Newsletter Text V607

Got guts? Tired of being lied to? Like an alternative source of information truly independent and free of government propaganda? Want this publication to continue? Send a donation to P.O. Box 151, Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609.

No matter what, no matter where, this publication will remain up and running. For it to remain centered here, however, financial and/or material support must be provided. Status quo, unsustainable. Time to step up. Now.

Brother dearest. ... Been awhile, hasn't it, Bro? A little antsy? Wondering when the next shoe is about to fall, that is, when you'll be fully exposed for the thieving son of a bitch you truly are? Patience. All in good time, good buddy. When I'm damned good and ready. Timing just right. After all, a son of a bitch who's stolen his father's estate needs to be fully exposed publicly for whom and what he is, don't you think? Indeed, a public service for your neighbors, professional associates, family, and friends, etc..

Conveniently, forget? Others need to protect themselves against a fraud who masquerades as both a teacher and a counselor, no? -- How the hell did you ever pass an MMPI some forty years ago to get hired? You're not stable. Have not been. ... Must have really been pissed off at the old man to rip off an estate, no? How much did you steal while he was alive and supposedly under your care?

How much did you bribe law enforcement to ignore a complaint I filed with them years before the old man died? How much did you bribe the prosecutor to ignore a complaint filed with her several years ago? How much? Use the old man's money to bribe the bitch? Her cohorts? Your law enforcement shysters? While there may indeed be no justice from a corrupt system, fortunately, I do have a way to publicly expose you for the goddamned thieving son of a bitch you truly are.

... Unlike our grandmother who scrubbed floors on her hands and knees during the Depression for peanuts, only to have what little she had stolen by her son, our uncle, another goddamned thieving son of a bitch just like you. Remember how, surprise, surprise, there was no life insurance when our grandfather died? Despite the fact our grandmother gave her thieving bastard son premium money year after goddamned year? Only, as the thieving son of a bitch he truly was, to have pocketed it. Again, just like you.

Remember when he booted her out of the house she had bought him when he had had enough of her? -- Despite the fact he had lied and promised she could stay the rest of her life? She had to climb two flights of stairs on an ulcerated leg to get to a bathroom he had never built for her at ground level as falsely promised. Nothing ever happened to the thieving son of a bitch as far as justice was concerned. Worse, he was never exposed publicly for the thieving son of a bitch he truly was.

Will be different for you, Bro. While you've bought off authorities, you will be publicly exposed. In great detail. In good time. When I'm damned good and ready. When exposure will do the maximum figurative damage to your goddamned sordid reputation. -- Just the truth, brother dearest, however. Just the truth.

Irony of ironies? When the thieving son of a bitch died, and our mother was finally informed he had passed, she cried for her brother, -- the bastard thief who stole from her mother. Sad, isn't it? Too bad she's not still alive to see you publicly exposed for the goddamned thieving son of a bitch you, yourself, truly are. As was he. Not in a court of law you've bought off, however. Right here.

In good time. Again, when I'm damned good and ready. Employing the very same tactics used against Amanda Wright of Wells Fargo. -- On steroids, however, since all dirty family laundry will be aired. All of it. No threat. A promise. Emails sent to your neighbors, friends, professional associates, businesses you deal with. Although an enormous amount of work, all doable courtesy of the Internet. Despite being some 1,800 miles away. -- Small world, isn't it, Bro? Enjoy the stolen loot, you son of a bitch. Forget? It's all you have.

Brother dearest. Save all the check stubs from the old man's accounts? Fraudulently sign any of them yourself? Think this material couldn't be obtained from the banks either through discovery or a criminal investigation? Still own the house on Condict Rd.? Any other properties besides this one and the old man's you stole with the help of your shyster bastard? Be interesting to see how far your assets extend and where. Think all that information isn't accessible? That I won't determinedly obtain it?

That not only an extensive Internet search will be conducted that will likely take months to complete? But an extensive background check as well? Think the Catholic high school you attended shouldn't be informed of the thievery of one of its graduates? Think the clerics there would be appalled at their failure to teach you right from wrong? How about both universities? Think neighbors in the old man's neighborhood won't be informed of your deception? Think they don't have a right to know?

Ever follow the advice of Dr. Bert Wiser, psychological statistics professor at MSU? That is, get treatment for your achingly debilitating instability? Is that why you wound up looting the old man? Or, is it simply a convenient excuse you'll use to defend the indefensible? Think this will end any time soon? That is, public exposure of you as a thieving son of a bitch? We're just getting started, Bro. Just getting started.

Don't like it? Tough shit. Sue me you thieving son of a bitch. Would use discovery to learn and post on this website all there is to know about you, your activities, predilections, business 'deals,' as well as all your financial transactions, etc.. All of it. Would certainly avoid the expense of an extensive background check on you, thieving brother dearest.

Even if you were successful in court, there is nothing for you to take, this remains, as well, a homesteading state where minimal assets are protected anyway. This site is hosted in an overseas country that doesn't particularly like government intrusion, remains not prone to cooperate. Besides, can always upload to another webhost in still yet another country. The possibilities are endless, Bro. Just takes willingness, effort, unshakable determination.

Even if I lost it all would be more than worth it to expose you for the goddamned thieving son of a bitch you truly are. Even if you bribed a goddamned nazi 'judge' to remove posted material, would not cooperate and be more than willing to rot in jail. Would certainly keep reposting it all no matter the cost and/or personal consequences every time it was taken down. Forget, you thieving son of a bitch? I never ever give up.

Since all I seek is your exposure for the thief you truly are, would all be worth it. For the sake of principle. All the work, financial cost, as well as the time I am about to dedicate to this effort, you deceptive, unstable, sick, thieving son of a bitch. Unlike you, I live on principle and have absolutely nothing to lose. You do. Will certainly take great pleasure and satisfaction in doing all I can to publicly expose you for whom and what you are.

To say nothing of placing enormous pressure on prosecutors you and your equally corrupt shyster son of a bitch apparently bribed. Don't like it? Again, tough shit. Chew harder. The public needs to know to protect itself. From you and your shyster bastard. People who live and travel in your circles as well. Including his. As a thief, you and he can't be trusted by anyone. You'll determinedly f--k them.

More than willing to provide this truly public service. People certainly need to know whom and what you are. What you have sadly become. You certainly weren't brought up to be a thieving son of a bitch. What happened? Where did you lose yourself, Bro? -- Never mind. ... Truly doesn't matter. Only your exposure.

Hey, Bro? Remember me? How soon they conveniently forget. ... Half asleep? -- Out to lunch? ... In your own perverse little world? That of a criminal? Wake up. Conveniently, gutlessly forget? Insanely believe you're someway, somehow off the hook? Think again. We're not done. You remain a thief who will be exposed for whom and what your are. What you certainly have become. No question about that. Patience, you thieving son of a bitch. Exposure is coming. Promise.

Think I don't have time? Truly believe the ongoing Presidential fiasco ends no matter who wins? The murderous decay in law enforcement gets resolved any time soon? Criminal Wells Fargo employees from local Kingsland bank manager Amanda S. Wright right up to and including CEO John Stumpf get prosecuted in the near future despite egregious criminal activity? Wouldn't hold my breath, would you?

Think I don't have time to handle all this and your public exposure for the estate-stealing criminal son of a bitch you've truly become? How could you steal from the old bastard, you incredibly sad sack of shit? Certainly weren't brought up to be a thief. What happened to you? Where'd you lose yourself?

No question, 2017 will be a most remarkable, defining year for you, Bro. Public exposure for the thieving piece of shit you've sadly become. It's on the way. Promise. Hope you sue. Nothing for you to take. Tough, isn't it? Certainly, makes me judgment proof. Will certainly, as well, take advantage of discovery. Publish every detail I can get my hands on. No matter the consequences. Only consideration? Prime directive? Your exposure for whom and what you are.

Readers? This not-so-brotherly piece of shit stole from our father. Manipulated the old man to line his pockets. Just like our uncle on my mother's side of the family did to my grandmother. Runs in the family. Our family. ... Right, Bro? This game now gets played my way, -- not yours, you son of a bitch. That is, no more U.S. Mail tag.

Anything sent by mail will be refused, returned unopened. Want contact? Email. libertyinperil@riseup.net. Quick. Easy. Better yet? A digital record. Permanent. Easily accessible. Easily uploaded to this site when and if it becomes necessary. The shyster bastard you hired to steal the estate shouldn't expect escape, either, from public exposure as the thieving piece of shit he, like you, truly both are. Unscrupulous thieves.

Sincerely hope that piece of crap sues as well. Nothing to take. Discovery again would be published no matter the personal cost. Nothing quite like public exposure, is there? Especially, when it is nothing but the truth and there is absolutely nothing to lose exposing two pieces of criminal shit for whom and what they are. Two pieces of gutless human excrement who looted an old man. ... Right, Bro?

There is no better disinfectant than sunlight, readers. Glaring sunlight. Dazzling brilliance. Amazing how the roaches run for cover. Equally pointedly, how vermin on two legs manage to so easily prey on the elderly courtesy of the out of control fascist police-state we now live in. While there'll never be any justice vis a vis this theft, there will be exposure to the brilliant light of day for both criminal perpetrators. Count on it, you not-so-brotherly criminal son of a bitch.

Hey, Bro? Hear of Old Sturbridge Village? Haven't? ... Not lying, are you, you thieving son of a bitch? You and your long-term companion EC conspire, bequeath some of the old man's loot to this museum? An achingly stingy gift of $250-$499, -- considering the size of the estate? The CEO and Board have any idea you stole it? Think they'd care? -- Just getting started, dearest, dearest Bro. ... Delusionally believe I haven't more than enough time, resources, determination to expose you for the thieving piece of crap you truly are? ... Under $500 back in 2013? Remarkably parsimonious with stolen money aren't you? What does it feel like to have gutlessly ripped off an incompetent old man? -- Dear old Dad. Certainly, look forward to digging much deeper into how you and your shyster lawyer managed to bamboozle and loot the old bastard. Back in the day, certainly wouldn't have fallen for your bullshit. Would have kicked your worthless, thieving ass out the door. Intend to expose it to the light of day. Indeed, a public service. Seatbelts on, you thieving son of a bitch. Tally ho!

... Brief aside, dear readers, for a most exceptional reason. -- Although infrequent, pressing ongoing personal business must come first on rare occasion. Hope you agree, moreover, find it entertaining, -- as this writer did crafting what follows. Principle trumps all. Remains prime mover, prime directive no matter what.

This pressing issue involves a family thief. A heartless predator preying on the elderly who must be held accountable, exposed to the light of day. Especially, since authorities failed to do their job. The following is part of that continuing effort to expose this piece of shit for whom and what he is:

Hey, Bro? Guess what? Me, again. Most determined pain in the ass. Miss me? An inconvenient, nagging hemorrhoid that simply won't go away no matter what. -- A pile with a smile that takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

... Delusionally think this most persistent nemesis of yours conveniently disappeared to parts unknown, vanished in thin air? To give a turd a break? Wake up. Not a chance, you thieving son of a bitch. ... When you insanely believe this writer's gone and you're finally in the clear, guess what, here I am, right in your face.

Despite what's going on across our formerly great country, always have more than enough time for personal business. That is, exposing you, Bro, to the glaring light of day. A pathetically greedy predator. Your target, who else, the elderly. Most defenseless, vulnerable, an easy fleece. -- Thought you'd steal from the surly old curmudgeon with impunity, no consequences?

Successfully escape accountability? Avoid detection, all responsibility? Blatant theft of an old man's estate? A little help from a bought and paid for hopelessly greedy unprincipled shyster? Supposed cake walk due to 1800 miles separation? No one to hold you accountable? Your feet to the fire? What could you possibly been thinking?

You've read this publication before. Know precisely who and what I am, what I do. Never give up. Never say die. Ignore all obstacles. Know full well Liberty In Peril modus operandi remains as relentlessly ferocious, blindingly intense as ever.

No punches pulled. No slack. No personal consideration. Certainly, not for a gutless son of a bitch, no more than a thieving predator. Looted target, guess who, dear old dad. Pitiful. Delusionally believe you had the booty coming? An entitlement? For having had to put up with his shit all those years? Wake up.

Hear of Historic Deerfield? Of course, you have, you lying son of a bitch. Forget? You're one of their not-so-generous 'benefactors.' ... With all the money stolen from our father's estate, only bequeath them a piss poor $40 bucks?

Unbelievable. An achingly tight, cheap, thieving, worthless piece of duplicitous crap. ... Write-off? Negligible. ... Feather in the cap? How? Delusionally believe your treachery would never see the light of day? What planet do you live on?

Board of Trustees Chair Anne K. Groves know full well you looted the estate? How about President Philip Zea? Think both don't have a right to know? How about Anne Lanning, Vice President For Museum Affairs? To say nothing of Susan Martinelli, Vice President For Business Affairs?

These officials are entitled to know precisely whom they're doing business with. A thief. Gutless phony. Blow-hard fraud. Hoity-toity dandy. Worse? An unprincipled thief who stole from his father. ... Glaring light of day sucks, doesn't it, Bro? No escaping the unvarnished truth, this most bitter reality. Not a chance.

Saddest of all? Back in the day, Hell would have frozen over before anyone would have have been able to rip off the craggy old bastard. Remember quite well how intent, determined he was not to be fleeced late in life by a sick son of a bitch like you.

A leech. Ironic, isn't it? Gutless rip off of an old man who couldn't adequately handle his affairs any longer. How do you sleep nights?

Fraud runs in the family, clearly. History repeating itself. Right in the footsteps of our grandmother's son, who callously ripped off his mother decades ago. Again, another achingly pathetic piece of human excrement. Just like you. Intend to lay it bare. Methodically. Painstakingly. In great detail. Living, breathing color.

For all to see. A public service. Exposure of the criminal piece of human excrement you truly are. For sustained public review. A goddamned thief. Pissed? Chagrined? Nonplused? Tough shit. Sue. Would certainly immediately post all discovery no matter the consequences.

All snail mail will be returned unopened. No phone tag. Got something to say? Email. Say it right here. On this website. In public. For the world to see. Will be posted in its entirety. No editing. Unlike you, this writer doesn't lie, cheat, steal. Honors his word. Intend to expose you precisely for whom and what you are.

Duplicitous predator who preyed on his own father. Blinding exposure to benefit the community. Have nothing to lose providing this public service, but you do. No better disinfectant than sunshine.

.. Think the old bastard not spinning in his grave? -- Old lady not doing the same? One thing for certain. Neither brought you up to be a goddamned thief. Yet, here we are. ... Until next time, Tally Ho!

While the business and church communities stood tall during the recent Kingsland flood catastrophe, there was one glaring exception. On 10-17-18, the Antlers Coffee Shop closed due to storm-related failure of the Kingsland water system. Patrons, however, are routinely allowed to get online outside even when the shop is closed.

A long-term coffee shop customer entered the hotel lobby to ask the desk clerk whether wifi was still up and running after the catastrophe. She said it was and told the patron he could get online inside the closed shop. She then asked him to have another regular customer who had just arrived outside to come in and get out of the cold as well.

Antlers co-proprietor Rick apparently quickly got wind of both customers, made quite a jackass of himself emulating the petulant narcissist currently occupying the Oval Office. Aggressive stupidity at a time the Kingsland business community is indeed suffering, can least afford it. Further proof positive of the old adage 'can fix ignorant, can't fix stupid.'

Why would, why should both customers put up with this? Think this hasn't happened to others?

As always, when a cop does something heroic and/or of exceptional benefit to the community, it leads. Always. NBC News reports:

"Police body camera video shows the moment a man opened fire on a sheriff’s deputy in California through his rolled down window before the officer returned fire and kills the man. The graphic footage from the Feb. 17 shooting was shared by the Napa County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday. In the video, Deputy Riley Jarecki is standing on the passenger’s side of a vehicle and asks a man sitting in the driver’s seat, Javier Hernandez Morales, if she can look around the vehicle. Morales puts his hands in the air appearing to give the deputy permission. "Wait right there, don't move. OK?" Jarecki says before walking around the back of the car to the driver's side. Jarecki then orders Morales to roll down his window. Morales appears to hesitate, rolls the window down, quickly pulls out a gun and fires at least one shot at the deputy. Jarecki immediately draws her weapon, fired multiple shots at the car and killed Morales."

"The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that Jarecki was not physically injured during the shooting and was placed on administrative leave as the department investigates. “Loss of life is not something that’s celebrated. We’re very concerned for Deputy Jarecki and her wellbeing," Undersheriff Jon Crawford said during a press conference. "It’s incredible composure. You saw how close those shots were fired." "She was able to use her radio broadcast clearly. She was able to stay on her feet, and stay engaged. While it’s not something to be celebrated, we are proud of her actions,” Crawford said. The sheriff's department did not say what led up to Jarecki approaching Morales, but said he had two guns in his car, one of which was reported stolen."

"The incident took place in the 1100 block of Henry Road about 2 miles southwest of Napa at about 11 p.m. Sunday. Jarecki was driving by and became suspicious of Morales as he was parked on the roadside. She pulled over and approached his vehicle moments before the close quarters gunfight took place. Undersheriff Crawford said it was "divine intervention" that kept Jarecki from getting shot. "It's pretty obvious that he [Hernandez Morales] intended to kill her," said Crawford. "We are proud of the deputy's composure and her fight to save her life." Jarecki is a third-generation law enforcement member who has been in the field for two and a half years. She was sworn in as a deputy by Napa County Sheriff John Robertson in June 2018; she previously worked for the Fairfield and Calistoga police forces. Jarecki's father is also a member of the Napa County Sheriff's Office.

"CBS San Francisco police analyst and former Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said that Jarecki made all the right moves. "She reacted the way she was trained to: to meet deadly force with deadly force, to try and neutralize the threat, which was returning fire," said Jordan. She is doing OK and has been placed on administrative leave as an investigation is being conducted by the Napa County Major Crimes Task Force, comprising investigators with the Napa County Sheriff's Office, Napa Police Department and the Napa County District Attorney's Office. Hernandez Morales, 43, had a significant criminal history. He had been booked into Napa County Jail at least five times since 2015, including arrests for weapons violations, driving under the influence and assaulting a peace officer. Inside of Hernandez Morales's vehicle was a loaded .22 caliber rifle, the one which he used to fire on Jarecki. The weapon was stolen from Fremont."

As always, when law enforcement does something heroic and/or of exceptional benefit to the community, it leads. Always. This is the second incident in this edition. WFTS-Tampa Bay reports:

"Shots were fired at the Pasco County Sheriff's Office SWAT team at the home of Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad on Thursday morning and Massad has been arrested on charges of practicing medicine without a license, according to officials. At approximately 4:40 a.m., the SWAT team announced their presence and attempted to serve a search warrant at 8221 Hayward Lane in Port Richey. The home is owned by Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad. Deputies say shots were fired at the entry team but they did not return fire and no one was injured in the shooting. Massad, 68, reportedly opened fire on the deputies attempting to serve the search warrant. According to the Pasco Sheriff, Massad will face multiple charges of attempted homicide."

The fact SWAT fired no shots, yet executed the arrest, is stunning. Hat's off. Uncommon Valor.

"Dale Glen Massad, mayor of Port Richey, a town of around 2,600 north of Tampa, fired two shots at officers who raided his home in the early hours of the morning, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters. No officers were injured. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating Massad, a former doctor who gave up his license in 1992, after being tipped off by the Port Richey Police Department that Massad was still practicing medicine, officials said. The law enforcement team showed up at Massad’s house around 4:40 a.m. They identified themselves and pounded on his door, battering it with a ram and shooting it with a shotgun before realizing the door opened outward, according to a complaint affidavit in the case. They lit a distraction device inside the front door that emitted a bang and a bright light, after which they heard two shots from inside the house, the complaint said. SWAT team members moved back from the house, observing Massad with a gun in his left hand on the home’s second floor, using a cellphone."

"Nocco said the SWAT team loudly announced its presence before entering the home and asked Massad to drop his weapon. At some point during the incident, Massad made statements that he did not want to go back to jail, Nocco said. No officers were injured and Massad was arrested without further incident, Nocco said. He is charged with two counts of attempted homicide, according to the complaint. “He’s lucky he’s not dead,” Nocco said. “When somebody says, ‘I’m not going back to jail,’ that means it’s either going to be a shootout, they’re either going to flee, possibly suicide by cop." It was not immediately clear whether Massad had a defense lawyer. According to the affidavit, he told officers after his arrest that he had been awakened by the loud bangs at his door. It said he admitted to firing his .40 caliber gun into the hallway. Nocco said deputies were aware they were entering a potentially dangerous situation. Massad had multiple weapons in his house and was believed to be using drugs when officers came to arrest him, Nocco said. He was also arrested on a domestic violence related charge in the last few months, Nocco said. “That’s who we were dealing with today,” Nocco said, adding later, “Unfortunately with this individual the reputation was there, that you’re not dealing with the most upstanding of individuals."

"Massad was a licensed doctor from 1977 until 1992, when he gave up his license after a 3-year-old patient died, according to the Florida Department of Health.

"On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order suspending Massad from office, writing that he was empowered to do so under the state’s constitution.

"This wasn’t Massad’s first encounter with the law. He was arrested months before, in August, and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, police records say. News reports at the time indicated a long history of troubles at home, where he lived with his then-girlfriend, who was arrested with Massad, also on a domestic battery charge. A local TV station reported that police had visited the mayor’s house four dozen times in the months leading up to the 2018 arrests."

"But Massad’s history with authorities dates back to at least the early 1990s, when his medical practice came under scrutiny after the death of a 3-year-old patient he was treating for facial birthmarks. Massad, documents from the health department say, gave the child Valium without determining the proper dosage and allowed a dentist to inject the child with anesthetic, again without determining a safe dosage. It turned out to be fatally toxic. After Florida’s board of medicine filed four counts against him, Massad gave up his medical license in 1992."

"On Thursday, it was allegations surrounding Massad’s medical work that again had him in trouble. Officials said that during the investigation that eventually brought them to the mayor’s door, they found he had treated a patient with an injection for which he which he was not licensed and performed a surgical procedure on another. Massad was booked into Pasco County jail."

As always, when law enforcement does something heroic and/or of exceptional benefit to the community, it leads. Always. This is the third incident in this edition. WTKR Norfolk, VA reports:

"Two officers with the Portsmouth Police Department went to their greatest lengths on Saturday, helping an elderly couple out of their home during a fire. At around 1:30 p.m., Officers Long and Nelson were in the 2700 block of Ash Street speaking to person about another incident when Officer Long observed flames in the window of a home. While radioing to police communications about the possible fire, both officers ran to the home. Once officers got to the home, they helped an elderly couple, who were trying to put out the fire with a pan of water, get out of the home safely. Officer Nelson then immediately got a fire extinguisher from the trunk of his police car and put the fire out while Officer Long remained with the couple. Portsmouth Fire Department personnel responded to make sure the fire was completely extinguished and to examine the couple for any possible injuries. The officers’ decisiveness and selfless acts prevented the home from becoming a fully involved fire."

Liberty In Peril, formerly, The Llano Ledger, turns twenty-years-old this March.

The following email exchange with the corporate management suite of Iview US, regarding a highly defective Win 10 two-in-one tablet, is posted as a public service. This complete document can be found by clicking here.

... Hey, Sheriff? Is it true Llano County Attorney Becky Lange has advised you to stay out of the "Berardi Property Rights Denial-Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764" fiasco? That right, Bill? Isn't that obstruction of justice? Also true your deputies have advised the Bolens to accept the status quo and not force the no-trespassing issue with Greene? If so, isn't that also obstruction and official oppression? When will you do your job, Bill? As an elected official, you answer to the public, forget? -- No honor? ... No honor at all? If the foregoing allegations are indeed true, didn't you swear an oath to uphold the law and Constitution? Why aren't you doing so? No guts?

Your deputy has been accused of abusing authority. What action have you taken other than ignore the complaint? Why aren't both Rodriguez and the County Attorney under criminal investigation? The County Attorney appears to be obstructing justice, accepting the word of Greene in lieu of two surveyor companies who strongly assert otherwise. Both the County Attorney and District Attorney have ignored complaints. Par for the course in Llano County, isn't it? Failed to do their jobs. No surprise there, right, Bill? Both receiving 'special consideration' up to and/or including a bribe from Greene? Regardless, clearly, no justice in Nazi Llano County. Bottom line? Desperate need for an outside criminal investigation. Conveniently, forget? This County is ruled by men, certainly not rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Precisely, why there is desperate need for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, and prosecute criminal law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose only mandate would be to adjudicate such cases. Total independence. Until that happens, the criminal bastards who falsely believe they run and own this hell hole County will continue to do as they please.

Some salient quotes occurring later on in this edition vis a vis unfinished business County officials continue to ignore:

... "These are extremely dangerous times for our formerly great country. ... Hear the rumble? An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming. -- As our legislators and other government officials figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'

Not good enough. Nowhere near. Short of an unwanted dreaded second American revolution, only one way for these atrocities to end. Time for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose sole function would be to adjudicate such cases. Total independence.

Local and state authorities are egregiously incapable of handling these cases. Tend to protect their own. ... Right, Sheriff? Goes with the territory, doesn't it, Bill? Precisely, why there is no faith or trust in your criminal jackbooted bastards. Local authorities here in Nazi Llano County have their heads figuratively, securely lodged so far up their clueless ass their eyeballs are turning inside out. Protect and coddle your clueless, out of control officers. Imagine that.

Unadulterated, blatant ongoing horse shit. ... Right, Bill? F--k these jackbooted bastards. Aren't worth a crap. Continually abrogate their oaths of office to protect and defend the United States Constitution. ... Right, Sheriff? Includes not only deputies, but the brass as well. No principles. No honor. Lying, conniving, abusive, murderous jackbooted thieving thugs. The American Civil Liberties Union needs to step up and represent the victims of abusive law enforcement.

To say nothing of innocent civilians all across our formerly great country who are victimized by abusive police. Need far better representation than a public defender. Forget? It's how the bastards in government line government coffers. All too often, looting the innocent. Those on the bottom of the food chain. ... Right, Sheriff?

No justice. The American Way. Nazi America. When is this shit finally going to end? All of it. Wake up, Sheriff. Again, where is dashcam video of the killing of Jeffrey Gray Wise, 52, of Austin by DPS and the Llano County Sheriff's Office? One hundred forty nine weeks, now. A goddamned disgrace.

Why are you still sitting on this information? What are you hiding, Sheriff? What is the identity of the officers who killed Wise? Too gutless to release this information to the public that pays your salary and that of your goons? Reportedly, there were three officers involved in the shooting. Who the hell are they?

When will the goddamned 'law' 'enforcement' community finally stop making excuses for engaging in outrageous criminal activity including blatant murder, violent assault, sexual assault, theft, drug trafficking, etc.? List can go on and on. Protecting its own no matter what it does or doesn't do? Convenient, isn't it, Sheriff? No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all branches and levels of government, -- including law enforcement.

Corruption within law enforcement remains an existential threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties. So what else is new? ... Right, Bill? Same old duplicitous, aggressively stupid shit occurs right here in Nazi Llano County. ... Doesn't it, Sheriff?

Think it'll change any time soon? Don't hold your breath, readers. Not how things work in Nazi America, right, Sheriff? Highly reminiscent of how your goons operate though, isn't it, Bill? Forget? 'Stupid is as stupid does.' F--ked up is f--ked up no matter where, no matter how. Problem throughout all law enforcement.

Including right here in Nazi Llano County, right, Sheriff? Too many officers clearly have their heads securely lodged where the sun seldom shines. Egregious insanity continues to be perpetrated by the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue. Ongoing issue. All over our formerly great country.

Not just in Dallas as in the Guyger case, but all over the nation. No end to it. Surprised? Why? In today's increasingly national socialist climate anything goes, right, Bill? Live in a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich. Certainly, a problem here in Nazi Llano County, isn't it, Sheriff? Your goons, however, aren't held accountable when they egregiously f--k up. Ever.

Precisely why you refuse to release information on your deputies to the long-suffering public? That is, employment history, criminal background, results of drug testing, etc.. ... Got to protect your criminal jackbooted thugs preying on the citizenry with virtual impunity, right, sir?

Equally pointedly, why hasn't Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 been held criminally accountable for egregious abuse of power involving denial of property rights to a Kingsland property owner? To say nothing of consequent resultant physical damage done to a motor home on that property. Why are you protecting this clueless son of a bitch, Sheriff?

Why hasn't he been prosecuted for official oppression? Where is financial compensation for the damage this jackbooted piece of human excrement is responsible for? Ferociously pointedly, why are the District Attorney and the County Attorney continuing to protect this jackbooted piece of shit? He and others like him present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

Equally to the point, why are your jackbooted pieces of human excrement refusing to enforce Berardi's property rights? Your goons have failed to take action against Theresa Ahrens when she tore down a no trespassing sign and barrier on Berardi's property. Have you, your goons, and/or Madam County Attorney been bribed by Johnny Greene?

Why is Theresa Ahrens allowed by your goons to dictate what vehicles can and cannot be parked on Berardi's property? Ahrens claims she has proof the property belongs to her where the vehicle was parked. Has failed to produce it. Surveyors say otherwise. Back up Berardi. Yet, your jackbooted bastards refuse to enforce Berardi's property rights. Why? Somebody lining somebody's pockets, Sheriff?

Ms. Ahrens micro-mini portable 'house' is parked on an unused unmarked Llano County road. Imagine that. Madam County Attorney well-aware. Has done nothing. Shit squat. Egregiously ignored her oath of office. Someone bribing you, Becky? Lining your pockets, Counselor? Paying you not to sell the unused unmarked County road to Berardi? Doesn't the County want and need the sale money, to say nothing of the resultant tax income?

No question, County and State agencies remain determinedly, concertedly, achingly incapable of criminal investigation of their own. Precisely, why a new federal agency desperately needs to be created whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose sole function would be to adjudicate only such cases. Total independence. Certainly, go a long, long way to cleaning up this cess pool County. Rein in the outrageously corrupt, abusive, achingly inept, self-serving assholes who run and own this hell hole.

Sheriff, you falsely claim the Kingsland County Commissioner has the authority to resolve this ongoing property rights issue. Clearly, doesn't. You, Madam County Attorney, and "Sonny Boy" are certainly an egregious impediment, continue to determinedly stonewall. Someone's pockets are being lined. Again, where's financial compensation for the damage Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 is directly responsible for to the Pace Arrow? Why hasn't he been prosecuted for this damage, to say nothing of infringement of Berardi's property rights? -- Just getting started, Sheriff. Far more to come.

-- You're not doing your jobs, Sheriff. You've got a loose vicious dog problem in Kingsland, Bill. When will you and the troops finally do something about this ongoing issue? Certainly, a recurring problem on Skyline, particularly on occasion at the intersection of Odessa. Pedestrians, runners, and cyclists are at risk. Too busy lining County coffers with bogus tickets?"

Wiley B. "Sonny" McAfee
District Attorney
33rd and 424th Judicial Districts
Llano, TX 78643

Re: Berardi Property Rights Denial-Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764

The enclosed emails were sent to the Llano County Attorney and Sheriff, respectively, vis a vis the above matter. Remain unanswered. The County Attorney appears to be protecting and defending the deputy at behest of Kingsland property owner Johnny Greene. May have received some consideration from Greene up to and including a bribe. Are the County Attorney, Greene, and the Deputy under criminal investigation? If not, why not?

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

Rebecca Lange, Llano County Attorney
Llano County Attorney's Office
Llano, Texas 78643

Re: Berardi Property Rights Denial-Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764

As you're well aware, we have an outrageously corrupt, abusive, achingly inept Llano County Sheriff's Office here in Nazi Llano County. Worse, you and your office aid and abet these SS jackbooted bastards in black. The issue at the moment is the same it's been the last six months.

How is it two surveyor companies, the Appraisal District, the Tax Office, the Precinct 3 Commissioner, even the goddamned Sheriff himself now states Kingsland resident James Berardi owns the lots in contention all these months?

Yet, you ludicrously assert that's not the County's legal position. It's not? Why not? You claim you're not a real estate expert. Rather than accept the advice of two surveyor companies, the Precinct 3 Commissioner, the Appraisal District, the Tax Office, and even the Sheriff himself, you've inexplicably chosen to follow the advice of property owner Johnny Greene, -- who conveniently happens to be reportedly in the oil industry.

Question to be asked. Could you have received any 'consideration' in return, -- up to and including a bribe? Only way to know for sure is for the District Attorney to conduct a criminal investigation. Apparently, there has been none. If not, why not?

Equally pointedly, why hasn't Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 been held criminally accountable for egregious abuse of power involving denial of property rights to this Kingsland property owner? To say nothing of consequent resultant physical damage done to a motor home on that property.

Our achingly useless, worthless, gutless Sheriff has ignored an email vis a vis the damage this jackbooted thug is responsible for. Interestingly, his fellow officers believe him to be an idiot. Yet, the Sheriff continued to defend this piece of human excrement until he realized this entire fiasco would not be swept under the carpet.

Rodriguez is indeed an idiot. Would you believe this piece of crap ordered the motor home to be moved on to an unmarked unused Llano County road? That motor home has indeed been moved back to where it was parked before Rodriguez forced it to be moved. Why hasn't the County paid for the cost of moving it back? To say nothing of the damage.

Equally pointedly, why is it the County has allowed Theresa Ahrens to park and live in her tiny cottage on that very same road? Why hasn't she been evicted by the County? Why was she assessed taxes on an adjacent improvement she doesn't own?

Why is it, Counselor, Johnny Greene is paying for the attorney retained by Ms. Ahrens? Is Greene attempting to make this all go away by bribery? Greene has also informed Berardi he is going to sue. For what? Has Greene lost his mind?

What about Wells who installed a $4500 septic system on a lot turns out he does not own as a result of Greene, an outrageously inept County, to say nothing of the Llano County Attorney who remains equally determinedly clueless?

How about Bolen who hasn't a pot to piss in, but was nonetheless f--ked over by Greene to say nothing of an egregiously inept County, to say nothing of you and your goddamned equally incompetent office?

None of this is going away, Counselor, -- any time soon. Will not be swept under the carpet as all the other crap going on in this hell hole County. Not a chance. Expect a full expose in this publication whether or not this outrageous fiasco finally gets resolved. Including full public exposure of both the Sheriff and his jackbooted thug.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

Bill Blackburn, Sheriff
Llano County Sheriff's Office
2001 N. State Hwy. 16 Suite A
Llano, Texas 78643

Archive and retain all reports vis a vis damage to the Pace Arrow resulting from egregious abuse of authority perpetrated by Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764, on the Berardi property in Kingsland on 8-16-17.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

Wake up, Sheriff. Again, where is dashcam video of the killing of Jeffrey Gray Wise, 52, of Austin by DPS and the Llano County Sheriff's Office? One hundred forty nine weeks, now. A goddamned disgrace. Why are you still sitting on this information? What are you hiding, Sheriff? What is the identity of the officers who killed Wise? Too gutless to release this information to the public that pays your salary and that of your goons? Reportedly, there were three officers involved in the shooting.

Who are they, Sheriff? Their past history? An ongoing investigation remains a lame bullshit excuse. How can you and your goons be trusted when you refuse to disclose information? One hundred forty nine weeks. Especially, your egregious failure to disclose the identity of the officers who pulled the trigger. To cover your sorry ass, Sheriff? Those of your thugs? The people have a right to know what happened, how it went down. You don't understand that, Sheriff? Sadly, clearly, you answer to no one. Including taxpayers. Especially, taxpayers.

Until you and your goons come clean, doubt will remain this was indeed a good shoot. The longer you drag your feet, the greater the doubt. Think not? Wake up. Your credibility has tanked. Isn't getting any better as this bullshit continues unabated. One hundred forty nine weeks. Still no identification of the officers involved ... Can't get your stories straight? In line? Discrepancy between LCSO and DPS? Wake up, Sheriff. The public no longer buys the bullshit. No longer trusts you. On this and many, many other issues. You have no credibility. Absolutely, none.

Readers, this is but one of about four other highly questionable killings by law enforcement in Llano County in the last decade or so. There was one within the City of Llano, another in a field near Fuzzy's Corner, Buchanan Dam, yet another in Point Tella, Buchanan Dam, still another in Tow. If there are any others I may have neglected to mention, kindly email.

It's time the public be fully informed. -- Know what we're dealing with here and how 'law' 'enforcement' operates in this hell hole County. If these jackbooted bastards are not reined in, the life lost could be yours courtesy of a law enforcement system that is no longer accountable to anyone. ... Right, Sheriff? TL? "Sonny Boy?" Madam County Attorney?

The Sheriff seems to have no clue the people who pay him and his goons are entitled to know whom is killing whom and why. This shit always seems to be swept under the carpet. Ignored. The attitude of these jackbooted sons of bitches is trust us. They can't be. They've lied too many times. Refuse to be accountable to anyone. We live in a goddamned fascist police-state where law enforcement does as it pleases. Usually, with impunity. That has to change.

The Texas Rangers have become rubber stamp to atrocities committed by law enforcement. This also has to change. No one is holding law enforcement accountable any longer. No one. No one in state or federal government. This is precisely why Ferguson triggered such an uproar. There was no justice there. None here. None anywhere. Officers are abusive, corrupt, inept.

Falsely ticket and arrest the innocent to line County coffers. Court fees charged continue to be horrendous. -- Aren't taxpayers already looted to pay these costs? Aren't you boys not only double f--king those falsely accused, but taxpayers also hellaciously looted to pay the very same costs? Yet, the criminal bastards in power in Llano continue to pile on the fees. This is nothing more than goddamned bullshit. This money finds its way into the pockets of the corrupt, abusive bastards who falsely believe they run and own this hell hole.

Would you believe the last time the Sheriff's Office happened to be 'audited' during the Garrett regime, reportedly, auditors couldn't figure out what went where and why? Yet, surprise, surprise. Nothing was done. There has to be transparency. There is none. Why would these thieving bastards want any? ... Right, Sheriff? TL? How else could they so easily steal and loot with virtual impunity? Worse, this reinforces jackbooted power in this goddamned, godforsaken hell hole County.

The public has a right to know the histories of the Sheriff's goons. Clearly, the Sheriff doesn't think so. That is, where they came from. Why they left where they were. What is happening here is the Sheriff is using 'personnel matters' as a convenient excuse to deny the public access to the history of outrageously corrupt, abusive, inept officers who are no more than criminals themselves.

He's protecting his outrageously corrupt, abusive, inept jackbooted bastards. Worse, the standards imposed by sheriff's offices statewide with the exception of metropolitan counties are well below those of DPS and city police departments. Why? So the corruption, abuse, ineptness, and outright stealing can continue unabated? This has to change. ... Can't have that, can we? Sheriff? TL?

The public should understand Llano County authorities have it all sewn up. Did you know the Texas Attorney General does not have the authority to investigate and prosecute County authorities on his own? The District Attorney has to call for an investigation by the Texas Rangers. Then, the State can prosecute if it so chooses.

Consequently? Guess what? Nothing will happen. Nothing ever does. The goddamned corruption continues unabated until you, the public, pressure authorities. Precisely, why we all enjoy the 'best' government money can buy. Literally. Without question, the corrupt, abusive, inept sons of bitches are all bought and paid for. Firmly clamped to the taxpayer tit. Dependent on money looted from innocent citizens caught in their web. Phony fines and court costs cleverly designed to f--k the innocent and enrich the pieces of shit who falsely believe they run and own Llano County. Right, Sheriff? TL? "Sonny Boy?" Madam County Attorney?

Interestingly, the former Sheriff and District Attorney were reportedly forced to retire after an outrageous scandal involving a drunk driving police officer from out of town. Including special treatment of the drunken son of a bitch that no other citizen caught doing the same would have been afforded. An honest, honorable Llano County Deputy suffered the consequences. Forget? Great officers do not last in this hell hole County. ... Right, Sheriff? TL? "Sonny Boy?" Madam County Attorney?

With all ongoing abuse in this goddamned County, one thing remains for damned sure. We're just getting started, Sheriff. You will continue to be exposed for whom and what you and your corrupt, abusive, inept jackbooted bastards have become, truly are, not what you phonies purport to be, that is, how you continue to f--k over a public you've falsely sworn to protect and defend. -- Exposure, the only way short of an unwanted dreaded revolution to force desperately needed change in a goddamned fascist police-state. The Fourth Reich.

Have your jackbooted thugs been tested for steroids, Sheriff? If you've nothing to hide, Bill, release the results of all drug testing. 'Personnel matters?' Bullshit. Looted taxpayers have the right to know. They're footing the bill for all this goddamned corruption, abuse, ineptness. When will you and the boys end the shakedowns? Looting of the innocent to line County coffers? No honor at all?

Where are your swastika armbands, you fascist son of a bitch? You and your thugs remain out of uniform. Once again, Sheriff, and ad nauseum, did you and/or your goons pressure Schilling to exit the race? Did you steal the election? If so, an aggressively stupid, achingly gutless public gets what it truly deserves. One of the most corrupt, abusive, inept 'law' 'enforcement' agencies in our formerly great country.

Have any information, knowledge of, experience with a purportedly non-profit volunteer clean-up group called Looking Forward In Llano County affiliated with the Llano County Attorney's Office? Email this publication at libertyinperil@protonmail.com to provide information and/or arrange a meeting to discuss this matter. If requested, your identity will be protected. The question is quite simple. Is this group what it claims to be and on the level?

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following. It's appalling. Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for. No longer.

Think tactics in law enforcement aren't in desperate need of overhaul? NBC News reports:

"A young California man fatally shot by police after they found him unresponsive in his car with a gun in his lap was hit about 25 times — with bullets striking the center of his face and throat and blowing off part of his ear, a lawyer for his family said."

"Oakland attorney Melissa Nold, who said she examined the body of Willie McCoy, 20, last week, told NBC News that he also sustained injuries to his shoulders, chest and arm, during the Feb. 9 encounter with six officers. "Overkill is an understatement," Nold said of his wounds and the number of times he was struck."

"A coroner's report has not been released and Vallejo police have declined to comment further during an active investigation."

Convenient, isn't it? Why sit on the report if there is indeed nothing to hide? Why not decline to comment when it is impossible to justify overkill?

"McCoy — a Bay Area rapper known by his stage name Willie Bo — had been in the recording studio in recent days, his family said. They believe he had gone to the Taco Bell for a bite to eat and was so exhausted that he fell asleep while waiting in the drive-thru. Employees called police at about 10:30 p.m. when they saw him slumped behind the wheel of the car with the engine running, Vallejo police said in a statement last week."

"Nold also called into question the officers' version of events in which they said the doors to McCoy's Mercedes-Benz were locked when they first considered retrieving the gun from his lap before he woke up. Even if the doors were locked, the front passenger's side window was already broken and had a sheet of plastic covering it, which could have been removed, Nold said. Video of McCoy's car being towed in the aftermath from the scene shows plastic over the open window and several bullet holes in the windshield."

"Police were in the middle of blocking in McCoy's car in the drive-thru so that he wouldn't make any sudden movements, and when he woke up, officers said, they gave him "several commands to put his hands up." Rather than comply, police said, he "quickly moved his hands" down to the gun."

Did he? Release all video. Why sit on it? Police lie all the time. Whenever it suits their fancy, certainly. As a matter of convenience, as well. In fact, the courts allow the bastards to lie in performance of their duties. Yet, lie to a jackbooted bastard? Go to jail. Double standard in Nazi America. De facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich. ... Right, Sheriff?

"Six officers "fearing for their safety" opened fire in about four seconds, police added."

Horse shit. Could have backed away. Got behind him. Instead, apparently chose to execute the bastard.

"Officers continued to yell commands at the driver and ultimately reached through the broken glass of the driver's window to unlock the vehicle," they said, before retrieving McCoy's body to perform first aid. He died at the scene."

Play acting after deliberately killing him. Going through the motions to make it look good. Who the hell are they kidding? Pumped 25 rounds into him. Made sure he was dead. Gutless cowards.

"Nold said the situation could have been handled differently, especially since they recognized McCoy was not initially responsive."

That's right. Instead, apparently chose to execute him. Where the hell was their judgment? Up their ass?

"Suppose he was having a medical emergency and needed help. Their reaction wasn't can we get this person safely out of the car," Nold said."

"Even under the worst case scenario, you still have an obligation to try and avoid the use of deadly force," she added."

No longer in a de facto fascist police-state where modus operandi is 'shoot first, ask questions later.' ... Right, Sheriff?

"Authorities said a fully loaded .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun with an extended magazine was recovered at the scene, and had been reported stolen out of Oregon. David Klinger, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and former police officer, said the initial actions of police appeared to make sense in order to protect the public's safety, but the number of officers who ultimately pulled their triggers is concerning — especially since the officers had time to formulate a plan."

"Unless there's some really extraordinary explanation, too many bullets were fired by too many officers," he said."

Ostensibly, an execution. ... Where the jackbooted bastards become judge, jury, and executioner. ... Right, Sheriff?

"A Vallejo Police Department document on police protocol says lethal force may only be used "when it is reasonable," and to either prevent an "immediate threat" of death or injury; apprehend a suspect who is attempting to escape and is believed to have committed a violent felony or presents a life-threatening danger; or kill a dangerous or seriously injured animal when there is no humane alternative."

"In general, when police come upon a sleeping person with a firearm within reach, they must take into account how the person may reflexively grab for their gun, said Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina and an expert on police use of force. He added that since McCoy didn't immediately respond, police were on the "right track" to attempt to block him in so that he wouldn't make any sudden movement with his car. But Alpert questioned whether any of the officers decided to position themselves in a place near the car where a startled McCoy could have shot them. "Being in the sight line of a guy with a gun is not the smartest thing to do," said Alpert, adding that police are trained to approach cars carefully and determine potential threats."

"The number of officers who used their weapons and the multiple shots fired also worries Alpert. "If they're smart enough to block the car, why aren't they anticipating for the worst but understanding that there's always a good chance that he's an innocent person who fell asleep and wanted the gun for protection?" he asked."

"At a Vallejo City Council meeting last week, a woman who identified herself as McCoy's girlfriend tearfully asked for the officers' bodycam footage to be released. Police will be required to release the related video within 45 days following state legislation signed last fall that requires all law enforcement agencies in California to do so when an officer fires their gun or uses deadly force. Departments can delay the release for up to 30 days if doing so interferes with the investigation."

No more than a convenient excuse to give the jackbooted bastards sufficient time to concoct a story to justify the killing. ... Right, Sheriff?

"Nold said it's imperative for police to communicate under what circumstances it's OK to "shoot and kill someone who looks like he's going to get a taco." She said she's disappointed by the police's failure — more than a week after the shooting — to even call McCoy's family and identify him as the person who died that night at the Taco Bell. "We only know," Nold said, "because we've seen him in the mortuary."

Jackbooted bastards. These are extremely dangerous times for our formerly great country. ... Hear the rumble? An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming. -- As our legislators and other government officials figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

"Delaware State Police are reviewing a video that appears to show one of its troopers pulling a gun on a driver during a traffic stop this month. Mack Buckley, who is African-American, uploaded the minute-and-23-second video from Feb. 14 to Facebook of the trooper pulling the gun on him when he objected to the officer opening the door and telling him to get out of the vehicle. "No, no, no. You cannot, you cannot pull me out of this," Buckley is heard saying to the officer right before the gun is drawn. Buckley then repeatedly asks: "Why are you pulling a gun on me?" The officer responds: "Stop reaching for s---t. Hands on the car."

Gutless piece of crap. Why pull the weapon? What was the exigent threat? -- The fact he was black?

"In the Facebook post, Buckley alleges he was pulled over for speeding, ticketed for resisting arrest and issued three traffic citations. He also claims he was not allowed to file a complaint against the officer at the police station after he was released on unsecured bond."

Why not allow filing of the complaint? ... Protecting the officer? ... Coddling his ass?

"Police on Wednesday said Buckley was pulled over for speeding about 9:10 a.m. He was arrested after resisting arrest, speeding and driving without insurance and registration, officials said. "The Delaware State Police initiated an internal investigation as soon as we became aware of the incident as per divisional policy," state police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz told NBC News."

Means shit squat. Usually, nothing comes of it. By design. Forget? The officer is designedly, determinedly, concertedly protected and coddled. Par for the course in a de facto fascist police-state. ... Right, Sheriff?

"He added that Buckley was transported to the station "without further incident."

Why not release all dash and body cam video so the public can judge for itself whether or not the officer properly executed the stop?

"On the video that Buckley posted, neither he nor the trooper can be seen after about halfway through, possibly after the point at which Buckley is out of the car. The last words that can be heard are Buckley asking the officer why he is pulling a gun. Buckley claims in his post that on the way to the station, the officer "kept referring to YOU PEOPLE." When he asked the officer what he meant by "you people," he claims the officer responded "society" and told him, "Go ahead and play the race card."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Rip off the federal government with a bogus catastrophe claim? Rightfully, get criminally prosecuted, -- if you're an ordinary citizen. Not so, if you're the City of New York. NPR reports:

"In the days after Superstorm Sandy soaked the East Coast, New York City Department of Transportation workers cataloged the damage to the agency's fleet of vehicles. That information was handed over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would give the city enough money to replace the damaged vehicles with new ones. Only one problem: Many of those vehicles were damaged before Sandy hit. Some hadn't been operational in years, and had been marked for salvage long before the storm. The city has now agreed to reimburse the federal government $5.3 million for its false claims, according to the settlement proposed Wednesday."

"City officials who certified that the vehicles were damaged during Sandy either knew they were making false statements, or did so "with reckless disregard or willful blindness as to their truth," the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said in a complaint accompanying the proposed settlement. "When people lie to FEMA about the cause of property damage in order to reap a windfall, it compromises FEMA's ability to provide financial assistance to legitimate disaster victims in desperate need," Berman said in a statement. In examining the fleet, city employees "considered only whether a vehicle had sustained any damage during the storm, without regard to the condition of the vehicle prior to Sandy," the complaint said. As a result, "many of the vehicles that Fleet Services included on its 'final' list of Sandy-damaged vehicles had been non-operational — and some had even been marked for salvage — years before Sandy."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

"Jurors in the federal trial of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán regularly violated a judge's order to avoid news reports about the case as it was playing out in court, one of the panelists reportedly said. Vice News claimed it videotaped a lengthy interview with the one anonymous member of the 12-person panel, who reached out to the news magazine via email a day after the trial ended. Vice also said that its reporter who covered the case made a positive ID of the panelist, after watching the jury for months in open court. The story, posted Wednesday, also used gender-neutral terms to describe the juror and used "they" in referring to the single panelist. At least five jurors were regular consumers of news about Guzmán, according to the panelist. “You know how we were told we can't look at the media during the trial? Well, we did," the juror said to the Vice News reporter. “We would constantly go to your media, your Twitter … I personally and some other jurors that I knew."

"Just before deliberations began, previously sealed court documents were unearthed and showed that one witness, not called to the stand, accused Guzmán of regularly raping young women and girls as young as 13. Jurors not only saw that story in the news media, they lied to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan when asked about it, according to the panelist. “I had told them if you saw what happened in the news, just make sure that the judge is coming in and he's gonna ask us, so keep a straight face," the juror said. "So he did indeed come to our room and ask us if we knew, and we all denied it, obviously.”

"Defense lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said he was particularly concerned that jurors heard of the sex assault allegations against his client. Even before Wednesday's revelations, Guzman's defense had vowed to appeal. "Jurors apparently lied to the court repeatedly about not reading press reports of Mr. Guzman's trial, as well as ignoring orders to stay away from highly prejudicial — and uncorroborated — allegations against our client which were not part of the evidence in this case," Lichtman said in a statement. "All we ever wanted for Mr. Guzmán was a fair trial and that's all we deserved. We will continue to seek justice for him." Representatives for Cogan and Dora Irizarry, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, declined to comment."

If there is indeed substance to these allegations, think Guzman won't be retried?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Some things never change. Some kids stand tall no matter what. The Washington Post reports:

"When a small-town Arizona cop stopped a 12-year-old reporter who was chasing down a story tip on Monday, he probably had no idea what he was getting himself into."

"Hilde Lysiak, the preteen journalist whose exploits have inspired a Scholastic book series and an upcoming TV show, made a name for herself in 2016 by being the first to report on a grisly murder in her hometown, then firing back at the haters who suggested that a 9-year-old girl shouldn’t be hanging around crime scenes. Since then, she has continued to break news about bank robberies, alleged rapes and other lurid crimes in the Orange Street News, the paper that she publishes out of her parents’ home in Selinsgrove, Pa. “NOTE TO DEALERS: OSN Will Not Be Intimidated,” she wrote last month, after reportedly receiving threats because she had published text message exchanges between an alleged drug dealer and a woman whom he had reportedly solicited for sex. So naturally, she didn’t back down when Joseph Patterson, the town marshal in Patagonia, Ariz., allegedly threatened to throw her in juvenile jail on Monday, then falsely claimed it would be illegal for her to film him and publish the video on the Internet. Instead, she posted their exchange on YouTube and in the Orange Street News — which in turn prompted town officials to discipline Patterson, as the Nogales International was the first to report on Wednesday.

"In the Orange Street News, Lysiak wrote that she was riding her bike to investigate a tip at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday when Patterson, whose position in the small town is equivalent to that of a police chief, stopped her and asked for identification. The 12-year-old gave her name and phone number and mentioned that she was a member of the media. She said Patterson told her, “I don’t want to hear about any of that freedom-of-the-press stuff” and added that he would have her arrested and thrown in juvenile jail."

"Later, Lysiak ran into Patterson again. This time, she was filming. “You stopped me earlier and you said that I can be thrown in juvie,” she can be heard asking in the video. “What exactly am I doing that’s illegal?” From the seat of his white Chevy Silverado truck, Patterson started to reply, then interrupted himself. “You taping me?” he asked. “You can tape me, okay, but what I’m going to tell you is if you put my face on the Internet, it’s against the law in Arizona.” In fact, there is no such law. Recording a law enforcement officer in a public place is protected under the First Amendment, as Lysiak noted when she posted the video online later that day."

Goddamned right. LOL. This f--ker's an idiot. Not qualified to be an officer. ... Right, Sheriff?

"While Lysiak sat on her bike, Patterson told her that he had noticed her following him around town while he responded to urgent calls. “Yeah, so how is that illegal?” the young reporter countered. The marshal told her that he didn’t want her to be harmed by the mountain lion that had been spotted, and he accused her of disobeying his commands and lying to him when she said she was headed to a friend’s house, which she disputed. Finally, he told her, “I’ll be getting a hold of your parents,” and drove off."

Jesus Christ. This guy is too stupid to be an officer. ... Right, Sheriff?

"A nine-year-old reporter investigating a lead. A cop who doesn't understand how freedom works. Which is the adult in this scenario?

"By early Friday morning, the YouTube video had been viewed more than 22,000 times, and hundreds of people had left comments calling Lysiak a “hero” and expressing outrage at Patterson’s false claim that it would be against the law for her to film him."

"A notice posted on the town of Patagonia’s website on Wednesday said that officials had received “many comments” about Patterson’s confrontation with Lysiak. “The matter has been carefully reviewed and we have taken action we believe to be appropriate for the situation,” the statement said. “We do not publicly disclose personnel actions including discipline and will have no further comment on this matter.” The bulletin further suggested that “relevant information” could be found in an Arizona statute that bars people from posting personal information belonging to police officers, prosecutors, judges and other officials online — if doing so could put them and their families at risk. It did not specify why that law would be relevant, or whether Lysiak had been accused of breaking it. In an email to The Washington Post, Dan Barr, an attorney with the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, called the town’s reference to that statute “pure nonsense.” The law deals with publicizing information such as home addresses and “has nothing to do with taking photos of uniformed police officers doing their jobs in public,” he wrote. Barr added: “Hilde is a force of nature. One can only imagine what sort of stories she will be turning out once she has a driver’s license.”

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

The following is pitiful. Gross injustice to our best and brightest. -- Courtesy of the Trump nazi and his henchmen. NBC News reports:

"The American Civil Liberties Union released records Monday that it says show a police officer racially profiling a U.S. citizen and Marine veteran who was detained for deportation and mocking his disability. Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, a former Marine who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, was held for three days in an immigration facility in Michigan in December for possible deportation until his attorney intervened, according to the ACLU. He was born in Michigan. The ACLU said in a statement that the documents it released show Grand Rapids police Capt. Curt VanderKooi “racially profiling” and mocking Ramos-Gomez in his interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

Goddamned f--king racist jackbooted nazi. Piece of human excrement. ... Right, Sheriff?

“Here is an officer who sees someone who is Latino, who has a Latino sounding name, and contacts ICE,” Miriam Aukerman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, told NBC News."

"Ramos-Gomez was arrested on Nov. 21 after he allegedly set a small fire, pulled an alarm and trespassed on a heliport at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, according to police. A timeline of events provided by the ACLU said that Ramos-Gomez’s U.S. passport was in his bag at the time he was arrested. "They took a photograph of his passport when they logged his property into evidence. They knew he was a U.S. citizen," Auckerman said. Police later interviewed Ramos-Gomez and realized “he has mental health issues,” according to the timeline. Midmorning on Nov. 21, a police sergeant sent a text to an FBI agent saying the case involves a “Vet, PTSD, But not a FBI issue,” according to the timeline and an image of the message included in the ACLU’s statement. Later that evening, VanderKooi watched a news report about the arrest and emailed Derek Klifman, an ICE officer, according to the timeline and the documents. “Could you please check his status?” the email began."

Unf--king believable, right, Sheriff? An American citizen. Born here. Combat veteran suffering PTSD.

"A separate ICE officer emailed VanderKooi on Nov. 23 and said he interviewed Ramos-Gomez and determined “he is a foreign national illegally in the U.S.,” according to the documents. The ICE officer said Ramos-Gomez would be brought into custody when he was released from his criminal case. ICE has said in a statement that Ramos-Gomez claimed he was in the U.S. illegally during the interview and lodged a detention request with police based on his statements. Vanderkooi emailed back on Nov. 26 with the subject line “Spectrum Helicopter Pad Loco,” using the Spanish word for crazy. “It is not clear what mad intent was involved in this breach of hospital security but here is the report,” the email said, according to the documents. Another police officer forwarded that message to a prosecutor, who responded: “I am confused. Didn’t his property have a U.S. Passport in it? And he was a veteran?!” “Who knows, not sure it was a US passport. … I am not sure about the vet thing,” the officer responded."

"Ramos-Gomez pleaded guilty to trespassing and was released on his own recognizance on Dec. 14, according to the ACLU. He was then taken into ICE custody, where he was held until Dec. 17 when his family’s attorney intervened, according to the ACLU. ICE said it reviewed documents provided by the lawyer suggesting Ramos-Gomez was a citizen and authorized his release. Auckerman said VanderKooi's mocking of the veteran showed "disrespect for our men and women in uniform as well as for people with disabilities."

"The Grand Rapids Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement Friday, police said the officer who contacted ICE “did so solely on the nature" of Ramos-Gomez's actions."

"Contacting ICE is not a routine part of our investigative process. Rather, we did this in light of the potential risk to the public’s safety, specifically through a possible act of terrorism," Interim Police Chief David Kiddle said in the statement. Kiddle added the investigation determined the officer used “unprofessional language” in his interactions with ICE, which was addressed with the officer."

Jesus Christ. The goddamned Interim Chief is just as stupid. How does an hopelessly ignorant asshole like this become Interim Chief? How? How does that happen?

"Aukerman said the response shows "police can't police themselves." "What you see is even when you have blatant discrimination, blatant racial profiling, the officer involved is not held accountable," she said."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

"For the first time in 26 years, a Florida police officer is standing trial for an on-duty killing — and one of his defenses will be the state's controversial "stand your ground" law."

"The trial of fired Palm Beach Gardens officer Nouman Raja begins with jury selection Thursday. He is charged with manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder for the 2015 shooting of Corey Jones. Jones, a 31-year-old black musician, had just gotten out of his broken-down SUV when he was confronted by Raja, who was dressed in plainclothes and driving an unmarked white van. The shooting happened amid several highly publicized killings of black men by police officers nationwide, some leading to prosecutions. Raja, 41, could face a life sentence if convicted."

"Prosecutors say an audio recording shows Raja never identified himself. They say that caused Jones, who had a concealed-weapons permit, to pull a handgun because he feared he was being robbed. They say Raja kept firing after he saw Jones throw away his gun, and lied to investigators about it."

"Absolutely nothing about him (Raja) provided any indication that he represented a law enforcement agency," prosecutor Brian Fernandes wrote in court documents, calling Raja a "rogue officer."

How about that? 'Best' in Florida law enforcement, right, Sheriff? ... At least, however, they prosecute rogue officers there, -- as opposed to our failure to do so here, in Nazi Llano County. ... Right, Sheriff?

"Raja's attorneys argue he identified himself and feared for his life when Jones pulled his gun. They argued that Raja should be protected under the stand your ground law, which says anyone with a legitimate fear of imminent danger can use lethal force. The law also says it is up to prosecutors to prove the person's fear was lacking or unreasonable. One exception is that the person cannot be the initial aggressor. "Officer Raja was definitely not an aggressor," lead defense attorney Richard Lubin wrote in court filings. "The inescapable fact is that Mr. Jones pointed his gun at Officer Raja."

Jesus Christ. Re-write of reality, to say nothing of precisely what happened.

"Raja's attorneys have requested Judge Joseph Marx move the trial. They say the coverage by local news outlets has included prejudicial material, including a grand jury's finding that the shooting was unjustified; that investigators concluded Raja lied; and that the case's previous judge rejected his initial stand your ground claim."

"Marx says he will consider the request if the six-person jury cannot be seated. In Florida criminal case, only first-degree-murder trials get 12 jurors.

"Jones, who also worked as a housing inspector, was returning home from a nightclub performance early on the morning of Oct. 18, 2015, when his SUV broke down on an off-ramp of Interstate 95. His drums, valued at $10,000, were in back. Jones, the brother of former National Football League player C.J. Jones, had just purchased a .38-caliber handgun for protection. Raja spotted Jones' SUV about 3:15 a.m. He was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap because he was investigating auto burglaries. His sergeant testified at a hearing that he told Raja to don a vest marked "police" if he confronted anyone, but the vest was found inside the unmarked van."

"Raja drove up the off-ramp, blocking Jones' SUV. He told Palm Beach County sheriff's investigators that when Jones got out, he identified himself, but then fired because Jones pulled a gun. He said Jones ran down an embankment and pointed the gun again, so he fired more shots. Jones died at the scene. Investigators have said that Raja didn't know Jones was speaking to a tow truck dispatcher on a recorded line. Raja is never heard identifying himself.

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The following is appalling if true. A great disservice to the LGBTQ community, people of color, as well as all Americans. Especially, at a time our formerly great country is coming apart at the seams. CBS News reports:

"Chicago's top police officer expressed anger and frustration Thursday over what he called Jussie Smollett's "shameful" attempt to fabricate a hate crime for a "publicity stunt." "When we discovered the actual motive, quite frankly, it pissed everybody off," said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. He said police were treating Smollett like a victim until then. Smollett's story that he was attacked January 29 by masked assailants who yelled racial and homophobic slurs, poured bleach on him and hung a rope around his neck unraveled when two of Smollett's acquaintances, brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, told investigators the actor paid them $3,500 to stage the attack, said Johnson. Johnson said Smollett, 36, choreographed the attack because he was dissatisfied with his salary. He castigated Smollett for putting the national spotlight on Chicago for something "that is both egregious and untrue," and said bogus police reports harm legitimate victims by wasting valuable police resources."

Not only that, makes it far more difficult for the LGBTQ community, people of color, to say nothing of the rest of the community truly victimized by out of control law enforcement. Won't be believed.

"The "Empire" actor turned himself in on a felony count of filing a false police report. He appeared in court Thursday afternoon where a judge set his bond at $100,000 and ordered him to turn in his passport. Smollett soon walked out of jail after posting the necessary $10,000 and headed to a black SUV as a horde of reporters swarmed the area. He went to the "Empire" set later in the day, 20th Century Fox confirmed to CBS News late Thursday. Johnson said Smollett hasn't made any statement to police since his arrest."

No matter what, this man is entitled to his day in court, presumption of innocence until convicted.

"His legal team, which now includes famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, defended him in a statement after he was charged Wednesday night. "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked," the statement said. "Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense." According to The Associated Press, Smollett's lawyers said Johnson's detailing investigators' findings about the alleged attack amounted to an "organized law enforcement spectacle," and said they had no place in the American legal system. The statement described Smollett as a man of "impeccable character and integrity" who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence."

Has every right to presumption of innocence, vigorous legal defense, and his day in court.

"Johnson gave credit to his detectives for a "patient and deliberate" investigation that he said began with giving Smollett the benefit of the doubt and eventually uncovered the truth after weeks of combing through video evidence and following up on leads. He called Smollett a "troubled young man who resorted to both drastic and illegal actions." "I'm offended by what's happened, and I'm also angry," Johnson said. "I love the city of the Chicago and the Chicago Police Department, warts and all. But this publicity stunt was a scar Chicago didn't earn and certainly didn't deserve."

Chicago's top cop goes on and on. Certainly, expresses profound frustration. May turn out to be a mistake, however. Could be construed and used by the defense as an attempt to unduly influence the jury pool.

"Johnson said Thursday he spoke not only as the police superintendent, but as a black man who grew up in Chicago and understands the city's racial divide. He said Smollett "took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career" and said he was baffled as to why anyone, especially an African-American man, "would use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations." "How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?" Johnson said. "How could this individual who has been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city in the face by making these false claims?"

Think there isn't indeed a serious systemic problem in Chicago law enforcement as well as throughout the country? NPR reports:

"When a fellow officer dies, Chicago police wear black bands around their badges as a sign of mourning. At least five Chicago officers have taken their own lives since July."

Think that isn't a serious problem? Indicative of massive systemic failure within law enforcement? This remains of great public concern because we as a society cannot live without law enforcement. Someone has to haul in the criminal element, hold them accountable. The problem occurs when law enforcement becomes the criminal element. Does so on a massive scale. As we are now experiencing throughout our formerly great country.

The increasing number of officer suicides is certainly indicative of a growing cancer within law enforcement. The following is an extremely tragic example of this:

"In September 2017, Chicago Police Officer Regine Perpignan was hospitalized for depression, relatives said. Perpignan was a 26-year veteran of the department. She was 54, with two daughters and a granddaughter. Her brother and sister-in-law said Perpignan got counseling through the department and was taken off the street while she was getting help. Perpignan's sister-in-law Rochelle Perpignan said Regine went back to policing near the end of 2017. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi would not confirm the timeline. "They put her back on duty too fast," her brother, Roland Perpignan, said. "Someone who's been having mental issues and you know is not well should not be going back to duty ... and given a gun." In September 2018, in the parking lot of the Calumet District police station on the far South Side, before she was scheduled to begin her workday, Perpignan killed herself, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. She used her service revolver. "To think how much she must have been suffering to get to that point," Roland Perpignan said. "You know you gotta be suffering a lot and be in a lot of pain to [think that's the only way out]."

That's right. No question. We have to do something about this. It's unacceptable.

"Perpignan was one of at least five Chicago police officers to kill themselves since July. What's more, she was one of three officers to do so while on duty or on police property, an exceedingly rare occurrence, according to experts. The police department is unable to provide historic numbers on officer suicides, said Guglielmi, the police spokesman. But the U.S. Department of Justice found that between 2013 and 2015, CPD had a suicide rate up to 60 percent higher than the national average for law enforcement officers. Those numbers are spurring action by officers, police officials and mental health experts. They said the suicides are a sign of deeper problems with the mental health and well-being of Chicago police officers."

Moreover, there is a reason why police suicides are increasing across the country. Much of it has to do with what this publication and others have been covering for decades. Abusive law enforcement. Yet, there is no change. Certainly, no meaningful change. Precisely, why this problem will grow worse before things improve.

"If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting 741741."

"The U.S. Department of Justice and other experts say addressing those issues is also essential to the success of mandated police reform in the city and to a better relationship between police and community members."

It's a question of which came first. Chicken or the egg. After years of covering this issue, strongly suspect egregious abuse of authority, unnecessary violence including needless killing while on and off duty has contributed to the increase of mental health issues within the police community. The public reacts to this negatively. Can't, won't trust law enforcement. For damned good reason.

"Police department leaders said they're taking big steps to address the issue, but former officers and some mental health professionals are asking whether the city is doing enough, and whether it's focused on the right problems."

That's right. Good place to start? Clean up your act. When you're getting your cookies off harassing the innocent, killing and/or beating the living shit out of both the guilty and innocent for no valid reason, otherwise abusing authority to exert power for the sake of exerting power, guess what? You've got mental health issues.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

"Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on a group of civilians attempting to keep open a segment of the southern border with Brazil for deliveries of humanitarian aid, causing multiple injuries and the first fatalities of a massive opposition operation meant to deliver international relief to this devastated South American country, according to eyewitnesses and community leaders. At 6:30 a.m. on Friday, a military convoy approached a checkpoint set up by an indigenous community in the southern village of Kumarakapay, on the main artery linking Venezuela to Brazil. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday ordered the closure of Venezuela’s border with Brazil. When the volunteers sought to block the military vehicles by standing in front of them, soldiers began firing assault rifles. At least two people were killed and a dozen wounded, at least three of them seriously. The dead were named as a woman, Zorayda Rodriguez, 42, and a man, Rolando Garcia."

Sadly, the chickens are finally coming home to roost. While the situation in Venezuela is extremely complicated, the United States bears responsibility for profound and growing unrest in Central and South America. Has intervened for decades.

"The Trump administration, which opposes Maduro, promptly denounced the shooting. “The United States condemns the killings, attacks, and the hundreds of arbitrary detentions that have taken place in Venezuela,” a State Department spokesman said. “We stand with the victims’ families in demanding justice and accountability.”

People in the Center and Left in our formerly great country are demanding the same here in Nazi America, Mr. 'President.' Law enforcement remains out of control. Conditions in our jails and prisons are unacceptable. To say nothing of how you and your henchmen are treating those seeking asylum, sir.

"In tweets, opposition leader Juan Guaidó — who was en route to the Colombian border — said: “In the community of Kumarakapay, 2 soldiers shot against Pemones that were at a checkpoint. The result of this crime is 12 people wounded and one dead. Our solidarity is with them. It will not go unpunished.” In a separate tweet, he added, “To soldiers: between today and tomorrow you will define how to be remembered. We know you are with the people, you have made it clear to us. Tomorrow you can demonstrate it.” At least 30 neighbors took to the streets following the shootings, kidnapping three soldiers, according to Carmen Elena Silva, 48, who had joined the roadblock, and George Bello, a spokesman for the indigenous community. “The majority of the people support the entrance of humanitarian aid, and we want to keep our border open,” Silva said. “This is help, not war. ... Every day more children die.” Jorge Perez, a local councilman in Gran Sabana, the district in which the town is located, said he was present when the soldiers opened fire. “I ask the armed forces, is it constitutional for them to fire against unarmed indigenous people?” he said. “Is it constitutional to kill indigenous people?”

"When President Trump spoke in Florida this week, he issued a stern warning about Venezuela: Members of the armed forces who continue to support President Nicolás Maduro "will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out," he said. "You will lose everything." The White House says it wants a peaceful, multilateral approach to removing Maduro, but all options are on the table — suggesting the possibility of military involvement. Tensions between Maduro and the movement to unseat him are expected to come to a head this weekend, as members of Venezuela's U.S.-backed opposition push to carry into the country tons of humanitarian aid and medicine that Maduro's security forces have blocked. U.S. officials have repeatedly threatened Venezuelan forces who stand in the way and have described the aid as part of a strategy to compel the military to "disobey orders."

"But even for some of Maduro's enemies, Washington's efforts to oust the Venezuelan leader raise concern because of the history of U.S. intervention in the region. It is "a long history that starts in Mexico," says Enrique Krauze, a noted Mexican historian. The Mexican-American War, the brutal two-year conflict in the mid-19th century, ended with Mexico losing — or as Krauze says, being robbed of — half its territory. "It would be hard to name a country where the United States didn't have an intervention," he emphasizes. The United States participated, directly or indirectly, in Latin American regime change more than 40 times in the last century, according to historian John Coatsworth. That figure doesn't include a number of failed missions like the 1961 Bay of Pigs assault in Cuba. Some of the more stinging U.S. moves included its roles in ousting democratically elected governments in Guatemala in 1954, in Brazil a decade later and in Chile in 1973. Chilean President Salvador Allende was deposed in a violent coup by CIA-backed opponents, and the U.S. government long supported his replacement, the dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet."

Wake up. Raw imperialism by what is ostensibly supposed to be a democratic republic, but no longer. In name only.

"In addition to covert support for insurgencies, the U.S. has invaded its southern neighbors numerous times. For instance, the U.S. launched invasions of the Dominican Republic (1916), Grenada (1983) and Panama (1989). The motives were varied and are often still debated. Writing in Harvard University's ReVista magazine, Coatsworth says, "two factors seem to have been crucial in tipping decision makers toward intervention: domestic politics and global strategy." Much of the interference occurred while America was competing against the Soviet Union for influence around the world, even as U.S. leaders sought to shore up political support at home. One bloody chapter that recently re-entered debate is the U.S. government's roles in Central America's civil wars in the 1980s, including support for death squads in El Salvador and Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. The Trump administration's special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, was convicted of withholding information about the Iran-Contra scandal from Congress but later received a pardon from President George H.W. Bush. This month, Congress members grilled Abrams and questioned whether he would speak truthfully. In 2002, the U.S. government allegedly had prior knowledge of an abortive coup against Venezuela's then president, Hugo Chávez, although President George W. Bush's administration denied any involvement. Abrams was a senior White House official at that time as well."

"The United States is playing a difficult balancing act. It cannot be seen as leading the charge in Venezuela, says John Feeley, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Panama last year, later citing differences with Trump. "Precisely the history of U.S. intervention in Latin America is such that it always seems to engender a worse backlash than the original issue that mattered to American interests," he says.

"Yet, with speeches like the one in Miami, Trump was working to "Americanize the crisis," according to Greg Weeks, a University of North Carolina professor who edits the journal The Latin Americanist. "The more you Americanize the situation, the worse the eventual result for the average Venezuelan," he wrote on his blog on Tuesday. "It badly undermines whatever government comes next and increases the chances of armed insurrection." With Trump campaigning for re-election, Weeks assessed from the speech that U.S. domestic politics are a strong force behind the president's push to oust Maduro."

"The first truck with international aid relief has entered Venezuela from the south, via the Brazilian border, according to Miguel Pizarro, coordinator of the opposition’s aid operation. Brazil was the site of a clash between opposition supporters and Venezuelan soldiers on Friday that left two civilians dead.

"Opposition leader Juan Guaidó and Colombian President Iván Duque spoke to the press from the Tienditas bridge — one of several bridges connecting Colombia to Venezuela. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid inched toward one bridge while protesters on foot tried to form a human chain on another in a bid to move the aid across. “While we are here trying to bring tons of aid, some are trying to block us using generalized violence,” Guaidó said. “To the military, stand on the right side of history.” Thousands of opposition supporters had amassed at the Tienditas bridge waving Venezuelan flags and clutching white roses.

"Violent skirmishes were ongoing in the Venezuelan town of Ureña on the Colombian border, where civilians were engaging in running battles with tear-gas wielding border guards. A group of opposition supporters stormed a school and chased out pro-government supporters who were holed up there overnight. The opposition shouted “traitors!” at the fleeing loyalists.

"Border guards who turned against President Nicolás Maduro rammed barricades at the Simón Bolívar bridge. Afterward, four Venezuelan military men defected. The opposition planned to use the bridge as one artery for getting U.S. and other foreign aid from Colombia into Venezuela. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó was in meetings nearby, on the Colombian side of the border, where 14 trucks loaded with aid were awaiting orders to try to move across the border and challenge Maduro’s blockade.

"In Santa Elena de Guairen on Venezuela’s frontier with Brazil, four people died from bullet wounds on Saturday after irregular pro-government militias known as colectivos opened fire. The violence also left 24 injured, according to Foro Penal, a legal non-profit group that tracks violence in Venezuela. “We’ve been told colectivos shot at people at the border and the situation is grave,” said the group’s director, Alfredo Romero, who said the organization had a team on the ground.

"Maduro declared that he is breaking diplomatic relations with Colombia, which has called for his ouster and thrown its support to Guaidó. Maduro ordered Colombian diplomats to leave Caracas within 24 hours.

"The sound of rapid gunfire echoed near the Simón Bolívar bridge, where Venezuelan authorities also shot volleys of tear gas. Medics near the bridge were treating dozens of people from tear gas inhalation and the stampede that retreated when canisters were fired. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in other zones near the western border. Opposition leaders on the Brazilian border also reported the live fire by security forces."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Another egregious violation of the First Amendment Establishment Clause by the Trump nazi and his henchmen. The Washington Post reports:

"The Trump administration took aim Friday at Planned Parenthood, issuing a rule barring groups that provide abortions or abortion referrals from participating in the $286 million federal family planning program — a move that is expected to redirect millions from the women’s health provider to faith-based groups."

Clear, determined, concerted violation of the Establishment Clause, that is, freedom from religion. Who the hell are these goddamned nazis to force their outrageously perverse ideological and religious views on the rest of us?

"Under the long-expected change, federally funded family planning clinics can no longer refer a patient for abortion and must maintain a “clear physical and financial separation” between services funded by the government and any organization that provides abortions or abortion referrals. Recipients of grants under the Title X program, which serves an estimated four million low-income women, were already prohibited from performing abortions with those funds."

Outrageous. Who the hell are these Republican national socialists, fascists, nazis to impose these perverse religious beliefs on the rest of us?

"Health and Human Services Department officials have said the new requirements, which opponents have vowed to challenge, were necessary to ensure transparency and the legal and ethical use of taxpayer funds."

"The changes were celebrated by social conservatives who oppose abortion and helped elect Trump."

These clueless assholes are not 'conservatives.' They're national socialists, fascists, nazis.

"The move represents “decisive action to disentangle taxpayers from the big abortion industry led by Planned Parenthood,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an antiabortion group, said in a statement."

Horse shit. What it is remains no more than a group of nazis determined to force their outrageously perverse ideological and religious views on the rest of us.

"Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers now have to choose between shuttering their abortion services and moving them if they want to continue to receive federal funds. “Either way, this will loosen the group’s hold on tens of millions of tax dollars,” he said."

You're outrageously perverse religious views are not shared by a majority of Americans. Who the hell are you and your fellow nazis to force them on the rest of us?

"Critics, including 15 governors and the American Medical Association, decried the change as a “gag rule” that would undermine the physician-patient relationship and threatened legal action to block it from taking effect. They have also described it as an indirect way to defund Planned Parenthood, which has long been a target of antiabortion activists as the nation’s largest provider of reproductive care services, including abortions."

"New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) tweeted that the new rule is “dangerous & unnecessary,” putting millions of Americans at risk, and that the state would take legal action.

New York will not stand by as this administration puts New Yorkers' & millions of Americans at risk.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 22, 2019
Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen called the rule “unconscionable and unethical.”

“Imagine if the Trump administration prevented doctors from talking to our patients with diabetes about insulin,” she said. “It would never happen. Reproductive health care should be no different." Wen has said the group could not accept funds under the rule because it would compromise its ethical obligations to patients. The women’s health-care provider serves about 41 percent of Title X patients and receives about $60 million from the program."

Report goes on and on. These goddamned nazis must be challenged in court. They remain an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties. Un-American. Right Wing Fascism.

Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Noose figuratively tightens. Pressure to release pending Mueller report in its entirety will be ferocious. The Washington Post reports:

"The Justice Department and Democratic lawmakers are bracing for a fight over access to the evidence uncovered by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III during his nearly two-year investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether President Trump obstructed justice. Mueller’s investigation is winding down, according to people familiar with the matter, and Justice Department officials expect to receive a report from him in March. Democrats on Friday demanded that the report be made public."

No question. Anything less would be considered obstruction, no more than a cover-up.

"The agency’s regulations call for Mueller’s report to be a confidential account of who was charged, as well as who was investigated but not charged. Then, according to the regulations, the attorney general — William P. Barr — will summarize the work for Congress."

Not good enough. Nowhere near. Barr is no more than a shill for the Trump nazi. Has no credibility. Past statements by this piece of human excrement covered in this publication and elsewhere offer proof positive.

"Lawmakers already are pressing for the Justice Department to turn over any additional underlying investigative documents produced during Mueller’s investigation."

As well they should. Moreover, the public is entitled to this information. Forget? These bastards work for the American people, -- not themselves.

"The task of wresting those materials away from the Justice Department is likely to fall to the House, where Democrats are in the majority. On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) joined the chairs of five other House committees in stressing to Barr, “in the strongest possible terms, our expectation that the Department of Justice will release to the public the report Special Counsel Mueller submits to you — without delay and to the maximum extent permitted by law,” according to a letter lawmakers sent to the attorney general."

No question. Should go without saying. Yet, Barr will likely do all he can to protect his lunatic fuhrer, the Trump nazi. -- If his past remarks are any indication.

"Democrats said they are watching for how quickly Barr delivers his summary to Congress after he receives Mueller’s findings, warning that any delay could be interpreted as a reason to fear that Barr is covering up certain revelations. Democrats also plan to instruct the Justice Department to preserve all records related to Mueller’s probe, telling Barr in their letter that he should be prepared to furnish information upon request “regarding certain foreign actors and other individuals who may have been the subject of a criminal or counterintelligence investigation” plus other investigative materials, “including classified and law enforcement sensitive information.”

Seems Democrats are doing what they can to protect the integrity of the investigation, provide proper oversight of the Trump nazi and Executive Branch.

"The House committee chairs also asked Barr to detail his reasoning for withholding any sections of Mueller’s report that the attorney general might choose to omit from the summary he submits to Congress."

Should Barr not release the report in its entirety, would likely trigger a constitutional crisis. Certainly, likely lead to massive public unrest.

"Justice Department officials have worried that they will have a weak argument for withholding such materials, given how much information was turned over to Congress after the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state."

Indeed. No question. Rightfully, so. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, -- so to speak.

"When that investigation ended in 2016, then-FBI Director James B. Comey made public the reports of agents’ interviews with witnesses, gave public briefings to Congress and supplied additional information to lawmakers in private meetings."

Same should happen here. The public is entitled. -- While Clinton indeed had her problems, turned out to be nothing compared to what we've experienced under the lunatic Trump nazi during the last two years.

"Justice Department officials who cringed at that level of information-sharing and the disclosure of sensitive investigative documents did much the same after Trump fired Comey in May 2017. When Republican lawmakers demanded additional materials about both the Clinton and Russia probes, the White House squeezed the agency to comply. At one point, in early 2017, then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) refused to allow the nomination of Rod J. Rosenstein for deputy attorney general to go forward unless Grassley was provided a detailed briefing from the FBI about the Russia investigation. Grassley got the briefing."

There is desperate need for transparency in government. Precisely, why this information needs to be released whether or not there were or are indictments. No matter who is and is not indicted.

"The trend continued after Rosenstein became the Justice Department’s second-in-command. For instance, when the president declassified a sensitive surveillance warrant, a redacted version of the document was made public. That was unprecedented, and it could affect how the notoriously tight-lipped Mueller deals with future demands for information."

As well it should. A government that is not transparent is no longer a democratic republic.

“The rules for what the department turns over to Congress are based almost exclusively on precedent, and now that Republicans have established these new precedents, they’re about to find themselves hoisted on their own petard,” said Matthew Miller, a Justice Department spokesman during the Obama administration. The department, he said, “just has no good argument why it shouldn’t provide the same transparency for the Mueller probe that it did for the Clinton investigation.”

Exactly, right. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Transparency.

"Senior Justice Department officials, however, do not think that the path set by Comey after the Clinton probe is one they should follow when Mueller completes his work. Barr said as much in his confirmation hearing. “If you’re not going to indict someone, you don’t stand up there and unload negative information about the person,” Barr said during his Senate hearing. “That’s not the way the department does business.”

Ordinarily, that's true, -- or should be. These circumstances are diametrically different, however. Involve the right of the public to know whether or not their government is engaged in criminal activity, abusing power, deliberately f--king over the public its sworn to serve.

"That raises a challenge for the Justice Department, which has long held the view that a sitting president cannot be indicted."

That view is horse shit. Assumes a sitting president is above the law. No one is above the law in a democratic republic. No one.

"Miller said the Justice Department must turn over to Congress any incriminating information Mueller found about the president. “The Justice Department has made very clear that it is not the arbiter of presidential criminality — that is Congress’s job,” he added. “If that’s true, that means any evidence of presidential misconduct or potential criminality, they need to turn over to the branch of government they have said polices that conduct.”

"If Barr were to resist such requests, lawmakers have a few options in how they respond. They can subpoena everything, from Mueller’s full report to the FBI’s summaries of their witness interviews. They can call Mueller to testify about the substance of his probe and fill in any gaps."

Should certainly do all the above, -- if the Barr nazi stonewalls on behalf of his fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"House Judiciary Committee Democrats believe no information from Mueller’s probe should be concealed. But for now, they are shying away from committing to a court fight for every last document, saying they want first to see whether Barr is planning to withhold anything."

Should wisely be prepared, however, to quickly do so if Barr stonewalls. Article goes on, but the following sums up what is likely the bottom line for Democrats and Independents:

"What Democrats will be looking for most closely in Mueller’s report, aides said, is any hint he uncovered evidence that could have led to an indictment of Trump. In their letter to Barr on Friday, the House Democratic leaders warned of “the particular danger” of withholding any evidence of misconduct by Trump. “To maintain that a sitting president cannot be indicted, and then to withhold evidence of wrongdoing from Congress because the President will not be charged, is to convert Department policy into the means for a cover-up. The President,” they wrote, “is not above the law.”

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Not all Republicans are on board with the Trump nazi's Emergency Declaration stunt. The following is an open letter directed to current GOP members of Congress courtesy of POGO:

"An Open Letter to Republican Members of Congress
As Republican Members of Congress, each of us started with one central understanding of our party’s overarching commitment: to honor our pledge to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. After each election, when our constituents granted us the privilege to again represent them in Congress, we renewed that pledge. It has always been a Republican fundamental principle that no matter how strong our policy preferences, no matter how deep our loyalties to presidents or party leaders, in order to remain a constitutional republic we must act within the borders of the Constitution. Our oath is to put the country and its Constitution above everything, including party politics or loyalty to a president.

We who have signed this letter are no longer Members of Congress but that oath still burns within us. That is why we are coming together to urge those of you who are now charged with upholding the authority of the first branch of government to resist efforts to surrender those powers to a president.

We offer two arguments against allowing a president—any president, regardless of party—to circumvent congressional authority. One is the constitutional placing of all lawmaking power in the hands of the people’s representatives. Article 1 of the Constitution, which vests the legislative branch with specific powers, states in section 9: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” The power of the purse rests with Congress because it is comprised of 535 representatives of the taxpayer and is the most direct connection between those being governed and those governing. If you allow a president to ignore Congress, it will be not your authority but that of your constituents that is deprived of the protections of true representative government.

The second argument goes directly to the question each of you must face: how much are you willing to undermine both the Constitution and the Congress in order to advance a policy outcome that by all other legitimate means is not achievable? The current issue—a wall on our southern border—has gone through the process put in place by the Constitution. It has been proposed by the President, it has been debated by Congress, and the representatives of the people allocated funding at a level deemed appropriate by Congress. We understand that there are many Members of Congress who disagree with the final funding compromise reached by a bipartisan group of legislators. To you, we ask this question: what will you do when a president of another party uses the precedent you are establishing to impose policies to which you are unalterably opposed? There is no way around this difficulty: what powers are ceded to a president whose policies you support may also be used by presidents whose policies you abhor.

Like us, you have taken an oath of office. You were elected to Congress to carry out the constitutional duties and responsibilities of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. You were sent to Congress to be the voice of the people. That is an awesome burden and it may require you to exercise restraint to protect the constitutional model—that which is the root of American exceptionalism—and to keep it from being sacrificed on the altar of expediency.

We who have served where you serve now call on you to honor your oath of office and to protect the Constitution and the responsibilities it vested in Congress. We ask that you pass a joint resolution terminating the emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019.

Douglas Bereuter
United States House of Representatives (R-NE), 1979-2004

Sherwood Boehlert
United States House of Representatives (R-NY), 1983-2007

Rodney Chandler
United States House of Representatives (R-WA), 1983-1993

William Clinger Jr.
United States House of Representatives (R-PA), 1979-1997

David F. Emery
United States House of Representatives (R- ME), 1975-1983

John LeBoutillier
United States House of Representatives (R-NY), 1981-1983

John R. McKernan, Jr.
United States House of Representatives (R-ME), 1983-1987

Claudine Schneider
United States House of Representatives (R-RI), 1981-1991

John J.H. Schwarz, MD
United States House of Representatives (R-MI), 2005-2007

Christopher Shays
United States House of Representatives (R-CT), 1987-2009

Olympia Snowe
United States Senate (R-ME), 1995-2013
United States House of Representatives (R-ME), 1979-1995

Alan Steelman
United States House of Representatives (R- TX), 1973-1977"

The above 25 are proof positive not all Republicans are national socialists, fascists, nazis. Took great courage for the above 25 to stand tall, buck the insanity currently going on in the GOP. Hat's off.

"Fifty-eight former U.S. national security officials told the Trump administration in a letter on Monday that they are aware of "no emergency that remotely justifies" diverting funds to build a border wall."

"JOINT DECLARATION OF FORMER UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
We, the undersigned, declare as follows:
1.
We are former officials in the U.S. government who have worked on national security and
homeland security issues from the White House as well as agencies across the Executive Branch. We
have served in senior leadership roles in administrations of both major political parties, and
collectively we have devoted a great many decades to protecting the security interests of the United
States. We have held the highest security clearances, and we have participated in the highest levels of
policy deliberations on a broad range of issues. These include: immigration, border security,
counterterrorism, military operations, and our nation’s relationship with other countries, including
those south of our border.
a.
Madeleine K. Albright served as Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001. A refugee
and naturalized American citizen, she served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United
Nations from 1993 to 1997. She has also been a member of the Central Intelligence Agency
External Advisory Board since 2009 and of the Defense Policy Board since 2011, in which
capacities she has received assessments of threats facing the United States.
b.
Jeremy B. Bash served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Defense from
2011 to 2013, and as Chief of Staff of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011.
c.
John B. Bellinger III served as the Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State
from 2005 to 2009. He previously served as Senior Associate Counsel to the President and
Legal Adviser to the National Security Council from 2001 to 2005.
d.
Daniel Benjamin served as Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism at the U.S.
Department of State from 2009 to 2012.
e.
Antony Blinken served as Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017. He
previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the President from 2013 to 2015.
f.
John O. Brennan served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013
to 2017. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security
and Counterterrorism and Assistant to the President from 2009 to 2013.
g.
R. Nicholas Burns served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from
2005 to 2008. He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO and as U.S. Ambassador
to Greece.
h.
William J. Burns served as Deputy Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014. He
previously served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011, as U.S.
Ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern
Affairs from 2001 to 2005, and as U.S. Ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001.
i.
Johnnie Carson served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2009
to 2013. He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya from 1999 to 2003, to
Zimbabwe from 1995 to 1997, and to Uganda from 1991 to 1994.
j.
James Clapper served as U.S. Director of National Intelligence from 2010 to 2017.
k.
David S. Cohen served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence from 2011 to 2015 and as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency from 2015 to 2017.
l.
Eliot A. Cohen served as Counselor of the U.S. Department of State from 2007 to
2009.
m.
Ryan Crocker served as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012, as
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009, as U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan from 2004 to
2007, as U.S. Ambassador to Syria from 1998 to 2001, as U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait from
1994 to 1997, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon from 1990 to 1993.
n.
Thomas Donilon served as National Security Advisor to the President from 2010
to 2013.
o.
Jen Easterly served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for
Counterterrorism from 2013 to 2016.
p.
Nancy Ely-Raphel served as Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State and Director
of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons from 2001 to 2003. She
previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia from 1998 to 2001.
q.
Daniel P. Erikson served as Special Advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs to the
Vice President from 2015 to 2017, and as Senior Advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs at
the U.S. Department of State from 2010 to 2015.
r.
John D. Feeley served as U.S. Ambassador to Panama from 2015 to 2018. He
served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S.
Department of State from 2012 to 2015.
s.
Daniel F. Feldman served as Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
at the U.S. Department of State from 2014 to 2015.
t.
Jonathan Finer served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017,
and Director of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State from 2016 to
2017.
u.
Jendayi Frazer served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2005
to 2009. She served as U.S. Ambassador to South Africa from 2004 to 2005.
v.
Suzy George served as Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the National
Security Council from 2014 to 2017.
w.
Phil Gordon served as Special Assistant to the President and White House
Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf from 2013 to 2015, and
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2009 to 2013.
x.
Chuck Hagel served as Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015, and previously
served as Co-Chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. From 1997 to 2009, he
served as U.S. Senator for Nebraska, and as a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations
and Intelligence Committees.
y.
Avril D. Haines served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the President from
2015 to 2017. From 2013 to 2015, she served as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency.
z.
Luke Hartig served as Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National
Security Council from 2014 to 2016.
aa.
Heather A. Higginbottom served as Deputy Secretary of State for Management
and Resources from 2013 to 2017.
bb.
Roberta Jacobson served as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from 2016 to 2018. She
previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2011
to 2016.
cc.
Gil Kerlikowske served as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection from
2014 to 2017. He previously served as Director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy from 2009 to 2014.
dd.
John F. Kerry served as Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017.
ee.
Prem Kumar served as Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the
National Security Council from 2013 to 2015.
ff.
John E. McLaughlin served as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
from 2000 to 2004 and as Acting Director in 2004. His duties included briefing Presidentelect Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.
gg.
Lisa O. Monaco served as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism and Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2017. Previously, she
served as Assistant Attorney General for National Security from 2011 to 2013.
hh.
Janet Napolitano served as Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013. She
served as the Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.
ii.
James D. Nealon served as Assistant Secretary for International Engagement at the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2018. He served as U.S. Ambassador
to Honduras from 2014 to 2017.
jj.
James C. O’Brien served as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs from
2015 to 2017. He served in the U.S. Department of State from 1989 to 2001, including as
Principal Deputy Director of Policy Planning and as Special Presidential Envoy for the
Balkans.
kk.
Matthew G. Olsen served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
from 2011 to 2014.
ll.
Leon E. Panetta served as Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013. From 2009 to
2011, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
mm. Anne W. Patterson served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
from 2013 to 2017. Previously, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt from 2011 to
2013, to Pakistan from 2007 to 2010, to Colombia from 2000 to 2003, and to El Salvador
from 1997 to 2000.
nn.
Thomas R. Pickering served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from
1997 to 2000. He served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1989
to 1992.
oo.
Amy Pope served as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy Assistant to
the President from 2015 to 2017.
pp.
Samantha J. Power served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2013, she served as Senior Director for Multilateral and
Human Rights at the National Security Council.
qq.
Jeffrey Prescott served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President
from 2013 to 2015, and as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Iran,
Iraq, Syria and the Gulf States from 2015 to 2017.
rr.
Nicholas Rasmussen served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
from 2014 to 2017.
ss.
Alan Charles Raul served as Vice Chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties
Oversight Board from 2006 to 2008. He previously served as General Counsel of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture from 1989 to 1993, General Counsel of the Office of
Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President from 1988 to 1989, and
Associate Counsel to the President from 1986 to 1989.
tt.
Dan Restrepo served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for
Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2012.
uu.
Susan E. Rice served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from
2009 to 2013 and as National Security Advisor to the President from 2013 to 2017.
vv.
Anne C. Richard served as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees,
and Migration from 2012 to 2017.
ww. Eric P. Schwartz served as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees,
and Migration from 2009 to 2011. From 1993 to 2001, he was responsible for refugee and
humanitarian issues at the National Security Council, ultimately serving as Special Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Multilateral and
Humanitarian Affairs.
xx.
Andrew J. Shapiro served as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military
Affairs from 2009 to 2013.
yy.
Wendy R. Sherman served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from
2011 to 2015.
zz.
Vikram Singh served as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan from 2010 to 2011 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Southeast Asia
from 2012 to 2014.
aaa.
Dana Shell Smith served as U.S. Ambassador to Qatar from 2014 to 2017.
Previously, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs.
bbb. Jeffrey H. Smith served as General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency
from 1995 to 1996. He previously served as General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services
Committee.
ccc.
Jake Sullivan served as National Security Advisor to the Vice President from 2013
to 2014. He previously served as Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State
from 2011 to 2013.
ddd.
Strobe Talbott served as Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001.
eee.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield served as Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African
Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia and Deputy
Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration from 2004 to
2006.
fff.
Arturo A. Valenzuela served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs from 2009 to 2011. He previously served as Special Assistant to the
President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council
from 1999 to 2000, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Mexican Affairs from
1994 to 1996.

2.
On February 15, 2019, the President declared a “national emergency” for the purpose of
diverting appropriated funds from previously designated uses to build a wall along the southern
border. We are aware of no emergency that remotely justifies such a step. The President’s actions are
at odds with the overwhelming evidence in the public record, including the administration’s own
data and estimates. We have lived and worked through national emergencies, and we support the
President’s power to mobilize the Executive Branch to respond quickly in genuine national
emergencies. But under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency today
that entitles the President to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a wall at the
southern border. To our knowledge, the President’s assertion of a national emergency here is
unprecedented, in that he seeks to address a situation: (1) that has been enduring, rather than one
that has arisen suddenly; (2) that in fact has improved over time rather than deteriorated; (3) by
reprogramming billions of dollars in funds in the face of clear congressional intent to the contrary;
and (4) with assertions that are rebutted not just by the public record, but by his agencies’ own
official data, documents, and statements.
3.
Illegal border crossings are near forty-year lows. At the outset, there is no evidence of a sudden or
emergency increase in the number of people seeking to cross the southern border. According to the
administration’s own data, the numbers of apprehensions and undetected illegal border crossings at
the southern border are near forty-year lows.1 Although there was a modest increase in
apprehensions in 2018, that figure is in keeping with the number of apprehensions only two years
earlier, and the overall trend indicates a dramatic decline over the last fifteen years in particular.2 The
administration also estimates that “undetected unlawful entries” at the southern border “fell from
approximately 851,000 to nearly 62,000” between fiscal years 2006 to 2016, the most recent years for
which data are available.3 The United States currently hosts what is estimated to be the smallest
number of undocumented immigrants since 2004.4 And in fact, in recent years, the majority of
currently undocumented immigrants entered the United States legally, but overstayed their visas,5 a
problem that will not be addressed by the declaration of an emergency along the southern border.
4.
There is no documented terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border. There is no reason
to believe that there is a terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border that could
justify the President’s proclamation."

Report goes on and on. Wake up. There is no national emergency. The Trump nazi is a congenital liar. Continues to bamboozle his sick sycophants.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

"Gov. Tony Evers recalled Wisconsin's National Guard troops from the southern border, making him the third state leader to challenge the Trump administration's claims of a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico line."

"There is simply not ample evidence to support the president's contention of a national security crisis at our southwestern border," Evers, a Democrat, wrote in a tweet on Monday afternoon. "Therefore, there is no justification for the ongoing presence of Wisconsin National Guard personnel at the border," the newly sworn-in governor added. A statement about the executive order, signed Monday, offers a bit more detail: 112 Guard Soldiers and Airmen, under the command of then-Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, were deployed to the Arizona border on June 21, 2018, to assist with border security. Now, Evers is revoking that order."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Cohen's testimony before the House Committee was indeed explosive. Before getting into the testimony, the following is his opening statement courtesy of The New York Times:

Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today.

I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations. Thank you for your help and for your understanding.

I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committee’s questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump.

I recognize that some of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility. It is for this reason that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate and truthful.

Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for President, launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said “yes” to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way.

I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York.

I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty – of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him.

I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience.

He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.

• A copy of a check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account – after he became president - to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair with an adult film star and prevent damage to his campaign;

• Copies of financial statements for 2011 – 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank;

• A copy of an article with Mr. Trump’s handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself – he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs; and

• Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump’s direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores.

I hope my appearance here today, my guilty plea, and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better.

Before going further, I want to apologize to each of you and to Congress as a whole.

The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, I’m here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump.

I lied to Congress about when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false – our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign.

Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That’s not how he operates.

In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there’s no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie.

There were at least a half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June when he would ask me “How’s it going in Russia?” – referring to the Moscow Tower project.

You need to know that Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it.

To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project.

And so I lied about it, too – because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. And he made it 6 clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress.

Over the past two years, I have been smeared as “a rat” by the President of the United States. The truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself.

My name is Michael Dean Cohen. I am a blessed husband of 24 years and a father to an incredible daughter and son. When I married my wife, I promised her that I would love her, cherish her, and protect her. As my father said countless times throughout my childhood, “you my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe.” To my Laura, my Sami, and my Jake, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you.

I have always tried to live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion – qualities my parents ingrained in my siblings and me since childhood. My father survived the Holocaust thanks to the compassion and selfless acts of others. He was helped by many who put themselves in harm’s way to do what they knew was right.

That is why my first instinct has always been to help those in need. Mom and Dad…I am sorry that I let you down.

As many people that know me best would say, I am the person they would call at 3AM if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my children’s friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would drop everything and care for them as if they were my own.

Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1.

It is painful to admit that I was motivated by ambition at times. It is even more painful to admit that many times I ignored my conscience and acted loyal to a man when I should not have. Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong.

For that reason, I have come here to apologize to my family, to the government, and to the American people.

I got to know him very well, working very closely with him for more than 10 years, as his Executive Vice President and Special Counsel and then personal attorney when he became President. When I first met Mr. Trump, he was a successful entrepreneur, a real estate giant, and an icon. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating. When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something greater than yourself — that you were somehow changing the world.

I wound up touting the Trump narrative for over a decade. That was my job. Always stay on message. Always defend. It monopolized my life. At first, I worked mostly on real estate developments and other business transactions. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump brought me into his personal life and private dealings. Over time, I saw his true character revealed.

Mr. Trump is an enigma. He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal.

Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation – only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the “greatest infomercial in political history.”

He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign – for him – was always a marketing opportunity.

I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider it significant and dangerous.

But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either.

A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes.

As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails.

In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump’s office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of “wouldn’t that be great.”

Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries “shitholes.”

He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a “shithole.” This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States.

While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way.

And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.

As previously stated, I’m giving the Committee today three years of President Trump’s financial statements, from 2011-2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes. These are Exhibits 1a, 1b, and 1c to my testimony.

It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.

I am sharing with you two newspaper articles, side by side, that are examples of Mr. Trump inflating and deflating his assets, as I said, to suit his financial interests. These are Exhibit 2 to my testimony.

As I noted, I’m giving the Committee today an article he wrote on, and sent me, that reported on an auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 3A to my testimony.

Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. Please see Exhibit 3B to my testimony.

And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom were small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I advised Mr. Trump of my success, he actually reveled in it.

He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly – and she did not deserve that.

I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Clifford’s attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by Ms. Clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 4 to my testimony.

Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. I did that, too – without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me, my family, or the public.

I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later.

As Exhibit 5 to my testimony shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank 14 account on August 1, 2017 – when he was President of the United States – pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me – the word used by Mr. Trump’s TV lawyer — for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year – while he was President.

The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

So picture this scene – in February 2017, one month into his presidency, I’m visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. It’s truly awe-inspiring, he’s showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of…Don’t worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed from New York and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. As he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter.

When I say conman, I’m talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores.

As I mentioned, I’m giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump’s direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump’s grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These are Exhibit 6.

The irony wasn’t lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared “Let him show his records” after calling President Obama “a terrible student.”

The sad fact is that I never heard Mr. Trump say anything in private that led me to believe he loved our nation or wanted to make it better. In fact, he did the opposite.

When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees’ salaries in half – including mine – he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving “someone like him” that much money back.

During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be “a hero” because he likes people who weren’t captured. At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft.

Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment.

He finished the conversation with the following comment. “You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam.”

Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions.

Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an email setting up the meeting with the subject line, “Dirt on Hillary Clinton.” Something clicked in my mind. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father’s desk – which in itself was unusual. People didn’t just walk behind Mr. Trump’s desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: “The meeting is all set.” I remember Mr. Trump saying, “Ok good…let me know.”

What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone – and certainly not without checking with his father.

I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump’s knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad’s desk that day — and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, “That’s good…let me know.”

Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching. I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I made.

To you, Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, the other members of this Committee, and the other members of the House and Senate, I am sorry for my lies and for lying to Congress.

To our nation, I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most.

For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your “fixer,” Mr. Trump.

I am going to prison and have shattered the safety and security that I tried so hard to provide for my family. My testimony certainly does not diminish the pain I caused my family and friends – nothing can do that. And I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump.

And, by coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the President and his lawyer – trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a “rat” for choosing to tell the truth – much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government.

As Exhibit 8 shows, I have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted, attacking me and my family – only someone burying his head in the sand would not recognize them for what they are: encouragement to someone to do harm to me and my family.

I never imagined that he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family – and unleash his TV-lawyer to do the same. I hope this committee and all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will make it clear: As a nation, we should not tolerate attempts to intimidate witnesses before congress and attacks on family are out of bounds and not acceptable.

I wish to especially thank Speaker Pelosi for her statements in Exhibit 9 to protect this institution and me, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff and Chairman Cummings for likewise defending this institution and my family against the attacks by Mr. Trump, and also the many Republicans who have admonished the President as well.

I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life.

But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today.

Thank you for your attention. I am happy to answer the Committee’s questions."

The above is devastating for the president. Devastating for Cohen himself who certainly appeared to take full responsibility for his participation in Trump's alleged criminal activity. Will likely set off a firestorm. So will all subsequent testimony. The following happens to be analysis of a few of the high points of that testimony. Much more to come as the full impact of all this develops, becomes clear.

In fiery opening remarks, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, warned Cohen not to lie to committee members, or Cummings would refer him to federal law enforcement.

“I have made it abundantly clear to Mr. Cohen that if he comes here today and he does not tell us the truth, I will be the first one to refer those untruthful statements to DOJ,” Cummings said, using an abbreviation for the Justice Department.

The warning is notable because Cohen already has been convicted of lying to Congress, and even Democrats concede there are questions about his credibility. But Cohen came to the hearing Wednesday armed with evidence to support some of his testimony, and Cummings said the testimony he will present is “deeply disturbing and it should be troubling to all Americans.”

“We will all have to make our own evaluation of the evidence, and Mr. Cohen’s own credibility,” Cummings said.

10:25 a.m.: Initial Republican salvo: Lanny Davis’s orchestrated dishonesty

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, has opened with a fiery start. He called Cohen a “fraudster, a liar and, in two months, a federal inmate” and suggested history will look unkindly on Democrats’ decision to hold their first oversight public hearing after taking over control of Congress in January with Cohen.

Jordan asserted that the hearing may be the first time in history that a person convicted of lying to Congress, as Cohen was in November, has appeared before Congress again so quickly to once again offer testimony.

And he alleged that the hearing--its timing, its topics, its audience--had all been orchestrated by Lanny Davis, a longtime friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton and now a lawyer for Cohen. Jordan told Cohen that he was acting as Democrats’ “patsy” at the hearing.

“They’ve got to find somebody somewhere to say some thing to remove the president from office,” he said, before adding wryly, “Actually, they didn’t find him. Lanny Davis did.”

Among the documents Cohen has provided to the committee is a letter to the president of Fordham University in New York, where Trump studied for two years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania. In the letter, dated May 5, 2015 — about a month before Trump declared his candidacy for president — Cohen noted that media outlets had been asking for the release of Trump’s college records. Cohen wrote to the university president that federal law requires the permission of a former student before the release of college records--and made clear that Trump’s permission would not be forthcoming.

Releasing the records, Cohen wrote, would open the school “to both criminal and civil liability and damages including, among other things, substantial fines, penalties and even the potential loss of government aid and other funding.”

“The criminality will lead to jail time,” Cohen went on to threaten, adding, “We will hold your institution liable to the fullest extent of the law including damages and criminality.”

He concluded by asking that the university contact him to confirm that Trump’s records had been “permanently sealed.”

In his opening remarks, Cohen told the committee that he was instructed to write the letter to Fordham and Trump’s other educational institutions by Trump. And he will note the irony: Trump was secretly instructing Cohen to bully and threaten people to ensure Trump’s records, after engaging in a years-long campaign to press President Barack Obama to release documents about his background, including college transcripts.

10:45 a.m.: Trump exaggerated his financial position, according to Cohen documents and testimony

From 2011 to 2013, Trump exaggerated his financial position and the value of the properties he owned in order to obtain financing from lenders including Deutsche Bank, according to testimony and documents submitted to Congress by Cohen.

The “statements of financial condition” for Trump that Cohen submitted to Congress depict Trump as having between $170 million and $346 million in cash and marketable securities on hand. Trump attempted to use the documents to try to obtain a Deutsche loan to purchase the Buffalo Bills, Cohen said in his testimony, and to improve his ranking among lists of wealthy Americans.

“It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes,” Cohen said.

10:50 a.m.: Did Trump Jr. tell his father about the famous Trump Tower meeting?

Trump and his son, Trump Jr., have repeatedly said that the latter never told his father that he accepted a meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016, after he was informed that she would bring dirt about Clinton.

Cohen’s testimony provides tantalizing hints of the possibility both have been lying—but nothing exactly definitive.

Cohen recounted a conversation he alleges he observed “probably in early June 2016.” He said that he was in Trump’s office when Trump Jr. came in and walked behind his father’s desk. Cohen said this was notable because people rarely walked behind Trump’s desk. He testified that he heard Trump Jr. lean down and whisper to his father, “The meeting is all set.” He alleged that Trump responded, “Okay good…let me know.”

Cohen testified that when news of the meeting broke in 2017, he remembered the incident and decided it was likely a reference to the Trump Tower meeting. Bitingly, he added that he believed this was likely the case because “Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father.”

Cohen’s testimony finally provides a direct account from Trump’s former lawyer of what he claims he knows—and doesn’t know—about Trump’s knowledge of the meeting. This became a major issue this summer, when CNN reported that Cohen had told investigators that he had evidence Trump Jr. informed his father of the meeting.

Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, was later identified as the source of that information. But Davis was forced to later revise his claims and said he’d gotten things wrong about what Cohen knew. “It’s a major mistake for which I am 100 percent sorry. Period. I never should have done it unless I was certain and could prove it,” he told NBC News."

Ramifications of all this will certainly take time to fully develop. Will likely spawn further congressional investigation at the very least.

"I'd like to say directly to the president: We honor our veterans — even in the rain. We tell the truth even when it doesn't aggrandize you. You respect the law and our incredible law enforcement agents. You don't villainize them.

"You don't disparage generals, Gold Star families, prisoners of war and other heroes who had the courage to fight for this country. You don't attack the media and those who question what you don't like or what you don't want them to say and you take responsibility for your own dirty deeds.

"You don't use your power of your bully pulpit to destroy the credibility of those who speak out against you. You don’t separate families from one another or demonize those looking to America for a better life. You don't vilify people based on the god they pray to and you don’t cuddle up to our adversaries at the expense of our allies. And finally you don’t shut down the government before Christmas and New Year's just to simply appease your base.

"This behavior is churlish, it denigrates the office of the president and it's un-American and it's not you."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Think the following may indeed be positive indication of some desperately needed change vis a vis racism in Alabama? NPR reports:

"The publisher of a small local newspaper in Alabama penned an editorial calling for the Ku Klux Klan to "ride again." After massive outcry, he's stepped down, and a black woman has taken the job."

"The new publisher and editor of The Democrat-Reporter, Elecia R. Dexter, took the reins on Thursday, after Goodloe Sutton doubled down on his incendiary comments. "If we could get the Klan to go up there and clean out D.C., we'd all been better off," Sutton told the Montgomery Advertiser. "We'll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them." The original editorial, published without an author named, claimed that Democrats and Republicans were "plotting to raise taxes in Alabama." It stated: "Seems like the Klan would be welcome to raid the gated communities up there." Sutton confirmed to the Advertiser that he wrote the piece.

"In a statement, the newspaper said it "has provided the community of West Alabama with quality news for over 140 years and you may have full confidence that Ms. Dexter will continue in this tradition as well as moving the paper into a new direction." It noted that Dexter's family "has strong roots and a rich history in Marengo County." "Everything has been a little surreal, and there's a lot going on," Dexter said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I'm grateful for this opportunity." She told the Post that she had been working at the paper for about six weeks as a front office clerk when the editorial was published. She said she felt disappointed and talked to Sutton about it. "[He] took a group that has a lot of negativity associated to it, especially for people like me, of color," Dexter said, according to the Post. "There are different ways to communicate you wanted Washington to be cleaned up without using that particular reference."

"According to the Democrat-Reporter, Dexter holds a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Eastern Illinois University and two masters degrees: one in human services from Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies and another in Counseling from Argosy University. "Over the past 10 years, she has been a strategic leader with expertise in human resources, operations and change management," the paper said. Dexter told NPR in an email that Sutton remains the owner of the paper. Alabama lawmakers celebrated the change in editorial leadership. "His dangerous views do not represent Alabama or the small-town papers in Alabama that do great work every day," Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, said in a tweet. "The good people of Linden deserve so much better than these racist rants and I am confident they will get it with new editor, Elecia Dexter." Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., called Sutton's stepping down "the right thing to do." She called for Sutton to apologize."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

One must truly wonder whether the vetting process for medical personnel is indeed sufficient. Consider the following. CBS News reports:

"A former Ohio doctor is under investigation for allegedly prescribing "significantly excessive and potentially fatal" doses of a highly potent drug, fentanyl, to dozens of patients who later died. Dr. William Husel was fired in December, and Mount Carmel Hospital reported at least 27 of the patients were near death and receiving intensive care. Twenty-three caregivers, including 14 nurses, six pharmacists, and three managers were placed on leave."

Obviously, multiple personnel were out to lunch. Clueless. ... Or, willingly complicit.

"Attorney Gerald Leeseberg represents nine families whose loved ones died, including the five in our interview. "It happened for years and years, and it happened with multiple people who had to have been getting red flags or warnings that the orders that Dr. Husel was making were inappropriate." Leeseberg said. "How does this go on for three years, and nobody notices?" Werner asked. "Well, that's the $64,000 question," Leeseberg said. "We have so many questions, we don't know why he did it," Bellisari said. "You go to the hospital to get well, hopefully walk out, not die." "That man shouldn't be allowed to be in medicine at all," Young said. "He needs to be prosecuted for real, 'cause look what he did to these people." Husel's attorney, as we said, denies there was any intent on the doctor's part to kill anyone. But the Franklin County prosecutor's office said they are investigating. The hospital said in a statement that the way this was finally brought to their attention was that an employee spoke up. But officials have not explained why they did not take action sooner."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

The following is highly indicative of the Aryan arrogance of a Democratic incumbent who has been in office way too long. Indeed, poster woman for term limits. CBS News reports:

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein had a heated exchange with a group of middle and high school students who asked her to sign the Green New Deal in a clip that went viral Friday. Activists from the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate-change advocacy group, posted video on social media of the confrontation, where Feinstein said, "I've been doing this for 30 years, I know what I'm doing."

Think so? This is not about veracity of the Green New Deal or lack thereof. It's about the Senator's inability to handle dissent.

"You come in here and say 'it has to be my way or the highway' and I don't respond to that," Feinstein told about 15 students at her San Francisco office. "I've gotten elected, I just ran, I was elected by almost a million-vote plurality, and I know what I'm doing."

Do you, Senator? That sure of yourself, madam? Can't even properly handle a group of kids who challenge your views. Allowed them to get under your skin. Temperament? What's that? Been in office way too long. Do the right thing. Give someone else a chance.

"Feinstein told the students she is opposed to the Green New Deal for several reasons, including "we can't pay for it" and she doesn't agree with what it says. The Green New Deal, championed by Democrats Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasico-Cortez, aims to convert the entire U.S. economy to renewable energy within 12 years, while also sparking a massive burst of job-creation and technological innovation."

Veracity or lack thereof of this program is beside the point. You lost your cool when a group of young people challenged your views.

"When the students told her "some scientists say we have 12 years to turn this around," Feinstein answered "Well it's not going to get turned around in 10 years." This is how @SenFeinstein reacted to children asking her to support the #GreenNewDeal resolution -- with smugness + disrespect.

"This is a fight for our generation's survival. Her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress. pic.twitter.com/0zAkaxruMI

These kids are entitled to their views. Right or wrong, they are the future. Their elders have miserably failed. What part of all this don't you understand, Senator? You sound more like a Republican national socialist, fascist, nazi, -- than a Democrat. Where did you lose yourself, Senator? Sound too old and tired for the job.

"An edited clip was posted on Twitter but a much longer exchange was posted on Facebook. In the full version, Feinstein explained why she believes her own climate-change legislation is better than the Green New Deal. At the end, she offers one of the students an internship. When the students told her she has to listen to them because they voted for them, Feinstein challenged one student on her age until she admitted she was 16. "Well you didn't vote for me," Feinstein answered. About 100 people had rallied outside Feinstein's office Friday, including students from Oakland Unified School District, where classes are canceled due to a teacher strike this week. In a statement hours after the clip went viral, Feinstein said she welcomed the "spirited discussion."

Doesn't appear to be the case, Senator. -- While the kid who disingenuously insinuated she was a voter had an excuse, her lack of experience, what the hell is yours?

"Unfortunately, it was a brief meeting but I want the children to know they were heard loud and clear. I have been and remain committed to doing everything I can to enact real, meaningful climate change legislation," Feinstein said."

After your lackluster performance, madam, rings hollow. Your unbridled Aryan arrogance, on the contrary, rings loud and clear.

"Feinstein's liberal challenger in the 2018 election, Kevin de Len, did not mention Feinstein directly after the video spread across the Internet, but tweeted "Climate change is real, and we won't survive what's coming unless EVERYONE is part of the conversation."

No matter veracity or lack thereof of the Green New Deal, and regardless, -- massive, virtually unlimited, unbridled corporate interests would likely ultimately torpedo it.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Finally, some true bi-partisan agreement. ... At least, at the state level. LOL. The Washington Post reports:

"Since the start of a months-long investigation into evidence of election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, Republicans and Democrats have been as divided as they are across the country — disputing facts, accusing each other of political games, unable to agree. Then something unexpected happened in Raleigh this week. The State Board of Elections — three Democrats and two Republicans — voted unanimously to call for a new election. It might have been the first recorded instance of a federal election being thrown out over fraud."

"But it wasn’t the evidence of fraud that made it happen. It was a heart-wrenching drama between an evangelical minister, who badly wanted to serve in Congress, and his lawyer son, who came forward with evidence that contradicted his father’s testimony. Republicans and Democrats agreed that something went right compared with how partisan conflict often plays out in the country’s hyper-polarized political environment. But it almost didn’t, despite voluminous evidence that a political operative had led an illegal scheme to tamper with absentee ballots on behalf of Republican Mark Harris of Charlotte. And that worries those who see a massive threat to the integrity of elections in what happened in the 9th District — and believe it could easily happen again if nothing is done to prevent it. “Without focused commitment by prosecutors and advocates, the stakes will remain unacceptably high,” said Josh Lawson, the state board’s general counsel. “Our unanimous vote only begins to set things right.”

"Scrutiny of the fraud allegations is not over. On Saturday, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told The Post that she plans to begin presenting evidence regarding the 2016 and 2018 elections to a grand jury within 30 days. There may have been no better illustration of Harris’s plight than his abrupt departure from the hearing. After announcing his belief that a new election was in order, he stepped off the dais and walked out of the room with his wife Beth. His lawyers, still in the midst of the proceeding, stayed behind — leaving the Harrises to fend off a phalanx of television cameras alone. His shoulders stooped and his head down, Harris, in footage captured by WBTV, walked about a half-block to a waiting car, climbed in and drove away."

"The Republican candidate at the center of a months-long investigation into election fraud in a North Carolina congressional race now won't be a candidate for the upcoming new election that was ordered last week. In a statement, Republican Mark Harris cited health concerns and upcoming surgery as one reason he won't run again in the yet-to-be-scheduled race. After last November's election, Harris appeared to have a 905-vote lead over McCready. But then the state declined to certify the race after allegations surfaced that an operative Harris had employed, McCrae Dowless, was illegally collecting absentee ballots. Voters came forward to say that Dowless or people working for him had picked up their absentee ballots, which is illegal in North Carolina, and that they worked to avoid the State Board of Elections from finding out. Harris had maintained since Election Day that he didn't know about any wrongdoing. But after emotional testimony from one of his sons during a four-day hearing of the State Board of Elections last week cast doubt on his denials, the former Baptist pastor finally acknowledged a new election was necessary. The board subsequently voted unanimously to hold redo the race — the only congressional contest still undecided from the 2018 midterm elections when Democrats already flipped 40 House seats. Harris's decision to step aside will likely help Republicans in the election re-do — they won't have to defend a scandal-plagued candidate. But Democrat Dan McCready has already raised over $500,000 for a new election that is sure to draw outsized national interest and money.

"Mark Harris may have seen the writing on the wall but that won't save the eventual Republican nominee from being tainted by the Republican Party's efforts to steal an election," North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin said in a statement. "The entire country watched investigators lay out piece by piece how North Carolina Republicans committed an elaborate election fraud scheme, and that investigation will follow whichever Republican runs for this seat."

"Harris, an evangelical minister from Charlotte, had led by 905 votes in unofficial returns. His decision not to run follows four days of hearings last week revealing voluminous evidence that a political operative had led an illegal scheme to tamper with absentee ballots on behalf of Harris’s congressional campaign last year. Evidence also surfaced that Harris had structured his campaign so that he wasn’t paying the operative, Leslie McCrae Dowless, directly and to avoid public disclosure of those payments. Through most of the hearing, Harris claimed no knowledge of Dowless’s methods and said there had been no red flags. That changed last Thursday, after Harris falsely characterized a conversation with his son, Matthew, about whether emails in which he suggested that Dowless’s tactics were questionable and was warned by another son, John, not to hire him, would become public. Facing potential perjury charges for that testimony -- and days of potentially damaging cross-examination about his own role in the ballot scheme — Harris abruptly called for a new election and declared that ballot fraud had sufficiently tainted the outcome in November to warrant a new election."

"North Carolina prosecutors have announced that Leslie McCrae Dowless, the political operative accused of illegally collecting absentee ballots in that state's 9th Congressional District, has been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and possessing absentee ballots."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Once again, the Roman Catholic Church has miserably failed to police its own. NPR reports:

"Wrapping up an unprecedented Vatican summit, Pope Francis denounced the abuse of minors and called for an end to the Catholic Church's long history of covering up the scandal. In a Mass on Sunday, he made an appeal for an "all-out battle" on clergy sex abuse but offered few specifications, reflecting broader criticisms that the four-day meeting had not produced concrete actions to hold church leaders accountable."

That's right. More of the same old tired bullshit, failure to hold perpetrators accountable, to say nothing of the hierarchy. The hypocritical bastards continue to protect and coddle their own.

"Francis told church leaders that most sexual abuse of minors occurs in the family and talked about abuse in relation to online pornography and sex tourism across the world. But he added that the universality of abuse "does not diminish" the harm done within the church, and he called those who had abused children "instruments of Satan" and "ravenous wolves." The presence of abuse within the church, Francis said, is more scandalous because of its incompatibility with the Church's "moral authority and ethical credibility." "Indeed, in the people's justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons," the pope said."

Then why isn't he defrocking and excommunicating all offenders? Readers should understand the Pope is a Jesuit. The Jesuits are the intellectuals of the Church. The Pope's comments certainly are no reflection of this. Far from it. The Pope continues to protect and coddle the bastards responsible, including the hierarchy.

"Critics called the speech lukewarm, saying that it brought no new intensity or specificity to the issue. Becky Ianni, who was sexually violated by her family priest as a child, says the pope just reiterated points he had previously put forward before. "He talked about prayer and penance," Ianni, a board member of Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests, told NPR. "While those are nice sentiments, none of those things are going to protect children right now. And that's my number one concern as a victim of clergy abuse."

What is called for here is immediate defrocking and excommunication of priests who sexually abuse. Reporting abuse to law enforcement authorities promptly.

"She says SNAP has asked the pope to take specific actions, including firing bishops or cardinals who cover up abuse and turning over church records to secular authorities."

The Church has failed to do this. In fact, has destroyed records in an effort to protect itself and offenders in its ranks.

"Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, told The New York Times that the pope's Mass was a "catastrophic misreading" of the grief and anger within the Church. "As the world's Catholics cry out for concrete change, the pope instead provides tepid promises, all of which we've heard before," she said."

No more than unadulterated bullshit. More of the same old, same old. No real change.

"Francis had invited 190 Catholic bishops and religious superiors for a summit to discuss how the institution would address the clergy sex abuse crisis. It was the first time the pontiff had gathered church leaders from around the world for such a purpose, raising hopes that it might mark a turning point in the institution's slow track record of responding to the issue. But the Vatican dampened expectations early on, calling the summit a "meeting characterized by prayer and discernment."

"On Sunday, the Vatican announced that it would publish an edict from the pope and rule book on the protection of minors, in addition to forming a task force. Rev. Federico Lombardi, the moderator of the summit, said Vatican leaders would meet Monday to reflect on propositions and needs brought up at the gathering."

Not good enough. Nowhere near. Offenders continue to be protected and coddled. Not exposed for whom and what they are. Where is desperately needed cooperation between the Church and law enforcement to properly and fully adjudicate offenders? Since crimes have indeed been committed, this is without question a law enforcement matter.

"Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor-at-large of America Magazine, said the summit was a necessary step for the Catholic Church. "The concrete actions will come later in what's called a 'motu proprio,' which is a document that they said the pope is going to issue later on," he told NPR. "That will spell out, from what I understand, more rules and regulations. I think this was more of a reflection on what happened, and a kind of encouragement for a change of culture."

Jesus Christ. No more than unadulterated bullshit. The turds in the hierarchy fail to understand the extent and severity of the criminal problem within the Church.

"In one concrete step, Francis said he wanted to change church law on child pornography, so that the act would be considered a "grave delict" if it involved children under the age of 18, not just those under 14. That means all cases involving minors would be handled by the Vatican office that processes sex abuse cases.Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, a top Vatican sex crimes investigator, said the pope had expressed the need for a "change of heart." "This is obviously theological language, but it is a very important language for us," Scicluna told NPR's Weekend Edition. "The pope actually put the abuse of kids and the cover-up of that abuse on the same level of gravity."

Called bullshit. Proof positive the jackasses within the hierarchy fail to understand the cancer within the Church.

"Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse, has been convicted in Australia of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic heirarchy's credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up. Pell was Pope Francis' top financial adviser until late last year and technically remains the Vatican's economy minister. Pell faces a potential maximum 50-year prison term after a sentencing hearing that begins Wednesday. He lodged an appeal last week against the convictions. CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reported that the Vatican was standing by Australia's efforts to hold Pell to account through its justice system. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti confirmed on Tuesday that Pope Francis had subjected Pell to "precautionary measures" when he first returned to Australia to face trial last year, including forbidding him from any "public exercise of the ministry" or any contact "in any way" with minors. Those measures would remain in place until Pell's appeal process was complete, Gisotti said. The victim who testified at Pell's trial said after the conviction was revealed that he has experienced "shame, loneliness, depression and struggle." In his statement, the man said it had taken him years to understand the impact the assault had on his life. Lawyer Lisa Flynn said the father of the second victim, who died of a heroin overdose in 2014 at the age of 31, is planning to sue the Church or Pell individually once the appeal is resolved.

"The senior cleric bowed his head but then regained his composure as the 12-member jury delivered unanimous verdicts in the Victoria state County Court on Dec. 11 after more than two days of deliberation. The court had until Tuesday forbidden publication of any details about the trial because Pell had faced a second trial in April on separate charges that he assaulted two other boys as a young priest in the late 1970s in his hometown of Ballarat. Prosecutor Fran Dalziel told the court on Tuesday that the Ballarat charges had been dropped and asked for the suppression order to be lifted. The lifting of the suppression order on Pell's case was welcomed by SNAP, a U.S. support group for victim of clergy abuse. "We hope that his conviction will not only bring healing to his victims in Australia but hope to survivors across the world who are yearning for accountability at the top levels of the church," SNAP said in a statement. "We believe today's conviction will make Australian children safer and parents and parishioners better informed about how to prevent sexual abuse."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

The following email has been sent nearly daily to a woman at 2freehosting.com who was responsible for caving into Wells Fargo. This email is re-edited occasionally as circumstances change. Should you bank with Wells Fargo you may wish to ask them why they engage in deceptive trade practices and if in fact they indeed bribed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott while he was Texas Attorney General to ignore a complaint filed against them:

From libertyinperil@riseup.netAdd contact
To fran@2freehosting.comAdd contact
Date Today 17:07 Priority Highest
Contact photo
Message Body
Hey Fran? Why am I receiving renewal notices to sites I have no password access to? Again, how much were you bribed by Wells Fargo? Tim Chorney

Subject:    FTP Down
From:       libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:       Fri, October 2, 2015 7:42 pm
To:      fran@2freehosting.com
Priority:       High
Create Filter:      Automatically | From | To | Subject
Options:       View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as
a file

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Fwd: FTP Down]
From:   libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:    Mon, September 28, 2015 8:13 pm
To:      fran@2freehosting.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who bribed or forced 2freehosting to deny this publication FTP access, Fran?
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Fwd: FTP Down]
From:    libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:   Fri, September 25, 2015 10:12 pm
To:   fran@2freehosting.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Fwd: FTP Down]
From:    libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:   Fri, September 25, 2015 9:38 pm
To:    fran@2freehosting.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Fwd: FTP Down]
From:   libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:    Fri, September 25, 2015 8:11 pm
To:     fran@2freehosting.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: FTP Down
From:    libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:   Thu, September 24, 2015 9:21 pm
To:     fran@2freehosting.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Status:        Connecting to 31.170.167.137:21...
Status:      Connection attempt failed with "ECONNREFUSED - Connection
refused by server".
Error:       Could not connect to server
Status:       Waiting to retry...
Status:      Connecting to 31.170.167.137:21...
Status:       Connection attempt failed with "ECONNREFUSED - Connection
refused by server".
Error:        Could not connect to server

The exact same messaging, other than IP addresses, is the same on the wink
and t15 FTP servers. This hacking attack apparently occurred the day
after Wells Fargo closed two accounts because I publicly accused them of
criminal activity. Your company needs to look into this matter. Get these
FTP servers up and running again. A criminal complaint will be filed with
the U.S. Attorney regarding all the ongoing criminal activity by Wells
Fargo, now extended to hacking and undue interference with the webhosts.
Has 2freehosting been bribed and/or pressured by Wells Fargo? Certainly,
one of numerous questions to be forwarded to criminal prosecutors.

Tim Chorney
*******************************************************************

All three Liberty In Peril FTP servers are down and apparently have been
hacked. The three websites, however, remain up and running at time of
writing. That is, libertyinperil.twomini.com, libertyinperil.wink.ws, and
libertyinperil.t15.org are accessible and running. Only FTP access has
been effected making it impossible to upload. This hacking attack
apparently occurred the day after Wells Fargo closed two accounts because
I publicly accused them of criminal activity. Your company needs to look
into this matter. Get these FTP servers up and running again. A criminal
complaint will be filed with the U.S. Attorney regarding all the ongoing
criminal activity by Wells Fargo, now extended to hacking and undue
interference with the webhosts. Has 2freehosting been bribed and/or
pressured by Wells Fargo? Certainly, one of numerous questions to be
forwarded to criminal prosecutors.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
libertyinperil.com
******************************************************************

Subject:      New Liberty In Peril URL
From:      libertyinperil@ruggedinbox.com
Date:      Mon, November 9, 2015 8:23 pm
To:              fran@2freehosting.com
Priority:     High
Create Filter:     Automatically | From | To | Subject
Options:       View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as
a file

Welcome. Liberty In Peril has been relaunched at a new URL:
libertyinperil.com. This is a new commercial site hosted in an overseas
country, which unlike our own, does value free speech, Net security,
privacy, equally importantly, despises hackers. Banks too big to fail
should not have the ability to shut down ftp servers on four Liberty In
Peril websites, making upload impossible. -- Simply, because they don't
want the truth of their criminal activity reported to the public.

Should this site not be kept up, running, and fully operational, the
libertyinperil.com domain will be quickly moved to a different host
despite cost and hassle. No more bullsh-t. Criminal complaints will be
prepared and filed against Amanda Wright, Lynn Massey, and the equally
criminal bastards in the Wells Fargo corporate management suite for
egregious deceptive trade practices.

Email notification of local businesses of these practices, has and will,
continue unabated until Wells Fargo accepts responsibility, ceases these
practices, and finally makes it right. During the last several weeks
after the ftp servers were hacked, a blizzard of these emails was sent to
local businesses to keep intense pressure on the criminal bastards at
Wells Fargo. Copies of these emails were sent to bank officials. They
have been posted in this publication. ... We're already up to Salvo 74, --
and counting.

In addition, all new Newsletter Editions will feature an
available abbreviated version, smart phone friendly, that can be accessed
by clicking on the icon. Will supplement the regular format of this
publication. This is being done because so many of you access this
publication with smart phones and other devices with small screens.

This site has finally been fully uploaded. All links appear to be
properly working. Typos in the rush to get material up have also been
corrected. There will be a few additional changes to be made as time
allows. Including, again, a smart phone-friendly abbreviated version of
each future Newsletter Edition starting with v434 that will be available
in addition to the regular edition.

Hopefully, now, I can finally get back to the business of this
publication, that is exposure of corrupt, abusive, inept, clueless
government lackeys beholden to their corporate masters, rather than
dealing with recalcitrant webhosts. We'll see. With the
libertyinperil.com domain, however, any necessary changes in webhosts will
be easy to make since all links won't have to be changed or deactivated.

The pressure on Wells Fargo will continue unabated. Should they further
interfere with operation of this publication, it will simply provide
additional fodder for criminal complaints to be filed against them.

On 9-22-15, Kingsland Wells Fargo Store Manager Amanda Wright forced
closure of two accounts because for nearly three years this writer has
publicly accused her, her predecessor Lynn Massey, and the Wells Fargo
corporate management suite of engaging in criminal deceptive trade
practices, as well as pressuring, unduly interfering and/or bribing
webhosts to take these websites down.

Apparently, they have successfully managed to unduly influence and/or
bribe the federal Consumer Financial 'Protection' Bureau and Texas
Attorney General Consumer Protection Division as well. Forget? The bank
is considered too big to fail. Considers itself government.

For all practical purposes, that's perversely true. They have money and
resources to buy not only their human chattel, but their bought and paid
for government lackeys. Be interesting to see whether or not the U.S.
Attorney is untouchable, or sadly, similarly capable of being bought.

Immediately after closure of these accounts, the three operational Liberty
In Peril FTP servers were hacked. What that means is that while all three
sites remained operational and accessible to readers, new material could
not be uploaded. This continues to date.

Worse, 'free' accounts on all three 'free' webhosts conveniently no longer
provide technical control panel support. Clearly, they don't want to know
there are problems. Have managed, however, to find other ways to contact
webhost management and have done precisely that.

Will take a criminal investigation to determine who hacked the sites,
however. Most likely, Wells Fargo had a hand in it. Certainly, have the
resources. Highly, unlikely the Llano County Sheriff's Office was
involved. Hard to believe they would be that stupid. The Bank, however,
has nothing to lose. Owns its government lackeys. The Sheriff and his
outrageously corrupt and abusive goons, however, can expect further
exposure in this publication. Should you have information regarding this
or any other issue, contact me. I will protect your identity.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
www.libertyinperil.t15.org
www.libertyinperil.wink.ws
www.libertyinperil.twomini.com
www.libertyinperil.host-ed.me
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

The effort to expose Wells Fargo egregious deceptive trade practices continues. Several years ago to determinedly apply renewed pressure on our truly worthless, egregiously self-serving Texas Attorney General, now Governor, an excoriating email was sent to the bastard. Copies of which were also passed on to both offending Wells Fargo officers. A copy was also sent to the Davis campaign and others at the time.

Voters did have a right to know as Attorney General, the GOP candidate for Governor apparently selectively investigated, or not, bona fide complaints filed by citizens against banks too big to fail. Possibly, Wells Fargo could have lined his pockets in some fashion. That has yet to be determined.

The bastard and his office, no matter what, failed to respond to the complaint originally snail mailed several years ago. This material, figuratively targeting Wells Fargo and the governor 'wannabe' now Governor, had been posted and can be found by scrolling all the way down and clicking on the links well below. ... Governor? Wells Fargo bribe you to look the other way?

Will continue to do all I can to publicly expose this to all, both in this publication and elsewhere. Have done precisely that with the following email sent to Matt Turner, Matt Turner Video Services, Marble Falls, TX. A copy of it was also sent to Wells Fargo officer Amanda Wright. She has, indeed, been promoted branch manager. Reverse Darwinism. Survival of the unfittest.

This young woman has indeed been rewarded by the Wells Fargo corporate management suite for engaging in criminal deceptive trade practices and her undying loyalty to her corporate masters. The process to update those already informed of this fiasco has finally been completed. This latest material can be found by clicking onWells Fargo Deceptive Trade Practices Salvo 240, 2-8-19 .

-- Despite the fact these businesses were, and are, being egregiously f--ked by these very same bastards. Tough, isn't it? Impossible to entertain any sympathy for cowardice, however. Especially in view of the fact this writer has placed himself in great jeopardy taking on these corrupt, abusive, inept criminal bastards. Alone.

Exactly, why you see no investigative material highly critical of these sons of bitches in other local rags. Sadly, cowardly, all advertising income immediately dries up. Consequently, the bastards continue their criminal chicanery with impunity. On a rampage. Thus, you get what you truly deserve. Always. Precisely, why this earlier name change to Liberty In Peril remains appropriate. -- Despite the fact this writer has not yet left the area. Ten years after originally intending to do so. Thirty years in this goddamned godforsaken hellhole.

This writer, then and now, remains primarily interested in state, federal, and international issues. Another reason for this publication name change. Despite the fact I stupidly cluelessly remain here, local issues must be addressed. Can't be ignored. That's where you come in dear readers. Have the courage to inform this writer of local abuse, corruption, ineptness you are aware of, have personally experienced.

... Information these criminal bastards do all they can to conceal, cover up. Otherwise, how can they effectively sustain the charade and intended result? Loot confiscation through a boot heel on the throat of the citizenry.

The only way, short of an unwanted dreaded second American revolution, to force badly-needed change is to expose all this to the light of day. These bastards are beginning to understand they have a problem. No question, the growing rage of those they've abused, looted, egregiously f--ked. It's time to stand up. Expose this corruption to glaring sunlight. Otherwise, as fools, cowards, you will remain under their thumb. From the loftiest business owner to those on the bottom of the food chain. Wake up. Grow a pair.

Still don't think that likely to happen. After all, you're bought and paid for. Owned. Not only by your government masters, but their masters. The corporate management suite. Your employers. Think not? Wake up. You're human chattel. Corporate-owned, bought and paid for. Precisely, why you cowardly, compliantly, literally bare your asses for corporate inspection by the company doctor. Willingly, compliantly, cowardly piss in a cup under employer supervision. To sit in front of a keyboard or stock shelves all day. You have no control of your lives. You're owned. Forget? For a measly salary, no job security, reduced to no benefits. At a time of record corporate profits and cash reserves.

Then, you gallingly complain about the oppression as you tolerate egregious theft of your labor. Not only by your corporate masters, but their bought and paid for government lackeys. Too cowardly to stand up, allow disclosure of your identity when you rightfully complain to this publication of being mercilessly f--ked. Some of you falsely arrested, criminally assaulted, bogusly fined for 'offenses' you did not commit. To line County coffers. Keep the peasants in line and under control. A fascist police-state. Nazi America.

Again, yet another reason why this publication is called Liberty In Peril. Most galling? Nothing changes if you fail to step up and challenge corrupt, abusive, inept authority. Too afraid, cowardly compliant to let the bastards know who you are. Did it ever occur to the cowards out there if the identity of the accuser is kept under wraps the bastards will falsely claim it's all made up by this publication? Thus, conveniently killing all credibility. Wake up.

Cowardice is unbecoming, unworthy of our formerly great country. Insult to injury? There are the hopelessly deranged who believe the chicanery reported here to be manufactured anyway. No matter the effort. No matter the research. No matter the proof. Wake up. This writer cannot do it alone. Snowball's chance in hell. Then again, cowardice, delusion is always amply, justly rewarded. Always. You continue to 'enjoy' the very best government money can buy. Literally.

Cannot do it alone. Impossible. Not sustainable. This publication needs your financial and material support. Both. Time to step up.

Click here for a most interesting conversation between JP2 Linda Ballard and LCRA Communications Supervisor Mitch Hibbs who at the time was investigating a complaint made by the Henderson family against the 'judge.' The recording had been made by Hibbs and provided by Phyllis Henderson who had gotten it through an open records request. During the course of the recording you will hear the 'judge' make a terroristic threat against the Henderson family which the investigator laughingly shrugged off as a joke.

Seems former LCRA Ranger Lance Bilski, stepson of Llano County Sheriff Bill Blackburn, had been harassing the Henderson family regarding their tire business, Henderson Tire. Worse? There are unsubstantiated allegations, that although very much attached, Bilski may have indeed engaged in improprieties, that is, egregiously unprofessional conduct relevant to the Henderson complaint. All this had been covered in Newsletter Text V346.

Publication of this material, however, should in no way be interpreted as endorsement of Ballard's opponent, Steve Lange, in the upcoming runoff. It is not. It is provided as a public service to expose the 'judge' for exactly whom and what she is.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
...Formerly
The Llano Ledger

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Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609
libertyinperil@protonmail.com

Liberty In Peril

... Formerly

The Llano Ledger