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

[Mister Mets]

FBI, ATF, and all the other law enforcement agencies that require serious education and training?

I did not expect the goal of the"Defund the police" movement to be giving William Barr's justice department more power.

[PaulBullion]

bUT tRUmP iS nOT a FasCiST beCaUSe hE iS nOT kilLiNG BolTOn fOR wRItiNg tHiS

[InformationGeek]

So, soooooo dense. Just this fool... ugh.

A Senate amendment to remove the names of Confederate leaders on military property "picks on the South unfairly," a GOP senator said Tuesday, the latest sign that President Donald Trump's opposition to the plan has opened up an uncomfortable election-year debate within the party.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican whose state has military installations named after leaders of the Confederacy, sharply criticized the amendment, offered by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and said he planned to offer his own measure "to rename every military installation in the country after a medal of honor winner."

"I think history will show that in the 18th century, in the 19th century, and well into the 20th century, there were many non-Confederate generals, soldiers and others, in both the South and the North who practiced racial discrimination, anti-Semitism and misogyny," Kennedy told reporters. "I don't think we ought to just pick on the South."

Kennedy added: "Sen. Warren's amendment, in my opinion, picks on the South unfairly."

[BeastieRunner]

An oldy but goody.

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -- Aesop

[numberthirty]

She has a PhD in psychology, she won't starve. Not everybody is a horrible person.

See Tami's post on the situation...

Trump Considers Suing His Niece Over Her Tell-All Book, Saying She Signed an NDA

This past Sunday, news broke that the president’s niece, Mary Trump, was on track to publish a “harrowing and salacious” book this summer about her world-famous uncle. By Sunday night, the president had been privately briefed on what he could expect from the upcoming book. By Tuesday, he had begun discussing siccing his lawyers on his niece.

According to two people familiar with the situation, Donald Trump has told people close to him that he’s getting his lawyers to look into the Mary Trump matter, to explore what could be done in the way of legal retribution—or at least a threat—likely in the form of a cease and desist letter. One of the sources with knowledge of the situation said that in the past couple of days, the president appeared irked by news of her book and at one point mentioned that Mary had signed an NDA years ago.

Mary Trump signed an NDA following a 2001 settlement after litigation disputing Fred Trump’s estate, according to people familiar with the matter. That NDA states she is not allowed to publish anything regarding the litigation or her relationship with Donald, Maryanne and Robert.

But, yeah...

A person who was suing over their slice of Fred Trump's estate is most likely not a horrible(alright, possibly horrible...) person. Never mind that there is a pretty reasonable scenario where the book is simple settling of that score.

Again, no reasonable scenario where this isn't a horrible person looking to settle a score over what they didn't get out of a known horrible person's estate.

[numberthirty]

While the woman in question has her reason for trying to settle said score, I just don't see much of a point in trying to create a scenario where she is looking out for the country and rule out the possibility that she is just trying to settle a score.

[mathew101281]

[TriggerWarning]

If you live in the Atlanta area hunker down. The Purge may be happening tonight and for weeks to come if this lasts. So far mainstream news isn't reporting it but its all over social media and twitter that nearly the entire Atlanta Police force walked off the job tonight in protest over the charges earlier today. Mayor is calling every surrounding agency for help and has been told no.

So far this is the only news media outlet seemingly reporting on it. Its only reporting two districts but on social media and twitter I'm seeing that its all of them.

Atlanta PD spokespersons in the article are saying what they have to say but others on social media, for what thats worth, have said that the PD has said they will not be responding to anything but violent crimes with weapons and imminent life in danger calls.

https://decaturish.com/2020/06/atlan...yshard-brooks/

[aja_christopher]

Atlanta PD spokespersons in the article are saying what they have to say but others on social media, for what thats worth, have said that the PD has said they will not be responding to anything but violent crimes with weapons and imminent life in danger calls.

So -- assuming this is in any way true -- they'd rather walk off the job than be held accountable for upholding the same law they expect others to follow.

[The Cool Thatguy]

So -- assuming this is in any way true -- they'd rather walk off the job than be held accountable for upholding the same law they expect others to follow.

That was pretty much codified in their union rules before now.

[The Cool Thatguy]

And not for the first time

https://www.cracked.com/article_2480...-in-world.html

[Tami]

See Tami's post on the situation...



But, yeah...

A person who was suing over their slice of Fred Trump's estate is most likely not a horrible(alright, possibly horrible...) person. Never mind that there is a pretty reasonable scenario where the book is simple settling of that score.

Again, no reasonable scenario where this isn't a horrible person looking to settle a score over what they didn't get out of a known horrible person's estate.

Trump reportedly tried to rewrite his father's will, but his dad thwarted the effort, saying it 'doesn't pass the smell test'

President Donald Trump tried to rewrite his father's will in 1990 to strengthen his position as the only person to inherit his father's estate, according to a bombshell New York Times report about Trump's and his family's tax practices.

But Fred Trump foiled the attempt, as he feared his son could strip his estate and use it to rescue his own failing businesses, The Times reported, citing depositions and other documents it obtained.

Donald Trump had sent his father a document that would make him the sole executor of the estate and protect his portion of his inheritance from creditors and his impending divorce settlement, according to the report.

Fred Trump, then 85, had not seen the document before but was instructed to sign immediately, The Times reported. He saw the move as an attempt to go behind his back.

What to Know About Donald Trump's Niece Mary, Who Fought Him in Court & Is Writing a Tell-All

"My aunt and uncles should be ashamed of themselves," she told The New York Daily News in a December 2000 article. "I'm sure they are not."

Mary, then 35 years old and a graduate student living on Long Island, New York, was along with brother Fred Trump III fighting over grandfather Fred Trump Sr.'s will and a family policy about health coverage.

The legalistic issues belied the flesh-and-blood conflicts beneath, as recounted in the Daily News piece. Essentially, Mary and her brother said they had been swindled out of a fair share of Trump Sr.'s estate because his will left the bulk of it to his four living children, without an equal share to their late father, Fred Trump Jr., better known as Freddy.

"Given this family, it would be utterly naive to say it has nothing to do with money," Mary told the paper then.

After he and Mary sued in March 2000 alleging Trump Sr.'s will was "procured by fraud and undue influence" by their aunts and uncles — President Trump, brother Robert Trump and sisters Elizabeth and Maryanne Trump — the health insurance Trump III was using to pay for toddler son William's care was cut off.

"When [Trump III] sued us, we said, 'Why should we give him medical coverage?' " President Trump told the Daily News at the time.

"It's cold when someone sues my father. Had he come to see me, things could very possibly have been much different for them," he said of his nephew, who fired back: "These are not warm and fuzzy people. They never even came to see William in the hospital. Our family puts the 'fun' in dysfunctional."

Young William was born not long after Trump III spoke at the 1999 funeral for Trump Sr., but the little boy suffered serious health complications including seizures and cerebral palsy.

"We just don't know what William's future holds, what he will be able to do in his life," Trump III's wife, Lisa, told the Daily News.

Mary Trump: Why has president's niece penned damning memoir?

In 2000, Mary Trump and Fred Trump III sued to dispute the money left to them by the estate of Donald Trump's father, Fred Trump Sr.

They said the 1991 will was "procured by fraud and undue influence" on the part of Donald Trump and his siblings, as the family patriarch suffered dementia, according to the New York Daily News.

Mary Trump told the city tabloid that her aunt and uncles "should be ashamed of themselves" over the legal battle.

"Given this family, it would be utterly naive to say it has nothing to do with money," she told the newspaper at the time.

Mary Trump and her brother filed another lawsuit after their medical insurance provided by the Trump company was cancelled in apparent retaliation for the first legal action.

Some background.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

If you live in the Atlanta area hunker down. The Purge may be happening tonight and for weeks to come if this lasts. So far mainstream news isn't reporting it but its all over social media and twitter that nearly the entire Atlanta Police force walked off the job tonight in protest over the charges earlier today. Mayor is calling every surrounding agency for help and has been told no.

So far this is the only news media outlet seemingly reporting on it. Its only reporting two districts but on social media and twitter I'm seeing that its all of them.

Atlanta PD spokespersons in the article are saying what they have to say but others on social media, for what thats worth, have said that the PD has said they will not be responding to anything but violent crimes with weapons and imminent life in danger calls.

https://decaturish.com/2020/06/atlan...yshard-brooks/

So, a cop is rightfully fired and brought up on charges for shooting a fleeing man in the back, and a case of blue flu is the end result? No wonder people are screaming bloody murder for police to be defunded (something I don’t advocate myself) when you’ve got unions pulling shitty moves like this.

[Tendrin]

So, a cop is rightfully fired and brought up on charges for shooting a fleeing man in the back, and a case of blue flu is the end result? No wonder people are screaming bloody murder for police to be defunded (something I don’t advocate myself) when you’ve got unions pulling shitty moves like this.

But the purge, man!!!! LOL.

I needed that laugh.

[Steel Inquisitor]

This is disgraceful. The police need to be reformed from top to bottom.

https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/05...81st-precinct/

During a September 12, 2009, roll call, a fellow cop tells Schoolcraft: “A lot of 61s—if it’s a robbery, they’ll make it a petty larceny. I saw a 61, at T/P/O [time and place of occurrence], a civilian punched in the face, menaced with a gun, and his wallet was removed, and they wrote ‘lost property.’ ”

The practice of downgrading crimes has been the NYPD’s scandal-in-waiting for years. The NYPD claims that downgrading happens only rarely, but in the course of reporting this story, the Voice was told anecdotally of burglaries rejected if the victim didn’t have receipts for the items stolen; of felony thefts turned into misdemeanor thefts by lowballing the value of the property; of robberies turned into assaults; of assaults turned into harassments.

How widespread that kind of thing was in the 81st Precinct is unclear just from the recordings, but Schoolcraft claims it was common. Of course, caution in taking a complaint is prudent. But the fact that the precinct commander discourages the taking of robbery complaints has to influence other decisions down the chain.

So officers get marching orders like the following, which was recorded October 4: “If it’s a little old lady, and I got my bag stolen, then she’s probably telling the truth, all right?” Sergeant D. says. “If it’s some young guy who looks strong and healthy and can maybe defend himself, and he got yoked up, and he’s not injured, he’s perfectly fine—question that. It’s not about squashing numbers. You all know if it is what it is—if it smells like a rotten fish—then that’s what it is. But question it. On the burglaries as well.”