Patterico's Pontifications

9/17/2020

AG Barr: Coronavirus Lockdowns Greatest Intrusion On Civil Liberties Since Slavery

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:20 am



[guest post by Dana]

He made the comments while speaking at Hillsdale College on Monday:

[T]the event’s host asked Barr to explain the “constitutional hurdles for forbidding a church from meeting during Covid-19.”

The question lead Barr into a four-minute response where he said state governors were using their executive powers to stifle citizens and businesses from going back to work.

“You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest. Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history,” Barr said as a round of applause came from the crowd.

He also criticized some governors for their response to COVID outbreaks in their states:

“Most of the governors do what bureaucrats always do, which is they … defy common sense,” Barr said Wednesday. “They treat free citizens as babies that can’t take responsibility for themselves and others.”

“We have to give business people an opportunity, tell them what the rules are you know the masks, which rule of masks, you had this month…and then let them try to adapt their business to that and you’ll have ingenuity and people will at least have the freedom to try to earn a living,” he added.

–Dana

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: I came here to do a post about Barr comparing federal prosecutors to preschoolers, but it works better as an update to this excellent post. Here’s the quote:

Mr. Barr also said that it was his job to push back on career lawyers and make important judgment calls because those prosecutors were too narrowly focused or too inexperienced to know how best to handle delicate cases.

“Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency,” he said.

It’s true that in a prosecutorial agency, the line prosecutors are subordinate in the hierarchy and must recognize themselves to be such. But they also have a special role in that each one has an independent constitutional obligation to prosecute without fear or favor. Real leaders understand that they themselves hold the ultimate decisionmaking authority, but they don’t strut around like peacocks boasting about it and trying to make their employees feel small and insignificant. That is what small people do. Small people like William Barr.

He probably doesn’t care about the hit to morale, because he probably recognizes he won’t be in the job much longer.

89 Responses to “AG Barr: Coronavirus Lockdowns Greatest Intrusion On Civil Liberties Since Slavery”

  1. Good morning.

    Dana (292df6)

  2. I don’t know why the AG is politicking (I do know though) but this is a very good strategy. People want to believe things should go back to normal. Despite the notion that had we reacted strongly and quickly in February and March, things could go back to normal, this is a great way to force a tough decision on the Biden team.

    Of course Barr’s comments are dumb, offensive, will get millions of condemnations retweeted hundreds of millions of times. Free political ads telling you who is really fighting for your freedom, even though that’s absurd if you really look into it.

    Barr is the worst, but he’s the best at it.

    Dustin (4237e0)

  3. …he’s not wrong ya know.

    Folks are wigging out about this speach:

    @secupp
    Impeach Bill Barr.
    7:50 AM · Sep 17, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

    I mean, he’s absolutely right about this:
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1306458253145059328.html

    AG Barr: “The men and women who have ultimate authority in the Justice Department are thus the ones on whom our elected officials have conferred that responsibility. That blessing by the two political branches of government gives these officials democratic legitimacy that career

    AG Barr: “…officials simply do not possess.
    The same process that produces these officials also holds them accountable. Line prosecutors, by contrast, are generally part of the permanent bureaucracy. They do not have the political legitimacy to be the public face of tough

    AG Barr: “…decisions and they lack the political buy-in necessary to publicly defend those decisions. Our system works best when leavened by judgment, discretion, proportionality, and consideration of alternative sanctions — all the things that supervisors provide”

    AG Barr: “Cases must be supervised by someone who does not have a narrow focus, but who is broad-gauged and pursuing a general agenda.
    “In short, the attorney general, senior officials, and U.S. attorneys are indeed political. But they are political in a good and necessary sense

    AG Barr: “And because I am ultimately accountable for every decision the department makes, I have an obligation to ensure we make the correct ones. The attorney general, the assistant attorneys general, and the U.S. attorneys are not figureheads. They are supervisors.

    AG Barr: “Their job is to supervise. Anything less is an abdication.””

    Indeed.

    If you don’t like how Barr runs his agency, then vote out his boss. That’s the procees.

    whembly (c30c83)

  4. Of course it is, ben franklin would mutter angrily ‘what did i tell you’

    Bolivar di griz (d4a914)

  5. That wasn’t the only thing Barr said. Exhibit A:

    Attorney General William P. Barr told federal prosecutors in a call last week that they should consider charging rioters and others who had committed violent crimes at protests in recent months with sedition, according to two people familiar with the call.
    The highly unusual suggestion to charge people with insurrection against lawful authority alarmed some on the call, which included U.S. attorneys around the country, said the people, who described Mr. Barr’s comments on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
    The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions.

    As I understand it, legally it’s difficult to get a conviction on sedition because there’s a high evidentiary bar, so I’ll take it that Barr was showboating, sounding like a tough guy to please his boss.
    Exhibit B:

    Attorney General William P. Barr delivered a scathing critique of his own Justice Department on Wednesday night, insisting on his absolute authority to overrule career staffers, who he said too often injected themselves into politics and went “headhunting” for high-profile targets.

    If there’s going to be any insurrection, it’ll be by all the DOJ employees going against Barr’s corrupt leadership and his blowing Trump.

    Paul Montagu (1fbb64)

  6. Yes enablers of rioters need to be punished.

    Bolivar di griz (d4a914)

  7. Trump, Barr, if the mother-figures can’t be part of the solution, they’ll be part of the problem, that’s their mentality.

    nk (1d9030)

  8. Bringing your inner draco.

    Bolivar di griz (d4a914)

  9. Thanks for adding Barr’s additional comments, Paul Montagu. I was focused on the Covid comments because I think they reveal his willingness to openly campaign for Trump.

    Dana (292df6)

  10. When we Nuremberg them for mass murder, Barr’s weight is going to cause problems for the hangman, adjusting the drop just right, or it could get gory.

    nk (1d9030)

  11. “draco” as in a tool that is often mistaken for a “cuerno de chivo”?

    urbanleftbehind (35ca35)

  12. No the flatline was clearly an overreach.empowering corrupt satraps like cuomo and whitmer.

    Bolivar di griz (d4a914)

  13. As in draconian peisistratus is not as pithy

    Bolivar di griz (d4a914)

  14. 18 U.S.C. § 2384

    If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

    The destruction at Portland’s federal courthouse

    I don’t think it would be too hard to establish that two or more persons conspired to put down … prevent, hinder, or delay … or by force to seize, take, or possess, etc.

    frosty (f27e97)

  15. nk (1d9030) — 9/17/2020 @ 7:56 am

    When we Nuremberg them for mass murder, Barr’s weight is going to cause problems for the hangman, adjusting the drop just right, or it could get gory.

    Mary Jane laughed and laughed, she knew dirty commies just lined people up next to a ditch and shot them.

    frosty (f27e97)

  16. the bogotazo, brought ospina to power, for eight years, it was his attempted return to power in 1971, that inspired the m 19 movement, which provoked the paramilitary ranchers,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  17. UPDATE BY PATTERICO: I came here to do a post about Barr comparing federal prosecutors to preschoolers, but it works better as an update to this excellent post. Here’s the quote:

    Mr. Barr also said that it was his job to push back on career lawyers and make important judgment calls because those prosecutors were too narrowly focused or too inexperienced to know how best to handle delicate cases.

    “Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency,” he said.

    It’s true that in a prosecutorial agency, the line prosecutors are subordinate in the hierarchy and must recognize themselves to be such. But they also have a special role in that each one has an independent constitutional obligation to prosecute without fear or favor. Real leaders understand that they themselves hold the ultimate decisionmaking authority, but they don’t strut around like peacocks boasting about it and trying to make their employees feel small and insignificant. That is what small people do. Small people like William Barr.

    He probably doesn’t care about the hit to morale, because he probably recognizes he won’t be in the job much longer.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  18. For ending the impeachment Schiff show, Barr will never be forgiven.

    beer ‘n pretzels (e28043)

  19. doj seems to be only about prosecuting republicans and only some, weber was kept out of the docket, along with podesta, everyone in a while they nab a real chinese agent of influence like allen ho, but they let yuk chang and peter dobbins, linger for 20 years,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  20. which included U.S. attorneys around the country, said the people, who described Mr. Barr’s comments on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

    It’s a pre-schooler mentality that goes to the press anonymously with accusations that, if actually true, more mature people would take a public stand on — career be d a m n e d.

    beer ‘n pretzels (e28043)

  21. wannabe sally yates, and other plastics, like miss page,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  22. There needs to be a corollary to Godwin’s Law to include slavery.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  23. we have gone too far down this rabbit hole, because of listening to ferguson and fauci, we have seen the end result in australia and israel, too settler states that forgot their way,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  24. 22.

    It’s a pre-schooler mentality that goes to the press anonymously with accusations that, if actually true, more mature people would take a public stand on — career be d a m n e d.
    beer ‘n pretzels (e28043) — 9/17/2020 @ 8:40 am

    Sure, criticize anonymous whistle blowing, not the POTUS and his toadies who’ve made it eminently clear that the legally sanctioned (and purportedly protected) on-the-record variety will elicit a swift, vindictive response.

    lurker (d8c5bc)

  25. Who will that Corollary be named after, i.e. the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Jackson (Jesse), West (Kanye), and perhaps now Barr (William).

    urbanleftbehind (35ca35)

  26. this is how much thousand currents has extorted,

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/09/blm-riots-could-cost-insurance-companies-up-to-2-billion/

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  27. “Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency,” he said.

    That’s probably the best thing Barr have said in public and after these last few decades, a much needed reminder.

    A real leader need to define clear guardrails and guildlines so that that everyone is on the same page.

    I’m sure it’s not going so well with the likes in the SDNY.

    whembly (c30c83)

  28. Patterico (115b1f) — 9/17/2020 @ 8:32 am

    But they also have a special role in that each one has an independent constitutional obligation to prosecute without fear or favor. Real leaders understand that they themselves hold the ultimate decisionmaking authority, but they don’t strut around like peacocks boasting about it and trying to make their employees feel small and insignificant.

    This was a much more compelling argument before state and local prosecutors started using this discretion to release people responsible for the ongoing riots and looting while at the same time moving forward with some cases that will get tossed on self defense or because they overcharged to appease the mob, lying about a case, or trying to fabricate evidence. A few of these prosecutors are damaging the reputation of the lot. It may be as simple as Barr wanting to discourage that breaking out at the federal level.

    frosty (f27e97)

  29. @5

    That wasn’t the only thing Barr said. Exhibit A:

    Attorney General William P. Barr told federal prosecutors in a call last week that they should consider charging rioters and others who had committed violent crimes at protests in recent months with sedition, according to two people familiar with the call.
    The highly unusual suggestion to charge people with insurrection against lawful authority alarmed some on the call, which included U.S. attorneys around the country, said the people, who described Mr. Barr’s comments on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
    The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions.

    As I understand it, legally it’s difficult to get a conviction on sedition because there’s a high evidentiary bar, so I’ll take it that Barr was showboating, sounding like a tough guy to please his boss.
    Paul Montagu (1fbb64) — 9/17/2020 @ 7:47 am

    Andy McCarthy obliterates that NYT’s nonsense:
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/yes-the-doj-should-charge-violent-anti-american-radicals-with-seditious-conspiracy/

    whembly (c30c83)

  30. ‘Small people like William Barr…’

    Small?

    Thurber Thursday: Do Barr and Pompeo wear each other’s dresses? 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  31. I’m sure it’s not going so well with the likes in the SDNY.
    whembly (c30c83) — 9/17/2020 @ 9:24 am

    Why wouldn’t it, whether at SDNY or elsewhere? Isn’t it Management 101 to disparage and infantilize your talented, highly trained work force?

    lurker (d8c5bc)

  32. Yeah, junior prosecutors should not consider whether a crime has been committed and whether they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. They should consider whether the defendant is a Trump crony, does he send a tingle up Trump’s leg in his Navy whites, did he try to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow, did he drop a load of cash at Trump hotels and resorts, that’s what they should consider. Delicately.

    I’d ask whom Barr thought he was fooling, but we all know the answer to that.

    nk (1d9030)

  33. or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof,…

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Malheur_National_Wildlife_Refuge

    A total of 27 people involved in the occupation were charged under federal law; of those, 26 have been indicted for a single federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the U.S. from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats.[199] A number of those under indictment on the conspiracy charge are also charged with a variety of other counts, some of which incur sentences up to life imprisonment, including possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities, use and carry of firearms in relation to a crime of violence, depredation of government property (relating to damaging the site “by means of excavation and the use of heavy equipment”), and theft of government property.[200][201] In addition, several of those under indictment in Oregon have also been indicted separately for their roles in the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada.[202]

    I guess sedition must be reserved for only the most serious cases.

    Victor (661f31)

  34. common sense. We have a virulent and deadly illness that spreads with people breathing on each other. What does common sense say we should do? Stop breathing on eachother. What do governors do? Issue rules that prevent large groups of people from breathing on eachother. What does Barr claim? That this isn’t common sense. Yeah right.

    Nic (896fdf)

  35. “I guess sedition must be reserved for only the most serious cases.”

    The Second Amendment protects us from governmental tyranny.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  36. 5. Paul Montagu (1fbb64) — 9/17/2020 @ 7:47 am

    legally it’s difficult to get a conviction on sedition because there’s a high evidentiary bar, so I’ll take it that Barr was showboating, sounding like a tough guy to please his boss.

    I think tat’s what he thinks that’s what it was, maybe because Trump thinks so, but also because he can figure out no other motive.

    But there;s the direct profit motive, ad there’s (future) extortion, and even things that go over onto attempting to influence government policy (like getting rid of, or scaring, the police, don;’t probably reach the level of sedition.

    In any case, first you got to find out the facts. I agree that they should consider sedition, but maybe it’s just a RICO case.

    Anyone who planned the rioting and the looting and the vandalism should e prosecuted, and they shouldn’t be skeptical that it was planned, but it would be a difficult thing to investigate.

    Maybe he needs to make the point that they shouldn’t shy from sedition if that’s what it was, but it probably wasn’t even in the CHAZ. But they should first find out the facts and then worry what to charge them with.

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)

  37. actually there are plenty of data points, the arabella group, the transition integrity program, in combination with thousand currents, lawfare in combination with lincoln project, the active measures employed by the chinese consulate in hong kong, likely utilizing tik tok

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  38. When the Trump Era Truth Commission reports its findings, Barr will get a whole volume of his own.

    Dave (1bb933)

  39. Andy McCarthy obliterates that NYT’s nonsense…

    McCarthy has his head so far up Trump’s a$$ he doesn’t have the oxygen to think clearly. There’s a difference between a group that literally declared war against the United States and committed violent acts in 1993, and a group protesting misfits who abuse their First Amendment rights by committing vandalism. What McCarthy doesn’t mention is that Section 2384 is pretty much solely used for terrorism cases, mainly because the perpetrators can’t be tried for treason, so this bit of US Code serves as constructive treason and is therefore triable.
    Barr is assuming facts not in evidence, that Antifa or whatever group behind the violence in Portland and other places are “domestic terrorists”. If those folks are domestic terrorists, which is not established, then all the more for the white nationalist groups behind dozens of actual murders over the last 20 years.

    Paul Montagu (1fbb64)

  40. Dave (1bb933) — 9/17/2020 @ 10:23 am

    When the Trump Era Truth Commission reports its findings, Barr will get a whole volume of his own.

    Mary Jane laughed and laughed, she knows dirty commies don’t write volumes about people they shoot and dump in ditches.

    frosty (f27e97)

  41. Paul Montagu (1fbb64) — 9/17/2020 @ 10:33 am

    Someone coordinated the efforts to block access to the hospital for those police officers shot. That’s terrorism not vandalism.

    frosty (f27e97)

  42. @43, I heard bits and pieces about that but didn’t see a good summary of the events. Do you have one you’d recommend?

    Time123 (7cca75)

  43. mccarthy vouched for fitz, he vouched for comey, 14 years later, it’s the same old game, as with fairfax (mcdonnell) murray (stevens) and delay (earle) it didn’t matter the supreme court ruled it wrong, the lawfare worked,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  44. “Someone coordinated the efforts to block access to the hospital for those police officers shot.”

    No they didn’t. It was a lie by the sheriff’s department.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  45. @40. ‘Barr gets a whole volume of his own.’

    Eight to the Barr; he’s the Boogie-Woogie-Boogie-Boy-of-‘Company T’ 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  46. No they didn’t. It was a lie by the sheriff’s department.

    Is this like the lie put out there that Reinoehl was the only one to fire a gun?

    beer ‘n pretzels (a90b94)

  47. Time123 (7cca75) — 9/17/2020 @ 10:45 am

    Poking around a bit:

    Shameful footage said to have been taken outside St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood on Saturday night shows as one protester yells: ‘I want to deliver a message to the family of the pigs, I hope they f***ing die.’ The protesters had been connected to the Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter but that has not been officially confirmed.

    Another demonstrator tells police: ‘Y’all gonna die one by one. This ain’t gonna stop.’

    On Sunday the LA county sheriffs office tweeted: ‘To the protesters blocking the entrance & exit of the HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM yelling ‘We hope they die’ referring to 2 LA Sheriff’s ambushed today in #Compton: DO NOT BLOCK EMERGENCY ENTRIES & EXITS TO THE HOSPITAL.

    ‘People’s lives are at stake when ambulances can’t get through.’

    Whether that is “good” is subject to debate. Is the sheriffs office lying?

    frosty (f27e97)

  48. “Is this like the lie put out there that Reinoehl was the only one to fire a gun?”

    We’ll never know, because the feds executed him.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  49. beer ‘n pretzels (a90b94) — 9/17/2020 @ 10:58 am

    Yep, it’s like the lie where they have video of people doing a thing and people say, nope, that thing happening on video isn’t happening.

    frosty (f27e97)

  50. Mary Jane laughed and laughed, she knows dirty commies don’t write volumes about people they shoot and dump in ditches.

    Coerced confessions take a lot of effort to compose and extract. What good are they if nobody reads them, Mary Jane?

    Dave (1bb933)

  51. yes the norwegian parrott on fire, there’s also the tower flats sketch with the masons,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  52. “Whether that is “good” is subject to debate. Is the sheriffs office lying?”

    Is there any evidence than an ambulance was blocked?

    Here’s the only video I’ve seen: https://twitter.com/folarHenry/status/1305273336952508418

    There are like 5 or 6 guys yelling at the cops, hardly an organized protest.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  53. Dave (1bb933) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:06 am

    Mary Jane laughed and laughed, she knows dirty commies are too lazy to coerce confessions and other dirty commies are too lazy to read them if they did.

    frosty (f27e97)

  54. squid approves of it, like he did with the skull cracking of andy ngo, and that doesn’t raise the monitors agita,

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  55. The Feds have had problems with sedition prosecutions:

    In 1987, fourteen white supremacists were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against a seditious conspiracy between July 1983 and March 1985. Some alleged conspirators were serving time for overt acts, such as the crimes committed by The Order. Others such as Louis Beam and Richard Butler were charged for their speech seen as spurring on the overt acts by the others. In April 1988, a federal jury in Arkansas acquitted all the accused of charges of seditious conspiracy.
    ……
    Laura Berg, a nurse at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in New Mexico was investigated for sedition in September 2005 after writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, accusing several national leaders of criminal negligence. Though their action was later deemed unwarranted by the director of Veteran Affairs, local human resources personnel took it upon themselves to request an FBI investigation. Ms. Berg was represented by the ACLU. Charges were dropped in 2006.

    On 28 March 2010, nine members of the Hutaree militia were arrested and charged with crimes including seditious conspiracy. In August, 2012, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts dismissed all serious charges against the remaining defendants, including sedition, and rebuked prosecutors for bringing the case. One man, Jacob Ward, was found not competent to stand trial. Three of the men, Joshua John Clough, David Brian Stone Sr., the leader of the group, and his son Joshua Stone, pleaded guilty to weapons charges.
    ……

    Source Footnotes deleted.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  56. “squid approves of it, like he did with the skull cracking of andy ngo”

    Andy Ngo was assaulted, but his skull wasn’t cracked. He lied about it.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  57. Davethulhu (b2f8af) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:08 am

    I love that this shifted almost immediately to “prove that ambulances were actually blocked” because I found a video with just a few people. I can already anticipate the next argument being “prove to me that ambulances weren’t just rerouted to other facilities and this had no impact”.

    Basically, it’s only terrorism if it’s 100% effective and the whole thing is just a lie anyway.

    frosty (f27e97)

  58. Is there any evidence than an ambulance was blocked?

    There is evidence that there are people expending effort trying to cast these actions in a better light.

    Oddly enough, they are the same people that take videos of police actions against rioters and cast them in the worst light possible.

    beer ‘n pretzels (cd0a6e)

  59. frosty (f27e97) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:11 am

    Comrade Not-Mary-Jane just laughed and laughed. He knew it’s not work if you enjoy it.

    Dave (1bb933)

  60. This is you, frosty:

    “Someone coordinated the efforts to block access to the hospital for those police officers shot.”

    You’ve made an assertion, back it up.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  61. “Oddly enough, they are the same people that take videos of police actions against rioters and cast them in the worst light possible.”

    The police are rioting.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  62. Dave (1bb933) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:23 am

    It’s funny and true. A win-win.

    frosty (f27e97)

  63. Davethulhu (b2f8af) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:26 am

    You’ve made an assertion, back it up.

    I gave the statement by the sheriffs office and a link to an article with video. You’ve said it was a lie by the sheriff’s department. I think that about sorts it out. Is there some other evidence that you would accept?

    frosty (f27e97)

  64. “I think that about sorts it out. Is there some other evidence that you would accept?”

    The video doesn’t show anyone blocking access.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  65. Cowardly deputy at parkland reinstated, they needed their blood price

    Bolivar di griz (d4a914)

  66. Davethulhu (b2f8af) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:41 am

    Let’s take a step back and make sure we all understand that you’re splitting hairs about people protesting an ER. How exactly does this make any sense?

    Do you understand that security is a huge element of EMT training. EMTs are trained to not go to an unsafe scene. Do you think a group of people protesting the police, a group EMTs call to secure a scene, would continue to use that ER? Do you know that ERs in some areas have cops and metal detectors at the door because it’s common for shooters to go to the hospital to finish the job? But you’re arguing that having people at an ER shouting death threats to cops that were just shot will have no impact on that ER?

    Actually, I’m guessing you feel safe arguing that no ambulance was blocked because you know as the protestors showed up that ER should have started redirecting EMTs to other facilities. So, this “prove nothing was blocked” is disingenuous at best. It would only take a few protestors to take that ER out of the system and keep it from being used.

    frosty (f27e97)

  67. “Do you understand that security is a huge element of EMT training. EMTs are trained to not go to an unsafe scene. ”

    The police never claimed the scene was unsafe. They dispersed the “crowd” for unlawful assembly: https://twitter.com/LASDHQ/status/1305073565037858816

    They also arrested a reporter and then lied about her not having credentials or identifying:
    https://twitter.com/LASDHQ/status/1305073750895812611

    “I’m guessing you feel safe arguing that no ambulance was blocked because you know as the protestors showed up that ER should have started redirecting EMTs to other facilities.”

    Don’t put words in my mouth. If you think this happened, there should be a record somewhere. I’d accept that as proof that the hospital was blocked.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af)

  68. @41 Paul Montagu (1fbb64) — 9/17/2020 @ 10:33 am

    That’s laughable. McCarthy gave the the DOJ and Special Counsel Office EVERY. SINGLE. BENEFIT. OF. DOUBT. until it was blatantly obvious of the mis/malfeasance over Crossfire Hurricane. He’s far from a hack as you presume him to be.

    He states:

    Congress has proscribed a straightforward offense: Force must be used, or at least contemplated, with the specific intent to strike at the United States or its government.

    The bar *is* pretty high, as the prosecutor must prove the intent to strike at the US or it’s government. But, it’s not insurmountable.

    whembly (c30c83)

  69. Davethulhu (b2f8af) — 9/17/2020 @ 12:30 pm

    Don’t put words in my mouth. If you think this happened, there should be a record somewhere. I’d accept that as proof that the hospital was blocked.

    Would you? If the sheriffs are lying about

    To the protesters blocking the entrance & exit of the HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM … DO NOT BLOCK EMERGENCY ENTRIES & EXITS TO THE HOSPITAL.

    ‘People’s lives are at stake when ambulances can’t get through.’

    why would you accept some other statement? You’re defending people who protest at ERs about people who were taken there after being shot. You don’t want to put many limits on yourself if you’re going to stick with that.

    frosty (f27e97)

  70. but you know, there is no organized corporate depravity, re a communication with net flix head of communications,

    To say this call was disturbing would minimize the content. First, it included an aggressive dismissal of any critiques as being indicative of backwards cultural tendencies and being out of touch with intelligent assumptions about child pornography. It indicated that someone whose literal job is communications for Netflix apparently thinks they have the power to badger people in how they cover the platform’s content. And there was a moralizing tone to it which, frankly, came across as a pseudo-refined European insult to knuckle dragging Americans who fear what they do not comprehend.

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  71. McCarthy gave the the DOJ and Special Counsel Office EVERY. SINGLE. BENEFIT. OF. DOUBT. until it was blatantly obvious of the mis/malfeasance over Crossfire Hurricane. He’s far from a hack as you presume him to be…

    He’s said enough about Mueller and impeachment to convince me of his hackiness, and he has a hack book to sell. And he wasn’t honest about what started the CI investigation, ignoring Flynn, Page and Manafort. That’s the problem with him; he spotlights one thing and conveniently doesn’t mention other relevant factors. Because he’s a hack.

    Paul Montagu (1fbb64)

  72. @75 Dude… that McCarthy stated in that link you posted was literally true from the perspective of what the FBI was saying at that time. The are so many gouges in the ground of all the goal-post moving surrounding this ordeal.

    whembly (c30c83)

  73. Never thought I’d see this.

    Prominent #NeverTrump Josh Hammer changes his tune regarding Trump:
    https://www.creators.com/read/josh-hammer/09/20/where-does-never-trump-now-stand

    Where Does Never Trump Now Stand?

    At this time four years ago, the “Never Trump” movement was alive and well. Birthed in earnest by National Review in its infamous “Against Trump” issue in February 2016, Never Trump consisted of conservatives and Republicans who vowed, even if he were to become the GOP presidential standard-bearer for the general election, to never, ever support Donald Trump.

    Never Trumpers supported other candidates throughout the presidential primary season, pushed to “free” committed delegates away from Trump at the Republican National Convention and continued to oppose his candidacy through Election Day.

    The hashtag #NeverTrump became ubiquitous on Twitter as a mark of protest against the unorthodox candidate.

    I would know because I was a part of the Never Trump movement. And, much to my shame, I was not a silent but, at times, a vocal and quite brash part. In retrospect, four years later, (hopefully) four years more mature and with the benefit of knowing what we now know about how Trump has governed, I will gladly fall on my sword: I was mistaken. Never Trump’s concerns largely did not materialize, and the president has pleasantly surprised his erstwhile skeptics in a myriad of ways. Whatever purported “conservative case against Trump” may (or may not) have existed in 2016 has completely and unequivocally dissipated.

    Many feared that Trump, who had spent little time as a registered Republican or a traveler in the labyrinth of hoary institutions constituting Conservatism Inc., might govern as a Manchurian candidate liberal; in reality, the 45th president has presided over one of the most dynamically conservative administrations in a century. Many feared that Trump, the bull in a china shop brimming with machismo and braggadocio, might inadvertently start World War III; instead, the president has overseen a wildly successful foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, premised around the time-tested, common-sense principle that it is best to punish one’s enemies and reward one’s friends.

    Many feared that Trump, who had once graced the Playboy magazine cover, might accelerate a hegemonic cultural progressivism; actually, he has been a consistently courageous, stalwart friend of religious and traditionalist Americans.

    Given Trump’s record, given how much the left has become utterly radicalized over the past four years — Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, the Women’s March anti-Semitism, anarchist antifa, Marxist Black Lives Matter, the toxicity of intersectionality and cancel culture — and given Trumpian heterodoxies’ “sunk cost” effects upon the American presidency’s putative institutional norms, the “conservative” case against Trump has simply not withstood the test of time.

    Prudence and humility suggest that one must be willing to acknowledge error and change course; the Never Trumpers of 2016 are perfect archetypes.

    In 2020, the only viable “conservative” vote is an affirmative vote for a second Trump presidential term.

    Alas, not everyone agrees. Many of 2016’s leading Never Trumpers have instead chosen to further dig in their heels. Bill Kristol, perhaps the most recognizable of the original 2016 crew, is now involved with any number of 2020 anti-Trump initiatives, including the Republican Voters Against Trump group.

    George Conway, Rick Wilson and Steve Schmidt spew anti-Trump vitriol under the banner of the (grotesquely misnamed) Lincoln Project. Jennifer Rubin and Max Boot haven’t budged a millimeter away from their anti-Trump predilections — Trump’s historic pro-Israel/anti-Iran record and the harrowing, (literally) burning state of our leftist-overrun progressive cities notwithstanding.

    But many of 2016’s other leading anti-Trump conservatives have not yet publicly indicated whether or not they will support Trump in 2020. Examples include any number of figures associated with the aforementioned “Against Trump” magazine issue, David French, Ross Douthat and some religious conservative figures such as George Weigel.

    To point this out is not an exercise in attempted public shaming; these leaders, who opposed Trump from within their own party and their own movement four years prior, merely owe their readers and followers transparency as to where they stand on the binary issue of whether or not they will vote for Trump this time.

    A case can be made that Trump, notwithstanding his sundry accomplishments and notwithstanding the ascendant threat from the leftist mobs now setting the nation aflame, is still unworthy of conservative support.

    It is a markedly unpersuasive case, to be sure, but the least we can do is ask adherents of that argument to publicly make it.

    Four years ago, Trump managed to secure an Electoral College victory despite battling a fifth column from within the Republican Party. I was unfortunately part of it, so I would know. Many erstwhile Never Trumpers from 2016 have made a prudential judgment this time around, while many others have only doubled down in anti-Trump defiance.

    But at a bare minimum, four years later and amidst a roiling cold civil war between the proud Americanists and the embittered civilizational arsonists rioting in the streets, it is at least worth clarifying where everyone stands.

    To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at http://www.creators.com.

    I would’ve dropped serious cash that Josh Hammer would never vote for Trump.

    I would’ve lost that bet…bigly.

    whembly (c30c83)

  74. @78 Those are reasonable adjustments bolivar. Rioters still have significant “skin” to appear in court after posting bail.

    whembly (c30c83)

  75. that McCarthy stated in that link you posted was literally true from the perspective of what the FBI was saying at that time.

    McCarthy wrote his piece in August 2019. He has no excuse.

    Paul Montagu (1fbb64)

  76. Prominent #NeverTrump Josh Hammer

    Who?

    Dave (1bb933)

  77. Ted Cruz’s Tinder handle is my guess.

    nk (1d9030)

  78. To Everyone,

    I believe that any article that only uses anonymous sources should be taken with a giant grain of salt. So far they have a bad track record.

    Patrick,

    It seems that your attitude toward the New York Times and Washington Post has changed since 2004. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been reading and commenting on this blog since 2004. Though not much lately. At that time I believe you said that they were not to be trusted and were only good for lining the bottom of a birdcage. Just like the Los Angeles times.

    Dana and Patrick,

    John Hinderaker who was at the speech states:

    THE WASHINGTON POST SMEARS AG WILLIAM BARR. I WAS THERE

    Believe John or not, it’s your choice. I still have difficulty trusting CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other news outlets, while PowerLine has rarely let me down.

    Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc)

  79. Patrick,

    Mr. Barr also said that it was his job to push back on career lawyers and make important judgment calls because those prosecutors were too narrowly focused or too inexperienced to know how best to handle delicate cases.

    “Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency,” he said.

    I’m only seeing “junior members” not all federal prosecutors. The first paragraph must be ignored since it’s only the opinion of the author and not actually quoted from AG Barr.

    As far as morale is concerned with the DOJ attorneys I believe President Trump should’ve fired every single one of them. Isn’t that what President Obama and other presidents did?

    Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc)

  80. Believe John or not, it’s your choice.

    He’s just wrong. His thesis that senior leaders like the AG should decide on local prosecutions is wrong. Especially these days when there’s just no trust for senior leaders. The mess with Ghislaine’s arrest just after the USA was fired for no reason, the desperate flailing effort to install a weird USA, and Trump wishing a terrible criminal well, stinks.

    I believe President Trump should’ve fired every single one of them. Isn’t that what President Obama and other presidents did?

    Tanny O’Haley (8a06bc) — 9/18/2020 @ 2:25 am

    So you blame Trump for the problem, right? Granted, maybe you could do a little more work looking into how many US Attorneys from the Obama era work for Trump today, but this is a ‘shoulda’ that you’re saying Trump failed to do.

    At that time I believe you said that they were not to be trusted and were only good for lining the bottom of a birdcage. Just like the Los Angeles times.

    I don’t think the idea has ever been that we just ignore every accusation from the left against the right. I do think liberal bias led to Trump in a lot of ways, and it’s smart of you to be skeptical of that bias today. But if Trump or Barr’s a crook, and Jane Fonda calls them a crook, that doesn’t change that Trump or Barr is a crook.

    This is you, frosty:

    “Someone coordinated the efforts to block access to the hospital for those police officers shot.”

    You’ve made an assertion, back it up.

    Davethulhu (b2f8af) — 9/17/2020 @ 11:26 am

    I’ll make the assertion too. I can’t prove it except circumstantially. I can just say all these folks did something at the same time with the same expressed intention, that the officers die. They worked as a team. One shoots them, the other stop them from getting to the hospital, expressing a hope they perish. That’s teamwork.

    This fringe extremism is Trump’s best friend, it’s being pushed on social media, and I bet we’d all be surprised if we saw who was really hoping for a lot more of this. But all that aside, these are individuals making evil decisions, fully accountable for them. Without the riots, Trump wouldn’t be in contention.

    Dustin (4237e0)

  81. Dustin,

    Even without the riots just as I couldn’t vote for Hillary I can’t vote for Biden/Harris. I like this quote.

    “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

    — C. S. Lewis

    I believe that a President Trump is tons better than the power hungry “omnipotent moral busybodies” of the left.

    Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc)

  82. Cheers, Tanny O’Haley.

    mg (8cbc69)

  83. Not everyone thought the speach was bad.

    “Barr’s brilliant speech. Which mainstream media was too obtuse—or biased—to understand.”

    — Kimberly Strassel

    Bill Barr’s Prosecutorial Warning

    Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc)

  84. When the DOJ abuses a citizen.

    FEAR & LOATHING AT THE DOJ

    In the memoir Cardiac Arrest: Five Heart-Stopping Years as a CEO on the Feds’ Hit List (written with Stephen Saltarelli), Howard Root tells the story of his experience as chief executive officer of Vascular Solutions caught in the crosshairs of the federal government when prosecutors sought to put his company out of business and to send him to the big house. Howard touched on one aspect of his story in the Wall Street Journal column “Sally Yates’s legacy of injustice at the Department of Justice.”

    This was not justice and one of many reasons prosecutors need to be reigned in vigorously.

    Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc)


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