Dominion is either incompetent, or deliberately trying to cause trouble. Either way, election officials need to find a better company.
Well, it’s happening yet again. The government of Michigan recently issued this statement, which says there is a “programming issue” that is hampering some people’s ability to vote.
I don’t know if this “programming issue” was caused by incompetence, or was a deliberate attempt to cause trouble. But it doesn’t matter which of those two it was. Either way, Michigan, and all other governments that use Dominion voting machines in their elections, need to find a better company.
https://x.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1852068274508280139
https://twitter.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1852068274508280139
CNN says Michigan let a non-citizen register to vote, he voted, and his vote will be counted
CNN just reported the following:
Chinese citizen charged with illegally voting in Michigan, authorities say
October 30, 2024
The man registered to vote at the polling place on Sunday, the source said. He used his university ID and other documents to demonstrate his residency in Ann Arbor while filling out a same-day voter registration forms, the source said.
It appears that the student’s vote can’t be nullified after the fact and will be counted.
Wow. So his vote will be counted. Well that sucks.
Why does Michigan make it so easy for non-citizens to do what this guy did?
Instead of putting this convicted rapist in prison, Maryland put him in a hotel because they wanted him to commit a second rape
Maryland officials silent about housing juvenile offenders in hotels after alleged rape
By Julian Baron and Jeff Abell
October 25 2024
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Maryland officials continue their silence about housing violent juvenile offenders in local hotels after a foster child was charged with raping a woman at an Owings Mills hotel in April.
Spotlight on Marylandreported Thursday the Randallstown NAACP sent a letter to Gov. Moore earlier this month demanding answers about an incident that occurred in April 2024 at Home2 Suites on Painters Mill Road.
The incident allegedly involved a juvenile who had previously been convicted of rape in Baltimore City. The juvenile was charged with raping a woman at Home2 Suites while housed there, sources familiar with the investigation and the Randallstown NAACP told Spotlight on Maryland.
Home2 Suites confirmed in a statement that the incident involved a minor in foster care and “his assigned caregiver.”
“Home2 Suites Owings Mills previously had an arrangement with Baltimore County Social Services in which the county could purchase room rentals for temporary placement of children in foster care, along with their caregivers,” a hotel spokesperson wrote. “This arrangement is no longer in place.”
The Baltimore County Department of Social Services is a local office of the Maryland Department of Human Services, which falls under the administration of Gov. Moore. He appointed its current secretary, Rafael López, in 2023.
Gov. Moore have yet to publicly comment on the incident despite repeated requests from Spotlight on Maryland. A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Human Services confirmed the agency received a “report from one of our partner organizations about an incident involving a staff member” in April but provided no further details.
“We’re really focusing hard on trying to uplift and keep the quality of life in Baltimore County and especially in Black communities,” Ryan Coleman, the president of the Randallstown NAACP, said in a Thursday interview. “We just can’t have this sort of thing happening.”
Spotlight on Maryland sent several questions Friday morning to leadership of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland about Coleman’s concern for quality of life in Black communities. Those questions included:
Do you believe the concerns of the Randallstown NAACP are legitimate?
Do you believe the state is neglecting the quality of life of Black communities in Baltimore County?
Do you believe the state and its local offices need to be more transparent about the housing of juvenile offenders in areas open to the community, such as hotels?
Do you plan to speak with the administration about this issue?
Those questions have not been answered as of Friday afternoon.
Other elected officials, including Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson, have not responded to requests for comment. Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski, Jr. provided a brief statement to via a spokesperson Thursday but declined to discuss details about the incident.
“The allegations are horrific, deeply disturbing, and, if true, Baltimore County will support every effort to hold individuals responsible and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the spokesperson said.
Robyn Kett is a widowed mother who wants to move her children and herself to live with a convicted armed robber and murderer named Deandre Parsons after he gets out of prison. If he kills her and her children, would that count as a Darwin Award?
Well this takes the cake.
Robyn Kett is a widowed mother who wants to move her children and herself from the U.K. to the U.S. to live with a convicted armed robber and murderer named Deandre Parsons after he gets out of prison.
Usually, in order to get a Darwin Award, a person has to be killed by their own stupidity before they reproduce.
Kett has already reproduced, so technically, she could not get a Darwin Award.
However, she wants to move her children and herself to live with a convicted armed robber and murderer after he gets out of prison.
If Kett did this, and Parsons killed her and her children, could Kett qualify for a Darwin Award?
https://x.com/DanielAlmanPGH/status/1851297528047894799
https://yahoo.com/lifestyle/fell-love-convicted-killer-serving-173515520.html
I fell in love with a convicted killer serving 20 years in prison – here’s why I want a future with him
By Brooke Steinberg
October 28, 2024
Their love is killer.
A British woman has fallen in love with a U.S. prisoner who is serving 20 years for manslaughter.
Robyn Kett came across a Reddit post in June 2024 from a family member of Deandre Parsons, 27, asking if anyone would be willing to be his pen pal.
The family said in the post that Parsons, who killed a man with a firearm, was lonely.
The 33-year-old stay-at-home mom decided to send a message out of curiosity – she had just lost her partner, Nick, 35, to cancer in December 2023 and decided “life is too short.”
“I saw him. I just thought, ‘Why don’t I shoot him a message?’” Kett told South West News Service. “My friend was writing to somebody and said it was different and I was curious.”
She said they “instantly connected,” despite him not being her “normal type.”
“He was really easy to talk to. He seemed genuine,” Kett shared. “It was like I had known him my whole life.”
“You know when you feel something and it just grabs you,” she added.
When Kett and Parsons, both from Connecticut, first began talking, Parsons didn’t say too much about his conviction, Kett said, but he eventually began to open up.
“I Googled him to make sure he wasn’t a maniac,” she admitted.
Parsons pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in Stamford Superior Court after an armed robbery went wrong. In September 2022, he was sentenced to 20 years, SWNS reported.
“The original charge was felony murder,” Kett explained. “He went to a house to rob weed but a man and his partner and child were there. He didn’t go out that day to harm anybody.”
But Kett doesn’t judge Parsons for being a convicted killer.
“I can’t connect him with the crime. I’m not a judgmental person,” Kett said. “You can’t judge a person because of what they are in for. You don’t know the personal circumstances.”
The pair message every day, and Parsons calls Kett from the prison when he has the chance. He gets 10 messages and six free calls per day, and they use that time to discuss everything from food to TV shows.
“He makes me laugh,” Kett said. “I just ended up falling love.”
She added, “It’s all natural. He told me he loved me before he even saw pictures of me.”
The couple has now been talking for four months, and Kett plans to save up money and get paperwork to approve her visits completed in order to fly to meet the convicted killer in prison next year.
Despite his 20-year sentence, Parsons is up for parole in six years.
“He talks about the future a lot,” Kett said. “I’d move over there. I want a future with him.
“From losing my partner in December I realized life is too short. I didn’t expect to ever find love again,” she added.
Luckily for Kett, her friends and family aren’t judgmental either — they tell her “if you can find happiness, grab it.”
Here’s yet even another example of how the people who run Minneapolis are in favor of violent crime
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
October 28, 2024
In the past, I’ve posted many examples of how the people who run Minneapolis are in favor of encouraging, allowing, tolerating, and not punishing criminals. Some of those examples are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
And now we have the newest example.
NBC News just reported the following:
Minneapolis shooting sparks outrage as suspect is charged but not arrested
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed charges against John Herbert Sawchak in connection with the Wednesday shooting of Davis Moturi.
By Minyvonne Burke
October 26, 2024
A white Minneapolis man was charged with attempted murder Thursday after allegedly shooting his Black neighbor in the neck for touching a tree following an ongoing dispute, but the failure of police to arrest the suspect has angered city council members.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed charges against John Herbert Sawchak in connection with the Wednesday shooting of Davis Moturi.
The office said it received the case on Thursday and immediately charged Sawchak with attempted murder, first-degree assault and felony harassment and stalking, enhanced for racial bias, NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported.
At the time of the shooting, Sawchak had three active arrest warrants against him, including one for threats of violence against Moturi, court documents state.
On Wednesday, Moturi was pruning a tree on his property when he was shot. Court documents state that Sawchak shot his neighbor in the neck with a firearm from an open upstairs window.
Moturi fractured his spine, has two broken ribs and a concussion, his wife, Caroline, said in a phone interview Saturday.
Wow. This totally sucks.
But I’m not surprised. Like I just said, I’ve posted plenty of other examples of how Minneapolis is pro-crime. This is just one more example.
I support letting different cities and states experiment with policies that their voters are in favor of, even if I don’t personally agree with those policies. And I don’t live in Minneapolis anyway. So if the voters of Minneapolis want to encourage, allow, tolerate, and not punish criminals, I’m perfectly OK with it, as long as those criminals stay in Minneapolis.
Every city has exactly as much crime as its voters are willing to tolerate. The voters of Minneappolis tolerate a very, very large amount of it.
By the way, you can read my tweets, buy my books, and donate to me at the following three links:
Sacramento City Attorney’s Office warned Target it could face fines for retail theft calls
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article289624876.html
Sacramento City Attorney’s Office warned Target it could face fines for retail theft calls
By Ishani Desai
July 9, 2024
The Sacramento City Attorney’s Office warned a chain retail store that it could face a public nuisance charge due to a large number of phone calls placed to police when thieves repeatedly stole from its Land Park location.
A person with knowledge of the warning, but not authorized to speak publicly due to the fear of retaliation, told The Sacramento Bee that city officials threatened the Target at 2505 Riverside Blvd. in the past year with an administrative fine. A Sacramento police spokesman confirmed the location — a site that prompted heavy ire from Land Park residents due to repeated crimes — when asked about the apparent warning.
The alleged warning issued by Sacramento city officials — and similar actions by other cities across the state — prompted lawmakers to add an amendment to a retail theft bill that would outlaw such threats made by authorities. Pursuing legal actions against businesses for reporting crime brought heavy criticism from law enforcement.
“I … (was) also surprised that anyone would ever attempt to make a nuisance case out of somebody calling to report a legitimate crime,” said Alexander Gammelgard, president of the California Police Chiefs Association while testifying in December at the Assembly’s first retail theft committee meeting. “I don’t think there is a place for that.”
The City Attorney’s Office and the Sacramento Police Department were not aware of any threats of litigation, Tim Swanson, a spokesman for the city of Sacramento, wrote in an email.
It’s unclear why City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood’s office would allegedly resort to issuing such a warning to any business seeking help from police. Swanson did not grant multiple interview requests to the City Attorney’s Office over a period of about a week.
Clark Kelso, a professor of law at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, said “there is no question” that city attorneys have every right to pursue a public nuisance charge against businesses in which owners know the property is dangerous.
However, experts said it’s unclear if the law allows a public nuisance charge when people steal from the store. The retailer is a victim, and could be seeking serious help when confronted with shoplifters, he said.
The alleged warnings by city officials statewide may affect what crime data is reported as businesses contend with the potential of facing legal action for reporting retail theft, a topic spurring heavy debate in California. Lawmakers have said the unreliable data has caused some skepticism about what, if any, legislation should be passed.
Blake Randol, a criminal justice professor at California State University, Stanislaus, found the situation disconcerting because the purpose behind pursuing the action is to stop a person or entity from creating disorder. The responsibility of a city is to help residents and a public nuisance change could deter a business from reporting, he said, while also noting that city officials could issue warnings because they would like to see a decrease in crime statistics.
“What’s problematic is that what Target is complaining about is a legitimate crime concern,” Randol said. “The city does have a responsibility to be more responsive to the public and be responsive to crime control demands from the public.”
Concerns with Target
The crime hitting the Target at Riverside and Broadway has drawn criticism from the neighborhood association.
Land Park Community Association members said the frequent criminal activity at the Target has prompted residents to record instances of crime, according one report by Ch. 13, the Sacramento CBS affiliate. Kristina Rogers, president of the association, also complained in the report about how the crime hitting the business bleeds into the neighborhood.
The offenses aired on local TV stations prompted a plan by City Councilman Rick Jennings II, the City Attorney’s Office and Sacramento Police Department to meet with Target and create a specific safety plan to mitigate incidents, according to internal communications provided via a Public Records Act request by The Bee.
“It would be great to be at the store and show what we have actually (been) working on to address the concern raised most recently in all the news this week,” Alex Garcia, a former director of Target’s governmental affairs, wrote in the email referring to past news coverage. The note was sent to Dennis Rodgers, Jennings’ chief-of-staff.
Both sides collaborated to create a plan called “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” to address the issues raised in the reports. It included “placement of security measures such as alarms, cameras, and security personnel” and also implementing “light fixtures, landscaping, wayfinding and space activation measures,” according to the internal communications from the City Attorney’s Office to Target.
But the meeting also allowed city officials to discuss their “concerns” with Target and that it has acknowledged its “problems” during a discussion, Jennings said in a statement. The statement notes Jennings’ office has noticed “observed improvements” to address “community concerns” regarding “unlawful activity.”
It’s not entirely clear what “concerns” city officials raised to Target during the meeting. Jasleen Escobar, the director of constituent affairs and engagement, did not respond to multiple requests seeking clarification.
Target also did not respond to requests for comment about the apparent threat and why city officials raised concerns with their practices. Rogers declined to comment further than to say she was glad the city and Target were working together to “problem-solve the theft and crime inside the store and in the parking lot.”
The number of calls for service related to theft, robbery and shoplifting at the three Target locations in the city of Sacramento increased sharply in 2023, according to The Bee’s analysis of police data. At the same time, most calls did not result in police taking a crime report, issuing a citation or making an arrest.
But police did take those actions much more often in 2023 than in prior years, according to data.
Target locations within the city of Sacramento had a total of 375 calls for service related to theft, robbery and shoplifting in 2023, up from about 175 in 2022 and 87 in 2021. The uptick between last year’s data and the same period two years prior was 331%.
Police took about 80 crime reports related to theft, robbery and shoplifting in 2023, up from about 35 in 2022, a 128% increase. Police took an average of 27 crime reports each year from 2018 through 2022.
Police made about 55 arrests related to theft, robbery and shoplifting in 2023, more than double the number of arrests in 2022 (26) and a five-fold jump from the eight arrests made in 2021. Officers issued 18 citations in 2023, up from 6 in 2022 and two in 2021.
Warnings prompt legislation
Doubt also hounds the severity of retailers’ concerns because the crime data doesn’t support a clear picture. Business owners don’t tally shoplifting incidents. And property crimes are underreported as police, facing dire staffing shortages statewide, do not arrive or must prioritize violent crime responses.
The threats of charges — coming as lawmakers were poised to pass bills they believed would stem retail theft while a district attorney-led effort for harsher penalties is planned for the November ballot — affect the ability to fully understand the picture of crime data.
The district attorneys have long blamed what they see as a rise in retail theft and drug crimes on Proposition 47, a 2014 voter-approved measure that made some lower-level crimes misdemeanors and set a $950 felony threshold for shoplifting.
Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Los Angeles, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, co-authored Assembly Bill 2943, which allows prosecutors to aggregate property crimes. The bill was amended to dissuade cities from threatening retailers seeking help and was slated for a third reading and vote in the Assembly this week.
“The bill would clarify that local law enforcement or a local jurisdiction is prohibited from bringing a nuisance action against a business solely for the act of reporting retail crime, unless the report is knowingly false,” the bill’s amendment reads.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rivas and Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, have been pushing a 14-bill package tightening penalties on retail theft offenses as their answer to the ballot measure. They’ve said their legislation will do a good job of dealing with these crimes, and it’s not necessary to change Proposition 47.
Newsom and Democratic leaders had planned on a drug and theft ballot measure to compete with the D.A.’s effort, now known as Proposition 36. But, last week, Newsom abruptly pulled the initiative from consideration after the governor insisted the effort lacked lawmakers’ votes.
‘Where’s the public harm?’
Rachel Michelin, the president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, said the amendment was included to allow businesses freedom to call law enforcement without repercussions. She declined to discuss the City Attorney’s Office’s apparent warnings to Target.
A city attorney would typically issue a letter or attempt to speak with a business about the potential for a public nuisance charge.
The source with knowledge of actions said the City Attorney’s Office warned Target it could send a letter about issuing a public nuisance charge.
Ultimately a letter was never sent.
Wood, in her capacity as city attorney, could make an argument describing the large call volume and how it detracts from high-priority calls and clogs up a burdened dispatch system, said Kelso, the McGeorge law professor.
A city attorney could bring legal action if the victims were shoppers robbed in the parking lot, Kelso said. The store has a duty to protect the public on its land, he said, and the city would like to ensure residents’ safety.
But, Kelso said, the main legal question that was uncertain was whether the city could pursue public nuisance charges if people were shoplifting from Target.
“If there’s no threats to any members of the public, if nobody is threatened by it … well, where’s the public harm?” Kelso said.
FBI quietly changed violent crime data to show increase, not decrease, from 2021 to 2022
FBI quietly changed violent crime data to show increase, not decrease, from 2021 to 2022
By Julian Baron
October 16, 2024
The FBI quietly adjusted its annual crime data to show an increase in violent crime from 2021 to 2022.
The agency previously claimed violent crime decreased from 2021 to 2022, touting “an estimated 1.7%” decrease in violent crime between the two calendar years. The revised data, which was first identified by RealClearInvestigations, shows violent crime actually increased during that timeframe.
FBI data summaries reviewed by The National News Desk show the agency originally reported1,253,716 violent crimes in 2021 and 1,232,428 violent crimes in 2022, representing the 1.7% decrease it originally advertised. The updated data summary reported 1,197,930 violent crimes in 2021 and1,256,671 in 2022, showing a starkly different 4.9% jump.
The originally reported decrease in violent crime had been a political talking point for Democrats looking to praise the Biden-Harris administration for its handling of public safety. The revision has also called into question the accuracy of 2023 violent crime data released by the FBI earlier this year, which became a hot topic at the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump sparred with ABC News anchor DavidMuir during the debate over what the former president called “defrauding statements” by the FBI regarding violent crime trends. He claimed the latest FBI data did not include “the worst cities,” painting the figures as an incomplete picture of a public safety crisis impacting the U.S.
Muir, who pushed back on Trump’s claims, cited FBI data that shows “overall violent crime is coming down in this country.”
Harris used the 2023 data as an opportunity to reassure Americans that the Biden-Harris administration has made the U.S. safer.
“Today’s new data submitted to the FBI confirms that our dedicated efforts and collaborative partnerships with law enforcement are working,” Harris said on social media last month. “Americans are safer now than when we took office.”
The FBI wrote in a statement late Wednesday that the adjustment was due to a change in the way crime data is reported to the agency.
“As part of this movement, the FBI has moved towards automation, allowing for past years’ estimates to be updated as data are submitted,” the statement said. “Therefore, 2021 counts now showing in the 20-year estimation tables reflect only estimates based on the data directly reported to the FBI.”
The Revised FBI Crime Data Reveals that it Originally Missed 1,699 Murders in 2022. Given that Almost all Murders are Reported, How Does the FBI Miss that Many Murders?
The Revised FBI Crime Data Reveals that it Originally Missed 1,699 Murders in 2022. Given that Almost all Murders are Reported, How Does the FBI Miss that Many Murders?
October 10, 2024
USA Today’s headline on the FBI’s reported crime data released in September 2023 claims “Violent crime dropped for second straight year in 2023, including murder and rape.” There are two errors in their headline. First, that it is the FBI’s measure of reported crime that fell, but that is not the same as all crime nor is it the only measure of reported crime. So they could have written, the FBI’s measure of reported violent crime fell in 2023. The second error is that they are wrong claiming that this was the second straight year, where an adjustment in the data showed a 4.5% increase in 2022. Originally, the FBI said that violent crime had fallen by 2.1% and now they say it increased by 4.5%. Just like the Bureau of Labor Statistics overestimated the number of jobs created.
Presumably the media was just reading the FBI’s press release and not looking at the actual data, and that may be why the media has ignored these statistics. Shockingly, the FBI’s September press release with the 2023 data doesn’t mention the changes to earlier data and that the original drop in violent crime for 2022 was now an increase. Nor did they mention that the new reported increase in 2022 was larger than the claimed decrease in 2023.
With the adjustments, compared to the new adjusted data for 2021, there is a net increase of 80.029 more violent crimes, 1,699 more murders, 7,780 more rapes, 33,459 more robberies, and 37,091 more aggravated assaults.
A major weakness for reported crime data is that most crimes aren’t reported to the police. Murder has the advantage because the vast majority of murders are reported. But the revised data for 2021 and 2022 shows a net increase of 1,699 more murders. How do you miss 1,699 murders? Another crime category that is well reported is motor vehicle theft because the thefts have to be reported for insurance to cover the theft. But the revised data shows a net increase of 54,216 more motor vehicle thefts.
The newly released FBI data is available here. The original 2022 FBI data is available here for comparison.
Another way of looking at these numbers is that the FBI overcounted the number of murders in 2021 by 1,074 and undercounted the number in 2022 by 625, again a gap of 1,699. Similarly, the FBI overcounted the number of violent reported violent crimes in 2021 by 55,786 and undercounted the number in 2022 by 24,243, again a gap of 80,029.
The percent changes in the various crime rates are dramatic.
Judge Xander Orenstein under fire for releasing Montour Trail stabbing suspect Anthony Quesen in prior assault case
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/judge-xander-orenstein-anthony-quesen-non-monetary-bail/
Judge Xander Orenstein under fire for releasing Montour Trail stabbing suspect Anthony Quesen in prior assault case
By Mike Darnay and Ross Guidotti
October 23, 2024
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pennsylvania magistrate judge Xander Orenstein is under fire for releasing Anthony Quesen, the suspect in Monday’s deadly Montour Trail stabbing in a prior assault case.
Quesen has been charged with homicide, accused of stabbing Benjamin Brallier, an off-duty Liquor Control Enforcement agent with the Pennsylvania State Police. Brallier was out for a run along the trail Monday when he was stabbed to death.
Monday’s deadly attack was not Quesen’s first run-in with the law. Last summer, Quesen was accused of robbing someone at Point State Park.
Court documents revealed that Orenstein set a non-monetary bail, which was revoked when Quesen failed to show up for hearings.
In the wake of Brallier’s killing, Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco has issued a statement calling for Orenstein to either resign or for the state legislature to remove them from the bench by impeachment.
“We have long feared that Judge Orenstein’s reckless pattern of letting dangerous suspects back on the street would cost a life,” DeMarco said. “Now it has. And Xander Orenstein must be removed from the bench before the public loses all faith in the justice system.”
Republican state Sen. Devlin Robinson, who is running for reelection, called on the House to begin impeachment proceedings against Orenstein.
Democratic state Rep. Anita Kulik is also calling on Orenstein to resign and a “full investigation by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court.”
When asked why they issued no bail in the prior assault case, Orenstein directed all media inquiries to court administrators, saying they don’t make statements about ongoing cases, which has been their policy since being elected.
Courts spokesperson Joseph Asturi also provided no comment, only saying that Orenstein handles landlord/tenant disputes, traffic cases, and criminal cases.
Past criticism of Judge Orenstein’s use of non-monetary bail
Orenstein was removed from hearing arraignments earlier this year by Allegheny County President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente because of scrutiny over no-cash bail decisions.
The judge’s actions came after a fugitive warrant was issued for Hermas Craddock, who failed to appear at a bond modification hearing earlier this week.
Despite a lengthy criminal record, Orenstein had released Craddock on a non-monetary bond after he was accused of leading Pennsylvania State Police troopers on a high-speed chase down Route 28, nearly ramming two cruisers and tossing a weapon from his car. Craddock was ultimately taken into custody after escaping to Florida.
Craddock was the second high-profile defendant who would be a no-show for one of Orenstein’s cases.
Orenstein also released New York City native Yan Carlos Cepeda on no-cash bail after his arrest for allegedly trafficking more than a kilogram of cocaine. The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office said they spent $30,000 sending detectives to New York three times to look for Cepeda after he failed to show up at his preliminary hearing.
Cepeda was arrested once again in New York City and was ruled to be held without bail by a different judge after being taken into custody.
Law enforcement descends on Montour Trail on Wednesday
Law enforcement conducted a massive search on Wednesday of the area where Brallier was killed.
Officers from multiple police agencies began searching the Montour Trail around 8 a.m., looking in the woods, on the trail and other places where the trail crosses Hassam Road. The officers searched until noon.
It was not clear what they were searching for, but investigators were seen carrying brown evidence bags from the scene.
Of course the Trump McDonalds thing was staged. I thought that was obvious. I think Trump’s trolling was hilarious, and not a reason to get upset. I actually feel sorry for anyone who is upset over this. I’m voting for Chase Oliver.
New York state gives children permission to commit as many armed robberies as they want
Baby-faced Tren de Aragua crew at NYC migrant shelter targets Times Square – and they’re getting away with it
By Joe Marino and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
October 14, 2024
A brutal crew of baby-faced Tren de Aragua migrant gangbangers at a city-funded Manhattan shelter are pulling off armed robberies in Times Square — and they’re getting away with it, officials and sources said.
Nearly two dozen young migrant thugs, some as young as 11 years old, are part of a dangerous asylum-seeking brat pack that has graduated from purse snatchings to gunpoint heists targeting New Yorkers and tourists alike, a top NYPD official told The Post.
But they’re managing to stay out of jail because of their ages and the Empire State’s lenient criminal justice laws, Detective Bureau Assistant Chief Jason Savino said.
“You have individuals that are brazen,” Savino said. “We know they have access to guns, evident by the fact that they’ve done gunpoint robberies and they’ve been brazen enough to showcase pistols in and around their social media.
“This is the first formulated group that we found where this group of about 20 individuals that, in pack format, hang out every day, they post on social media, they boast about their crew,” the chief said. “You see little pockets in and around Times Square and in and around the shelters.
“But as far as a true threshold, it’s been limited to shelters.”
Calling themselves “Los Diablos de la 42” — Spanish for “Little Devils of 42nd Street” — the crew of about 21 gang members has been busted for 50 separate incidents, and yet not one is behind bars, Savino said.
“They committed the robberies [in] all the sexy places, in and around Central Park, in and around Times Square, in and around transit,” he said. “And targeting tourists.”
“They kind of had a graduation of sorts, and a progression where originally it started as snatches and then went to strong-armed robberies, and then started brandishing knives in a pack format.”
Also worrisome for New York’s Finest is the possibility that an all-out gang war could erupt between TdA and one of the Big Apple’s most notorious gangs, the Latin Kings.
According to authorities, a dispute between the two gangs dates back several years to the alleged murder of a TdA member by a Latin King, with the feud still a sore point.
TdA, which grew out of the poverty and corruption that has long plagued Venezuela, established a criminal foothold in the five boroughs in little more than a year.
Law enforcement sources said gang members hid among the millions of asylum seekers who crossed the US border with Mexico since 2022, then scattered throughout the country.
Members are told to get distinctive tattoos that mark them as members, with the body art typically including anchors, clocks, crowns and phrases that included the word “guerrero” — which means warrior in Spanish but also pays homage to Hector “Nino” Guerrero, the leader of the gang in Venezuela.
The gang tats also tend to feature the number “23” or NBA stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James, both of whom wear the number on their jerseys, while others include images of bulls, seemingly a shout-out to the Chicago Bulls basketball team, a city where TdA has flourished, sources said.
In New York, gang members exploited the city’s migrant shelter system, running robbery crews, as well as trafficking drugs, guns and sex workers under the noses of private security guards. according to sources.
The Diablos crew out of the Roosevelt Hotel is guided by an older gangbanger, who recruits youngsters to pull off robberies before bringing back the loot — sometimes as part of an initiation into the gang, sources said.
The group’s members hang out in packs with the younger recruits, and will be there when the kids pull off a crime, perhaps steal a chain from a passerby. Punishment for failing could mean being forced to lick the floor of a city subway car or worse, Savino said.
Communication between crew members takes place online, where they brazenly post exploits, he added.
“They use group chat on their government-issued phones, so you know that that’s what you’re using. And the group app is titled according to their gang, really, and they’re using their government-issued phones.”
Recruiters also pick youngsters, who are unlikely to be charged as adults, to join their ranks.
In August, police suspected that an 11-year-old accused subway mugger from Venezuela who was living at the Roosevelt was tied to TdA.
Once in custody, the boy was given a juvenile card and released.
In addition to the young age of some of the gang members, the state’s criminal justice reforms prohibited bail for misdemeanors and most felonies, which means TdA suspects are often released, according to some in law enforcement.
“It’s a product of bail reform,” Savino told The Post. “We tried to try some in criminal court, somewhat unsuccessfully.”
Here’s more proof that Minneapolis is in favor of crime
Man who got plea deal in fatal carjacking now charged with fleeing police in stolen vehicle
September 19, 2024
A young man who received a controversial plea deal for his role in a fatal carjacking as a teen is now charged with fleeing police in a stolen vehicle, a felony.
After rejecting an earlier plea deal, Judge Michael Burns in December sentenced Husayn Braveheart to time served after he pleaded guilty to attempted assault in the 2019 shooting death of Steven Markey, 39, in northeast Minneapolis. As part of the agreement, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty dropped a count of second-degree murder.
Braveheart’s co-defendant Jered Ohsman, who was 16 at the time of the carjacking and admitted firing the fatal shots, is serving 21 years.
Moriarty argued that because Braveheart was 15 when he was involved in the crime and “changed significantly,” he shouldn’t be incarcerated beyond the more than four years he spent in Minnesota youth facilities.
In a December statement, Moriarty said Braveheart “has made enormous strides” while receiving treatment and added that “we believe the treatment will prevent a future crime if it continues.”
In a criminal complaint filed Wednesday, Dakota County prosecutors allege that an Eagan police officer who received a stolen vehicle alert activated his emergency lights after pulling up behind the stopped vehicle on Sunday. Braveheart, the alleged driver, accelerated “to speeds more than 100 miles per hour at times,” “ran multiple stop signs” and maneuvered randomly from lane to lane on highways.
The complaint does not say how long the pursuit lasted, but it noted that officers used stop sticks to bring the vehicle to a halt.
Braveheart in December also pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery, for which he received probation. Court records show that he has two probation violation warrants in those cases for “failure to remain law abiding.”
In a brief statement Thursday, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said if the new allegations are true, “Mr. Braveheart will be held accountable.”
In its own statement, Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association general counsel Imran Ali, a former assistant Washington County attorney and critic of Moriarty, said Braveheart is putting more lives at risk because he received “no real punishment” under the plea deal and that “Moriarty’s office prioritizes repeat criminals over community safety.”
RNC accuses Detroit of deleting drop box surveillance footage, lawsuit says
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/rnc-lawsuit-detroit-deleting-drop-box-surveillance-footage/
RNC accuses Detroit of deleting drop box surveillance footage, lawsuit says
By Sara Powers
October 18, 2024
The Republican National Committee has filed another lawsuit against Detroit, alleging that the city deleted drop box surveillance footage and violated the Freedom of Information Act.
Jonathan Koch and the RNC filed the lawsuit against the City of Detroit Department of Elections on Tuesday. The lawsuit alleges that they had requested drop box surveillance footage from the city earlier this year, but it was deleted, and the RNC never received it.
On Aug. 20, the Koch allegedly submitted a FOIA request for the surveillance footage on behalf of the RNC. The request was submitted for footage in connection to the “Absent Voter Ballot Drop Box” on the Northwest Campus of Wayne County Community College at 8200 W. Outer Drive, according to the lawsuit.
The city acknowledged receiving the request on Aug. 21, and on Aug. 24, it sent a letter asking for an extension of their response deadline by 10 more business days under MCL 15.235(2)(d).
On Sept. 16, Koch received an electronic response from the city, in which they said, “The video is no longer available after 30 days and is recorded over,” according to the lawsuit.
“Deleting footage that is the subject of a pending FOIA request—submitted more than two weeks before the footage was deleted—is a clear violation of FOIA,” the RNC said. “Detroit had a clear legal obligation to preserve and provide the footage, which they violated.”
The RNC says it has filed this lawsuit to “hold the city accountable for its failure to maintain drop box footage while FOIA requests are pending” and to make sure this doesn’t happen for the November election.
“Deleting drop box surveillance footage while there is a pending FOIA request for it is an assault on transparency,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley. “This breach of trust is exactly what reduces confidence in our elections. We will hold Detroit accountable, as this secrecy has no place in a fair and secure election — Michiganders deserve far better.”
In addition, the RNC also filed a lawsuit against the city in August, alleging that city officials didn’t hire enough Republican poll workers.
The city of Detroit issued the following response to the RNC’s latest lawsuit:
“Our own failure to respond to the FOIA in a timely manner gave the RNC the opportunity to file a frivolous lawsuit. The filing is designed to cause embarrassment and to undermine faith in our ability to run a problem free election. I guarantee you there was no nefarious activity at the locations where video tapes were requested. That said here is what I would say The City of Detroit receives almost 9,000 FOIA request each year. We work to comply with each request and in this case informed the requestor we would need more time. By the time we found the video it had been reused and the requested footage was not available. We work every day to improve our processes, and our goal remains to preserve all data according to the policy.”
What to Know About the University of Michigan’s D.E.I. Experiment: A Times investigation found that the school built one of the most ambitious diversity programs in the country — only to see increased discord and division on campus.
Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/16/magazine/university-of-michigan-dei.html
Archive: https://archive.ph/F7nzQ
What to Know About the University of Michigan’s D.E.I. Experiment
A Times investigation found that the school built one of the most ambitious diversity programs in the country — only to see increased discord and division on campus.
By Nicholas Confessore
October 16, 2024
A decade ago, the University of Michigan intentionally placed itself in the vanguard of a revolution then beginning to reshape American higher education. Around the country, college administrators were rapidly expanding D.E.I. programs. They believed that vigorous D.E.I. efforts would allow traditionally underrepresented students to thrive on campus — and improve learning for students from all backgrounds.
In recent years, as D.E.I. programs came under withering attack, Michigan has only doubled down on D.E.I., holding itself out as a model for other schools. By one estimate, the university has built the largest D.E.I. bureaucracy of any big public university.
But an examination by The Times found that Michigan’s expansive — and expensive — D.E.I. program has struggled to achieve its central goals even as it set off a cascade of unintended consequences.
Here are some key takeaways from the Magazine’s article on Michigan’s D.E.I. experiment.
Michigan has poured a staggering quarter of a billion dollars into D.E.I.
Striving to reach “every individual on campus,” Michigan has invested nearly 250 million dollars into D.E.I. since 2016, according to an internal presentation I obtained. Every university “unit” — from the medical school down to the archives — is required to have a D.E.I. plan.
The number of employees who work in D.E.I.-related offices or have “diversity,” “equity” or “inclusion” in their job titles reached 241 last year, according to an analysis by Mark J. Perry, an emeritus professor of finance at the university’s Flint campus.
Michigan has struggled to improve Black enrollment — and students overall feel less included, not more.
The percentage of Black students, currently around 5 percent, remained largely stagnant as Michigan’s overall enrollment rose — and in a state where 14 percent of residents are Black. In a survey released in late 2022, students and faculty members across the board reported a less positive campus climate than at the program’s start and less of a sense of belonging.
Students were less likely to interact with people of a different race or religion or with different politics — the exact kind of engagement D.E.I. programs, in theory, are meant to foster.
While its peers reconsider aspects of D.E.I., Michigan has doubled down.
This year, both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced they would no longer require job candidates to submit diversity statements, or explanations of the candidate’s commitment to D.E.I. Such “compelled statements,” M.I.T.’s president said, “impinge on freedom of expression.” But at Michigan, a faculty committee this summer privately recommended that the school continue using such statements,” which are currently required by most of Michigan’s colleges and schools.
D.E.I. at Michigan has helped fuel a culture of grievance.
Instead of improving students’ ability to engage with one another across their differences, Michigan’s D.E.I. expansion has coincided with an explosion in campus conflict over race and gender. Everyday campus complaints and academic disagreements are now cast as crises of inclusion and harm.
In 2015, the university office charged with enforcing federal civil rights mandates including Title IX received about 200 complaints of sex- or gender-based misconduct on Michigan’s campus. Last year, it surpassed 500. Complaints involving race, religion or national origin increased to almost 400 from a few dozen during roughly the same period.
After Oct. 7, Michigan’s D.E.I. bureaucracy was tested like never before — and failed.
At Michigan, as at other schools, campus protests exploded after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and Israel’s retaliation in Gaza. So did complaints of harassment or discrimination based on national origin or ancestry. This June, civil rights officials at the federal Department of Education found that Michigan had systematically mishandled such complaints over the 18-month period ending in February. Out of 67 complaints of harassment or discrimination based on national origin or ancestry that the officials reviewed — an overwhelming majority involving allegations of antisemitism, according to a tally I obtained — Michigan had investigated and made findings in just one.
Pastor arrested after commenting on Islam, saying sex is binary: ‘That he was arrested, held in police custody for 13 hours and had his property destroyed is appalling’
Pastor arrested after commenting on Islam, saying sex is binary
‘That he was arrested, held in police custody for 13 hours and had his property destroyed is appalling’
October 15, 2024
A Christian pastor was arrested after he made comments about Islam and the binary nature of sex while street preaching outside Bristol University.
In response to a question from a Muslim member of the public, Dia Moodley said he believed there were differences between the moral standards of the God of Islam and the Christian God.
During his preaching he also expressed the belief that God made humans male and female and that this truth should not be denied.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF UK), which is supporting Moodley, said he was arrested and detained for 13 hours by Avon and Somerset Police in March.
The organization said that Moodley was pushed off his short stepladder and had a sign snatched from his hands before being arrested by attending officers.
Four of his signs were handed to staff at Bristol University, who disposed of them under the instruction of the officers.
Reacting to the incident, Moodley said, “Two-tier policing is sadly not a fiction or some conspiracy theory, it’s a reality that Christians in the U.K. have been experiencing for years.
“It shouldn’t be for the state to decide which religions and ideologies must not be discussed or critiqued in the public street. The result is the normalization of a two-tier society where some beliefs and ideologies are valued and protected, while others are undermined and outlawed.
“The world is looking at the dismal state of free speech in the U.K. with shock. What happened to me reflects a wider trend of increasing state censorship in the U.K. and across the West.”
ADF UK is supporting Moodley in pursuing a complaint against Avon and Somerset Police. He has already received an apology for the disposal of his signs.
An officer wrote in an email to Moodley: “I’m sorry to advise that the signs were handed to … the UoB [University of Bristol] for them to dispose of. I cannot comment as to why this decision was made (as I was not present at the time), however I would like to apologiae on behalf of my colleagues. … Again, I am sincerely sorry that this action [sic].”
ADF UK described Avon and Somerset Police’s actions as surprising, noting that they had previously settled with Moodley after admitting that restrictions preventing him from “passing comments on any other religion” besides Christianity were “disproportionate.”
Barrister and legal counsel for ADF UK, Jeremiah Igunnubole, said, “We are glad Avon and Somerset Police dropped their investigation into Pastor Dia.
“But the fact that he was arrested, held in police custody for 13 hours, and had his property destroyed with the encouragement of Avon and Somerset police is objectively appalling. Nobody should be subject to discriminatory treatment for peacefully and lawfully sharing their core beliefs.
“In this case, Pastor Dia was himself a victim of crime, including assault, aggressive harassment and criminal damage and yet, perversely, he was the one treated as a criminal for peacefully exercising his fundamental rights.
“Everyone must be treated equally under the law. Freedom of speech cannot be the preserve of those expressing socially progressive ideals. In a democratic society, everyone must have the right to peacefully express their core beliefs, even when those beliefs are considered controversial or criticize other religions and belief systems.”
“Queers for Palestine” is a scam! They’re afraid to hold a parade in Gaza or the West Bank.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
October 16, 2024
In order to prove that “Queers for Palestine” is a scam, some clever people from an organization called “The New Tolerance Campaign” offered them one million dollars to hold a parade in Gaza or the West Bank.
That offer was made a month ago, but I can’t find any evidence that the offer was ever accepted.
Therefore, “Queers for Palestine” is a scam.
People are making up excuses for Pittsburgh teenagers who commit crime.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
October 16, 2024
People are making up excuses for Pittsburgh teenagers who commit crime.
Here are two examples:
“More activities for them, instead of coming downtown wreaking havoc,” said Payne.
“There’s nowhere near as much things for these kids to do recreationally. If they turn one of these into a YMCA center or something down here for the kids, I guarantee you there’d be more for them to do,” said Banks.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/11-investigates-exclusive-teens-causing-211541770.html
These excuses are ridiculous. Most teenagers somehow manage to avoid committing crime because their parents raised them properly. The idea that teenagers commit crimes because there aren’t enough government-run babysitting services is ridiculous. These are not toddlers. They are teenagers. They shouldn’t need babysitters. When I was teenager, I was a babysitter – I did not need a babysitter.
The article goes on to say that these same teenage criminals have been committing crimes for months, but they’ve never had to face any consequences. By not punishing these teenage serial criminals, the government is sending the message that their criminal behavior is acceptable and that it will be tolerated. This is the exact opposite of the message that they should be sending.
Time and time and time again, “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and other similar words are being used as excuses to dumb down educational standards. Here are 24 examples.
By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)
October 15, 2024
Time and time and time again, “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and other similar words are being used as excuses to dumb down educational standards.
Here are 24 examples:
1) The New York Times wrote, “The Board of Regents on Monday eliminated a requirement that aspiring teachers in New York State pass a literacy test to become certified after the test proved controversial because black and Hispanic candidates passed it at significantly lower rates than white candidates.”
Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/nyregion/ny-regents-teacher-exams-alst.html?_r=0
Archive: https://archive.ph/GzyQM
2) The New York Times wrote, “A 2009 Princeton study showed Asian-Americans had to score 140 points higher on their SATs than whites, 270 points higher than Hispanics and 450 points higher than blacks to have the same chance of admission to leading universities.”
Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/opinion/white-students-unfair-advantage-in-admissions.html
Archive: https://archive.ph/MEDXn
3) Patrick Henry High School, San Diego’s largest high school, cited “equity” as its reason for removing some of its classes in advanced English, advanced history, and advanced biology.
4) The Vancouver School Board cited “equity and inclusion” for why it got rid of its honors courses in math and science at its high schools.
Archive: https://archive.ph/MBOEo
5) In the name of equity, California will discourage students who are gifted at math
Original: https://reason.com/2021/05/04/california-math-framework-woke-equity-calculus/
Archive: https://archive.ph/N4CQC
6) PBS Boston affiliate WGBH: “Boston public schools suspends test for advanced learning classes; concerns about program’s racial inequities linger”
7) Lowell High in San Francisco, one of the country’s best public high schools, replaced its merit based admissions with a lottery based admissions, because the school had too many Asians.
Original: https://abc7news.com/sfusd-board-of-education-meeting-school-lowell-high-sf/10325219/
Archive: https://archive.ph/iGzom
8) Expecting math students to get the right answer is now considered to be a form of “white supremacy.” See page 6 at this link:
Original: https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf
9) The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City canceled its honor society because whites and Asians were earning better grades than blacks and Latinos.
Archive: https://archive.ph/WNwvW
10) New Jersey stopped requiring new teachers to be proficient in reading, writing, and math, because the requirement was considered to be an “unnecessary barrier.”
Archive: https://archive.ph/vh6io
11) Washington Post: “Maryland school district worker fired after correcting student’s spelling in a tweet”
12) Oregon again says students don’t need to prove mastery of reading, writing or math to graduate, citing harm to students of color
Archive: https://archive.ph/mV38Y
13) In Mississauga, Ontario, a public high school library removed every book that had been published in 2008 or earlier, under the justification of “inclusivity,” “anti-racism,” “equity,” and “diversity”
Original: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332
Archive: https://archive.ph/ktv2R
14) The public schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts stopped offering advanced math classes to students in grades 6, 7, and 8, because students of some races had been doing better than students of other races.
15) Met applicants ‘functionally illiterate in English accepted in bid to improve diversity’
Archive: https://archive.ph/t3Pia
16) New York Times: “At N.Y.U., Students Were Failing Organic Chemistry. Who Was to Blame? Maitland Jones Jr., a respected professor, defended his standards. But students started a petition, and the university dismissed him.”
Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/us/nyu-organic-chemistry-petition.html
Archive: https://archive.ph/iDG0t
17) New York Times: “Texas Wesleyan Cancels Play After Students Say Use of Slur Is Harmful. The play’s author, who is Black, said he crafted its language to be historically accurate in representing civil rights struggles. But the theater program at the university heeded the call of students.”
Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/us/texas-wesleyan-play-racism.html
Archive: https://archive.ph/uIz1L
18) University bans sonnets as ‘products of white western culture’
Original: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/14/university-bans-sonnets-products-white-western-culture/
Archive: https://archive.ph/RrXCi
19) The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center temporarily placed Professor Julie Overbaugh, an award winning HIV researcher, on administrative leave, after the school found out that she had once dressed up as Michael Jackson for Halloween.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Overbaugh
Archive: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julie_Overbaugh&oldid=1234427714
20) Canadian court declares math test for new teachers ‘unconstitutional’ because of racial disparities in passage rates
Original:
Archive:
21) The English Touring Opera fired 14 of its musicians because they were white.
Archive: https://archive.ph/Rl9Ub
22) Sunrise Park Middle School in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, cited “equitable grading” as the reason why “students no longer will be given an F grade – no matter how bad they did on an assignment or test or if it was turned in late or not at all.”
Archive: https://archive.ph/JkGij
23) The UCLA Anderson School of Management placed lecturer Gordon Klein on involuntary administrative leave because he refused to dumb down his curriculum for black students after the murder of George Floyd.
Archive: https://archive.ph/XCdng
24) Washington Post: “Students hated ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Their teachers tried to dump it. Four progressive teachers in Washington’s Mukilteo School District wanted to protect students from a book they saw as outdated and harmful.”
Archive: https://archive.ph/H6Z6A
Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog 