Police defend response;

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia on Sunday strongly defended the police response to the violent demonstrations here on Saturday, saying that law enforcement authorities had done “great work” in “a very delicate situation.”

Mr. McAuliffe, in an impromptu sidewalk interview before addressing two church congregations on Sunday morning, said the police estimated that 80 percent of those at the white nationalists’ rally and counterprotests — including members of self-styled militias in camouflage gear — were armed, “yet not a shot was fired.”

The governor also said the death of a 32-year-old woman who was killed when a driver intentionally plowed his car into a crowd could not have been prevented, calling it “car terrorism.”

“You can’t stop some crazy guy who came here from Ohio and used his car as a weapon,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “He is a terrorist.”

The police and other law enforcement officials have been criticized for their handling of the event, including by Jason Kessler, the organizer of the so-called Unite the Right rally. In a statement, he complained that the authorities had “exacerbated the violence” by failing to separate his followers from counterprotesters, leading to the melee.”

Where to start with the insanity yesterday, where some loser White Supremacist and former Army quitter named James Alex Fields Jr. barreled down a street and slammed into a crowd of people, sadly killing one young lady named Heather D. Heyer, and wounding 19 more? Then, adding to an already horrible day, a state police helicopter went down in what is so far being called an accident. Tragically, Pilot Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates were both killed at the scene.

Sad and terrible day, with much to talk about. But what I can’t get over is the police response to rioting in the streets. Now, admittedly, I know little of the planning by the police outside of what has been released publicly, but I do know basic security tactics, and I do know that this event was a LONG time in the making, with lawsuits by the ACLU being needed to ensure it even took place. “The Unite the Right” group had gotten the necessary permits and permissions, unlike the Antifa brick-throwers who showed up. This was not spontaneous, like the Baltimore Freddy Grey riots or even the LA riots back in the 90s. The Police had a long time to prepare for this event, and had plenty of resources, even having the National Guard ready in case they were needed. They were more than prepared.

And none of what they did made any sense to me. First, let us address what Terry McAuliffe said. While there were militia guys there, 80% of the crowd was not armed militia. He’s just distracting with an obvious lie. Go look at the crowd; the militia guys were a tiny minority. But check out some of the footage from the protest. Since when are people just allowed to beat each other in the streets, particularly when you knew this was going to happen?

https://twitter.com/gabe_cavallaro/status/896387679914479616

Go look for yourself at the Google map of Emancipation Park. IT IS TINY. How hard could it have possible been for the police to cordon the perimeter, let the nuts have their Constitutionally protected rally, and then ended it at the appropriate time? Why did they not set up a line of cops separating the two groups and arresting anyone who crossed that line? Why did they not do anything to protect people once the rally was declared unlawful? Why did they stand by and allow street brawling with potentially deadly weapons to take place? Why, with all of the resources that they had on hand, did they not immediately nip all violent fighting in the bud and arrest those responsible? Why were they told to not intervene, and who told them that? This all seems ludicrously poorly done.

And frankly, the police response is sort of getting a pass because it is being drowned out by the larger issue of racist violence. The stupid mayor is going on the Sunday talk shows and blaming Trump, for God’s sakes, when he would be being PILLORIED for this stupidity. And speaking of the media… for their part, the media was doing what it usually does: completely ignoring any of the people on the counter-protestor side lobbing bricks and piss bottles and the usual tactics that accompany these protests, and completely blaming the right-wingers. Well, I shouldn’t say all of the media; there were a few who actually told the truth and that the counter-protestors were giving as well as receiving:

https://twitter.com/SherylNYT/status/896575560650035200

She’s right. I have no patience for violence on Constitutionally protected speech, no matter which side does it. Look at this idiocy in the video I’m posting.  There isn’t a cop in sight! And do you see any of the armed militia men, who the governor assured us was “80%” of the crowd? No. You see total mayhem  that is being allowed to just play out in broad daylight on a public street.

https://twitter.com/TEN_GOP/status/896390383474757632

https://twitter.com/TEN_GOP/status/896413263751237632

How could the police not known this was coming and prepare themselves accordingly? Look at the huge track record of violent clashers between the Antifa goons and the coalition of Maga/Free speech/Repulican/ and yes, Nazis, that have been leading up to all of this. The police had notice well in advance. They were on their home turf. They were in communication with the event planner, who, if you believe him, had many, many conversations with the authorities about security preparations. Hell, your humble roundup author wrote this back in April after the Berkeley chaos!:

Given that human nature is animalistic and tribal to the core, the violence is bound to escalate and someone is going to get killed. The cops have done a good job making sure there aren’t any firearms so far, but one is bound to slip through the perimeter eventually. After that, the game changes. I seriously doubt the police are going to stand by as they did in Berkeley and just let each side kill each other.Look for more violence, to be followed by more aggressive police tactics.”

I was right about the killing, but I never imagined it would be a car, that’s for sure. And I was right about more violence, but dead wrong in thinking the police would see this as I saw it, and make sure shit didn’t get out of hand. Everyone knows I am a staunch supporter of law enforcement, and I hate to say these things in light of a tragic accident, but this was a total lapse in planning and judgement.

On an existential level, I agree with my friend and fellow Sofrep writer Derek Gannon: Let’s just let them all kill each other. Look, I’d be fine with that in theory. But, seeing as how our society has deemed that unacceptable; that we have determined that our civilization is better than that (even if it isn’t,) that sort of Darwinistic “let God sort ’em out” philosophy isn’t going to happen. So if that option is taken off the table, then one must prepare to break up any outbreaks of fighting.

Listen to a Fox News reporter, who said the police LEFT when people started throwing tear gas! What is that all about?

https://twitter.com/PoliticalShort/status/896818304370606080

Exactly right. Keep in mind, this doesn’t happen at other marches. There aren’t hordes of white guys flying Nazi flags descending wherever there is a Women’s march or Black Lives Matter March or Pro-Illegal Immigrant march and lobbing bottles of piss into the crowd and beating people. If there were, I SERIOUSLY DOUBT the police would just take off and let whatever happens, happen. The mere thought of that is ludicrous. Was that Nazi fuck (and he really was a Nazi, the propensity to label anyone who voted Trump notwithstanding) emboldened by the Wild West attitude that the police allowed to take root? The natural flow of violence, unless it is stopped in it’s tracks, is to grow and escalate.

In was you missed it, here is that insane nut Fields going full ISIS on the crowd of marchers.

https://twitter.com/airwky/status/896432137594949632

Mysteriously, the police have not charged him with first degree murder, opting instead to charge second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and failing to stop at the scene of a crash that resulted in a death. This tells me they don’t think it was premeditated, but rather a crime of opportunity. Like the guy was just in the car driving already and made some insane, split-second decision to floor it? Was it panic? Would any of this had even happened if the police would have dealt with street violence in an immediate, forceful display that said, “You WILL NOT have massive brawls in our streets?”

Hard to say, since as of this article they really haven’t been talking much. But if the police knew that Fields had every intention of getting into a car, and going to look for protesters to run over, I have to think they would not have hesitated to charge first degree. More to come on that, I’m sure, but the court of public opinion has already decided that this was pre-meditated murder. They could be right. Meanwhile, the police response to this needs to be addressed much more in Big Media. I suspect the next one of these rallies/protests (and there will be a next one; the alt-right guys are not going away) this shit is going to be dealt with much more severely.

Finally, also concerning is where this frenzied escalation of violence is going, and what it means for both our relationships with each other as fellow Americans and the our civil rights.  Trust me, Trump supporters: You are all now labeled as Nazis. If you voted for Trump, you are a White Supremacist. Don’t take it from me, take it from former Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer:

See? You are all complicit. Trust me, that is the tip of the Twitter iceberg. Unlike the attempted assassination of Congressional members by a leftist Bernie Sanders supporter, this story is not going to disappear in a few days. The media will see to that. (You remember that story, right?  Doesn’t it seem like it happened a year ago? It hasn’t even been two months!) And now, every single Trump rally, or Make America Great rally, or whatever else they choose to call it will be targeted by violent Antifa counter-protestors because now, more than ever, they will feel fully justified. Then there will be more pressure on the city to cancel the protests outright, which will lead to more lawsuits, and all the while we all lose just a little bit more of the civil liberties we’ve been lucky enough to have maintained; that we have inherited through the blood, sweat, and tears of our forefathers. It’s easy to say, “everyone gets free speech except the Nazis,” until the people in charge decide YOU are kind of like a Nazi. 

Look, if someone takes the position that we should institute hate speech laws, and ban the wearing of swastikas, and arrest people for racial protest, that is at least a consistent, logical position. I couldn’t disagree more, but at least they are being honest. What I cannot stand is the whole, “Yes, I believe in Free Speech but…” crowd. Like a great man once said, everything before the word “but” is horseshit.

This isn’t about sides. You know who’s side I’m on? I’m on the side of the US Constitution. I’ve told you many times that without the first amendment, America is doomed. If the Muslims got a permit to march in a park and shout “death to America!” I support their right to do it. I may not like it, but that is their RIGHT, and they should be fully protected by the state authorities to carry out peaceful protest. If some nutty Imam wants to call for annihilation of the Jews (obviously without any means to do it,) I support him not being arrested.

I am a free speech and assembly guy; I am in the speech business, for Chrissakes. It takes a lot for me to say that speech isn’t protected. Like a guy holding a knife in your face and yelling, “I AM GOING TO STAB YOU,”  for example.  But the free-speech position is under constant threat. The ACLU is taking heat and now having members quit over their pro-free speech position. While I have some arguments over the ACLU’s stance on some things, I fully support them here. They’ve taken their position since the old Skokie vs. Nazis case in 1977 that everyone, no matter how repugnant, gets to have their civil rights. I have no idea why someone would ever choose to carry a Nazi flag, when the US military bled to defeat it so much, but that’s on them, and that is our freedom. The first amendment of the Constitution is NOT NECESSARY to protect popular speech, but the opposite.

That’s all we have, people. Literally all we have binding us together is the United States Constitution, a document that far-smarter men than us wrote. That, and each other. Face it, we’re all in this together, here in America. This is a multiracial, multi-ethnic society, unlike many others around the world. If people choose to join groups solely based on skin color or shared cultural heritage, look: I fully support their rights to advocate for their group, if that’s what they want to spend time doing. That goes for everyone; black, white, orange, whatever. Personally? I don’t need a skin-color group; I’ve never been a group guy. I have never joined a political party. I believe in Capitalism, strong borders, limited foreign war intervention, judging people on their individual merits, and furthering the advancement of the American people. All who would join me in that mission are welcome, and I don’t give a damn what your skin color is. Does that make me, “Alt-right?” That’s just a lazy term used by lazy people who just think anyone who didn’t vote for Bernie Sanders is a Nazi.

There is so much more to talk about, I’m sure we will have plenty more for you on the podcast. Also, James Alex Fields Jr. can be executed and rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.

Follow me on Twitter for exclusive Metallica Social Justice audio:

https://twitter.com/BKactual/status/896230629687181313

Mysterious deaths in Iraq: 

A civilian worker for the U.S. Army who was fired for “loafing” on the job and repeatedly posting “beard updates” to Facebook while at work is not entitled to unemployment benefits, a state panel has ruled.

Todd Thomas of Davenport, who worked as a human resources assistant for the Department of the Army, was fired earlier this year for conduct unbecoming of a federal employee.

According to Army personnel records that were made public as part of his request for unemployment benefits, Thomas made numerous errors in dozens of Army personnel files, often was texting on his personal cell phone while at work, made false statements on his resume, was seen sleeping at his desk, and was frequently on Facebook during work hours…

…A few weeks later, he posted another selfie with the message: “I’m getting my grow on for fall/winter 2016-2017! November 1st and it’s already thickening up nicely! Shout out to the Beard Gang worldwide.”

Another post read, “FOR SOME REASON this morning, this song keeps playing in my head! Man – ‘I HATE TO GO TO WORK!’” Appended to that post was a video for the song “I Hate to Go to Work” by Fila Fresh Crew.

After his dismissal, Thomas sought unemployment benefits but failed to participate in the hearing that was scheduled before an administrative law judge who subsequently denied his claim.”

Look, Brits… the animal feces are a bit much:

Seventeen Army instructors have been charged with committing horrific assaults on teenage recruits in the Armed Forces’ biggest-ever abuse case, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The alleged abuse includes instructors pushing the recruits’ heads under water until they choked and forcing animal excrement into their mouths during a training exercise.

Some of the instructors are also said to have repeatedly kicked and punched the terrified teenagers, according to legal documents.”

The veterans face a total of 40 charges of battery, ill-treatment and actual bodily harm and could be jailed if found guilty.

They will appear at a military court next month following a three-year, £1 million military police investigation into abuse claims made by six recruits, who were 17 at the time of the alleged attacks…

.. But military sources have also told the MoS that the highly experienced instructors vehemently deny the incidents took place. It was stressed they are highly experienced combat veterans who were strictly vetted and received specialist training before joining the AFC.”

Crazed Army civilian employee tries to burn nurse alive:

Army nurse Katie Ann Blanchard had just texted her husband that she was wrapping up work.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clifford Currie in her doorway. The troubled junior co-worker had been menacing her for months.

Then she noticed the bottle of brownish liquid in his hand.

He stepped into the office and threw it at her.”

Right away, I can tell it’s gasoline. I don’t know what to do. Should I run?” she said.

“I stand up and I feel this sudden burst of heat.”

He’d thrown a match on her. Fire seared across her face, neck, chest, back, and arms. Co-worker Deanne Kilian heard the commotion, and shoved past Currie to get into the room, trying to help douse the flames with her own bare arms, burning them in the process…

…On Tuesday—nearly a year after the incident took place—a federal court in Kansas just found Currie, a 54-year-old civilian employee of the Army, guilty of assault with intent to commit murder (PDF).”

You liberal white women are suspect: 

Democrat Stacey Evans’ speech to a conference of progressive activists descended into chaos on Saturday, as protesters interrupted her repeatedly and she struggled to make herself heard over chants of “support black women.”

Evans, a Smyrna state legislator who is white, expected a tough audience at the Netroots Nation event, where her rival Stacey Abrams was treated like royalty. But she said she at least expected to be able to make it through her remarks.

Almost as soon as she took the stage, a ring of demonstrators – some holding stark signs criticizing her – fanned out in front of Evans. The chanting soon followed. Pleading repeatedly for the room to speaks – “let’s talk through it,” she implored – the demonstrators at times drowned her out.

One of the demonstrators, Monica Simpson, said she made her stand because she wanted to show she was “true to progressive values.”

Asked why Evans hasn’t met that standard, Simpson couldn’t point to any votes or policy stances. But she said she wants “a candidate that truly speaks to my community.”

My man Tom Cruise is getting too old for this shit: 

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/896799858736201732

Military pushing back on transgender surgery ban: 

Top members of the military are openly opposing President Trump’s move to ban transgender troops, breaking with their commander-in-chief on whether the policy is necessary…

…Hours after Trump’s comments, recently confirmed Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said he will follow any order the president gives on transgender troops, but that “any patriot” should be allowed to serve.

“We will process and take direction of a policy that is developed by the [Defense] secretary [with] direction from the president and march out smartly,” Spencer told reporters Thursday night after visiting Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

“On a fundamental basis, any patriot that wants to serve and meets all the requirements should be able to serve in our military.”

The comments seem to break with the long-held understanding that service leaders are meant to stay within the chain of command and implement a president’s directives rather than speak out, according to a source close to top Pentagon officials.

“In my memory, I would consider that an unusual public statement to make,” the source told The Hill…

…But the source close to Pentagon officials said the situation is about authority, not right or wrong.

“Trump has the authority,” they said. “The last president had the authority to bring in transgender individuals; Trump has the authority to remove them.”

Retired Colonel awarded 8.4 million in damages in disputed rape case:

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Virginia jury has awarded a retired Army colonel $8.4 million in a defamation case against a blogger who accused him of raping her more than 30 years ago, while they were cadets at West Point.

The Washington Post reported Friday that Susan Shannon of Everett, Washington, made the allegations against Col. David “Wil” Riggins on her blog in 2013.

An Army investigation couldn’t “prove or disprove” Shannon’s allegations. The Fairfax County jury sided with Riggins, ordering Shannon to pay $3.4 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Attorneys said that under Virginia law, the actual damages will likely be limited to $2.3 million.

Shannon says she’s devastated. Her attorney plans an appeal.

Riggins says the jury took the right steps toward restoring his life.”

I guess his Wingz weren’t juicy enough:

A naked man went on a wild tirade in Pasadena this week, shedding all of his clothes inside the Juicy Wingz on Colorado Boulevard and causing some $10,000 in property damage. According to CBS2LA, the man had been a nuisance earlier in the week, but came back to confront the manager. That’s when he jumped up on a wall divider, removed his clothes, and started throwing things.”

The scene escalated when the unnamed assailant, captured on video, grabbed some crown molding and began to threaten employees. He eventually left and returned again, but by that time police were on site and arrested the man. No one was injured in the fracas.”

What a country. Everyone make it a better day. @BKactual

Featured image courtesy of Twitter