-
Posts
6,477 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Store
Everything posted by Steve Thomas
-
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
RNC operatives and lawyers helping Kanye West get on the ballot. Altered pictures of Joe Biden. Anybody else see the helping hand of Roger Stone in all this? Steve Thomas -
Tommy, You would be looking for something in the Dispatch Tapes where an officer lets Dispatch know by Signal Code that he is going to be out of the car and unavailable to be reached by the normal communications system; such as: Signal 50 Going for lunch Signal 51 Getting some coffee Signal 58 Routine Investigation Signal 65 Using the telephone. You can look over these Dallas Police radio codes here: https://www.bearcat1.com/radiotx.htm Steve Thomas
-
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
- Donald Trump - “So I passed a regulation, I signed a regulation to give the dishwashers much more water. And I was asking today – and that, by the way includes your washers. You don’t need too much water in your dryers. But it includes your washers. And the same thing with sinks, toilets, and showers. You go into a new home, you turn on the faucet no water comes out, you turn on the shower. If you’re like me you can’t wash your beautiful hair properly." Sigh. Steve Thomas -
Tommy, In my personal opinion, the horn tipping was not a signal to Oswald. Have you ever pulled up to a stop light and the light in front of you turns green and the guy in front of you doesn't pull out right away because he is distracted or daydreaming or something, and you tap your horn a couple of times to get him to pull out? That's what I think it was. Oswald's landlady said that the last time she saw Oswald, he was standing at the bus stop. He wasn't getting into a police car. Maybe the cop car pulled around the corner and stopped and waited until Oswald came out of the house, but Zangs was a pretty busy road. What's more interesting to me are the actions of Patrolman, Ray Hawkins. Ray Hawkins and T.A. Hutson both participated in the apprehension of Lee Oswald. Ray Hawkins call sign was 211 T.A. Hutson call sign was 284 J.D. Tippit is shot. Multiple units respond. A search of the houses in the vicinity is undertaken. The search of the houses proves fruitless. A suspect is spotted at the Library. Multiple units respond. Sometime between the search of the houses and the sighting of a suspect at the Library, Hawkins and Hutson make a stop at a Mobile Gas Station at 10th and Beckley to make a phone call, supposedly in response from a request from Dispatch to call in. I do not find any reference to this phone call in the Dispatch tapes. Is it odd that Tippit and Hawkins are making phone calls on a landline telephone right around this same time period? And what was Hutson doing that he burned out the clutch on his motorcycle? Either the motorcycles in the DPD were poorly maintained, or Hutson was doing some pretty wild riding. (Hawkins) “We had just finished the accident at this time and I was driving an officer, Baggett, and I proceeded to Oak Cliff to the general vicinity of the call after checking out with the dispatcher, stating that we were proceeding in that direction.” http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/hawkins.htm From the Dispatch tapes - Between 1:16 and 1:19 PM: DIS 211: 211. DIS: 211. 211: We're clear, Industrial and Stemmons. We'll go out there. DIS: 10-4, 211 We arrived in Oak Cliff and there were several squads in the general vicinity of where the shooting had occurred---different stories had come out that the person was--the suspect had been seen in the immediate vicinity. Mr. BALL. Did you go to 10th and Patton? Mr. HAWKINS. We drove by 10th and Patton--we didn't stop at the location. Mr. BALL. Where did you go then? Mr. HAWKINS. We circled the vicinity around Jefferson and Marsalis and in that area, talking to several people on the street, asking if they had seen anyone running up the alley or running down the street, and then they received a call, or I believe Officer Walker put out a call that he had just seen a white man running to the Oak Cliff Library, at which time we proceeded to this location. Officer Hutson had gotten into the car with us when we arrived in Oak Cliff, and there were three of us in the squad car--Officer Baggett, Officer Hutson, and myself. Mr. BALL Hutson is also a patrolman? Mr. HAWKINS. Yes, sir. Mr. BALL. A uniformed patrolman? Mr. HAWKINS. Yes, sir; he is a three-wheel officer. (Hutson) http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/hutson.htm Mr. HUTSON. As I was being released, (From Elm and Houston) I heard the radio dispatcher come on the radio and give a Signal 19, and that a shooting involving a police officer in the 500 block of East Jefferson... Mr. BELIN. When you heard this news about this shooting in Oak Cliff----by the way, where was your regular station ordinarily? Mr. HUTSON. I worked west of Vernon on Jefferson. Mr. BELIN. Is that Oak Cliff? Mr. HUTSON. Yes; that is West Jefferson Boulevard. Mr. BELIN. What did you do after you heard about the shooting? Mr. HUTSON. I got on my motorcycle and I proceeded down through the triple underpass and up onto R. L. Thornton Freeway to Oak Cliff. Mr. BELIN. Where did you go? Mr. HUTSON. I exited off Jefferson and went to the 400 block of East Jefferson Boulevard and began a search of the two-story house behind 10th Street where the officer had been shot. Mr. BELIN. All right. Mr. HUTSON. And after we searched this area, I got in the squad car with Officer Ray Hawkins, who was driving, and Officer Baggett was riding in the back seat. Mr. BELIN. Why did you get inside the squad car? Mr. HUTSON. The clutch on my motorcycle was burned out and I couldn't get any speed and I just barely made it over there, and I didn't know whether I would be able to start and go or not. Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do? Mr. HUTSON. We proceeded west on 10th Street to Beckley, and we pulled into the Mobil gas station at Beckley and 10th Street. Mr. BELIN. That is a Mobil gas station? Mr. HUTSON. Yes. Mr. BELIN. All right. Mr. HUTSON. And Officer Ray Hawkins and Officer Baggett went inside of the Mobil gas station. And I am not positive, but I think they used the telephone to call in. I am not positive, but I believe they gave us a call for us to call. I mean their number to call in. At the time they were in the service station, I heard the dispatcher give a call that the suspect was just seen running across the lawn at the Oak Cliff Branch Library at Marsalis and Jefferson. I reached over and blew the siren on the squad car to attract the officers' attention, Officers Baggett and Hawkins, and they came running out of the service station and jumped in the car, and I told them to report to, I can't remember, Marsalis and Jefferson, the suspect was seen running across the lawn at the library. From the Dispatch tapes - 1:34 PM 22: They've got him holed up, it looks like, in this building over here at the corner. 22: (?) ...were you be? 85: 85, library. DIS: 10-4. 211: 211 out at that location. DIS: 10-4. Hawkins is circling the area around Jefferson and Marsalis (where the Library is). (which is about six blocks east of where Tippit has been shot) He heads west and picks up Hutson in the neighborhood of 10th and Patton. They continue west on 10th till they get to Beckley and 10th, where they make a phone call at a Mobil Gas Station. While they're in there on a phone call, Dispatch announces that a suspect has been seen at the Library, so they head back east again. Why didn't Hawkins mention this phone call when he testified before the Warren Commission on April 3, 1964? http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/hawkins.htm Why did he and Baggett fail to mention this phone call in their after-action reports in the DPD JFK Archives? The first six lines of E.R. Baggett's and Ray Hawkins' Reports on the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald in the DPD Archives read word for word. Neither mention the stop at the Mobil Gas Station. Baggett: Box 1, Folder# 4, Item# 13 http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box1.htm Hawkins: Box 2, Folder# 7, Item# 18 http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box2.htm Why didn't Hawkins call in to Dispatch that he was “out of service”? Why did it take both Hawkins and Baggett to make this phone call? E.R. Baggett is a patrolman temporarily assigned to the DPD Special Service Bureau. http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/pdf/WH19_Batchelor_Ex_5002.pdf Why did neither Hutson or Hawkins call in to headquarters notifying them that Hutson is now with Hawkins? If Hawkins is on the phone to headquarters, why does Hutson need to turn on the siren alerting Hawkins and Baggett that the suspect has been seen at the Library? Who are Hawkins and Baggett talking to? Why is there no record in the Dispatch tapes of this call to Hawkins to call in to Headquarters? Why didn't Hutson call in to Dispatch that his motorcycle was disabled and needed a tow truck? Why hasn't Hawkins' telephone call from the Mobil Gas Station received the same attention as Tippit's phone call from the Top Ten Record Store? What do you think of the idea that Tippit's call at the Top Ten Record Store and Hawkins' call at the Mobil Gas Station are related; as in "I can't find him.", or "He's not here.", meaning Oswald? From the account's I've read, Tippit was behaving erratically, and the stop at Top Ten was a rushed affair. A fellow officer has been shot. There is an armed and dangerous suspect on the loose. Hawkins responds to the Tippit shooting, but doesn't stop at 10th and Patton. He goes to the Library neighborhood at Jefferson and Marsalis and starts circling the neighborhood. He drives back to 10th and Patton, picks up Hutson, and then he and Baggett stop and make a phone call from a Mobil Gas Station at 10th and Beckley, leaving Hutson in the car. When Hutson blows the siren to let them know that a suspect has been seen at the Library, they go rushing back over there. Is it possible that Tippit and Hawkins were calling the same people? When Kenneth Croy testified to the Warren Commission on March 26, 1964, he said, http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/croy.htm Mr. GRIFFIN. Where do you live? Mr. CROY. 1658 Glenfield Dallas, Tex. “Mr. GRIFFIN. What is your occupation? Mr. CROY. I have several. Mr. GRIFFIN. Let's have them in order. Mr. CROY. I am in the real estate business. I have a Mobil service station...” 1658 Glenfield is roughly a mile southwest of the Texas Theater posting by an unknown author in the ReopenKennedyCase Forum 1/29/2014 “Croy’s home by the way was 1658 Glenfield. This was the same street that J. D. Tippit lived on until 1961. Glenfield was also the same street that Carl Amos Mather used to live on a few blocks from Tippit’s house when they first became friends. For those unfamiliar with Mather he is connected to proceedings because a license plate number was taken down by garage mechanic T. F. White close to the Texas Theater immediately after Oswald’s arrest that was traced back to Carl Amos Mather’s car. The occupant of the car seen by White bore an uncanny resemblance to Lee Harvey Oswald and Carl Mather, when interviewed, told of his friendship with J. D. Tippit. Tippit's old house of 1919 Glenfield, even though he and his family no longer lived there in 1963, was still in his possession and the property was rented out As far as I'm aware it was never investigated who it was rented out to. Croy’s house was three blocks from the house Tippit owned. During his Warren Commission testimony it is interesting to note that Croy was not asked if he knew Officer Tippit”. T.A. Hutson worked Traffic Division Traffic Control Second Platoon 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM https://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/pdf/WH19_Batchelor_Ex_5002.pdf Ray Hawkins worked Traffic Division Accident Prevention Bureau 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM https://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/pdf/WH19_Batchelor_Ex_5002.pdf .Steve Thomas
-
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
The Parkland teens send the NRA their thoughts and prayers. Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Trump Has a Half Billion in Loans Coming Due. They May Be His Biggest Conflict of Interest Yet. By Russ Choma https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/donald-trump-loans-deutsche-bank/ “Nevertheless, Deutsche’s private banking division, which caters to wealthy clientele, continued to lend to Trump, giving him $125 million, spread over two loans, to finance the purchase and renovation of his Doral golf resort in 2012. Both are floating rate loans, meaning the interest rate fluctuates based on market conditions, which lending experts say usually indicates they are interest-only loans. If so, Trump probably hasn’t paid down much if any of the principal and will owe something close to the whole $125 million when the loans come due in 2023. In 2014, Trump took out a separate floating loan from Deutsche’s private bank to bankroll the development of his luxury hotel in Washington, DC. The balance of this $170 million debt is payable in 2024. That year, Trump will also owe Deutsche between $25 million and $50 million in connection with his Chicago hotel and complex. Trump has received additional loans from a company named Ladder Capital, a financial firm that specializes in bundling commercial debt into mortgage-backed securities. Companies like Ladder are often lenders of last resort for people and companies that, for one reason or another, have difficulty obtaining money from traditional banks (ahem, Trump). Such firms are willing to take risky bets because they securitize the debt and pass the responsibility for it on to investors. Trump has two Ladder loans due over the next several years: a $100 million interest-only mortgage on Trump Tower and a roughly $13 million loan against Trump Plaza. The Trump Tower loan is up in September 2022.” “Pass the responsibility on to investors.” Good work if you can get it. Watcha wanna bet that Deutche throws its private banking division under the bus? Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Trump's DC Hotel Jacked Up Its Prices As Trump Began Plotting a DC-Based Convention By William Bredderman https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-dc-hotel-jacked-up-its-prices-as-trump-began-plotting-a-dc-based-republican-national-convention?ref=home "Listings for rooms at the Trump International Hotel in D.C., via Hotels.com, show rooms for one adult on the night of the address starting at $795 and running as high as $2,070. That price tag represents a massive increase from the $495 starting rate currently offered for the dates one week following and one week prior. For three days before Trump’s scheduled speech—which were originally scheduled to be the dates of the GOP convention in Charlotte, North Carolina—the hotel is charging $695 a night for its cheapest room. The hotel will begin charging $795 that Thursday, and continue through the weekend, before dropping back to $495 on Monday." Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Trump bickers with himself about coronavirus. https://boingboing.net/2020/08/05/hilarious-video-edit-poses-tru.html Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Ammonium nitrate was Timothy McVeigh's explosive of choice. Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Why the idea of jobless benefits scares the conservative mind By Sonali Kolhatkar https://www.salon.com/2020/08/04/why-the-idea-of-jobless-benefits-scares-the-conservative-mind_partner/ $600 a week correlates to $15.00 per hour for a 40 hour week. The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. “Conservative talking points for years warned against an economic apocalypse resulting from a higher minimum wage, saying that corporations would cut jobs—as if under the current status quo they are keeping on more workers than they actually need. Such notions have done deep damage to the economy.” "According to one estimate, the benefits comprise 15 percent of all wages in the nation, and "unemployed people are spending more than they did before the pandemic, while those who have jobs are spending less." “If tax dollars ensure that the poorest Americans have a basic income, it is likely to stabilize consumer spending. Even some billionaires see value in the idea. Tilman Fertitta, a restaurateur and owner of the Houston Rockets, said, "You're going to see this economy go backwards when we cut out this $600 a week."” Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
My new five words. It. Is. What. It. Is. Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus death toll. From Piers Morgan in the Daily Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8591593/PIERS-MORGAN-Trumps-deluded-train-wreck-HBO-interview-proved-hes-lost-control-reality.html "'It is what it is' - that was the President's staggering response to the ongoing horrific slaughter of Americans by a deadly virus. No empathy, no apology, no expression of sorrow. Just a heartless, dismissive shrug." Condensed down to two words, "&^%$# happens!" Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Have you noticed that Donald Trump's "press conferences" are following a script? He spends about 80% of his time boasting about his accomplishments, then insults various people and bashes the media, then takes one or two questions, then rushes offstage. Lately, he has been planting a reporter from OANN in the back of the room. He turns to that reporter for a final question. The reporter asks a leading question that allows Trump to plant an idea or suggestion with no follow-up. Last night, the reporter asked if Trump was thinking about some kind of Executive Order relating to mail-in ballots. What led up to that? The question came completely out of left field. If Trump is saying that mail-in voting is fraudulent, is he going to issue some kind of Executive Order saying that universal voting by mail constitutes mail fraud? Have you ever closely watched his body language as he leaves the stage? His head is slumped and his shoulders are sagged. He knows what he is doing is wrong. He looks guilty as hell. Steve Thomas -
Ron, I have often wondered if Andrew Armstrong and Charles Givens knew each other. Armstrong had been busted for selling marijuana, and Givens had been busted for possession. One could suspect that the social circle of two black guys using marijuana in the early 1960's would be pretty small. Steve Thomas
-
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Douglas, Case 1:19-cv-08694-VM Document 63 Filed 08/03/20 Page 1 of 28 https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.523086/gov.uscourts.nysd.523086.63.0_1.pdf Plaintiff’s argument that the Mazars Subpoena is overbroad fails for the additional reason that it rests on the false premise that the grand jury’s investigation is limited to so-called “hush-money” payments made by Michael Cohen on behalf of Plaintiff in 2016. But this Court is already aware that this assertion is fatally undermined by undisputed information in the public record. See Vance, 395 F. Supp. 3d at 300 (the Office’s investigation may result in “a favorable outcome . . . substantially related to[,] ” among other things, “alleged insurance and bank fraud by the Trump Organization and its officers”). This possible criminal activity occurred within the applicable statutes of limitations, particularly if the transactions involved a continuing pattern of conduct. Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Doctors fear Trump will lie about a vaccine to win the election By Sarah K. Burris https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/doctors-fear-trump-will-lie-about-a-vaccine-to-win-the-election/ “According to people familiar with the White House meetings on the coronavirus, Jared Kushner regularly asks about getting the vaccine by October, and behind the scenes, Trump’s campaign staff are calling it “the holy grail.” Steve Thomas -
Daniel, That would be Andrew Armstrong. He was more or less in charge of the Carousel when Ruby was not around. You can read his WC testimony here: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/armstro1.htm Mr. HUBERT. What was your job around there? Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, at first it was just bartending and then it got to be--it was bartending, then it got to be straightening the place up a little bit because there was another man that came in, Howard Haynes. Mr. HUBERT. Howard Haynes? Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes, but he always did sort of a half job, and so then it got to be where I spent most of the afternoon there just taking phone calls and reservations and things like that, and taking care of all of the buying and things like that. Steve Thomas
-
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Ron, Absentee for sure. Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/snapchat-ads-trump-supporters-scam_n_5f24628ac5b6a34284ba7781 Grifters Are Scamming Teenage Trump Supporters Through Targeted Snapchat Ads Ads peddling “free” MAGA merch could financially devastate young Snapchatters. By Jesselyn Cook “In an attention-grabbing Snapchat ad, a cartoon version of President Donald Trump dances through fireworks and a cascade of dollar bills to the tune of “Hail to the Chief.” Bold text against a flashing red, white and blue background promises viewers a “FREE Trump 2020 Bundle” of MAGA-themed merchandise and even $10 in hard cash — all for a fee of just 69 cents to cover shipping. The offer, which is targeted to males who live in red states, watch political news and enjoy online shopping, according to Snapchat data, could be hard to resist for many of the app’s overwhelmingly young users. “Please support President Trump & Traditional American values by claiming Your FREE Trump 2020 Bundle,” says the text on the ad’s landing page, above a checkout button labeled, “YES, I SUPPORT OUR PRESIDENT.” Buried in fine print at the bottom of the page, which displays a large countdown clock, is a disclaimer noting that the “free” deal is actually a “welcoming gift for joining the Trump4President2020 Club.” Members are automatically billed $142 every month, with no option for a refund. As the race for the White House rages on, Trump4President2020 and an array of other little-known advertisers are carefully targeting Snapchat users as young as 15 with a barrage of pro-Trump ads based on their age, gender, location, presumed interests, online activity and even their affinity for Fox News. The ads mimic Trump’s rhetoric and offer users “free” swag — flags, T-shirts, hats, custom coins, novelty bills, pool floats — often as tokens of gratitude for their “patriotism.” In reality, Snapchat is letting scammers zero in and prey on some of its youngest users by exploiting their naivety and ardor for the president.” Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
- Donald Trump - "My visits last week to Texas and Frorida (sic) had massive numbers of cheering people gathered along the roads and highways, thousands and thousands, even bigger (by far) than the crowds of 2016,” the president wrote. “Saw no Biden supporters, and yet some in the Fake News said it was an equal number. Sad!" " Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-new-adviser-steve-cortes-thinks-he-hasnt-been-fascist-enough?ref=home "But to hear his campaign’s newest senior adviser, Steve Cortes, tell it, Trump’s misstep was not the act of authorizing attacks on peaceful protesters—it was that the president wasn’t even “more of a fascist.” As the Trump campaign’s new senior adviser for strategy, Cortes has been tasked with helping right the ship of President Donald Trump’s re-election efforts after months of strategic and tactical blunders under newly demoted campaign manager Brad Parscale. Among Cortes’ most recent statements: declaring that billionaire philanthropist and conservative bête noire George Soros is manipulating the Black Lives Matter movement to achieve the “nullification of America;” saying that the “propensity of Black people in this country to commit violent crime” meant that white criminals are actually the victims of police violence; and dismissing concerns about schoolchildren spreading the novel coronavirus to elderly relatives by saying that “grandma can stay somewhere else.”" Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
David, I don't know about recent history, but in 1914 Woodrow Wilson ordered federal troops into Ludlow, Colorado to restore order following the Ludlow Massacre by the Colorado National Guard. In mid-1932, President Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the Bonus Army marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry and cavalry, supported by six tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned. Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
David, That was my question too. In his article, Truscott wrote, Following Lafayette Park, “his real army has refused to take the battlefield.” “... Milley and other military commanders reacted forcefully and negatively to Trump's use of active-duty soldiers against peaceful protesters. By the end of the week, all regular Army soldiers had been sent home from their temporary assignments to Washington, and military leaders had drawn a line in the sand that they would not cross. Without threatening to disobey orders from the commander in chief, military leaders made it clear that they would not facilitate Trump's militarization of his response to protesters around the country.” God, I hope so. Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Lucian Truscott IV https://www.salon.com/2020/07/25/mail-order-macho-the-cheap-halloween-costuming-of-donald-trumps-toy-fascism/ Trump couldn't order in the 82nd Airborne Division. He tried that in Washington and failed. So he ordered William Barr, his attorney general, and Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, to cobble together a homemade militia using officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. These are civilian enforcement agents trained to patrol the borders with Mexico and Canada, check travelers at airports for contraband in their carry-ons, and inspect shipments of imported goods coming across our borders from foreign countries. How do you create an intimidating army out of a bunch of civil servants whose previous experience in law enforcement has been locking up little kids and their moms along the border and frisking traveling salespersons at airports for bottles containing more than three ounces of shampoo? The unmarked, unnamed Trumpian shock troops look like they've been assembled from an off-the-shelf parts bin. It's lame-o "law and order," done on the cheap. And that's the problem with insta-militias like the one deployed in Portland and those planned for deployment to Chicago, Albuquerque, and other metropolitan areas around the country with mayors who happen to be Democrats. How intimidating can a pretend army be if it's wearing patches that say, "Transportation Security Administration"? What are protesters going to do? Throw up their arms and cry out, "I give up! I forgot and packed my nail clippers!" Sometimes confronting force with humor is the best tactic. Moms in yellow T-shirts and dads with leaf-blowers are the perfect way to show up Trump as a pitiful helpless giant. His moves to bring fascism to the streets of America are working about as well as his attempts to wish away the virus that is ravaging the country in a silent riot of disease and death. -more- Steve Thomas -
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
Steve Thomas replied to Joseph McBride's topic in Political Discussions
Have you wondered why Donald Trump has been dumping on Jim Clyburn lately? https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/07/31/897429054/covid-19-hospital-data-system-that-bypasses-cdc-plagued-by-delays-inaccuracies?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews “Earlier this month, when the Trump administration told hospitals to send crucial data about coronavirus cases and intensive care capacity to a new online system, it promised the change would be worth it. The data would be more complete, transparent, and an improvement over the old platform run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials said.” https://coronavirus.house.gov/news/press-releases/clyburn-maloney-krishnamoorthi-demand-information-decision-divert-coronavirus “Washington, D.C. (July 18, 2020) — Yesterday, Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis; Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform; and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield calling on the Trump Administration to reverse the decision to divert coronavirus data away from the CDC and instead report it to a private contractor. In the letter, Clyburn, Maloney and Krishnamoorthi also seek information on why TeleTracking was awarded a sole-source contract and how data reported through this new platform will differ from that previously reported through CDC.” “In the letter, Clyburn, Maloney and Krishnamoorthi also seek information on why TeleTracking was awarded a sole-source contract and how data reported through this new platform will differ from that previously reported through CDC.” https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/most-of-trumps-authoritarianism-and-corruption-goes-unnoticed-by-the-public/ “TeleTracking CEO Michael Zamagias had links to NY real estate world—a firm that financed billions $ in projects with—Trump Organization. https://t.co/QW73OKuuTw “ Steve Thomas