IN BALTIMORE IT'S NOW OK TO POSSESS ILLEGAL DRUGS, TO BE A STREET WALKER PICKING UP JOHNS, AND TO PEE IN PUBLIC

Baltimore will no longer prosecute for drug possession, prostitution, or other low-level crimes after pandemic experiment 'success'

 

By Kelsey Vlamis

 

Insider

March 27, 2021

 

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Friday the city would no longer prosecute low-level, non-violent offenses after a year-long experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mosby stopped prosecuting such crimes a year ago as part of the Covid Criminal Justice policies effort to prevent virus transmission in jails and prisons, a move that was adopted by prosecutors in other cities as well.

A year on, the policies have been a "success," according to a joint statement from the state's attorney, mayor, and community partners.

"The policies enacted over the past year have resulted in a decrease in arrests, no adverse impact on the crime rate, and address the systemic inequity of mass incarceration," the statement said.

As a result, the policies will be adopted permanently.

"Today, America's war on drug users is over in the city of Baltimore. We leave behind the era of tough-on-crime prosecution and zero-tolerance policing and no longer default to the status quo to criminalize mostly people of color for addiction," Mosby said. "We will develop sustainable solutions and allow our public health partners to do their part to address mental health and substance use disorder."

Offenses that will no longer be prosecuted include drug possession, prostitution, public urination, and open container laws, among others.

Baltimore's incarceration rate is down 18% over the last year, and the number of people entering the criminal justice system has decreased 39% compared to one year ago, according to data from the state's Public Safety and Correctional Services Department.

Crime is also down in Baltimore, which has a notoriously high violent crime rate, despite some other US cities experiencing a sharp spike in crimes in 2020.

In Baltimore, violent crime is down 20% over the year, while property crime is down 36%.

Based on the data, the state's attorney concluded prosecuting the low-level crimes mentioned had "no public safety value."

"Clearly prosecuting low-level offenses with no public safety value is counterproductive to the limited law enforcement resources we have," Mosby said.

A SLIGHT RUCKUS AT THE COUNTY JAIL IN OKLAHOMA CITY

Oklahoma City police fatally shoot inmate after officer taken hostage

 

By Dale Denwalt

 

Oklahoman 

March 28, 2021

 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City police shot and killed an inmate at the Oklahoma County jail after a hostage situation Saturday night involving a guard.

The jail was on lockdown Saturday night with extra staff inside, while outside, a small group of protesters chanted and pounded on the jail’s parking lot gate.

The man who was killed was not immediately identified by officials, pending family notification. Officials said he was the suspected hostage taker.

The jail employee was rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment. Jail Administrator Greg Williams said that the guard left the jail on his own, but did not provide details of his injuries.

The incident happened on the jail's 10th floor, where the inmates that are the hardest to manage are housed, Williams said.

The guard was taken hostage during medicine distribution, Williams said at a news conference Saturday night. It’s likely that the detention officer would have been accompanied by a medical professional, but he said no one else was injured.

Video that appeared to be from inside the jail was shared online, showing an inmate speaking and standing next to another person who appeared to be restrained. In the video, the inmate complains about jail conditions, saying, "We can't take showers."

The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office responded just before 4:30 p.m. local time after the detention officer was taken hostage. The inmate took his radio and keys, and freed other inmates from nearby cells.

Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department officials asked for help from the Oklahoma City Police Department because the sheriff's office didn't have enough staff to enter the jail.

When police and sheriff’s deputies arrived, Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said they tried to de-escalate the situation. However, he said the inmate had the officer in a “hostage position” with something held against the officer’s neck. That’s when police shot and killed the inmate.

 

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley said his department would be overseeing the investigation into the shooting.

The Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, leader of Black Lives Matter-Oklahoma City, said inmates have repeatedly complained about moldy food, lack of water and access to basic sanitation, including showers.

“This is nothing new,” Dickerson said. “The inhumane conditions of the Oklahoma County jail are horrendous.”

Dickerson joined others standing outside the jail earlier in the day, waiting for word of what happened.

Tears came to her eyes when a reporter said police had shot and killed one person.

“They don’t respect the simple dignity of human beings when they stand up and say, ‘I am a person. I don’t deserve to be treated like this,’” Dickerson said.

The situation must change, she said, to protect both inmates and the Oklahomans working inside the jail.

When asked about conditions at the jail, Williams said that the jail addresses problems as they arise. He did not address any specific complaints.

This is the latest incident at a jail beleaguered by problems since its construction. Five inmates have now died at the jail this year, and two others escaped. The control of the jail shifted to the Oklahoma County Jail Trust in July from the sheriff's department.

In February, two Oklahoma County detention officers were arrested and fired after an investigation into the smuggling of drugs, cellphones and other contraband to jail inmates.

Seven jail inmates died in 2018 and six deaths were reported in 2019. Last year six died, including four after jail operations became the responsibility of the jail trust

CHINESE ARTIST MOCKS CHAEGES THAT CHINA ABUSES HUMAN RIGHTS

Chinese propaganda artist mocks Western criticism of human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims with illustration of 'BBC News journalist' in white hood, cotton-picking slaves and kneeling police officer

 

Daily Mail

March 28, 2021

 

The picture seems to show a journalist and cameraman with white pointed Ku Klux Klan-style hoods, interviewing a scarecrow in a field of cotton and black slaves. Steadying a cross on which a scarecrow is held is a hooded figure wearing a Minneapolis police uniform, an apparent reference to the police officer who pressed his knee on the neck of a dying George Floyd last year. One of the journalists holds up a microphone with a logo that looks similar to 'BBC News'. At the bottom of the illustration reads: 'Can you tell us what unfair treatment you have suffered, Miss Scarecrow?' A placard next to the scarecrow says: 'I've been sexually assaulted and abused.'

PLAGUE REPORT UPDATE FROM STOCKTON, CA

by Bob Walsh

I got my second Covid shot today, the Moderna.  Procedure went smooth.  I had mild discomfort at the injection site from the first shot, beginning in about one day and lasting about three days.  I suspect I will have the same from this shot.

The county is STILL buggering up vaccine distribution, as is the state.  Blue Cross is (allegedly) still messing up the stats concerning the distribution.

I got my shots thru Rite Aid pharmacies and they got it right.  I am suitably impressed.

The God-Emperor Gavin Newsom is working like crazy to make it look like he is personally responsible for the wonderful distribution of the vaccine, which he isn't and it's buggered up anyway.  He is DESPERATE to hang onto his job and is essentially accusing Donald Trump of conspiring with anti-vaxxers to have him recalled.  What a complete dick.  In reality he does have probably a 50 / 50 chance of beating the election. especially if the state can pull out once the vaccination rate climbs to an acceptable level.  People have short memories and only the hard-core Newsom haters will remember his overwhelming arrogance once their "free' money starts coming in.  It is hard to run against Santa Claus, and thus far no first or second rank Democrat has announced they are throwing their hat in the ring to evict his ass.

Life is hard, and sometimes unfair. 

'DEMOCRATS ARE PLOTTING TO CRIMINALIZE CHRISTIANITY'

Who is Rick Joyner? Pastor who called Biden a 'Marxist' denounced by 5 children: 'His followers could pick up guns'

 

By Saumya Dixit

MEAWW

March 27, 2021

 

                                       Rev. Rick Joyner and his five children

 

Famous evangelical leader, Rev Rick Joyner, has called on Christians to arm themselves for an inevitable civil war against the left-wing, whom he addresses as the allies of the devil. The latest report suggests that all his five children are liberals.

Joyner, 71,  who established MorningStar Ministries and has written a series of bestselling books, believes that "liberals are in league with Satan and Democrats are plotting to criminalize Christianity". But the staunch conservative's five children identify themselves as left-wing and have pursued careers as artists and activists. 

His children Anna Jane, Aaryn, Amber Grace, Ben, and Sam spoke with The New York Times on Saturday, March 27, slamming their father's fundamentalism while simultaneously describing the relationship with their dad as "complicated".

“He talks about Democrats being evil, forgetting that all five of his kids vote Democratic,” said his eldest, Anna Jane Joyner, 36, a climate change activist and podcast host (her father has suggested that climate change is a Communist conspiracy). “Who is he asking his followers to take up arms against? Liberal activists? That’s me.”

She said, “I think it’s completely possible that some of my dad’s followers could pick up guns and cause violence because they think they’re defending the country.” She adds that she is particularly perturbed by her father's recent assertion that Joe Biden is a "Marxist who stole the election".

Sam Joyner, 26, a ceramic artist and the youngest of the siblings, was also opened up about their father: “He’s causing harm in my view, and he’s being incredibly irresponsible.”

“I think what he does is morally wrong, but I love him,” added Ben Joyner, 28, a filmmaker. “I don’t want to hurt him, but when he’s spreading dangerous ideas, it gets complicated.”

Joyner said that in the civil war which he expects to break out soon, “we would be on opposite sides.” But he hastened to add that he doesn’t plan on exchanging rifle shots with his children. “I hope my kids don’t get involved in the violence, but it’s coming,” he said.

Who is Rick Joyner?

Joyner was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1949 and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He served in the Navy until 1970 and then moved back to Raleigh. He is reported to have worked part-time in a Raleigh jazz club after leaving the Navy, quitting when, as he put it, he "found out there is a God".

He subsequently moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and founded a charter air company. Rick Joyner along with his wife, Julie, founded MorningStar Ministries in Jackson in 1983. In 2004 he purchased part of the Heritage USA complex (originally established by Bakker and PTL in Fort Mill, South Carolina) for $1.6 million. The complex has been renamed Heritage International Ministries Conference Center.

He has been a part of the Apostolic-Prophetic Movement and an advocate for the Fivefold ministry and has been recognized as a leader in this movement after he published 'The Harvest' in 1989, in the book he predicted that there would soon be a Prophetic Movement and a separate Apostolic Movement. Joyner is also the founder and president of the Oak Initiative. This NGO is specifically for the Christians who desire "to Unite, Mobilize, Equip, and Activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview". 

MAYBE WE NEED MORE NEANDERTHAL THINKING

Texas' COVID numbers fall for the 17th consecutive day following Gov. Abbott's 100% reopening of the state and lifting of the mask mandate - a move that Biden infamously called 'Neanderthal thinking'

 

Daily Mail

March 28, 2021

 

  T

Texas COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to see a downward trend more than two weeks after the state scrapped its mask mandate and allowed businesses to reopen at full capacity.  

On Saturday, Texas' seven-day COVID positivity rate reached an all-time low of 5.27 per cent, while hospitalizations dipped to their lowest level since October, according to the latest state data. 

There were 2,292 new cases reported across the state, about 500 fewer on average from last week, and 107 new deaths.  Hospitalizations, meanwhile, dipped to 3,308, a significant decline after soaring past 14,000 for a couple of days in January. 

NY BAIL REFORM NOT DTERRED BY SERIAL GUN TOTER

NYC teen faces prison after remaining free on 5 open gun possession cases

 

By Georgett Roberts, Larry Celona and Laura Italiano

 

New York Post

March 27, 2021

 

 

                          Cripps gang member Raquan Wilson

 

A teenager who keeps getting sprung by judges despite five open weapons-possession cases may finally see the inside of a state prison — he’s facing two years for felony gun possession at a sentencing scheduled for Monday in Brooklyn.

The Post highlighted the “revolver door” of justice enjoyed by Raquan Wilson in an exclusive story Friday.

A reputed member of the Cripps’ “Folk Nation” gang, Wilson, 19, had four open gun cases in Queens and Brooklyn when he was busted on his fifth gun possession case Sunday — and quickly sprung by a Brooklyn judge thanks to last year’s bail reform rules.

Out on a total $26,500 bail, Wilson — who has a perfect court attendance record despite his busy docket — must turn himself in Monday.

He wouldn’t speak to a Post reporter at his Jamaica, Queens home Saturday, but his mother, Stephanie, insisted he is a good kid and no gang member.

“Somebody is just dirtying him up,” she claimed.

“This is the first time I’m hearing about this gang, and that is crazy,” the mother of eight said of reading The Post’s story on her son.

“I’m not a mom that has a child as a wild animal, to do all kind of crazy stuff,” she said.

“I raised my children to take responsibility,” she insisted.

“I’m one of those moms who, if my children are going to do wrong, they are going to be accountable for what they do,” she added.

“They know there are consequences if they do something wrong.”

Wilson’s long stretch of freedom outraged the cops who worked so hard to keep arresting Wilson, law enforcement sources said.

“It is unbelievable that he could just walk out after his latest arrest,” said one source.

“He has pled guilty to possessing a gun, and was charged with two other gun arrests. These are serious crimes and someone should have used common sense and remanded him.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: A couple of points.

This destined-to-become-a-murderer had no trouble getting guns.

A mother of eight? How many different fathers? Does she even know who the fathers are?

DEFENDING PIERS MORGAN'S ARTICLE ON MEGHAN MARKLE'S INTERVIEW WITH OPRAH GETS SHARRON OSBOURNE CANCELLED

CBS fires Sharon Osbourne from 'The Talk' because she dared to defend Piers Morgan who her co-hosts considered a racist

By Howie Katz

 

             Sharon Osbourne with her longtime friend Piers Morgan

 

Sharon Osbourne has been a co-host on "The Talk" for more than 10 years.  But on Friday CBS released a statement that they had fired her.

Sharon's crime

Sharon defended her longtime friend Piers Morgan who was castigated as a racist by black co-host Sheryl Underwood because of his Daily Mail column about Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah.  Morgan blasted Meghan, saying he did not believe a word she said, including that she was a victim of racism by the Royal Family. 

 

Sheryl Underwood takes offense to Sharon Osboune's defense of Piers Morgan

 

That's all it took for Underwood to get her dander up.  She and Sharon got into a heated exchange, the likes of which had never occurred on the show before.

CBS was so upset that on March 12 it put tye show on hiatus, announcing that it will not return until April 12.

CBS did not take kindly to Osbourne's defense of Piers Morgan against claims of racism.  The network declared that "As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon's behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace."

Former co-hosts also came forward to accuse Osbourne of having made racist remarks, something she vehemently denied.  

Since CBS fired Osbourne, they should have fired Underwood as well, bu then she is black and was aggrieved by Sharon's defense of Morgan.

ALERT GROCERY STORE WORKER MOST LIKELY PREVENTED A BLOODBATH

Fast-acting worker thwarts man with six guns in Atlanta grocery store

 

By Gabrielle Fonrouge

 

New York Post

March 26, 2021

 

Rico Marley is charged with five counts of criminal attempt to commit a felony and six counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony

 

The man who walked into an Atlanta grocery store armed with six guns and body armor was thwarted by a fast-acting Instacart shopper who overheard “clicking sounds” in the restroom, authorities said — as they released a chilling photo showing the arsenal of loaded weapons.

The worker, Charles Russell, is getting credit for stopping Rico Marley, 22, from walking through the Publix grocery store with pistols, a fully loaded revolver, an AR-15 style rifle and a shotgun, according to police reports released Thursday by Atlanta police.

 

                                           Rico Marley's arsenal

Russell was in the bathroom Wednesday when he heard the “clicking sounds,” which sounded like someone was loading weapons, and then saw an “AR-15 style rifle” leaning against the wall, the worker told police.

Russell told a manager what he heard and urged him to call 911, the police report states.

When an officer arrived at the grocery store, he apparently surprised Marley right after he came out of the restroom, the records show.

“I immediately ordered the accused to put his hands up and don’t move to which he complied,” the officer, armed with a ballistic helmet and a rifle, wrote in the report.

“The accused appeared to be surprised when he saw us that close to him.”

Marley, who was wearing body armor, was arrested without incident, police said.

While Marley’s intentions remain unclear, the incident poses frightening questions of what could’ve happened had he not been stopped.

It came just days after back-to-back mass shootings in Atlanta and Colorado — the latter taking place in a Boulder grocery store, leaving 10 people dead.

“It possibly could have stopped something,” Russell told WSB-TV, adding that when he saw Marley in the bathroom, he instantly thought of the Boulder King Soopers shooting.

Marley is charged with five counts of criminal attempt to commit a felony and six counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

He waived his initial court hearing Thursday and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

NINTH CIRCUS RULES AGAINST SECOND AMENDMENT

by Bob Walsh

A seven member majority of an 11 judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled a previous ruling by a 3 judge panel of the same court and asserted that the Second Amendment does NOT give anyone a constitutional right to carry a firearm in public.

The dissenters pointed out that this decision totally ignored the 2008 Heller decision by SCOTUS.  

The D.C. Circuit and the Seventh Circuit still have rulings in place that have struck down laws that highly restrict or totally prohibit carrying weapons in public.

Pretty much everybody acknowledges that this matter will be referred to SCOTUS.

CAN'T MAKE BAIL ..... DON'T SWEAT IT

by Bob Walsh

The Supreme Court of the formerly great state of California has ruled that the ability of a criminal suspect to make bail MUST BE one of the considerations as to what level of bail (if any) is to be imposed.  

Does that mean that a rich felony DUI suspect can be hit with a $100,000 bail but a double-murder suspect gets to walk ROR?  It isn't really clear yet.  I have no doubt it will work itself out in the wash, hopefully with not too many dead witnesses left in the background clutter.

LARRY MCMURTRY

 

By Trey Rusk

 

I read today that noted Texas Author Larry McMurtry died. I like to read and Mr. McMurtry’s novel Lonesome Dove was one of my favorites. I can describe it as a story of duty, happiness, sorrow, success, regret, character and love. Yes, McMurtry even wove a love story into the chapters of Lonesome Dove. 

 

My take away from this book and movie was loyalty. I served with many partners during my career. At my retirement and still today I can count on one hand the persons that I would stand by and call loyal friends. A true friend is someone you keep a promise to even after they are dead. People who know what true friendship is are hard to come by. As the years go by the fewer the number becomes. That is life and death. 

 

Lonesome Dove tells this story well. 

 

So long, Larry McMurtry. Happy Trails.

WILD NIGHT IN VIRGINIA

2 dead, at least 8 injured in Virginia Beach oceanfront shootings

 

Associated Press

March 27, 2021

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Two people are dead and eight people were wounded in shootings along Virginia Beach's oceanfront, police said Saturday.

Eight people were shot just after 11 p.m. Friday, Virginia Beach police said in a news release. All eight were taken to local hospitals, with some of their conditions ranging from serious to life-threatening.

One woman died of a gunshot wound on the scene, the release said. At an earlier news conference, police Chief Paul Neudigate said the death possibly stemmed from an unrelated shooting.

The release also said one officer suffered minor injuries. Neudigate had said the officer was struck by a vehicle during the investigation.

A different officer fatally shot a man at the shooting scene. While officers were investigating the original shooting, shots were fired nearby, Neudigate said. The officer confronted the man, leading to the deadly gunfire.

The officer has been placed on administrative leave. He has been with the department for five years and is assigned to its special operations division.

The original shooting and the officer shooting were being investigated concurrently, the release said.

"We have a very chaotic incident, a very chaotic night," Neudigate said during the news conference.

No suspect information was immediately available. Neudigate said several people were in police custody but their possible involvement in the shooting was still under investigation.

Multiple roads were blocked off throughout the night while police worked in the area.

NYC COUNCIL'S WAR ON ITS COPS

Four police reform bills get NYC Council approval

 

By Robert Pozarycki

 

amNY

March 25, 2021

 

The City Council approved Thursday a number of long-sought police reforms in New York City, along with several resolutions seeking further changes from Albany.

Included among the approved bills was the prohibition of qualified immunity for police officers in New York City — the first American city to do so, according to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

The legislators were also expected to back a resolution supporting an amended version of a police reform plan that the de Blasio Administration submitted earlier this month. Johnson acknowledged that the plan wasn’t everything some lawmakers wanted, but that the legislature was up against the clock — as an April 1 mandate from Governor Andrew Cuomo loomed.

Last summer, Cuomo issued an executive order requiring all localities in the Empire State to pass a police reform plan by April 1 of this year — lest they risk losing state funding in the new budget.

“This plan is far from perfect, but I think we as a Council did the best we could under an extraordinarily difficult timeline,” Johnson said during his remarks at the March 25 stated meeting. It’s expected to pass later Thursday, although some members bristled that the de Blasio plan did not go far enough to reform the NYPD.

Among the police reform bills the City Council approved included Intro. 2212-A, sponsored by Bronx Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, which clarifies the authority of the Civilian Complaint Review Board to investigate complaints of racial profiling and bias-based policing, as submitted by members of the public. The legislation also empowers the CCRB to investigate the past professional conduct of any NYPD member found to have engaged in bias.

Thirty-six of the 49 City Council members who voted in Thursday’s session approved the bill, with 12 opposed to it and one voting to abstain.

Another bill — Intro. 2220-A, sponsored by Brooklyn Councilman Stephen Levin — ends qualified immunity for police officers, which Johnson said has been “rooted in our nation’s systemic racism.”

Qualified immunity gives police officers exemptions from civil lawsuits even if they have violated a plaintiff’s constitutional rights. If police are able to show that there is no past case dealing with the specific misconduct at issue, then they will generally be entitled to qualified immunity. The legislation passed in the City Council effectively ends this for cases involving unreasonable searches and seizures and cases involving excessive force (whether it involved a search or seizure or otherwise).

The legislation passed with the support of 37 City Council members against 11 who opposed it and one who abstained.

A third bill — Intro. 2224-A, sponsored by Queens Councilman Adrienne Adams — mandates that the NYPD issue a quarterly report on all vehicle stops that officers make. The department would also need to provide data on the number of summonses issued, arrests made and vehicles seized, and document incidents involving search or use of force. They must also break the data down by various demographics, including race, age and ethnicity of drivers stopped.

The City Council also approved two resolutions calling on the state legislature to approve legislation giving the CCRB final authority in discipline cases involving NYPD officers, and for requiring newly-hired NYPD officers to live within the five boroughs.

Finally, the Council also approved legislation supported by Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (Intro. 2224-A) establishing a crash investigation and analysis unit with the Department of Transportation. This will shift the liability for serious crash investigations away from the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad, though police will continue to conduct criminal investigations. 

The police reform plan that de Blasio presented and the City Council voted to support, however, did not meet the muster of the Legal Aid Society.

“Mayor de Blasio had a genuine opportunity to implement urgently needed policing reforms. He failed to do that and instead produced a plan that at best glosses over the deeply rooted systemic problems within the NYPD that plague the New Yorkers we serve,” said Tina Luongo, attorney-in-charge of the criminal defense practice at the Legal Aid Society. “We need to move beyond this failed process, listen to the demands of impacted communities for investment in non-police resources for improving public safety, and acknowledge that true change cannot be built on ‘reforms’ that entirely fail to address the underlying and long-standing problems. 

84-YEAR OLD ASIAN MAN IS VICTIM OF A HATE CRIME

Rong Xin Liao, 84, was seated in his walker waiting for a bus when he was kicked to the pavement 

 

By Howie Katz

On February 20 last year in San Francisco, 84-year-old Rong Xin Lia was sitting in his walker waiting for a bus when suddenly 23-year-old Eric Ramos-Hernandez took a flying leap at the old man, kicking him in the head and knocking him to the pavement.

 

 

Mr. Liao lost consciousness, sustained a head injury that required six stitches and spent four nights in the hospital.  He is now afraid to go outdoors.

There have been an alarming number of unprovoked attacks against Asians because ignoramuses think they are responsible for the COVID pandemic.  Many blame President Trump for calling it the "Chinese virus."

Most of the attacks are against elderly Asians who cannot defend themselves.  Usually the attacks have been sucker punches from behind.  

But earlier this month also in San Francisco, 75-year old Xiao Zhen Xie turned the tables on her 39-year-old assailant after he sucker punched the little old lady in her left eye.  She picked up a stick and beat the living shit out of the slimeball, sending him to the hospital.

Xiao Zhen Xie had to be restrained from inflicting more injuries on her assailant

 

Unfortunately, as in the case of Rong Xian Lia, the assailant is not injured.

Ramos Hernandez was arrested but I cannot find what he is charged with.  His next court appearance is scheduled for April 14.

No punishment would be too severe for Ramos-Hernandez because the old man could just as easily have been killed. 

There is something terribly wrong in this country nowadays what with so many hate crimes being committed.

COURT SETS BAIL REFORM FOR CALIFORNIA

California’s Top Court Ends Cash Bail For Some Defendants Who Can’t Afford It

 

LAPPL News Watch

March 26, 2021

For years, California legislators and judges have tried to reform the state’s money bail system to reduce discrimination against the poor. On Thursday, four months after voters rejected such a reform, the California Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to require defendants to remain behind bars simply because they cannot afford bail. 

 

In a unanimous decision, the state’s top court told judges to favor pretrial release and consider a person’s ability to pay before setting bail. Thursday’s ruling is likely to lead to many more people being released without bail before they go to trial. 

 

Judges may keep criminal defendants locked up only when “clear and convincing” evidence shows there is no other way to protect the public and ensure the defendants’ return for court appearances. 

 

“The common practice of conditioning freedom solely on whether an arrestee can afford bail is unconstitutional,” Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar wrote for the court, ruling that it violated both state and federal protections. “Other conditions of release — such as electronic monitoring, regular check-ins with a pretrial case manager, community housing or shelter, and drug and alcohol treatment — can in many cases protect public and victim safety as well as assure the arrestee’s appearance at trial.”

SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE TRAFFC JAM CAUSED BY THE GROUNDED MEGA-SHIP

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CUE CARDS? ..... BIDEN SKEWS THE FACTS

Biden made false claims about the border, wrongly said he's sending back the 'majority' of migrants, and exaggerated that Trump's tax cuts mainly benefitted the 'top 1%' at his first press conference - even though he had cheat sheets

 

By Emily Goodin, Karen Ruiz and Associated Press

 

Daily Mail

March 25, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

President Joe Biden misstated the reality at the U.S.-Mexico border and offered a misleading account of who's getting the most benefits from the Donald Trump tax cuts in his first presidential press conference. 

Biden took questions for nearly an hour Thursday, answering multiple queries from the Associated Press, PBS, The Washington Post, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Bloomberg, Univision. 

He was grilled on a number of topics, including the situation at the border, the Senate filibuster, working with Republicans, his 2024 re-election plans and Afghanistan - but received no questions on the coronavirus pandemic or on relations with Russia amid rising tensions with the Kremlin.

 

But some of Biden's claims weren't entirely true.

ON MIGRANTS AT THE BORDER 

BIDEN'S CLAIM: 'Nothing has changed' in the numbers of children coming to the United States since his predecessor, Donald Trump, was in office. 

'As many people came - 28 per cent increase in children to the border in my administration; 31 per cent in the last year in 2019, before the pandemic - in the Trump administration,' Biden told reporters Thursday.  

'It happens every single solitary year. There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March. It happens every year.'

THE FACTS: The president erred. Unaccompanied immigrant children have come to the border at a higher percentage than what he said.

According to statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, authorities encountered 9,457 children without a parent in February, a 61 per cent increase from January, not 28 per cent. The numbers of unaccompanied children did rise 31 per cent between January 2019 and February 2019. 

In response, the Homeland Security Department pointed to figures for all border crossings, including adults and families traveling together. There was a 28 per cent rise in all encounters with migrants between January and last month, compared with 31 per cent between the same months in 2019. But Biden specifically noted a rise 'in children.'

Biden correctly noted seasonal trends in migration and a tendency in many years for more border crossings before hot summer months. But while he tried to play down his inauguration as a reason many children and teenagers have decided to migrate to the U.S., people interviewed by The AP have expressed hope that the country would be more permissive to migrants under Biden than under Trump.  

BIDEN'S CLAIM: His administration has been sending back the 'majority' of migrant families trying to cross into the US.   

'We're sending back the vast majority of families that are coming. We're trying to work out now with Mexico their willingness to take those families back. That's what's happening. They're not getting across the border,' he said. 

THE FACTS: Not true, at least not according to last month's figures, CNN reported.

The data shows only 41 per cent of immigrant families were turned away under Title 42, which allows the US Border Patrol to immediately expel any migrant to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in February. 

It is true, however, that the majority of single adults, or 79 per cent, were sent back last month.

 

BIDEN'S CLAIM: That Donald Trump cut a $700 million bipartisan plan to address the root causes of why people are leaving their home countries. Biden said: 'What did Trump do? He eliminated that funding. He didn't use it. He didn't do it.'

THE FACTS:  This is partially true, NBC News found. Trump did announce $700 million in aid cuts to Central American countries in 2019, but the State Department later restored the majority of that funding.

ON TRUMP'S TAX CUTS BENEFITS

BIDEN'S CLAIM: Republicans who contend his pandemic relief package is too expensive passed a tax cut favoring the top 1 per cent. 

'Do you hear them complain when they passed (a) close to $2trillion Trump tax cut, with 83 per cent going to the top 1 per cent? Do you hear them talk about that at all?' Biden said.  

THE FACTS: Biden's comments are misleading. The tax cuts disproportionately favor the top 1 per cent, but not nearly as much as Biden and many Democrats claim. 

Biden can cite his figure because many of the Trump tax cuts for families and individuals will expire, unless Congress extends them. If they expire as scheduled, 83 per cent of the tax cuts that remain in place will go to the top 1 per cent of earners in 2027, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

But's it's not the case that the highest 1 per cent of income earners are getting 83 per cent of the benefits now or over the next several years. Biden is expected to propose a corporate tax increase that would undo a lot of what Trump achieved in his 2017 overhaul.

ON THE FILIBUSTER STATISTICS 

BIDEN'S CLAIM: There were five times as many motions to break the filibuster in 2020 than there were between 1917 and 1971.

'Between 1917 and 1971, the filibuster existed, there were a total of 58 motions to break a filibuster. That whole time. Last year alone there were five times that many,' the president said.

THE FACTS: Biden's figures are misleading. In 2020, the number of motions filed to end a Senate debate - a proxy measure for the use of the filibuster - was about double, not five times, the number from 1917 to 1971, CNN found. 

According to official Senate data, there were 58 cloture motions filed from 1917 through 1970 and 13 filed in 1971. If Biden was referring to the number of cloture motions filed from 1917 through 1970, he'd be right when he said there were a total of 58 but if the 1971 figures are added in the total number of cloture motions would be 71.

While Biden exaggerated the number of cloture motions filed in the past year, he was accurate on his general point that the number of filibusters has increased. There were 118 cloture motions filed in 2020 alone, closer to double the amount filed between 1917 and 1971.

VACCINATION RATE IN THE US VERSUS THE REST OF THE WORLD 

BIDEN'S CLAIM: He said that 'no other country in the world has even come close, not even close to what we are doing' on getting COVID vaccines into people's arms.

THE FACTS: The United States has vaccinated more total people than any other country in the world there are smaller nations that have vaccinated a larger proportion of their total population.

The US has administered vaccines to more than 130 million people but 16 countries - including Chile, Israel and the United Kingdom - have administered vaccines to more people per capita.

THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

BIDEN'S CLAIM: That since his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was signed passed a 'majority of forecasters have significantly increased their projections. Now projecting it will exceed 6%, a 6% growth in GDP.'

THE FACTS: It's true that many economists upgraded their 2021 gross domestic product forecasts north of 6% either just before or after the package was passed by Congress, CNN found, but it's hard to say whether a majority did without a survey of all economists.

As it was apparent the COVID relief plan would become law, several economists upgraded their forecasts of 2021 US GDP growth.

RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas said the legislation would boost GDP by 3 points and is predicting 7.2% growth in 2021.

In March, Goldman Sachs increased its 2021 US GDP growth projection to 7%  and Morgan Stanley is now predicting 7.3% growth.

REPUBLICAN SUPPORT FOR BIDEN'S COVID RELIEF PACKAGE

BIDEN'S CLAIM: The president claimed support from Republican voters for his plan even as he didn't garner a single GOP vote in Congress. He said that even if Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says that 'the last thing I did, this last piece of legislation, is so far left, well, then he ought to take a look at his party. Over 50% of them must be over that edge as well. Because they support what I did.'

THE FACTS: While polls have shown Republicans support the American Rescue Plan multiple surveys have shown that level of support is below the majority level.

A CNN poll in March found 26% of Republican supported the plan while 73% opposed.  A Monmouth University poll found Republican support at 33%.

 

CHEAT SHEETS 

 

Photos show Biden relied on 14-point font prompt cards including one with head shots of reporters he planned to call on.

 

Im

 

In addition to the note cards, some of the notes Biden consulted were hand-written

Additionally, images taken at the news conference showed Biden using cheat sheets to help him with the questioning.

The 78-year-old is seen holding one sheet that showed the headshots of journalists that he planned to call on. 

Another cheat card listed stats about infrastructure, but Biden was still forced to correct himself after mistakenly saying the US ranked 85th in the world in infrastructure. 

The bullet point on one of his notes read: 'The United States now ranks 13th globally in infrastructure quality, down from 5th place in 2002.'

HOW MASS SHOOTERS GOT THEIR GUNS

Mass shooters exploited gun laws, loopholes before carnage

 

Associated Press 

March 25, 2021

 

The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area bought his gun just hours before the attack — no waiting required.

They are just the latest suspected U.S. mass shooters to obtain guns because of limited firearms laws, background check lapses or law enforcement’s failure to heed warnings of concerning behavior.

In the wake of the shootings, which together left 18 people dead, President Joe Biden renewed calls for stronger gun laws — including banning assault weapons and expanding background checks. Many Republicans oppose the measures and the National Rifle Association blasted the discussions as a rush to “politicize this horrific situation.”

A look at how suspects in recent mass shootings obtained guns, based on police accounts, court documents and contemporaneous reporting:

Boulder, Colorado: March 22, 2021. 10 dead.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a semi-automatic weapon with a 30-round capacity, on March 16, police said. Days earlier, a judge struck down an ordinance that banned assault rifles and high-capacity magazines in Boulder, citing a state law prohibiting local gun bans. A lawsuit challenging Boulder’s ordinances had the backing of the NRA, which said the ruling gave “law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate.” Alissa was prone to sudden rage and was convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to probation for attacking a high school classmate, law enforcement officials and former associates said. It was not immediately known where Alissa purchased his gun or whether that incident came up on a background check. Had he been convicted of a felony, his purchase would’ve been barred under federal law. Alissa is charged with 10 counts of murder.

Atlanta: March 16, 2021. 8 dead.

Robert Aaron Long purchased a 9 mm handgun just hours before going on a shooting rampage at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area, police said. A lawyer for the gun shop said it complies with federal background check laws. Georgia, like the majority of states, has no waiting period to obtain a gun. Long claimed to have a “sex addiction,” police said and he spent time at an addiction recovery facility last year. Federal law bans guns for people who are “unlawful users of or addicted to a controlled substance” or who’ve been court-ordered to a mental health or substance abuse treatment facility but doesn’t mention treatment for other compulsions as a barrier to ownership. Long is charged with eight counts of murder.

Midland, Texas. Aug. 31, 2019. 7 dead.

Seth Aaron Ator purchased an AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check and fired it indiscriminately from his car into passing vehicles and shopping plazas. He also hijacked a mail truck, killing the driver. Ator had been blocked from getting a gun in 2014 after his background check was flagged because a court determined he was mentally ill, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter. Private sales, which account for up to 40 percent of all gun sales according to some estimates, are not subject to a federal background check and private sellers aren’t required to determine if a buyer is eligible to own a gun. Ator was killed by police.

Dayton, Ohio: Aug. 4, 2019. 9 dead.

Connor Betts’ classmates said he was suspended in high school for compiling a “hit list” and a “rape list,” but authorities said there was nothing in his background that prevented him from purchasing the AR-15-style pistol used in the shooting at Ned Peppers Bar. Ohio law requires that sealed records of any juvenile crimes be expunged either after five years or once the offender turns 23. Betts, who was 24 at the time of the shooting, bought the gun online from a Texas dealer. It was then shipped to a Dayton-area firearms dealer, in accordance with federal law. Betts was killed by police.

El Paso, Texas: Aug. 3, 2019. 23 dead.

Patrick Crusius bought an AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online 45 days before the Walmart attack, prosecutors said. A Crusius family lawyer said his mother raised concerns about the purchase in a call to police on June 27. Police said she asked if Crusius, who was 21 at the time, was old enough to buy a gun. Police said she was assured he was and that he’d qualify if he passed a background check. Police said she expressed concern only about his safety and said she’d seen no recent change in his behavior. Texas does not have the kind of “red flag law” that in other states allows courts to take guns from people posing immediate danger. Crusius posted a racist screed online just before the attack and appeared to target Mexicans. He’s charged with capital murder in Texas and federal hate crimes and firearms offenses.

Virginia Beach, Virginia: May 31, 2019. 12 dead.

Former Virginia Beach city employee DeWayne Craddock legally purchased six firearms in the three years before he opened fire on a municipal building, including the two .45-caliber pistols used in the attack. An independent review of the shooting, commissioned by the City of Virginia Beach, found that Craddock displayed no warning signs or “prohibited behaviors associated with a pathway to violence,” and that he had no known history of mental health treatment. Craddock was killed by police.

Thousand Oaks, California: Nov. 7, 2018. 12 dead.

Ian David Long, a former Marine machine gunner who served in Afghanistan, used a legally purchased .45-caliber pistol with an extended magazine in the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill. California tried to outlaw high-capacity magazines, but a federal judge reversed that after a pro-gun group sued. Months before the shooting, sheriff’s deputies called to Long’s home found him acting irrationally, but a mental health specialist didn’t feel he needed to be involuntarily committed. California has a “red flag law,” but there’s no indication authorities sought a court order to take away Long’s guns. Long killed himself.

Pittsburgh: Oct. 27, 2018. 11 dead.

Robert Gregory Bowers had a carry license and legally owned the Colt AR-15 SP1 and three Glock .357 handguns police said he used to kill worshipers at Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers spent months posting angry rants against Jews on Gab, a social media site favored by right-wing extremists. He also posted photos of his “glock family.” Just before the attack, he posted a screed against a Jewish organization that resettles refugees, saying: “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” None of the rhetoric appeared to raise red flags. His case is pending.

Santa Fe, Texas: May 18, 2018. 10 dead.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student, used a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun that his father purchased legally and stored in a closet at their home, authorities said. It wasn’t clear if his father knew he’d taken the guns. Prior to the attack, Pagourtzis posted a photo on social media of a T-shirt with the phrase “Born to Kill” and had writings indicating he planned to attack his high school. A judge sent him to a mental health facility after ruling he was incompetent to stand trial.

Parkland, Florida: Feb. 14, 2018. 17 dead.

Nikolas Cruz legally purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle in February 2017 from a licensed dealer a few miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, authorities said. He’d been treated at a mental health clinic but hadn’t been there in more than a year. Federal law prohibits gun purchases if a court declares a person a “mental defective” or commits them to an institution, but not if the person seeks treatment voluntarily. Federal law allows people as young as 18 to buy semi-automatic weapons. Cruz was 19 at the time of the shooting. His trial has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sutherland Springs, Texas: Nov. 5, 2017. 25 dead.

Devin Patrick Kelley’s history of domestic abuse barred him from buying guns. He was able to because information about his crimes was never entered into a federal database used for background checks. The Air Force failed to follow rules requiring that it inform the FBI about his conduct. Kelley purchased four guns, including an AR-15-style rifle found at First Baptist Church, from licensed Texas and Colorado dealers over a four-year span. Kelley killed himself.

Las Vegas: Oct. 1, 2017. 58 dead.

Stephen Paddock purchased 33 of the 49 weapons found in his hotel room and at his homes in the year before he opened fire on a country music festival. Paddock passed all background checks. His gradual accumulation of guns went undetected because federal law doesn’t require licensed gun dealers to alert the government about rifle purchases. Paddock killed himself.

Orlando, Florida: June 12, 2016. 49 dead.

Omar Mateen purchased an AR-15-style rifle, a Sig Sauer MCX and a handgun from a licensed dealer on separate days about a week before the Pulse nightclub attack. He passed a background check and had a security license that allowed him to be armed while on duty. The FBI investigated Mateen in 2013 and 2014 over co-workers’ concerns that he’d spoken about ties to terror groups. Neither inquiry led to charges. Even if he’d been placed on a terrorism watch list, Congress in 2015 rejected attempts to prevent people on the list from purchasing guns. Mateen was killed by police.

San Bernardino, California: Dec. 2, 2015. 14 dead.

Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used weapons the FBI said his neighbor, Enrique Marquez, legally purchased from a licensed dealer in 2011 and 2012. Marquez pleaded guilty to charges he conspired to provide support to terrorists and made false statements to acquire a firearm. He told investigators Farook asked him to buy the weapons because he would draw less attention. Farook and Malik were killed by police.

Roseburg, Oregon: Oct. 1, 2015. 10 dead.

Christopher Harper-Mercer and his family members legally purchased the handguns and rifle used in the Umpqua Community College shooting from a licensed dealer. Investigators found six guns at the college and eight at an apartment. Neighbors said Harper-Mercer and his mother went target shooting together. Harper-Mercer killed himself after he was wounded by police.

Charleston, South Carolina: June 17, 2015. 9 dead.

A drug arrest should’ve prevented Dylann Roof from purchasing the pistol he used at Emanuel AME Church, but a record-keeping error and background check delay enabled the transaction to go through. The FBI said a background check examiner never saw the arrest report because the wrong arresting agency was listed in state criminal history records. After three days, the gun dealer was legally permitted to complete the transaction. He was convicted and is on federal death row.

Washington, DC: Sept. 16, 2013. 12 dead.

Aaron Alexis, a former reservist turned civilian contractor, passed background checks and legally purchased the shotgun used in the Washington Navy Yard shooting despite recent mental health treatment and a history of violent outbursts. He previously fired a gun in anger twice but wasn’t prosecuted in either case. Alexis was killed by police.

Newtown, Connecticut: Dec. 14, 2012. 26 dead.

Adam Lanza used his mother’s weapons, including a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle, in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza’s mother, whom he fatally shot before going to the school, also purchased the ammunition. Lanza killed himself.

Aurora, Colorado: July 20, 2012. 12 dead.

James Holmes was receiving psychiatric treatment when he passed required federal background checks and legally purchased the weapons he used in his movie theater assault. As in the Parkland and Navy Yard cases, treatment alone did not prevent him from buying guns. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 life terms and thousands of years in prison.

MOM KILLED 4-YEAR-OLD SON WHILE HIGH ON MARIJUANA

Connecticut mom Tiffany Farrauto told cops she was ‘so excited’ after killing son

 

By Joshua Rhett Miller

 

New York Post

March 25, 2021

               Tiffany Farrauto reeked of marijuana when arrested 

A Connecticut mom reeking of marijuana told cops she was “so excited” after strangling her son and trying to stuff his mouth with CBD gummy candies, court documents show.

An arrest warrant affidavit unsealed Tuesday said Tiffany Farrauto, 33, told New London cops that she killed her 4-year-old son, David Jasmin, in their apartment on March 7, the Hartford Courant reports.

“You can take me away … because my son is already dead and is in the house,” Farrauto said, according to the affidavit.

The officers found Farrrauto with a broken Wiffle Ball bat after getting a report of a woman smashing a car in a parking lot.

She was “calm in her demeanor” while admitting to damaging the car before directing the officers inside her home, police said.

Farrauto’s son was discovered on a bed, his face and lips already blue. CBD gummies were strewn across his chest, as well as on bedding and the floor, the affidavit shows.

The boy, who had lacerations across his chest and marks on his neck, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Farrauto admitted to killing her son while in the back of a police cruiser, the records show.

“I did it,” Farrauto said without being prompted by the officers, the affidavit states. “I [expletive] did it! I just killed my son … I’m so excited about it, too. I never thought I would do that.”

The woman also told cops she killed her only son to “get back at her mother” and made several references to the Bible while claiming she had been a victim of a sexual assault, the affidavit states.

Farrauto, who has been charged with murder and risk of injury to a minor, remains held on $2 million bond.

A judge ordered her on Tuesday to spend 60 days at a maximum-security psychiatric hospital after her initial mental health evaluation found her incompetent to stand trial, the Courant reported.

Farruato, whose court-appointed attorney recommended she be declared unfit for trial, is scheduled to return to court on May 20, The Day reported.

A funeral for David Jasmin was held last weekend. Friends of Farrauto, meanwhile, have said she had not been previously diagnosed with a mental illness to their knowledge.

“This is just a shock, I don’t think we’re ever going to understand,” Jennifer Ostby told the Courant earlier this month. “Even if she explains, I don’t think we’ll ever understand. How do you ever understand anything like that?”