People across the US have been using quarantine lockdown violations to snitch on others.
Sometimes, it’s a stranger, but more often than not, people are snitching on others they know – sometimes all too well.
Arguably the best single piece of reporting ever published by the now-defunct Splinter News was a piece resulting from a FOIA request on immigration ‘snitches’ – people who report the undocumented to ICE or other federal immigration authorities. Splinter found a surprising pattern of people trying to have family members – more often than not their in-laws – deported.
Now, the Independent reports that hundreds of Missouri residents have had their personal details shared online after the publication of a document that recorded reports made by people tattling on lockdown violators.
Some individuals – who asked to remain anonymous despite being named in a public Facebook group as lockdown snitches – reportedly told the Independent that they are seriously concerned about facing consequences for ‘snitching’ on coronavirus rulebreakers in St Louis County.
The people who were ratted on included mostly small business owners who were reported for flouting lockdown laws – i.e. (in many cases) simply trying to survive – by patrons, competitors and, of course, the haters.
The names and addresses of the 900 ‘snitches’ were released totally legally – via an FOIA request (any jailhouse snitch will tell you to beware the fact that there will always be a record of cooperation for constitutional reasons). They were then rounded up and posted in the Facebook group with the explicit intent of ‘naming and shaming’ them.
“I’m not only worried about COVID, I’m worried about someone showing up at my door, showing up at my workplace or me getting fired for doing what is right,” said a woman named Patricia, who was named as one of the ‘snitches.’
“When there is something that happens next time, I’m not going to feel safe or protected enough to call the local authorities.”
“We’re in a society where doing what’s right doesn’t always get rewarded,” added Patricia. “We have to be extra careful because we don’t have the strength to fight this.”
The complaints resulted in 29 businesses receiving court summons in April. Some of the snitches said they snitched on their employers for abusing them or other workers.
This might be the only incidence where snitching on your small-business tyrant boss might be acceptable, though it’s important to take into consideration the fact that sometimes good, reliable and fair people will do desperate shit to save their livelihoods.
Missouri’s St Louis County has confirmed the most cases and deaths from COVID-19 than any other part of the state. Doug Moore, the head of communications for the county executive, said the names and details of the complainants simply couldn’t be legally redacted.
Moore added that “withholding information goes against what journalists push us to be – as transparent as possible.”
Like the old saying goes: “Snitches get stitches.”
Oregon Democratic Governor Kate Brown announced that she is extending the state’s state of emergency declaration until the month of July, ostensibly maintaining a stay-at-home order for the next two months.
Brown is saying that she’ll have the ability to revoke the state of emergency before its planned July 6th expiration date. The original state of emergency order was enacted on March 8th, and would’ve expired on May 7th without an extension.
“Extending the state of emergency declaration allows those orders to stay in effect, however the governor can still lift her orders as the COVID-19 situation warrants,”explained the governor’s office in a press release. “Our efforts to move forward with safely reopening Oregon will be gradual, incremental, and based on science and data.”
Some restrictions are being lifted under the updated emergency order, most notably allowing hospitals to perform non-urgent medical procedures. However, rules prohibiting large gatherings and the closure of businesses will stay in place unless Brown revokes her order.
Although the expiration date of Brown’s state of emergency order is now one of the latest in the country, Oregon’s coronavirus situation isn’t as severe as the other western states. Just over 100 people have died of the disease as of Sunday morning, whereas 830 have died in neighboring Washington.
D.C. leaders laid out a new timetable Wednesday evening for when the city could begin to reopen.
During an hourlong virtual town hall, Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, director of the D.C. Department of Health, walked through a slide show on what she called a “most-stringent” and “less stringent” plan.
Under the most-stringent plan, which would be a worst-case scenario, D.C. would not be able to reopen for at least another three months, Nesbitt said.
Under the least-stringent plan, which would be a best-case scenario, the city would do a phased reopening, but that also would not begin for at least two months.
Right now, D.C.’s stay-at-home order is set to expire May 15.
Nesbitt said the city needs more data to decide how long that may need to be extended.
New York State officials allowed nursing home employees infected with coronavirus to continue to work and to treat residents at the Hornell Gardens facility in rural Steuben County, according to a New York Post report.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come under increasing scrutiny for a March 25 directive ordering nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients. The text of the directive stated (original emphasis): “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.”
Cuomo has since said that nursing homes could tell the state Department of Public Health they could not accept such patients, or transfer them to other facilities. However, some homes have said that the state was unresponsive when they reached out, and that they felt intense pressure to accept the patients — despite the unique risk coronavirus generally poses to elderly people.
The state Health Department allowed nurses and other staff who tested positive for the coronavirus to continue treating COVID-19 patients at an upstate nursing home, The Post has learned.
State officials signed off on the move during an April 10 conference call that excluded local officials from Steuben County, who protested the move, according to a document provided by the county government’s top administrator, Jack Wheeler.
At least 15 people have died at the Hornell Gardens nursing home in the tiny town of Hornell since the outbreak, according to county tallies. State records show just seven deaths across the county and include no data about this home.
Roughly one third of the staff and residents at the home have contracted the virus, the Post added.
Last week, Steuben County reported that 73% of its 33 coronavirus deaths at the time had been linked to nursing homes.
YouTube has released a statement on its decision to censor a video of two doctors in Bakersfield, California, making the case for an end to Chinese virus lockdowns.
In a statement provided to 23ABC, the local Bakersfield news station that uploaded censored video, the Google-owned platform said:
We quickly remove flagged content that violate our Community Guidelines, including content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local healthy authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance.
However, content that provides sufficient educational, documentary, scientific or artistic (EDSA) context is allowed — for example, news coverage of this interview with additional context. From the very beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had clear policies against COVID-19 misinformation and are committed to continue providing timely and helpful information at this critical time.
YouTube has used the pandemic to increase its censorship and control over the flow of news. It recently introduced“fact check” labels next to videos, and its CEO has warned that any information that contradicts World Health Organization guidelines will be removed from the platform. Over the weekend, the platform took down a video explaining UV light treatment from a life sciences company that has partnered with Cedars-Sinai hospital in L.A.
The video of the Bakersfield doctors’ press conference can still be found on other video-hosting platforms, and the first part remains hosted on other YouTube channels.
Arguing that the Chinese virus has proven less deadly than previously believed, the doctors argued for a speedy reopening of the country.
“We have 39.5 million people, if we just take a basic calculation and extrapolate that out, that equates to about 4.7 million cases throughout the state of California,” said Dr. Erickson. “Which means this thing is widespread, that’s the good news. We’ve seen 1,227 deaths in the state of California with a possible incidents or prevalence of 4.7 million. That means you have a 0.03 chance of dying from COVID-19 in the state of California.”
Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said a “chunk of money” will be designated in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to enable the American people to vote by mail.
When asked about Senate Intelligence Committee confirming U.S. intelligence agencies conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, Pelosi said, “Well, I’m not surprised. As a member of the Gang of Eight, I watched this whole investigation proceed.”
She continued, “It leads you to the question about what does Vladimir Putin have on President Trump personally, politically, financially, in every way?”
She added, “No matter what the president says, it cannot be denied. But it takes us to the next step. They have also told us 24/7 the Russians are still at work trying to undermine our election. That is why we have to have an important chunk of money in this next bill that will enable us to protect the integrity of our elections, as well as enable the American people to vote by mail, especially at this time of a health danger in going to the polls.”
She concluded, “This is the lifeblood of our democracy, the vote. So here we are trying to protect the lives of American people, the livelihoods of the American people, and also the life of our democracy. That is what we are going to do in the next bill as well.”
A former NYPD detective who was celebrating his 50th birthday in Nashville, Tennessee was sucker-punched by a woman who thought his red cap was a MAGA hat.
Staten Island resident Daniel Sprague was talking with his wife and friends at a bar called The Stage in downtown Nashville when a stranger spun him around and hit him in the face, shouting, “How dare you?”
“I was outside with my friends when some grabbed me from behind, spun me around and punched me in the face,”Sprague said.
On Facebook, Sprague wrote, “A misguided soul possibly not alone, who I’m assuming was not very literate, spun me around, punch (sic) me in the face and grabbing (sic) my hat while she was yelling ‘how dare you’ leading me to think she thought it was a MAGA hat.”
However, the hat actually read, “Make Fifty Great Again,” to commemorate Daniel’s birthday.
He was also wearing a t-shirt that said, “Making America Great Since 1970.”
When the woman hit Sprague, she may have been wearing a ring or holding a key because it left a gash in his cheek that was “pretty deep and goes to the bone.”
“She has issues, I feel bad for her,” he told WSMV.
Sprague and the assailant were escorted out of the bar by bouncers before he could call the police, but he did file a report the following day.
The former NYPD cop did say The Stage is a “great bar with great security and very professional.”
Touching on the political climate that likely led to the attack, Sprague told WSMV, “This is wrong,” and said people can’t just go around assaulting others “because somebody has a political opinion that doesn’t match theirs.”
“I love Trump, but I wouldn’t hit someone who had a Bernie hat on,”he added.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed they received Sprague’s report and he’s currently waiting to hear back from detectives.
The Democrats declared war this week. Not on President Donald Trump but on the United States and the Constitution.
What started as a coup to overturn the 2016 election has now morphed into a Civil War as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Fran-feces) presided over the passage of a bill which creates a clear Constitutional Crisis.
And that means we have multiple factions vying for control of our government, the definition of a Civil War.
In passing these articles of impeachment against President Trump Congress has arrogated to itself powers it does not have.
The first article asserts a motive to Trump’s actions to invalidate his role as chief law enforcement officer for the country. It doesn’t matter if you like him or any President having this power, he does have it.
Read that first article and then apply it to a country other than Ukraine where Trump didn’t have ‘probable cause’ for investigation into corruption and malfeasance there.
That could be Abuse of Power.
But this happened in Ukraine where Trump clearly has probable cause.
The following is the scenario the first impeachment article is asserting as the basis for abuse of power, through ascribing political motives to the President:
One day President Trump wakes up and says, “Shit! Joe Biden’s leading me in the polls. I need to do something about this.”
So, Trump twirls his orange comb-over and calls up the Prime Minister of Armenia, a Russian ally, to whom we’ve pledged aid. Since it’s a Russian ally and Trump may have colluded with the Russians, they would be a good candidate to help him.
But Joe Biden has no history of diplomacy or oversight in Armenia as Vice-President. There’s no record of any contact of any kind with Biden in Armenia, for argument’s sake.
Trump then, during the phone call, shakes down the Armenian PM for that aid, explicitly saying he must create dirt on Joe Biden or he would withhold appropriated aid funds to the country.
Then, after getting caught, Trump tries to hide the record of the phone call by hiding behind Executive Privilege.
That would be Abuse of Power and an impeachable offense. It would be regrettable but indefensible that the odious jackals in Congress were right to impeach him. They would, actually, be defending the Constitution and fully within their rights.
But, that’s not what happened.
Biden was put in charge of Ukraine by President Obama. He had full discretion on policy towards Ukraine and was caught on tape bragging about doing exactly what the impeachment article is accusing Trump of doing. Shaking Ukraine down for favors in order to get $1 billion in aid.
Since the prosecutor who Biden had fired was investigating corruption into his son Hunter’s involvement with Ukrainian gas company Burisma, this admission is pretty damning, showing clear personal motive to use his office to stop investigation into his family.
This is Abuse of Power.This is subjecting U.S. foreign policy to the whims of an elected official, squelching an investigation into his personal family, using the office for personal gain.
So, when viewed through this lens the first impeachment article is a complete lie. Trump didn’t do the things asserted. The transcript of the phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky proves that.
Trump made the phone call public immediately.
The phone call and Trump’s order to review the foreign aid were contemporaneous but not conditional. If you have a non-charitable view of the President it may raise some questions, but there was probable cause here.
Your opinions on Trump do not add up to High Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The implications of this impeachment article are, however, staggering.
It says explicitly that the U.S. president cannot discharge his duties as a law enforcement official if the person of interest is someone of the opposite party or a potential electoral opponent.
It says that probable cause is not a standard for investigation only political considerations.
That’s a clear violation of Congress’ role. Congress writes laws. The President executes them. If the Congress wants to assume law enforcement powers it should work to amend the Constitution.
This is a clear example of why impeachment is a political process not a legal one.But, if they are going to act this politically, at least they should put the veneer of legality on it. Even the equally odious Republicans who impeached Bill Clinton did that.
But in asserting this as an offence Congress seeks to place the Legislative Branch as superior to the Executive in matters of law enforcement and implementation.
That’s a clear violation of the separation of powers. It may suck that the guy holding the Office of the Presidency is someone you don’t like or not willing to turn a blind eye to corruption, but doing his job is not a ‘high crime or misdemeanor.’
The second article is even worse. Because asserts the power to subpoena members of the Executive branch under the impeachment inquiry into the first article. And since Congress has sole authority over impeachment, no judicial review of its subpoena power can be made.
This is fully unconstitutional since it subverts the power of the Judicial branch to settle disputes between the Executive and Legislative branches as established by the Constitution.
Pelosi and company are broadening the definition of ‘the sole power of impeachment’ to say that whatever Congress deems as worthy of an impeachment inquiry is therefore law and the other branches have no say in the matter.
This is patent nonsense and wholly tyrannical.
Rod Rosenstein and Andrew Weismann tried to use an equally broad interpretation of ‘obstruction of justice’ to include future harm to continue the special council’s investigation into Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia.OB
Moreover it renders the concept of judicial review as laid down in Marbury vs. Madison null and void. Congress cannot just make up laws and crimes out of whole cloth and then unilaterally declare them constitutional under the rubric of impeachment.
The Supreme Court has the right to strike down bills Congress passes as unconstitutional.
This drives a massive wedge through the separation of powers in a blatant power grab by Pelosi and the Democratic House majority to protect themselves from Trump’s investigations into their crimes surrounding events in Ukraine.
When viewed dispassionately, Obstruction of Congress is not a crime but rather a function of each of the other two branches of government. It’s no better when the President hides behind Executive Orders to legislate unconstitutionally.
And it’s even worse when the Supreme Court makes up laws from the bench rather than kick the ball back to Congress and start the process all over again.
That’s what the whole three co-equal branches of government is supposed to mean.
Now, in practice I don’t believe the three branches are equal, as the Judicial branch routinely oversteps its authority. But in this case if it does not step in immediately and defend itself from this Congress then the basic fabric of our government unravels overnight.
That the second impeachment article is directly dependent on the flawed (or non-existent) logic of the first impeachment article renders the whole thing simply laughable on the face of it.
I’m no legal scholar so when I can see how ridiculous these articles are then you know this has nothing to do with the law but everything to do with power.
And the reality is, as I discussed in my latest podcast, what this impeachment is really about is distracting and covering up the multiple layers of corruption in U.S. foreign and domestic policy stretching back decades. Many of the tendrils emanating from the events surrounding the FISA warrants improperly granted connect directly to the Clintons, Jeffrey Epstein, William Browderand the rape of Russia in the post-Soviet 90’s.
We’re talking an entire generation or more of U.S. officials and politicians implicated in some of the worst crimes of the past thirty years.
The stakes for these people are existential. This is why they are willing to risk a full-blown constitutional crisis and civil war to remove Trump from office.
They know he’s angry at them now. This is personal as well as philosophical. Trump is a patriot, a narcissist and a gangster. That’s a powerful combination of traits.
The polls are shifting his way on this as the average person knows this impeachment is pathetic. They are tired of the Democrats’ games the same way British voters are over the arguments against Brexit.
So the old adage about killing the king come to mind. If Pelosi et.al. miss here, the retribution from Trump will be biblical.
The damage to the society is too great to argue irrelevancies. No one outside of the Beltway Bubble and the Crazies of the Resistance cares about what Trump did here. It’s too arcane and most people are against giving a shithole like Ukraine taxpayer money in the first place.
The whole thing is a giant pile of loser turds steaming up the room and impeding getting any work done.
In the end We’ll know if Trump has his ducks in a row in how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plays his cards versus Pelosi. If McConnell pussy-foots around and gives Pelosi anything on how the trial in the Senate is conducted then the fix is in and Trump is done.
But, if McConnell shuts this down then what comes next will be a righteous smackdown of Trump’s political opponents that will make the phone call with Zelensky look like a routine call to Dominos’ for a double pepperoni.
Either way, this coup attempt by Pelosi is now open warfare. There will be casualties.
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