce due to the existence of a silly pre-arrest video from “a neighbor” – apparently “Darrel Brooks” planned to run people over during a holiday parade, crash the car, flee on foot and then catch an Uber to escape. Just days after the incident, the government completed its investigation and concluded he intentionally ran people over – probably based on his rap lyrics or an unproduced manifesto or diary perhaps to be released during the trial. Like other false flags, less than 7 days after the incident we had an open and shut case - no need for a trial anyway.

Allegations are the proof in totalitarian systems - ‘who needs to actually prove an allegation in an adversarial trial when you have “beliefs” and dogma? The media simply parrots the police version of events. Anyone who questions the government narrative is a conspiracy theorist. Lawyers call this burden shifting. And this is with all things, not just false flags - for instance, just ask the liberals who sincerely and genuinely believe the veracity of Herschel Walker’s anonymous accuser despite the fact that they have never seen or heard her and have no rational reason to find her credible. How does one acquire such a jesusized belief in an anonymous person? Here, the media and government have presented a very familiar narrative - like a Lifetime movie; easy to follow and one white folks want to believe- another tale told in accordance with the appetite of believers, here racist believers. As explained by Dr. Amos Wilson, “In the context of White American domination there is no innocent Black male, just Black male criminals who have not yet been detected, apprehended or convicted. Their mere presence inspires in White Americans, fears of being assaulted, raped, robbed, or some other indefinable dread of being criminally victimized. Fantasies of the sexual molestation of White females by rapacious Black males are common to the White American male and female consciousness, and are frequent themes of their literary, cinematic, and pornographic productions.”

Despite the facts that 1) nearly 99% of crimes committed against whites are committed by whites and 2) white people are totally unaffected by most street crime involving Black people, the dependent media nevertheless projects white people as the most frequent victims of street crime. As explained by Wilson, the myth of black violence serves important roles in justifying and rationalizing white supremacy and in supporting the white american ego and personality (fabrications). Thus, if Waukesha is a false flag, it is another easily believable delusion in conformance with Neuropeon and Neuropean beliefs and ego.

This episode is similar to the Buffalo supermarket false flag massacre and the Charleston Hoax with Dylann Roof - a tale of a young racist filled with hatred for Blacks who spent months planning to murder black people in a church in South Carolina. Both incidents presented Black people with a fear based narrative that was easy to believe; racist-klan-nazi whites are around every corner, getting ready to murder Blacks at anytime. Most Black individuals are pre-disposed to believing the Charleston/Buffalo narratives - as it confirms their beliefs and misperceptions about racism. As such, there is no need to critically examine facts and details. Similarly with Waukesha white people are presented with familiar racial stereotypes and memes.

Less than a week after it happened the media supplied us a ready made bio for “Darrell Brooks” containing info (faster than court pre-trial services) about childhood upbringing (not dissimilar to the readily found unauthenticated manifestos or diaries found in other false flag episodes), how his ex-girlfriend feels and a slick headshot photo (like ISIS press releases). The media has stated he is a rapist, depicted him as a serial criminal who is unreformable (because Blacks are inherently criminal) [MORE] and said he is a welfare recipient. We are told he is an auto-coon rapper (an unsigned artist of course “promoted” on a YouTube channel (formed days after the incident, probably by the government). In his video he apparently showcased the same Ford Escape he used to kill as a prop in a music video (an auto-coon rapper with a Ford Escape? Silly, only police think like this. Reminds BW of the “Black rapper” from SD allegedly found on the battlefield in Syria fighting for ISIS, confirmed of course by “his tweets”). The media also explained he hates Trump and white people (hate white folks? Although his conduct has been objectionable, there is no hate on display in court in hours of footage where he is clearly seeking approval from and trying to please the white judge and white courtroom staff, like a puppy, child or servant– this is beggar conduct, racists find it flattering). According to the media and the police, Brooks had a history of social media posts advocating for violence against white people, he rapped about being a "terrorist" and a "killer,” he was a "black nationalist” (when white people say that what does it mean? If it means living separate and apart from whites then could he do that in 90% white Waukesha?), a member of the Black Hebrew Israelites (is there a branch in Waukesha, which is 3% Black?), and believes in black supremacy (right, like a prisoner believing he is the warden) and so on [MORE]. Based on the generic profile he probably also loves fried chicken, watermelon, collards, white woman, rims, cereal etc. All this leads the believer to believe that he ran people over because they were white. Racists want to believe that.

Similar to the Charleston Hoax, Dylann Roof was also unrepresented during his trial (only had attorney for sentencing, fired his attorneys the day before trial) we will also get an uncontested trial in which no actual defense will be vigorously asserted, not a single meaningful objection will be raised to piles of double hearsay statements and unauthenticated evidence allegedly found online (probably all made by the government) and otherwise inadmissible evidence and testimony is presented to the jury due to “Mr. Brooks” legal incompetence, ignorance and ineffectiveness. His identification will not be actually contested. This is authoritarian theater for slaves. But slaves have their beliefs and the false flags confirm them. Nevertheless, the dependent media will claim it was a contested trial and pretend the conviction is proof that this false flag occurred just like the media and government said it did.

As with other uncontested false flag cases like Parkland (defendant pled guilty, media mischaracterized his sentencing hearing as a trial on the merits) or the Alex Jones cases (there was no contested trial on the merits, the court entered default judgments in all his cases due to discovery violations. The media mischaracterzied the proceeding to determine damages as an actual trial on the merits) or firing the entire Uvalde police force, this is theater for your mind – intended to make you believe that the underlying event occurred without ever having to actually prove it.

MUSIC MADE BY COPS

According to FUNKTIONARY:

AFRO-INTELPRO - an FBI created, CIA and NSA backed, black-on-black infiltration and snitch network. AFRO is the acronym for Africans For Revolution Only. The intelligence operatives infiltrate revolutionary organizations to disrupt and foment confusion, terror and distrust within the ranks of those organizations not unlike COINTELPRO. (See: SNigger)

Hoax - a mirage that appears as believable, popular (and marketable) as Jesus, as tempting as sin, and as captivating as a sweet taboo---without its consequences and side-effects too. The illusion of truth seems real--the "reality" of the reel (the Passing Show)--the surreal. The two most pervasive hoaxes we put over on ourselves is ego and money--neither have any existence. (See: Passing Show, Mirage, Rolling Mirror, Objectivity, Ego, Money, Utopia, Kansas & Alice in Wonderland)

belief-based truth - a description or perception of reality, (the content of which comprises what we call "truth"), that one desires or hopes to be true, despite external scientific, natural, or reproducible proof-based truth to the contrary. People all-too-often compromise their integrity and/or intelligence by devising truth which disallows any proof by design, as part and parcel of its ruse to allure its believers)—and even the truth that carries proof cannot be proven against the undeniable uncertainty of Reality. You fall prey to (or fall for) the illusions of proof if you ignore the pure subjectivity of reality. Illusions of scientific proof follow illusions of limits, and illusions of religious proof follow illusions of truth. Science makes truth out of proof, while belief-based religions make proof out of truth. (See: Infinity, Proof, Revelatory Truth, Absolute Truth & Belief System)

Belief- the psychological calm of imagined certitude safely beyond de-stabilizing doubt and troublesome reality-entanglement. 2) a construction of approximate truths, absolute truths, mass truths and primary myths, based on genetic predisposition, and environmental and socio-psychological conditioning. 3) the institutionalization of the unknowable, i.e., a conviction that is not necessarily based upon any empirical, direct-mind or experiential knowledge. 4) a non-physical surviving thought-form. 5) any conclusion based on a fundamental assumption; the evidence of things not seen, no longer actively sought. 6) an intellectual
rationalization surrounded by (based on) "'proofs," reasons and arguments. 7) that which springs out of cultural ideology. 8) the greatest fiction. 9) a trick of the mind to repress doubt. 10) a mental doubt-suppression tactic. A suppressed doubt is neither faith nor even trust. 11) repressed doubt. 12) an explicit or implicit assent to dogmatic propositions (with or without overgrown religious foliage) on someone else's authority. 13) reverential blindness that thwarts fresh perception and intuitive apperception. 14) a prejudice without any experience to support it. 15) a peculiar blend of fatiloquent assertion on one hand and adamant denial on the other. 16) a manic flirtation with the terminally unprovable. 17) certainty based in the unknown. 18) having another "see" it for you while seeing him see it (for you)—in effect being for another. 19) a conclusion without the verification of direct experience—make-believe made real. 20) the inability or unwillingness to master the requisite logic or reason to counterbalance (or overcome) the willingness to be misled. [MORE]

Media Pretends the "Parkland Shooter" Had a Contested Trial; Wrong, He Pled Guilty and Had a Sentencing Hearing. A Jury Sentenced Him to Life. Guilty Pleas Don’t Prove Crimes or Make False Flags Real

From [HERE] After a month-long sentencing hearing, a Florida jury Thursday recommended that Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without parole. The prosecution raised aggravating factors like the “heinous” and “calculated” nature of the killings while the defense argued that the mitigating circumstances of Cruz’s troubled background and upbringing only warranted a life sentence.

The jury found that Cruz was eligible for the death penalty on every count but did not unanimously agree to recommend a death sentence; therefore, they defaulted to life without parole. Jury foreman Benjamin Thomas told local news, “there was one [juror] with a hard no – she couldn’t do it” and that “there was another two that ended up voting the same way.” Thomas explained that some of the jurors felt that Cruz’s mental health and other mitigating circumstances precluded him from receiving the death penalty.

In a notice filed after the sentence announcement, a juror approached the court and said she was threatened by a fellow juror during deliberations. The notice calls on Judge Elizabeth Scherer to order law enforcement to investigate and interview the juror. The court notice does not reveal the identity of the juror nor which sentence the juror supported.

This ruling is only a recommendation. The official sentencing hearing will be held on Tuesday, November 1. Victims and family member are expected to deliver impact statements before the court delivers the sentence.

THIS SHIT ISN’T FAKE?

You would think that an actual criminal defense trial on the merits took place. BUT HE ALREADY PLED GUILTY. Cruz pled guilty last October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Parkland shooting. That triggered the current phase of his trial, which is meant only to determine his sentence; specifically whether he will be sentenced to die.

A guilty plea is just a guilty plea - it is not proof that anything happened in any case. A guilty plea is a way to avoid an actual trial or avoid having to prove that a crime took place. The guilty plea here doesn’t prove that Mr. Cruz committed a massacre or that Parkland happened - its just a plea, nothing more. If an actual, contested criminal defense trial had taken place the Government would have had the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a massacre took place and Mr. Cruz committed it. That is, the Government would have had to show that Parkland was real - with actual authenticated, admissible evidence and testimony subject to cross-examination, credibility determinations, investigation and inspection in an adversarial process before a jury who would decide on the merits. But that never happened. Nevertheless, in The Spectacle The Dependent Media goes on implying that “a trial” is presently being conducted. Similarly, “Sandy Hoax” was not proven to be real simply because a court entered default judgments against Alex Jones when he failed to respond to court orders in lawsuits.

The hearing was a sentencing - not an actual criminal trial on the merits. [MORE] The Dependent Media is promoting confusion because the Parkland episode looks staged.

Due to the contrived nature of the Parkland narrative, voluntary confession, many fake looking/sounding media interviews with in-credible witnesses providing inconsistent facts, a lack of corroborating forensic evidence, a lack of cell-phone video from high school students, miraculously quick medical recoveries by kids shot in the chest, books that deflected bullets and more, many consider Parkland a false flag operation or cover story. Belief isn’t needed to come to such a conclusion- go watch the many videos online about it. On the other hand however, belief is needed to conclude that an actual massacre occurred because the evidence has never been seen. We must believe cops and whatever emotional words the media put before our eyes. It takes absolutely no intelligence to believe.

The fact that there was no trial only strengthens the doubt of persons who don’t blindly believe whatever the media says. In all microwave terror episodes the media simply parrot whatever police say from a crime scene closed to the public in an instantly open and shut case. To be clear here, no criminal trial means no contested, adversarial proceeding in which the government would have to establish facts beyond a reasonable doubt with actual, admissible, authenticated evidence and credible witness testimony that is subjected to rigorous cross -examination, rules of evidence, discovery, Brady disclosures and the defendant’s right to face to face confrontation with his accusers. What better way could there be to drop any doubt as to whether this fake looking bullshit ever took place? [MORE]

? SHE ISN’T RECITING LINES FROM A SCRIPT? ARE YOU ON LSD??

All Emotion Few Facts: A Default Judgment Simply Means Alex Jones is Liable, It's Not Proof Sandy Hoax wasn't an Elaborate Hoax. Media Pretends a Default is the Same as a Contested Trial on the Merits

THE TOP 10 REASONS SANDY HOAX WAS AN ELABORATE HOAX

NOBODY DIED AT SANDY HOOK. COMPLETE BOOK [PDF] Banned by Do-Gooders everywhere and [MORE]

From [HERE] A Connecticut jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $965 million in damages for repeatedly claiming on his Infowars platform that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a government hoax.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis had previously issued a default judgment against Mr. Jones after he failed to provide information about his business and other communications required during the court proceedings.

Contrary to constant media mischaracterization, there was no actual contested trial. The court proceedings only pertained to how much should be awarded in damages.

A default judgment transforms a defending party’s admissions (which occur upon entry of the default) into a final judgment; it usually terminates the litigation by producing an enforceable, final award in favor of the pleader. When the damages amount is not a sum certain, the court may convene an evidentiary hearing. Although the entry of default deprives the defaulting party of the right to contest most of the complaint’s factual allegations, that party may contest the amount of damages. The Dependent media is calling the hearing on damages a “jury trial” to confuse the proceeding with an actual jury trial on the merits.

Default judgments are a drastic action because they confront the judicial preference for disposition on the merits. Default judgments don’t prove that something happened - they just mean someone lost a lawsuit where something was alleged.

If an actual, contested trial defamation trial had taken place the plaintiffs would have had the burden to actually prove that Jones made false statements; not vice-versa. That is, the plaintiffs would have had to show that Sandy Hook was real - with actual authenticated, admissible evidence and testimony subject to cross-examination, credibility determinations and inspection in an adversarial process before a jury who would decide on the merits. But that never happened. In other words, if plaintiffs brought suit because Jones said Santa was fake and thereafter Jones failed to respond to the lawsuit, a default judgment would eventually be entered. Such a judgment wouldn’t make Santy real though. In The Spectacle ,The Dependent Media goes on pretending otherwise.

Once a default judgment was made by the court the only thing left for the jury to do was to determine the amount of damages for the alleged defamation. Jones participated in that part of the proceeding.

THE TOP 10 REASONS SANDY HOAX WAS AN ELABORATE HOAX. As Defined in FUNKTIONARY

Sandy Hook – a staged CAPSTONE false flag media psy-ops event. Medical personnel and first responders turned away from the crime scene where 26 people allegedly were murdered. Sandy Hook never happened. Sandy Hoax did.

Would the US Government Ever Use Weather Modification Technology as a Weapon Against its Own Citizens, Creating Tropical Storms or Earthquakes for Political Reasons? Would They Patent the Technology?

According to FUNKTIONARY:

Government – (as commonly misunderstood)—a communal exchange of autonomy for appearance of order (peace via coercion), expanded over time, with the option of exercising violence being reserved to those who define and provide an illusion of order through force and fear. 2) a coercive institution—dysfunctional force and veiled violence. 3) the compelled enforcement of involuntary society. The Corporate State)—a fictitious entity (mental aberration or abstraction) and thus a non-producer of wealth, but masquerading as the prime merchant. 4) human failure programs that stay (hold off) maximumissness and depend on the support (stealing then redistributing wealth) of its subject-victims. 5) ‘organized’ coerced support of selected monopolized services. 6) licensed, sanctioned and legalized criminal activity. 7) a sticky residue on your shoe. The whole idea of government is this: If enough people get together and act in concert, they can take some and not pay for it. Any government represents a crucial compromise with freedom and distortion of reality, and no reified abstraction (however crafted by crafty corporate cartoonists) can protect anyone from any and all danger. The feudal subject-King relationship is exactly the same as the federal citizen-Government relationship. “That government is best which governs not at all; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections that have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army in the U.S. is only an arm of the standing government put into action only after the economic hit men and “jackals” (wet-ops) return home unsuccessful in their missions to earn their booty off dirty intrigue commissions. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before people can act through it.” ~Henry David Thoreau (slightly adapted). Government was formed with one major and one minor purpose—the major purpose being to protect the wealth of the wealthy; and the minor purpose being to prevent the non-wealthy from becoming wealthy and subjecting them to the dictates of statutes (written laws—not common law). Government is itself an evil—an abstraction given artificial life for the ostensible purpose of preventing certain conditions from arising, these conditions being the product of injurious behavior (actual injury) on the part of other persons as well as autonomous freedom (ownership of one’s body, mind and labor) of those subjugated to force, exploitation, jurisdiction and control. Government is that group of people who hold the generally tolerated monopoly on acceptable violence. “It is a function of government to invent philosophies [and sophistries] to explain the demands of its own convenience.” ~Murray Kempson. Until people wake-the-spell up to a higher level of individual and collective consciousness, government so-called will remain an unnecessary, yet banefully suffered evil to battle the evil that itself breeds as a matter of course. The creation and imposition of government is the compelled pressure to conform to what is common, established, unoriginal, unacceptable, and ultimately inimical to all, whether reinforced by law, lethal force or acculturation. Throughout history many intelligent thinkers all around the world have tried to contemplate or design some way to have “government” and freedom too. Failing miserably and repeatedly to find one either in practice or in theory, it is time for intelligent human beings to give way to beings of higher consciousness using sagacity and sapience to finally realize that: 1) “government” itself is a deadly mental contrivance and immanent threat to their freedom; 2) there is no way to prevent “government” from constantly increasing its power and eroding freedom; 3) “government” itself being a reification (deadly cartoon) will vanish when the illusion on which it rests dissipates. This goes for all brands and flavors of “government” across the ideological spectrum. Violence (against statists) makes government appear legitimate. [MORE]