I don’t know that we’re winning, but we’re definitely forcing them to reevaluate their Risk vs Benefit analysis.
There’s a lot of palace intrigue going on in the WH periphery right now. Some of the wackiest players are starting to have limits defined for them.
The Body Cam thing is all BS. They’re just documenting their operatives impunity in a more precise manner. The Cams were just to enrich a GOP donor anyhow.
Schumer never intended to bring any pain regarding ICE… his prime motivation was to split up any leverage the Dems might have to shepherd the Israel aid package through. Can’t figure out whether he or Trump more accurately and acutely classify as an asset of a foreign state.
The Homan thing is just a rebranding reset. Why TF aren’t the Dems wrapping up every presser discussing why they can’t afford the $50K in a paper bag it takes to get Homan’s attention is beyond me. Paper Bags are cheap, fake bills are plentiful… don’t they have any media advisers?
Israel is an asset of the US. There’s an often seen narrative that Israel is wagging the dog, but it’s just a distraction from the 250 year old empire that has literally “pioneered” nearly everything Israel has done in its meager 78 years. The US gov and military industry profits immensely from the aircraft carrier and live weapons lab it has created in the middle of the Middle East, at the horrific expense of Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews.
Each ICE agent gets 17.88 devices to subdue those awful immigrants. Even "crowd control" weapons. Give me a break. Those weapons should never have been sent to Minneapolis in the first place.
Politicians have no business taking credit for any of this. It's the citizens of Minneapolis who have stood up.
My least popular opinion is that law enforcement must wear large ID badges with clearly visible easy to read numbers. True of any law enforcement officer. Many people taken by ICE have reported getting Covid, measles and other serious contagions. I understand the sinister history of masks on cops, but if you make masks the villain, you not only make vulnerable people sick, you make it much easier for state power to outlaw masked protest and all types of anonymous protest, which is everyone's human right.
Obviously N95s would be better and certainly they are not wearing masks to protect detainees. But I think the masks they are wearing will block contagions if the agent is infectious. I would prefer to be arrested by a masked cop than an unmasked one! And I repeat my concern about the right to anonymous protest and anonymous political participation. It's not about "cowards who won't show their faces" -- which can be turned against anybody It's a right. But law enforcement (with clear rare exceptions) doesn't have a right to be unidentifiable.
Good point. But do you really think ICE agents give a fig about protecting the masses from disease? Nevertheless, your observation about the possibility of a general ban on masked protest does create a conundrum.
I think ICE agents want to protect themselves and their families from doxxing and certainly possible many of them want to look menacing. Possibly some of the also think immigrants carry diseases (although medical masks don't seem to be the fashion among ICE agents). I think ICE should be abolished. But I think if you want to be able to identify and hold state agents of any kind accountable, they all should be wearing big numbered badges everybody can read and photograph at all times. Like sports jerseys.
"Law enforcement" does not arm itself to the teeth like a military unit nor does it prepare to attack law abiding citizens. As does their commander in chief, these goons believe and act like they are above the law, that protocols do not matter, that the people are all potential enemies. They believe their actions carry no consequences to themselves. Let's We the People prove otherwise.
Unfortunately, law enforcement does do this. Regularly. Everything we’re seeing now is just an extension of the authoritarian practices of police departments and sheriff’s departments across the country. Which is why it should be no surprise that the police are coordinating with and assisting ICE. (Including terrorizing and tear-gassing protesters and bystanders.)
I just became a subscriber to your Substack today. I feel like you’re one of the few investigative journalists left out there and we need people like you to keep going. I try to convince my boomer ex-hippie mom to subscribe too!
Without a doubt the shooters of Pretti and Good need to face accountability. But just as importantly their superiors do, all the way up the line, each link in the chain.
Jamelle Bouie of the NYT called this confrontation the equivalent of the Battle of Gettysburg that began the long defeat of the Confederacy, with the citizens of Minneapolis playing the role of the Union Army and ICE playing the role of Robert E. Lee. Well, Jamelle is something of a Civil War freak , but I will accept both his and your conclusions. Guess what kiddies. DJT is not god after all. All glory and all credit goes to the valiant people of Minneapolis. As for the rest of us, let's chase Trump to his Appomattox.
Does anyone at Department of Homeland Security have an opinion as to why so many of its 'troops' have gone to Minneapolis?
It seems "Metro Surge" began as a response to Clown Ass Nick Shirley's phony stories about Somali fraud. A 2 & a half minute Google search + basic math will show you there are a minuscule number of undocumented Somalis in Minnesota. It will also show there are 13 undocumented immigrants in Florida for everyone in Minnesota. The numbers are even more out of whack for California & Texas.
If the issue is fraud, why isn't the federal government sending forensic accountants & auditors?
If there are people at DHS who are genuinely concerned about too many undocumented people in the United States, wouldn't they be upset resources are going where undocumented people AREN'T?
I believe they may be trying to now switch strategies, trying to assign resources that were going into these cities against protestors, instead to now trying to rig the election with a campaign of voter intimidation nationwide.
Depends maybe on how you define "white" but the 2 agents identified as the shooters of Alex Pretti are named Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez.
Some of the best educated "high IQ" in the world sign up to work as torturers in our country and Israel and other places. Was true in UK, Nazi Germany etc.
Faces of the protesters are also all over websites, marked as targets for retribution.
What exactly were they even going to "crackdown" on? I mean, it's not like there were any rioters or anything and sending in so many untrained and clueless armed thugs would just invite a disaster worse than just two people.
To view this as a win-lose event missed the point that there are no winners and losers regardless of the outcome. The rough but necessary job or exporting criminals has been made more difficult by organized opposition groups, and federal law enforcement has been pushed to react and use tactics that I’m sure many of them would have preferred to avoid. The situation was clearly untenable and no one should be rejoicing that we’re at this point. We all lost. The communities of Minnesota that were overrun by both federal law enforcement and protesters from outside the state, and their peace shattered. They lost. The protesters who lost their lives, their voices, the trust
of a public who saw them get in the way of capturing and deporting dangerous people. They lost. Federal law enforcement who had a tough job to do but instead had to get caught up in altercations with protesters defaming and blaming them for enforcing the laws of the land they were sworn to uphold. As well, some lost the trust of their peers and supervisors because how poorly they reacted to the adversity. They lost. No winners here.
I’m heartened by your reporting saying that ICE will approach the situation in a more targeted manner. On the other side of this, I would be equally heartened to see leaked information from the organized protesting groups, saying that they would also begin to stand down and let ICE do their job when ICE takes a less indiscriminate approach.
Neither side’s behavior has been exemplary nor worthy of medals or praise, and it’s time to get back to focusing on solving our illegal immigration and gov’t fraud problems. This needs to happen before the states start raising taxes again, when we know there’s plenty of money being siphoned out of the system.
As always, thanks for your excellent reporting, Ken.
Maybe this will reduce the mob violence of ICE. Let's keep our eyes on the fate of Kristi Noem whose motto should be "that's my lie and I'm sticking to it!"
It's a good thing that Trump is capable of backing down, made necessary by the outlandish threats he doesn't hesitate to make against we the people. He will be tied down by the loss of Congress come November when his ouster in 2028 will look inevitable. Let's hope his ability to back down will come into play then when he realizes the next presidential election will be turning The Emperor back into a mortal like the rest of us.
I don’t know that we’re winning, but we’re definitely forcing them to reevaluate their Risk vs Benefit analysis.
There’s a lot of palace intrigue going on in the WH periphery right now. Some of the wackiest players are starting to have limits defined for them.
The Body Cam thing is all BS. They’re just documenting their operatives impunity in a more precise manner. The Cams were just to enrich a GOP donor anyhow.
Schumer never intended to bring any pain regarding ICE… his prime motivation was to split up any leverage the Dems might have to shepherd the Israel aid package through. Can’t figure out whether he or Trump more accurately and acutely classify as an asset of a foreign state.
The Homan thing is just a rebranding reset. Why TF aren’t the Dems wrapping up every presser discussing why they can’t afford the $50K in a paper bag it takes to get Homan’s attention is beyond me. Paper Bags are cheap, fake bills are plentiful… don’t they have any media advisers?
Thanks again Ken. All the best.
Israel is an asset of the US. There’s an often seen narrative that Israel is wagging the dog, but it’s just a distraction from the 250 year old empire that has literally “pioneered” nearly everything Israel has done in its meager 78 years. The US gov and military industry profits immensely from the aircraft carrier and live weapons lab it has created in the middle of the Middle East, at the horrific expense of Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews.
They still need to take off those damn masks.
Each ICE agent gets 17.88 devices to subdue those awful immigrants. Even "crowd control" weapons. Give me a break. Those weapons should never have been sent to Minneapolis in the first place.
Politicians have no business taking credit for any of this. It's the citizens of Minneapolis who have stood up.
100% agree and this is the beginning for other City's.
My least popular opinion is that law enforcement must wear large ID badges with clearly visible easy to read numbers. True of any law enforcement officer. Many people taken by ICE have reported getting Covid, measles and other serious contagions. I understand the sinister history of masks on cops, but if you make masks the villain, you not only make vulnerable people sick, you make it much easier for state power to outlaw masked protest and all types of anonymous protest, which is everyone's human right.
I don't think the kind of masks they're wearing help with disease spread.
Obviously N95s would be better and certainly they are not wearing masks to protect detainees. But I think the masks they are wearing will block contagions if the agent is infectious. I would prefer to be arrested by a masked cop than an unmasked one! And I repeat my concern about the right to anonymous protest and anonymous political participation. It's not about "cowards who won't show their faces" -- which can be turned against anybody It's a right. But law enforcement (with clear rare exceptions) doesn't have a right to be unidentifiable.
Good point. But do you really think ICE agents give a fig about protecting the masses from disease? Nevertheless, your observation about the possibility of a general ban on masked protest does create a conundrum.
I think ICE agents want to protect themselves and their families from doxxing and certainly possible many of them want to look menacing. Possibly some of the also think immigrants carry diseases (although medical masks don't seem to be the fashion among ICE agents). I think ICE should be abolished. But I think if you want to be able to identify and hold state agents of any kind accountable, they all should be wearing big numbered badges everybody can read and photograph at all times. Like sports jerseys.
"Law enforcement" does not arm itself to the teeth like a military unit nor does it prepare to attack law abiding citizens. As does their commander in chief, these goons believe and act like they are above the law, that protocols do not matter, that the people are all potential enemies. They believe their actions carry no consequences to themselves. Let's We the People prove otherwise.
Unfortunately, law enforcement does do this. Regularly. Everything we’re seeing now is just an extension of the authoritarian practices of police departments and sheriff’s departments across the country. Which is why it should be no surprise that the police are coordinating with and assisting ICE. (Including terrorizing and tear-gassing protesters and bystanders.)
I was speaking ideally and legally. Am well aware of police abuse and state violence American style.
Important to celebrate the victories and give credit to the people who protested.
Great interview today on Majority Report!
thanks!
I just became a subscriber to your Substack today. I feel like you’re one of the few investigative journalists left out there and we need people like you to keep going. I try to convince my boomer ex-hippie mom to subscribe too!
Great reporting Ken
Without a doubt the shooters of Pretti and Good need to face accountability. But just as importantly their superiors do, all the way up the line, each link in the chain.
Jamelle Bouie of the NYT called this confrontation the equivalent of the Battle of Gettysburg that began the long defeat of the Confederacy, with the citizens of Minneapolis playing the role of the Union Army and ICE playing the role of Robert E. Lee. Well, Jamelle is something of a Civil War freak , but I will accept both his and your conclusions. Guess what kiddies. DJT is not god after all. All glory and all credit goes to the valiant people of Minneapolis. As for the rest of us, let's chase Trump to his Appomattox.
They could theoretically launch the tear gas at all those criminal migrants, I guess?
they could use butterfly nets too but that's not what they're for!
Does anyone at Department of Homeland Security have an opinion as to why so many of its 'troops' have gone to Minneapolis?
It seems "Metro Surge" began as a response to Clown Ass Nick Shirley's phony stories about Somali fraud. A 2 & a half minute Google search + basic math will show you there are a minuscule number of undocumented Somalis in Minnesota. It will also show there are 13 undocumented immigrants in Florida for everyone in Minnesota. The numbers are even more out of whack for California & Texas.
If the issue is fraud, why isn't the federal government sending forensic accountants & auditors?
If there are people at DHS who are genuinely concerned about too many undocumented people in the United States, wouldn't they be upset resources are going where undocumented people AREN'T?
We are forming a more perfect union.
I believe they may be trying to now switch strategies, trying to assign resources that were going into these cities against protestors, instead to now trying to rig the election with a campaign of voter intimidation nationwide.
I have questions dear Ken:
Do we know who signs up to work in ICE?
Are the all white?
What is the average intelligence of ICE people?
Do they know that their faces are all over websites?
Do their girlfriends/husbands/kids know what they are doing?
I would like an 'in depth' study of these people who are fighting Americans and this stash of weapons where are they now?
I'm not Ken but here's some info:
Depends maybe on how you define "white" but the 2 agents identified as the shooters of Alex Pretti are named Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez.
Some of the best educated "high IQ" in the world sign up to work as torturers in our country and Israel and other places. Was true in UK, Nazi Germany etc.
Faces of the protesters are also all over websites, marked as targets for retribution.
The Kagan interview on Fresh Air today, makes me think the withdraw is tactical retreat.
What exactly were they even going to "crackdown" on? I mean, it's not like there were any rioters or anything and sending in so many untrained and clueless armed thugs would just invite a disaster worse than just two people.
To view this as a win-lose event missed the point that there are no winners and losers regardless of the outcome. The rough but necessary job or exporting criminals has been made more difficult by organized opposition groups, and federal law enforcement has been pushed to react and use tactics that I’m sure many of them would have preferred to avoid. The situation was clearly untenable and no one should be rejoicing that we’re at this point. We all lost. The communities of Minnesota that were overrun by both federal law enforcement and protesters from outside the state, and their peace shattered. They lost. The protesters who lost their lives, their voices, the trust
of a public who saw them get in the way of capturing and deporting dangerous people. They lost. Federal law enforcement who had a tough job to do but instead had to get caught up in altercations with protesters defaming and blaming them for enforcing the laws of the land they were sworn to uphold. As well, some lost the trust of their peers and supervisors because how poorly they reacted to the adversity. They lost. No winners here.
I’m heartened by your reporting saying that ICE will approach the situation in a more targeted manner. On the other side of this, I would be equally heartened to see leaked information from the organized protesting groups, saying that they would also begin to stand down and let ICE do their job when ICE takes a less indiscriminate approach.
Neither side’s behavior has been exemplary nor worthy of medals or praise, and it’s time to get back to focusing on solving our illegal immigration and gov’t fraud problems. This needs to happen before the states start raising taxes again, when we know there’s plenty of money being siphoned out of the system.
As always, thanks for your excellent reporting, Ken.
Maybe this will reduce the mob violence of ICE. Let's keep our eyes on the fate of Kristi Noem whose motto should be "that's my lie and I'm sticking to it!"
It's a good thing that Trump is capable of backing down, made necessary by the outlandish threats he doesn't hesitate to make against we the people. He will be tied down by the loss of Congress come November when his ouster in 2028 will look inevitable. Let's hope his ability to back down will come into play then when he realizes the next presidential election will be turning The Emperor back into a mortal like the rest of us.