Archive for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ Category

Today is Black Lives Matter’s 4th birthday. According to this post, BLM is needed now more than ever. It’s supposedly needed now more than ever because “BLM serves as a critical channel for Black organizing today and Black liberation struggles. We are the 21st-century call for Black liberation, and while based primarily across the United States, our vision and our work’s purpose has an international lens and reach.”

Also, BLM is needed because “BLM continues to respond with massive mobilizations and in mainstream media to state-sanctioned violence and the current Trump administration, which is a threat to Black lives everywhere and targets our very existence.”

What’s interesting is that many of the shooting deaths that created the rationale for BLM happened in cities run by Democrat mayors. Despite that, BLM singled out “the current Trump administration” because it’s a “threat to black lives everywhere.” Nowhere in the article is it mentioned that cities like Chicago and New York City do a terrible job at protecting African-Americans. It isn’t a coincidence that those cities are run by Democrats. Seattle instituted a $50 per gun tax but gun violence, which hurts minorities disproportionately, hasn’t dropped. Seattle is another liberal failure.

BLM isn’t getting the job done. They aren’t focusing on the right priorities. That’s because they’re mostly a partisan political organization. Solutions aren’t their specialty. Whipping up emotions is.

As you know, last February, I broke my right arm, which led to me spending 3 months in rehabilitation and away from LFR. While my arm is functional, it still isn’t 100%. Still, I’m grateful that I’m returning to the level of productivity that I was known for prior to my ‘year from hell’.

Over the past month, LFR has led the way in holding the ISD 742 School Board accountable. Additionally, I’ve spent time laying out a positive reform agenda that includes reducing the scope of government, especially as it pertains to the Met Council.

For the rest of 2017, I’ll be working on holding DFL front groups like Black Lives Matter and #UniteCloud accountable for their protests. I’ll also spend time exposing the connection between the School Board and special interest organizations. Trust me when I say it’s one of the best-kept secrets in town. It’s my goal to turn those connections into the worst-kept secrets in town.

Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to hold the St. Cloud Times and other media outlets accountable. Finally, LFR will provide information that will help you, the news consumer, the best-informed readers going into next year’s midterm elections.

Thanks for your loyal readership the past 12+ years. If you want to contribute monetarily or forward stories to me, contact me by leaving a comment to this post. I’ll contact you via email.

Stephanie Dickrell’s St. Cloud Times article about a #UniteCloud event puts in play the question of whether #UniteCloud’s message is compromised.

Ms. Dickrell’s article quotes Natalie Ringsmuth, the executive director and founder of UniteCloud, as saying “At midnight last night, we decided to do something. We felt like we didn’t want to wait a whole week. … We wanted to give space for people to be able to gather in the name of peace.” To their credit, their gathering was peaceful, with an asterisk.

Though there wasn’t any acts of physical violence at #UniteCloud’s gathering, #UniteCloud’s credibility is questioned because one of the organizations participating in the gathering was Black Lives Matter. Their history isn’t filled with inspirational moments. It’s filled with questionable activities. The article includes a paragraph that reads “BLM leaders are under a new kind of scrutiny because of a whiplash of unexpected events: cell phone videos of two black men who died from police gunfire followed by the ambush and killings of five police officers in Dallas at a Black Lives Matter protest, and three police officers targeted and killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.”

The Twin Cities chapter of Black Lives Matter has its own checkered history:

Rumors about the man’s death started with a Facebook post by a user of the name Davion Gatlin, who initially claimed the man was black, the Pioneer Press reported. “[W]e ride pass the park around 6am and witness a brother hanging dead from a tree!” he wrote, attaching photos of the body that he took from afar. “They still killing us and we still killing each other! #MakeGoViral”

The verified Facebook account of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis has since picked up on Mr. Gatlin’s semi-viral post, also sharing the graphic photos and claiming that the man was “lynched.”

“A man was found lynched in St. Paul, MN this morning,” the group posted. “St. Paul PD was quick to call this a suicide while witnesses on the scene say the man’s hands were tied behind his back. We are hurt by the tragic news and know that this despicable & disgusting act of cowardice will not be erased.”

Here’s a question for Ms. Ringsmuth. If the march was for peace, why would you let Black Lives Matter, a group with a sometimes violent history, participate in the march?

Here’s the ugly truth. #UniteCloud is a DFL front group that’s more into stirring up political trouble than they’re about providing solutions. If #UniteCloud wants credibility, they need to get rid of organizations like Black Lives Matter because of their sordid history.

Technorati: Charlottesville, Black Lives Matter, #UniteCloud, Natalie Ringsmuth, DFL

Since the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC, Scott’s widow has accused the officers involved in the Scott shooting of shooting him without justification. That’s another myth that’s being accepted as verified fact by Democratic politicians. This Washington Post article provides a timeline of events that give us an accurate picture of what’s truth.

For instance, the article says that “Due to the combination of illegal drugs and the gun Mr. Scott had in his possession, officers decided to take enforcement action for public safety concerns. Officers departed the immediate area to outfit themselves with marked duty vests and equipment that would clearly identify them as police officers. Upon returning, the officers again witnessed Mr. Scott in possession of a gun. The officers immediately identified themselves as police officers and gave clear, loud and repeated verbal commands to drop the gun. Mr. Scott refused to follow the officers repeated verbal commands.”

Additionally, the article says that “Mr. Scott then exited the vehicle with the gun and backed away from the vehicle while continuing to ignore officers’ repeated loud verbal commands to drop the gun. Officer Vinson perceived Mr. Scott’s actions and movements as an imminent physical threat to himself and the other officers. Officer Vinson fired his issued service weapon, striking Mr. Scott. Officers immediately rendered first aid and requested Medic to respond to the scene.”

Most importantly, this is part of the report:

Homicide Unit Detectives interviewed multiple independent civilian witnesses at the scene and at police headquarters. Those witnesses confirmed that officers gave numerous loud verbal commands for Mr. Scott to drop the weapon and also confirmed that at no time did Mr. Scott comply with their commands.

A lab analysis conducted of the gun crime scene investigators recovered at the scene revealed the presence of Mr. Scott’s DNA and his fingerprints on the gun. It was also determined that the gun Mr. Scott possessed was loaded at the time of the encounter with the officers. The investigation also revealed that Mr. Scott was wearing an ankle holster at the time of the event.

Finally, there’s this:

That’s the gun Scott allegedly wouldn’t drop when told to by police officers. That’s the gun that allegedly has Scott’s DNA on it. It’s important that a thorough investigation is completed of this incident so that we get past this election-season myth that police officers have suddenly turned into bloodthirsty killing machines.

Where there’s forensic evidence that a police officer shot a man without justification, prosecute that officer to the fullest extent of the law. It’s equally important that Democrats stop characterizing the police as bloodthirsty criminals. Their rhetoric might get innocent officers killed.

Technorati: Keith Lamont Scott, Officer-Involved Shooting, DNA, Handgun, Investigation, Detectives, Black Lives Matter, Democrats, Election 2016

Is it possible that Betsy Hodges is the biggest airhead liberal big city mayor in the United States? It appears so. After the violent protests at last Friday’s Trump fundraiser, Keith Downey sent Mayor Hodges a letter, which I wrote about here. In response, Mayor Hodges replied “I expect everyone in Minneapolis to behave with civility and respect. Minneapolis has a long history of effectively balancing public safety with First Amendment rights. I continue to be confident in the ability of the Minneapolis Police Department to manage protests in accordance with these principles.”

What planet is she from? Expecting people in the Twin Cities to “behave with civility and respect” weeks after BlackLivesMatter threw concrete blocks and construction rebar at police officers on I-94 in St. Paul is like throwing a piece of meat between 2 hungry Dobermans and expecting them to behave with civility. Anyone with a brain knows that’s a foolish expectation. Anyone with common sense knows that expecting civility from thugs is as foolish as expecting Bonnie and Clyde to not rob banks that advertise that their vaults are open 24-7.

Let’s rewrite Ms. Hodges’ statement for honesty. Here’s what I’d write:

I expect most of the people in Minneapolis to behave with civility and respect. Unfortunately, there are thugs, in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, who have shown a propensity towards anarchy and violence. Minneapolis has had a lengthy history of effectively balancing public safety with citizens’ First Amendment rights. These anarchists and thugs threaten that reputation. Their acts of violence won’t be tolerated. We will do everything we can to apprehend these thugs and bring them to justice.

It’s time for DFL politicians to announce a zero-tolerance policy towards acts of violence and anarchy.

St. Paul Chris Coleman is asking for another major property tax increase. This is likely the first in a lengthy list of mayoral sob stories set to be published.

Mayor Coleman, it seems, expected a “$3 million boost in state aid” that isn’t coming. The sob story will sound something like this: We passed a budget that expected an increase in LGA but House Republicans killed that. Now we’re stuck with a $3,000,000 deficit, which means we’re going to have to cut “up to nine police officers.”

Actually, the entire paragraph reads “The breakdown of talks over a potential special legislative session means the city isn’t going to get an expected $3 million boost in state aid, and simply cutting that money could cost the city up to nine police officers, force one of the city’s recreation centers to close and trim the city’s racial equity initiatives, Coleman wrote Wednesday in a letter to the St. Paul City Council.”

Start cutting, Mayor Coleman. Forcing “one of the city’s recreation centers to close” isn’t a tragedy. Losing 9 police officers at a time when BlackLivesMatter activists are throwing cement blocks and rebar at police offices is a tragedy. This paragraph sums it up perfectly:

“This is not acceptable,” said council member Dai Thao. “We spend millions of dollars on the Palace Theater. Some of the folks targeted by these cuts would never experience the Palace theater,” said Thao, saying the cuts wouldn’t be fair for many St. Paul residents.

The first question that isn’t being asked is this: why did St. Paul spend “millions of dollars on the Palace Theater”? Here’s why they spent millions on it:

Enhancing the vibrant downtown entertainment district is at the core of this project. Expected to attract more than 100,000 people downtown annually, the Palace Theatre will fill a need in the current entertainment venue market by offering a contemporary music venue twice as large as Minneapolis’ First Avenue.

In other words, St. Paul just pissed away millions of dollars to compete with Minneapolis? Now they want to raise taxes because they’re spending like a bunch of drunk sailors at a strip club. Imagine spending millions of dollars on a building like this:

Let’s be clear about something from the start. Today’s DFL activists are thugs without character. They’re people who should be locked up for years. Last week, there was a fundraiser in Minneapolis for GOP presidential nominee Donald J. Trump. DFL protesters didn’t bother trying to act like decent human beings. They acted like thugs. In fact, some of them allegedly committed crimes. That’s right. Some DFL thugs allegedly committed crimes.

Betsey Hodges needs to answer for her decisions. Ken Martin needs to be asked why DFL protesters are thugs, not protesters. Minneapolis police need to explain who told them to not protect people attending the Trump fundraiser. At this point, none of those things have happened.

Apparently, Mayor Hodges didn’t beef up security for the Trump event. Why she didn’t anticipate a violent reception is beyond explanation This is the Twin Cities, after all, the place where Black Lives Matter protesters started the night by blocking traffic on I-94 before escalating that to throwing cement blocks and rebar at police officers.

Even someone as airheaded as Betsey Hodges should’ve figured it out that violence was imminent. This didn’t require a rocket scientist. Betsey Hodges should’ve figured this out. Check out this video:

There’s no need for Keith Downey to demand an apology of anyone. There’s no need to halfheartedly criticize Ken Martin. What’s required is a chairman who would’ve told reporters that Ken Martin is the chairman of a political party that’s composed mostly of two-bit thugs and lowlifes. What’s required is a chairman that will call Betsey Hodges incompetent to run a Kool-Aid stand, much less a large city.

Chairman Downey, there’s a time for politeness. This wasn’t one of those times. Friday night was a time for you to empty both barrels at Betsey Hodges for not protecting citizens visiting her city. Friday night was a night to expose the DFL as the party that panders to the violent thugs of the Black Lives Matter movement of thugs.

Simply put, Kevin Sorbo is my new hero. He’s my hero for writing this post that questions why Michael Brown’s mother was invited to Hillary’s convention and that ridicules the entire Black Lives Matter movement and the hand-up-don’t-shoot myth. Considering the fact that he’s a Hollywood actor, that took courage.

It must’ve taken courage for Sorbo to write “Whatever questionable choices were made at the Republican National Convention last week, I didn’t hear of a single speaker whose sole accomplishment was raising a delinquent who attacked a cop. But as the country reels from the cold-blooded murder of five policemen in Dallas and three in Baton Rouge, Lezley McSpadden, mother of Mike Brown, America’s most famous cop-assaulting criminal, appeared on stage at the Democratic National Convention.”

It must’ve taken courage for Sorbo to write “It would be a lot easier if they were not being targeted for assassination and mass murders by homicidal nuts ginned up by BLM. (Shooting deaths of police are up 78 percent so far this year.) And it would be a lot easier without a group, officially supported by the Democrats, leading marches down city streets, chanting, ‘What do we want? DEAD COPS! When do we want it? NOW!’ Why does the Democratic platform endorse Black Lives Matter? And, most importantly, why was Mike Brown’s mother on stage at the Democratic National Convention?”

That’s a great question, Mr. Sorbo. Why was Mike Brown’s mother invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention? What did she contribute to the convention other than to gin up the African-American vote? This is an even better question:

However half-heartedly, Hillary claims to oppose cop-killing, so why is she using her convention to promote the biggest lie in the pantheon of anti-cop lies, and to celebrate a man whose most famous act was to violently assault a police officer?

It’s obvious that Hillary isn’t pro-cop. If she were, she would’ve told Al Sharpton off for perpetuating the myth of hands-up-don’t-shoot. The Democratic Party isn’t pro-cop. Gov. Dayton accused a Hispanic police officer of being racist while insisting that Philando Castile would likely still be alive if he was white. Sorbo wasn’t done:

Because of the despicable lies put out by BLM agitators, Wilson had to give up his career, move his family and will be forced to live in fear for the rest of his life. The town of Ferguson was destroyed, businesses burned to the ground, police officers attacked, people injured, the National Guard called in, and massive taxpayer money expended to contain the riots. But at the Democratic Convention, Lezley McSpadden (mother of Mike Brown) was wildly cheered.

Sorbo closed by sticking in the dagger, figuratively speaking:

Donald Trump, along with every other Republican ever to run for president, is required to repeatedly “disavow” David Duke — someone he’s never met, never mentioned, never thought of— and certainly didn’t invite to speak at his convention.

But Hillary invites to her convention the mother of a man whose criminality destroyed a police officer’s life, tore the country apart and gave birth to a murderous cop-hating movement. Will a single reporter ask Hillary to disavow that?

In terms of rhetorical questions, that’s one of the smartest I’ve ever heard. The answer, of course, is that Hillary won’t get questioned about inviting the mother of a thug to speak at her convention, much less be asked to disavow that decision.

Technorati: Hillary Clinton, Lezley McSpadden, Michael Brown, Hands Up, Don’t Shoot, BlackLivesMatter, Al Sharpton, Philando Castile, Mark Dayton, Mothers of the Movement, Democratic National Convention, Kevin Sorbo, Law Enforcement, Republicans, Election 2016

After Hillary’s speech, I wrote this post to talk about Hillary’s flop. This morning, John Hinderaker wrote this post. While I didn’t watch the speech, I read the transcript. John apparently tried watching it and found it to be unwatchable, which I think is something that’s sweeping the nation.

Truthfully, some of the things that Mrs. Clinton said weren’t tethered to the truth. One of the things she said that I found repulsive was when she criticized Trump, saying “Really? I alone can fix it? Isn’t he forgetting? Troops on the front lines. Police officers and fire fighters who run toward danger. Doctors and nurses who care for us. Teachers who change lives. Entrepreneurs who see possibilities in every problem. Mothers who lost children to violence and are building a movement to keep other kids safe.”

Clearly, Mrs. Clinton is setting this up as a straw man argument. What Trump was referring to was that the US needs a real leader to point the nation in the right direction. For the last 8 years, we’ve dealt with an ideologue who didn’t respect the Constitution. If Hillary is elected, she’d be more of the same. She’s already said she’d be more lawless with regards to illegal aliens. For all her talk about the Founding Fathers, Mrs. Clinton doesn’t respect their Constitution.

As for Mrs. Clinton talking about police officers, I find that sickening. Why hasn’t she told Black Lives Matter thugs to stop assaulting police officers? Apparently her love of police officers is just a situational thing? I wrote this post to highlight how thuggish Black Lives Matter is. One thing that this article shows is Hillary’s disrespect for officers:

Former Secret Service agent Lloyd Bulman: ?“Hillary was very rude to agents, and she didn’t appear to like law enforcement or the military. “She wouldn’t go over and meet military people or police officers, as most protectees do. She was just really rude to almost everybody. She’d act like she didn’t want you around, like you were beneath her.”

Unnamed former Secret Service agent: “Hillary never talked to us .?.?. Most all members of first families would talk to us and smile. She never did that.”

Former FBI agent Coy Copeland: Within the White House, Hillary had a “standing rule that no one spoke to her when she was going from one location to another. In fact, anyone who would see her coming would just step into the first available office.”

Mrs. Clinton, when did you develop this respect for the military and police officers?

That’s the point of my posts. The speeches were mostly fiction. Democrats essentially spent the week humanizing a robot. In light of this news, this part of her speech sounds ridiculous:

Now, I don’t think President Obama and Vice President Biden get the credit they deserve for saving us from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. Our economy is so much stronger than when they took office. Nearly 15 million new private-sector jobs.

The Bloomberg article starts with these pathetic statistics:

The U.S. economy expanded less than forecast in the second quarter after a weaker start to the year than previously estimated as companies slimmed down inventories and remained wary of investing amid shaky global demand.

Gross domestic product rose at a 1.2 percent annualized rate after a 0.8 percent advance the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed Friday in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 2.5 percent second-quarter increase.

Q1-2016 started terribly. Q2-2016 was almost as big a disaster. Why would we think that President Obama’s policies are the right policies? (Personally, I think that President Obama and Vice President Biden don’t have a clue about how to build a thriving economy.)

Technorati: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, BlackLivesMatter, Summer of Recovery, Democratic National Convention, Law Enforcement, Military, Founding Fathers, Republicans, Election 2016

When Elizabeth Warren endorsed Hillary Clinton, Sen. Warren’s supporters accused her of selling out to Wall Street and Goldman-Sachs. They were right. Sen. Warren sold out to Wall Street without hesitation.

During her interview with Rachel Maddow, Sen. Warren said “I’m ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States and to make sure that Donald Trump never gets any place close to the White House.” Tonight, Bernie Sanders became the final sellout. Tonight, the hard left learned that Sen. Sanders and Sen. Warren talked tough about fighting Wall Street but then endorsed Wall Street’s bought-and-paid-for candidate.

This isn’t shocking. The Democratic Party is the party that sells people out. Another example of the Democratic Party selling out the people is how Hillary Clinton is selling out police officers in the hopes of increasing minority turnout:

The mothers of several African-Americans killed by police or gun violence will be put in the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention. The Mothers of the Movement will put presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement at center stage.

I wrote this post last week to highlight the police officers’ outrage with Mrs. Clinton. John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 in Philadelphia, wrote this statement last week:

The Fraternal Order of Police is insulted and will not soon forget that the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are excluding the widows and other family members of police officers killed in the line of duty who were victims of explicit and not implied racism.

Democrats aren’t hiding their motivation for inviting Mothers of the Movement:

Obama won more than 90 percent of black voters and well over half of women and younger voters in both 2008 and 2012, exit polling shows. Clinton has a strong lead over Trump among blacks, according to a June survey by Quinnipiac, and tends to carry big margins among female voters, but she has to shore up support among millennials and young voters, who are only slowly warming to her.

Hillary Clinton doesn’t stand with law enforcement. Period. She’s made statements about standing with law enforcement and that violence is never justified but when push comes to shove, Hillary will push law enforcement officers off the stage. Then she’ll invite Mothers of the Movement, the New Black Panther Party and #BlackLivesMatter onto that stage.

This weekend has provided Americans with lots of proof that Democrats will sell the American people out for their special interest allies. Let’s hope they decide they won’t tolerate the Party of Sellouts to live in the White House for another 4 years.

Technorati: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Mothers of the Movement, New Black Panther Party, Democratic National Convention, Donald Trump, John McNesby, Fraternal Order of Police, Law Enforcement, Law and Order Candidate, Republicans, Election 2016