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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 17, 2020 13:00:45 GMT -5
There are lots of stories coming out of Portland about "federal officers" in unmarked, military-style gear. The local authorities say they have not asked for them, and in fact have asked for them to leave. They have been arresting protesters, many of whom have been held at the federal courthouse and then released without charges.
In one recent case, a "federal officer" shot a man in the head with a "less lethal" round that put him in the hospital with severe injuries. The man had simply been standing in place, holding a speaker. That officer was an employee of the US Marshall Service.
What the hell, you know? I'm not generally one to believe in black helicopters and "the deep state" and all that stuff, but somebody is paying these people to be there. There is some speculation that Portland was maybe picked out as a test case, for some reason.
I remember that John Oliver did a thing a while back that talked about the proliferation of "federal officers". Just about every federal agency has the power to hire its own security and law enforcement officers, and many of them do. They can be anything from Secret Service to US Postal Inspectors. So there is a fantastic variety of "federal officers" who are answerable to a great number of different agencies. However, the biggest numbers are TSA, ICE, and employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (whose officers are not exactly trained for dealing with regular people on the street).
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Post by holidayhusker on Jul 17, 2020 13:03:51 GMT -5
This will surprise you but I say offer no help at all. Let these cities destroyed themselves completely and let them figure out how to rebuild them. It’s not our job to clean up after incredibly stupid leader ship in these pathetic cities. Figure your own issues out and if thousands of people die in the process because of your piss poor decisions? I guess that’s the way the ball bounces.
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 17, 2020 13:10:02 GMT -5
This will surprise you but I say offer no help at all. Let these cities destroyed themselves completely and let them figure out how to rebuild them. It’s not our job to clean up after incredibly stupid leader ship in these pathetic cities. Figure your own issues out and if thousands of people die in the process because of your piss poor decisions? I guess that’s the way the ball bounces. In case you didn't read anything before posting, which apparently you didn't, no one asked for these people to "help". Portland doesn't want them there. The local authorities think they are causing more problems than they are solving.
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Post by mervinswerved on Jul 17, 2020 13:12:15 GMT -5
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Post by holidayhusker on Jul 17, 2020 13:15:02 GMT -5
The federal building they are protecting belongs to all of us, not just a complete nitwits in Portland who want their city destroyed.
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Post by n00b on Jul 17, 2020 13:19:47 GMT -5
I mean, sure it's possible that they simply disappeared a guy for no reason. To me, it seems much more likely the guy who was arrested did something before the camera started filming. Why did they grab that guy and not the people with the camera? If he is thrown in prison without a trial, I'll stand with you.
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on Jul 17, 2020 13:21:56 GMT -5
bluepenquin , this is what totalitarian governments do: Sure - but then I know nothing about this new breaking news, context or validity. I am curious who ordered this - I am not sure Trump has much pull with the FBI.
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Post by mervinswerved on Jul 17, 2020 13:21:57 GMT -5
I mean, sure it's possible that they simply disappeared a guy for no reason. To me, it seems much more likely the guy who was arrested did something before the camera started filming. Why did they grab that guy and not the people with the camera? If he is thrown in prison without a trial, I'll stand with you. By all accounts, these "agents" are refusing to identify themselves or what agency they work with. They're using unmarked rental cars to snatch people. They do not deserve the benefit of the doubt.
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on Jul 17, 2020 13:24:24 GMT -5
I didn't see the video until after posting - I was looking for news on this somewhere like CNN, but didn't find anything...
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Post by mervinswerved on Jul 17, 2020 13:24:44 GMT -5
bluepenquin , this is what totalitarian governments do: Sure - but then I know nothing about this new breaking news, context or validity. I am curious who ordered this - I am not sure Trump has much pull with the FBI. I'd presume the head of DHS ordered it given he's currently doing media hits from downtown Portland and . . . said he's the one who ordered it.
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trojansc
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Post by trojansc on Jul 17, 2020 13:24:49 GMT -5
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 17, 2020 13:28:23 GMT -5
bluepenquin , this is what totalitarian governments do: Sure - but then I know nothing about this new breaking news, context or validity. I am curious who ordered this - I am not sure Trump has much pull with the FBI. Trump has boasted about sending them there. I didn't say they were the FBI. In fact, I specifically talked about how DHS ha many more "federal agents" than any other agency. The FBI is actually part of the DOJ, not the DHS.
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Post by mikegarrison on Jul 17, 2020 13:31:24 GMT -5
Speaking of totalitarianism, what's your opinion of the DHS anyway? A huge federal agency full of "federal agents" with all sorts of ill-defined powers that are under the authority of one person. It's only existed for less than 20 years, but now it's sending unmarked SUVs to grab people off the street? Don't you think maybe that's a little more of a potential problem than "school choice"?
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Post by n00b on Jul 17, 2020 13:34:51 GMT -5
"Police Department leaders failed to adequately plan for a weekend of volatile protests, putting too few officers on the streets in outlying neighborhoods" So now black neighborhoods are underpoliced. "and leaving those who were there without clear direction." And undertrained. "In a neighborhood long distrustful of police, what started in the early afternoon — with people breaking into stores, a few setting police cars on fire, and some officers pinned down by people throwing rocks along one of West Philadelphia’s busiest business corridors — had by midafternoon devolved into officers indiscriminately firing gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets at not only agitators but also residents, protesters, and bystanders." This really screws with the narrative that looting only happens because police incite violence. So in my opinion yes. If I owned one of those business, I'd absolutely take the short-term misery of getting pepper sprayed rather than having my livelihood destroyed. But to each their own. It's unfortunate that peaceful protesters got caught in the middle of all of that (although I'm somewhat surprised there were protests in West Philly), but if there is widespread destruction of property, I'm never going to be convinced that letting it happen is the right answer.
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Post by holidayhusker on Jul 17, 2020 13:37:12 GMT -5
$23 million in damage so far to Portland.
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