All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Agent Z]

Pardon request submitted for George Floyd in 2004 Texas case

A posthumous pardon request was submitted on Monday to Texas officials on behalf of George Floyd for a 2004 drug arrest that was done by a now indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid.
The May 2020 killing of Floyd, who was Black, by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, prompted worldwide protests against racial injustice. Chauvin was convicted last week of murder and manslaughter for Floyd’s killing.

Years before his death, Floyd was arrested in Houston — where he grew up — in February 2004 by former police officer Gerald Goines for selling $10 worth of crack in a police sting. Floyd later pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in a state jail.

Goines is now facing two counts of felony murder, as well as other charges in both state and federal court, for a deadly 2019 drug raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed.

Prosecutors allege Goines, 56, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couple’s home by claiming that a confidential informant had bought heroin there. Goines later said there was no informant and that he had bought the drugs himself, they allege.

More than 160 drug convictions tied to Goines have since been dismissed by prosecutors. A dozen current and former officers, including Goines, who are tied to the narcotics unit that conducted the drug raid, have been indicted in the wake of the fatal shooting of the couple.

Allison Mathis, with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office, alleges Goines also made up a confidential informant in Floyd’s case and “no one bothered to question the word of a veteran cop against that of a previously-convicted Black man.”

Floyd pleaded guilty to avoid a possible 25-year sentence because of his past criminal history, Mathis wrote in her office’s posthumous pardon application to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The pardon request was first made public Monday by a reporter with The Marshall Project.

A pardon “wouldn’t erase the memory, personal or institutional, of this thing that happened to him, or the things that would happen to him later... It would show that the state of Texas is interested in fundamental fairness, in admitting its mistakes, and in working to increase the accountability for police officers who break our trust and their oaths, and harm our people rather than serve them,” Mathis said.

Several of Floyd’s family members and friends, submitted letters in support of the pardon request. Another person who submitted a letter was Maureen Bishop, a counselor who worked with Floyd in 2012. Bishop wrote that Floyd once talked about his arrest by Goines and didn’t understand why the ex-officer “would lie about innocent people. He said that he had prayed to God that he would help him find peace to forgive him.”

In a statement Monday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Floyd was convicted “on the lone word of Gerald Goines, a police officer we could no longer trust. We fully support a request that the governor now pardon George Floyd from that drug conviction.”

A spokesperson for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment Monday. It was not immediately known how long the board could take before making a decision. If a majority of the board approves the pardon request, it would then forward its recommendation to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who would have to give final approval.

https://******.com/article/death-of-...6fa678d29a2129

[Scott Taylor]

I choked on my blueberry juice reading this headline.

No, Joe Biden will not take away your hamburgers.



A) Who votes for these people?

B) I see we still live in the Onion timeline.

Thats typical of how the press and politicians handle things, though. Their job, bless them, is to garner views and get readers/supporters to click, click, click. No one would click if the headlines and politicians said what is actually happening because most of what actually happens and is really said is humdrum and non-eventful.

[AnakinFlair]

I choked on my blueberry juice reading this headline.

No, Joe Biden will not take away your hamburgers.



A) Who votes for these people?

B) I see we still live in the Onion timeline.

201107-joe-biden-al-1143_80454571ccd603760f75a7f070976d12.fit-760w.jpg

I'm gonna tell my kids this was the Hamburgler.

[BeastieRunner]

201107-joe-biden-al-1143_80454571ccd603760f75a7f070976d12.fit-760w.jpg

I'm gonna tell my kids this was the Hamburgler.

If that's the worst thing he does, we're already in a better spot.

[GindyPosts]

I choked on my blueberry juice reading this headline.

No, Joe Biden will not take away your hamburgers.



A) Who votes for these people?

B) I see we still live in the Onion timeline.

A) People who fight hard for the anti-intellectuals to be in charge of everything.

B) Yup.

That being said, cattle aren't exactly economically feasible as time goes on if the global climate goes further into the toilet. They're large, high maintenance, need a lot of food and water and space... and not that bright (all by design, cause we want that meat and not a lot of hassle in getting it). Not to mention they belch methane and **** a lot, which given our poor track record in dealing with cow dung, explains why various places have dealt with numerous environmental disasters based on disposing of cattle byproducts (20 years ago, Central Indiana saw the worst biological disaster happen to the White River as a result of this). Why do you think fast food places have jumped on no-nonsense chicken sandwiches all of a sudden after years of endless gimmicks and flash-in-the-pan ideas? They finally realized that poultry is far more economical, yields higher product for less resources, and seems to be capable of adapting to a changing climate.

Now, we can argue about the problems the chicken industry itself has, of which there are many, but let's not completely dismiss the fact that it may be time for agriculture to phase out cattle as our top animal-based protein source. It's just that the government isn't literally going to force us to limit our red meat consumption. If anything is going to do that, it'll be the private sector.

[GindyPosts]

201107-joe-biden-al-1143_80454571ccd603760f75a7f070976d12.fit-760w.jpg

I'm gonna tell my kids this was the Hamburgler.

Robble robble.

[InformationGeek]

The only surprising thing about this is that Hawley didn't vote No either.

JUST IN: By a vote of 89 to 2, the Safe Drinking Water Act has passed in the U.S. Senate.

The two "no" votes were Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Bombshell Letter: Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says

A confession letter written by Joel Greenberg in the final months of the Trump presidency claims that he and close associate Rep. Matt Gaetz paid for sex with multiple women—as well as a girl who was 17 at the time.

“On more than one occasion, this individual was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, the congressman from Florida’s 1st Congressional District and myself,” Greenberg wrote in reference to the 17-year-old. “From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.”

Oh s***

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The only surprising thing about this is that Hawley didn't vote No either.

Well, some Qpublican had to vote no. That's just how it works with that messed up party these days.

Bombshell Letter: Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says



Oh s***

Predictably, Matty Perv denied everything through surrogates. If there were video of Gaetz doing the horizontal boogie with a schoolgirl, he'd STILL deny.

[Tendrin]

What's interesting about that article is the involvement of Roger Stone. Makes you wonder if he didn't sell them out.

[BeastieRunner]

What's interesting about that article is the involvement of Roger Stone. Makes you wonder if he didn't sell them out.

Honor among thieves and all that.

[Tendrin]

https://twitter.com/JessicaHuseman/s...96602531516417

Kris Kobach's latest campaign apparently mispelled his own name.

He's running for Kansas AG.

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/29/99209...torney-general

I'm so, so, *so* sorry, WBE.

[Gray Lensman]

Well, some Qpublican had to vote no. That's just how it works with that messed up party these days.



Predictably, Matty Perv denied everything through surrogates. If there were video of Gaetz doing the horizontal boogie with a schoolgirl, he'd STILL deny.

And the sentient Klan hood anally controlling Tuckkker Carlson is back to defending the guy, JAQing off to the theory that The Left is using the law to silence conservative voices.

[numberthirty]

What's interesting about that article is the involvement of Roger Stone. Makes you wonder if he didn't sell them out.

While it's kind of tough to think through exactly how those thing work, one would almost wonder if they didn't come across some things that pointed them in that direction while looking into Stone.

I never got the feeling that he was someone who was doing a whole lot to cover his tracks.

[Tendrin]

While it's kind of tough to think through exactly how those thing work, one would almost wonder if they didn't come across some things that pointed them in that direction while looking into Stone.

I never got the feeling that he was someone who was doing a whole lot to cover his tracks.

Also entirely possible, or it could just be part of Greenberg's confession. *shrug* We're not gonna know for a while!