Still Free

Yeah, Mr. Smiley. Made it through the entire Trump presidency without being enslaved. Imagine that.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Left Wing Mobs

I was going to spend the day writing this up but Nick Monroe has already done the work far better than I could have.

I've been calling out Antifa for years. I've been warning anyone who would listen that Antifa is a terrorist organization full of traitors and that theses traitors are in all levels of private business and government. Here's me in 2017:

The government response to Va, from Trump and Sessions on down has let the left know that it is open season to commit violence against those whom they disagree with. America has just become a much more dangerous place to live. If you are to the right of Antifa and they can tell you can have your financial life and "limb life" in danger...

I agree that Trump (and Sessions) commentary was not enough. Trump should have named names. All. The. Names. Neo-Nazis and Antifa. He should have named government officials who fail to enforce the law. By state and by name. How do you declare your city a sanctuary city AND deny American citizens their right to peaceably assemble and petition the government? This is straight up treason. When government officials are traitors you have a seriously broken country.
-America Is Broken

Me in 2019:

Antifa is a domestic (actually international) terrorist organization. It claims self-defense against those it labels Neo-Nazis. However; it regards anyone to their right (including moderates) as Neo-Nazis, hence anyone who disagrees with them is in danger of receiving the same treatment. ANY. One. Like this guy:
-Of Jussie and Andy
While I am 100% for the benefit of black folks, and am 0% interested in Antifa and those aligned with it. I listened to Malcolm X when he warned about white liberals and black celebrities. I don't care for [the opinions of] either party.

The linked article is extremely long and has hundreds if not thousands of links to supporting material. Y'all better wake up. They told you what they were about:

Hint: It's ain't Floyd.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

But We Supported Colin!

Teeny ass violin.

Ya'll played footsies with Antifa types. That's what you get.

Friday, May 29, 2020

But We Were Nice To The Negroes

Not sad in the least bit.

Burnin' And Lootin'

Don't take this as an endorsement though.

Building is orders of magnitude harder than destroying. It's one thing to destroy that which you have built and can rebuild it's another to destroy that which you have not built and will be begging the builders to hire (and house) you in the future.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Death by Compression Of Carotid Artery?

When George Floyd was pinned by the officer with a knee to the neck, the weight on his neck had to be somewhere about 100 lbs (assuming he didn't put his full weight on the neck). I've seen commentary that if he was able to say "I can't breath" then he could breath and therefore he was lying.

In the neck there are two main arteries, Carotid arteries, one on each side that supply blood to the brain:

The carotid arteries are major blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain, neck, and face. There are two carotid arteries, one on the right and one on the left. In the neck, each carotid artery branches into two divisions
Of particular interest here is:
The carotid sinus, or carotid bulb, is a widening of a carotid artery at its main branch point. The carotid sinus contains sensors that help regulate blood pressure. The carotid artery pulse can normally be felt in the neck by pressing the fingertips against the side of the windpipe, or trachea. [my underlines]
And

Carotid hypersensitivity syndrome: In a few people, applying pressure to the carotid sinus can cause fainting from a sudden drop in blood pressure. Symptoms may occur while shaving or wearing a tight shirt collar. [my underlines]
Of course if a tight shirt can cause fainting and a sudden drop in blood pressure, what would a knee on the neck do? I'm not a doctor, but I'd wager that the pressure to the neck, compressed this artery, possibly on both sides, caused Floyd to eventually pass out and then the continued pressure killed him by either cutting off the flow of blood in to the brain (even though that's an internal artery) or by continuing the low blood pressure that caused a shut down of the body's organs. I'm sure the medical examiner will tell at some time in the near future.,

As for legal consequences. I'm going to continue to be the one who says it's going to be hard to get a murder conviction because police are given great leeway when it comes to criminal intent which is required to secure a murder conviction. I hope that that the prosecutor includes manslaughter, negligent homicide or whatever equivalent law applies so that this cop doesn't walk away clear. I also think that this cop (and likely the ones who watched) may be at serious civil risk, particularly in a post Eric Garner America.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

The Washington Post Is Trash

Since the entire Hands Up Don't Shoot thing went down, I have had a very critical eye on a lot of media. Since the election of D.J. Trump I've stopped taking anything reported in the media as true until or unless I can verify it myself with primary sources. You should too. Then there's the issue of media outlets just plain lying. As below.

It's as if they hadn't seen the recent news:

A former Judge of Elections has been convicted for his role in accepting bribes to cast fraudulent ballots and certifying false voting results during the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections in Philadelphia.
How do you publish something on Monday that is contradicted by events that happened just the week prior?

Vitamin D Info

Always a good time to refresh knowledge about vit D.

Monday, May 25, 2020

White Supremacists In Chicago Are Wilding Out

Clearly white supremacist, bored of sitting on the porches awaiting for random black males to run by their property, have packed up the pickup trucks, loaded their guns and taken a road trip to Chicago.

I wonder if these folks:

Are going to march up in the hood with the guns. Oh right, Chicago. No guns for the law abiding.

Will Shawn king dox the perps and threaten them over the internet?

At least eight people were fatally shot over the weekend and 24 were injured in shootings as of Monday afternoon, according to Chicago Police data reviewed by CNN.
So statistically speaking, if we include Friday in the weekend, then over 4 days we have 32 shot. That's 8 a day. Or as I pointed out years ago, and entire HS classroom. Poof. Gone.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Not "Black" I Guess

Not black because, among other things, I don't let anyone, including Joe, tell me what being black IS.

You know, it's just, I don't know. I've been called not black enough because I speak closely enough to "standard" English. Been told I was too black because I'm on that "Garvey shit". Not black enough because I didn't fall for Ferguson. Just black enough because I was for Trayvon Martin and Sean Bell. Not black enough because I don't play basketball (or watch it for that matter) but black enough, I suppose, for running because well Kenyans and Jamaicans run tings on the track. Just sayin'. Though the NYT says I'm discriminated against in the running community.

Not black enough because I reject the victim mentality and government dependency. Too black because I reject the victim mentality and government dependency.

Just can't win.

I'll tell you the "nothing to do with being black" reasons to not be for Joe:

He's got early stage dementia. A vote for Joe is likely a vote for his VP pick and that is currently an unknown and I have serious issues with the current crop of potentials.

I'm for due process of college sexual assault cases for all parties. Joe says he is not.

I am for controlling the border. Joe is not.

I am for the state benefiting and working for it's citizens first, foremost and above all. Joe and the Democrats are not.

I am for the 1st amendment for all, including people who hate me and or engage in conspiracy theories. Joe is not.

I am for the 2nd Amendment period. And yes, I think you can own a tank if you can afford it and have a place to put it because I understand the phrase "shall not be infringed" means. Joe is not.

These are but a few, "not black" reasons I'm not on Joe's side. There's a LOT more where that comes from too.

Now we don't have to agree on these points. That's why we have campaigns and elections. It's why we have the freedom to speak and write non-defamatory and non-libelous things. I respect your right as a citizen to disagree on these points. I look forward to reading and hearing points that are different from the above. Heck, I may be convinced otherwise. Why? Because that's the basic courtesy you extend to your fellow citizen.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Listen Up Democratic Voters and Never Trumper Republicans

The straight media fraudulent "reporting" since Trump announced that he was taking HCQ has made it very clear what is going on in the US in regards to the Wuhan virus. This situation has, unfortunately become one great big political operation to defeat a president. It is not about your health. You need to understand this and you need to understand just how bad this is for the polity.

There are currently around 1.5 million Americans living with Lupus in the US. One of the standard medications to handle their inflamation is HCQ. Prior to the Wuhan virus when did you see a single report about how dangerous HCQ was? Did you hear reports on how Lupus patients are dropping like flies with heart failure?

No. You heard no such thing. Yet for years, YEARS, this has been a common treatment for them. If HCQ is so dangerous, as the media has been portraying and as certain candidates for office and current office holders have said, why are Lupus patients allowed to take this medication?

I need for you to think this through. Seriously.

I'm not saying there aren't potential deadly side effects from HCQ. Practically every medicine has a deadly side effect that is known and yet those medications are still used. You see commercials for blood pressure medication, Diabetes medication, skin diseases, etc and some of them straight out tell you that certain complications can lead to death. Have you seen any politician of any stripe get on TV and tell you NOT to take these things?

I really need for you to think this through.

HCQ is regularly given to military personnel as well. Do you think that if soldiers were at serious risk of dropping dead of heart issues that the military would use it? What military advantage would be gained by having soldiers in high stress and high cardiac activity taking medicine that would significantly increase the likely hood that they would die in or before they can go into combat?

I really need for you to think this through.

Then there are the God awful "papers' that have been pushed by various news outlets. I've read them and all of them had the same fatal flaws thus far:

They were studies of people who were at the late stage of the disease. Listen up: This disease has three stages, Initial stages are like a cold or flu (if you get this far). Most people don't get beyond this stage. Next stage is the high(er) fever and cough. If HCQ is administered at this point (or earlier) most patients will recover with minimal issues. The late stage is a serious drop in blood 02 levels caused by damage to the lungs. If one ends up on a vent at this stage, well I hope you have your affairs in order. HCQ is not effective at the late stage. In these "studies" where HCQ has been shown ineffective, it has been with these late stage patients. Hence these studies do not contradict those that show effectiveness in earlier stages.

This is important to understand and you need to ask why you haven't had this explained to you.

Years ago when Clinton and Trump were squaring off in regards to open borders and illegal aliens, I asked the following question:

How many citizens was Hillary willing to have killed to protect illegal aliens?

Protecting citizens against illegal aliens shouldn't even be a controversial point and the answer to the above ought to be "none" from anyone of any party of a serious country. But this is not a serious country and now we are seeing that there is a significant body of media persons and representatives in government who are entirely willing to let citizens die of a disease in order to claim political power.

Make no mistake, there is no scientific grounds, thus far, for the antics of Biden, Pelosi et-al ion regards to HCQ. None whatsoever.

I told you months ago that the Wuhan Pack was the exit strategy that could have had the US open at least by mid April. You have symptoms, you get tested. If you're positive you get the Wuhan Pack and there is no need for hospital stays unless you have a heart issue or other relevant complication. Hospitals stay clear for regular work, citizens can go about their business with far lesser fear than they have now.

But no, it's fear all day every day. There is only one reason for it at this point: political points and power.


Seriously, a breeze will not cause you to die

I'm not here telling Democrats to vote for Trump, I'm telling you to choose a better Democrat. If you have representatives who are clearly willing to let you die rather than use a safe drug currently used by millions of people rather than make Trump "look good" you need to put them out of office. If you are a never Trump Republican and you have a representative who would rather you die than have Trump be "right" you need to put them out of office.

Serious business folks. Serious business. The masks are off. Recognize. Let me summarize: HCQ is an FDA approved drug. The FDA is and was fully aware of the side affects when they approved the drug. HCQ has been in use around the world for decades. Millions of Lupus patients use this drug to deal with inflammation. Inflammation and overactive immune responses are the major complications of Wuhan. HCQ addresses this issue and is effective in early stages only. Anyone telling you different is lying to your face for an ulterior motive.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Terry Crews

Video on/featuring Terry Crews. Things I never knew:

Monday, May 18, 2020

Today's Adventure In Blatant Racism

I'm not one to complain about racist things that happen to me. I simply have better things to do with my energy but today's episode just had to be shared because of just how stupid it was.

So currently I am on a 10k step streak that hasn't been broken since September 5th. Unfortunately my app and/or the back-end database that keeps this data got corrupted and I no longer have an official record on the app. But I soldier on anyway. I want to see if I can go the entire year doing 10k steps (minimum). The lockdown has killed my rainy day sheltered walking so I've walked in some pretty bad weather. But anyway I digress.

So walking my usual route I came upon an older white woman of average female height and moderate build. She had on a mask and was apparently taking her usual walk. So we were walking up a hill and she was nearing the crest when I noticed she stopped. I was pretty far back so I couldn't see. Then I saw a man at the top of the hill at the corner. Black guy. never seen him before but there are a lot of people out I've never seen before. It appears he was waiting on someone or the bus. Couldn't tell which but I thought maybe someone had passed out and was laid out on the ground. As I got closer the woman turned about and saw me and then turned back towards the man. She did this a few times so I looked back down the hill to see if there was something coming. Nope. Nothing.

Finally the woman continued up the hill making a very wide arch around the man, which made her go deep onto someone's lawn. Then she continued on. Shortly I got to the top of the hill where she was and saw that there was no passed out person, no dog (and yes, DOGS have been a problem. I lot of people apparently have Pit bulls and have them on long leashes). Anyway. Nothing of any kind indicated that there was something amiss. The only thing was that the guy was black, neck tattoo and dressed in medical scrubs under a jacket, with his ID clearly showing and a backpack.

As I passed him I asked what that was all about and he said "I have no idea". But we knew.

As I got closer to the woman she started "jogging" and then darted across the street. I just shook my head and kept it moving.

Now look, I'm not against being situation aware. I tend to keep a mental note of everyone around me and I don't drown out sound with my music. But to be shook to a dead stop on the sight of a black man? in a relatively diverse neighborhood that does not have a high or even moderate crime rate? Yeah, that's some racist shit right there.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Ahmaud Part 6: The Recreation

The NYT has an interesting video recreation of the crime scene(s) which has a point that I was unaware of. You can watch it here: https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000007142853/ahmaud-arbery-video-911-georgia.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Of particular interest to me is the following:

The shooter's home is 230. That is well up the block from the trespass scene which is 220. It has 3 houses between it and the construction site and apparently has a huge amount of trees on the side of the house facing the direction of the construction scene. This means that the shooters could not have witnessed the trespass unless they were outside at the time and at the very front of their property.

So here is where the state can establish motive, or the defense provide reasonable doubt. Since the shooter is unlikely to have himself witnessed the trespass then why did he hop in the truck?

1)"The Black Man Running Down The Street" theory: This would be the theory that is currently favored by those seeking to prosecute the shooter. The shooter saw a black man running down the street, assumed he had done something wrong and pursued him. That's a plausible theory given the fact that the shooter could not have witnessed the trespass.

2)"I got a call from a/the neighbor": In this theory, the shooter was notified by the neighbor or a neighbor or otherwise was apprised of what was going on down the street from him. When Ahmaud ran past his property, the shooter decided to give chase to the suspect they had been told about in order to effect a capture.

3) The shooter was listening to the police scanner and knew something happened. Then the same set of actions occurred per theory 2.

4) The shooter was given access to the security cameras by the property owner and therefore knew what was going on at the time. If that is the case then the shooter thought he witnessed a crime and pursued the suspect per theory 2 Theory 1 is the only one that if proven gets the state it's guilty verdict. Theories 2 and 3 and 4 would provide reasonable doubt.

This recreation also goes to my "part 5" post. The video shows the two other incidences of trespassing. Since we know that the shooter could not have witnessed either of these two events given the distance between his house and the construction site as well as the set of trees that would also block the view to the construction site, it is not possible for the state to argue that the shooter had "allowed" other people to "get away" with trespassing (unless theory 4 is correct).

The recreation points out that Ahmaud had not taken anything (per the property owner's statements). I will repeat my position that it doesn't matter since Ahmaud is not the one on trial. Certainly had he been arrested and charged, this fact would weigh greatly in his favor but Ahmaud is not on trial. Also what I find confusing about the "nothing was stolen" is the claim that there had been thefts in the area. If there were thefts in the area than the residents would be in their right mind to be suspicious of persons entering private property. Which again would go to reasonable doubt.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Ahmaud Part 5: The Other Trespassing Videos

So there are two videos by S. Lee Merrit that he is using to make his case against the shooter:

And

I think that the use of these clips by the state will probably backfire. Here's why:

The use of these clips would be to show that the shooter specifically targeted Ahmaud because he was a black trespasser rather than a white one. The problem would be that the state would be engaging in mind reading. If the state cannot show evidence of that such as a phone call or other direct witnesses who say something to the effect of "we gonna wait till this nigger comes back", it's going to be extremely hard to make that case.

The defense however would likely do the following:

1) The would object immediately on grounds of relevance. Arguing that these individuals are not the victim, related to the victim or on the premises with the victim at that time.

The state's mistake would be to say that it IS relevant to show pattern of behavior under similar circumstances. Therefore putting such an argument into play.

Let's assume the objection is overruled, now comes the questioning:

2) For each video are you certain that my client actually observed these events? Are you certain that my clients were even home at the time of these events?

If the answer to either of these questions is "no" then there cannot be any "proof" that the shooter acted differently (and with malice) towards Ahmaud than to any other suspected trespasser because Ahmaud was the only one seen by the shooter on the scene.

In other words, that other people have been traipsing through the property and lived to tell about it, doesn't mean the one who gets caught gets a pass. That would be like getting caught stealing something from a store (not saying Ahmaud was a thief) and arguing that since other people did it and nothing happened, you should get away with it too.

Which brings me to a point that I forgot to cover before. There is a report in possesion of the police that Ahmaud had been seen on the property before and that he was run off by the shooter and another neighbor with a Spanish surname. This is actually an important point. If Ahmaud was run off the property (or ran off when he saw the neighbors coming) then the claim that he had not criminally trespassed is null and void. This is simply because once you've been run off a piece of property, you know that future "visits" are not permitted and doing so is in fact criminal trespass.

So when this neighbor is called to testify, if he does testify to this effect, the suspicion of criminal trespass is going to be supported and grounds for reasonable doubt.

And to remind the reader: Reasonable doubt IS the threshold the state must cross. Reasonable doubt is NOT "more likely than not"(51%) as seen in civil cases. 90% of the case can make a defendant look guilty. If that 10% is reasonable, then the defendant walks.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Bigamy Decriminalized In Utah

As seen on the Independent

The state of Utah no longer treats bigamy as a crime after downgrading the practice to an infraction – the same level as a parking ticket.

The change in the law, under which “unlawful cohabitation” has been a crime since 1935, is intended to ensure that people living in families and communities that practice so-called “plural marriage” no longer live in fear of the law, which some say has left victims of abuse too afraid of the authorities to seek help and allowed abusers to keep their activities hidden.

Uh huh. Me back in 2008:
I think the constitutional issues coming out of this will be huge. Utah was admitted into the union on the basis of it banning polygamy. Seeing that the argument about 'state interest' has been shot down in two states, for maintaining marriage as between one man and one woman, I think the LDS church will soon be in a position to sue not only the state of Utah but the Federal Government over this issue. Since "family" is being defined in terms of who loves who and who can raise children (as opposed to producing them), there is no legal standing to ban polygamy.
12 years ago.

Ahmaud Part 4: Clearing Up Misconceptions

So a lot of people are watching the various security camera footage and declaring that Ahmaud wasn't trespassing and therefore everything after is a crime committed by the shooter. Let's clear this up.

Whether Ahmaud actually committed trespassing as stated under GA law is not relevant. Why? Ahmaud is not on trial. Say that Ahmaud survived the shooting and was charged with trespassing on the word of the shooter. Once he got to court, the defense would argue that since there was no "no trespassing" signage and that Ahmaud was never explicitly told not to enter the property, he could not have committed trespass as described in GA law. If I were on that jury, I'd likely accept that argument as grounds for reasonable doubt. That's under the law. In common practice it is not acceptable to wander up into someone's property whether there is construction going on or a door open or not. Most of us know this and there are currently a lot of liars out there claiming they do so on a regular basis.

So since Ahmaud is not the one on trial. It doesn't matter whether he actually trespassed. What actually matters is the state of mind of the shooter. I will again go back to the Sean Bell and Trayvon Martin cases. Zimmerman stated that he thought Martin was up to no good. I have repeatedly called BS on that claim since there is nothing Trayvon did prior to Zimmerman confronting him that could remotely be considered criminal or criminal pre-indicators. Zimmerman got away with shooting Trayvon because his legal team established that Zimmerman thought Trayvon was a threat to him.

Similarly in the Sean Bell case, the officer who shot 2 clips worth of bullets again was able to convince a judge that he feared for his life and had no criminal intent when he confronted Bell. I thought that was bullshit, but that's how it works. What is the mental state of the accused not the mental state of the dead.

So we go back to Ga. The defense will show that the shooter had been aware that someone was trespassing on the property in question. He had reason to believe it was trespassing. This may be due to [currently not reported] conversations with this property owner or of other property owners. That those owners never made police reports doesn't mean that no thefts or broken items had been done before. In either case, the shooter can and will establish that he believed a criminal trespass was occurring and since he claims to have recognized Ahmaud from previous incidents, which are also confirmed.

When confronted, Ahmaud didn't simply say "oh sorry" and move on. He broke out and ran down the street as fast as he could. This is a universally accepted sign of guilt (not proof of guilt). So the defense will argue that the totality of the circumstances can lead to a reasonable suspicion that Ahmaud was in the process of committing a crime.

Once that is established, then we fall into the citizen's arrest. The defense will argue that having reasonably established that a crime was likely to have occurred in their presence,the citizens acting under Ga law had every legal right to try to detain Ahmaud for the authorities.

The defense will argue that under Ga law, the shooter was within his rights to have a open loaded weapon while attempting to detain Ahmaud.

The defense will argue that in the struggle with Ahmaud, the gun was discharged three times.

The defense will argue that the felony murder charge requires that some other crime was being committed at the time that resulted in the homicide. What was the crime? Pursuing someone they thought committed a crime? Even if they were mistaken in the understanding of what constitutes trespassing, such a mistake does not constitute criminal intent.

What about the assault charge? Again, felony assault in Ga requires intent to kill. The shooter had plenty of opportunities to kill Ahmaud By his own account, they had caught up to him 2 times prior. They could have shot him or run him over at those points if the intent was simply to kill.

So all that to point out that all the talk about whether Ahmaud actually trespassed or burglarized is not relevant. It's whether the shooter had reasonably thought they witnessed a crime. The simple fact that anyone is even debating whether or not Ahmaud was trespassing or not is exactly why reasonable doubt has already been established.

Saturday, May 09, 2020

Ahmaud Part 3: And Just Like That, Case Is Closed

Video from the AJC shows a man fitting the description of Ahmaud entering the property as the arrested men claimed.

You see the suspect walk up to the house. Stand in front of the house. Enter the house. Exit the house and then run through what appears to be the yard.

Realize that once this video evidence is shown to the jury, assuming it even gets that far at this point, because this is exculpatory evidence, that the defense has rock solid reasonable doubt in regards to the felony murder charge. Not only that, but they have an affirmative defense in the forms of citizens arrest since they had witnessed what they could reasonably think was an attempted robbery (the garage seems to be open so it is not breaking and entering). And since they were pursuing someone who could reasonably be suspected of committing a crime, that since the suspect is seen on video attacking them that they also had an affirmative defense under the GA stand your ground laws.

Realize that if this goes the way that the current evidence shows, not only will the prosecutors in this case be liable for malicious prosecution because they had already seen this video, but anyone publicly involved in trying to make them out to be guilty may be liable for defamation and/or libel. Also there is a strong civil rights violation. Which would be ironic to say the least.

I cannot understate how much this video undercuts the state's case.

Friday, May 08, 2020

Ahmaud Part 2: A Set Up?

Late yesterday, the father and son duo were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault. I assume those charges came from the grand jury. I'm not sure either one of those charges will prevail in court. Let me explain why.

Yesterday I went to lengths to explain why murder charges are highly unlikely to stick in this situation because of the requirement that the state prove criminal intent on the part of the defendant. Simply showing that someone was shot does not prove criminal intent (this is a common statement I've been seeing in critique of yesterday's post). If simply shooting a person, armed or not, was enough to satisfy criminal intent then the police officer that shot Sean Bell would be in jail today. The Sean Bell case is instructive here.

In that case, the officer emptied his clip into Bell's car,reloaded and emptied a second clip. When I saw that evidence I was certain that cop was going down for murder. Nope. One claim ended the murder rap: He thought he was in danger.

Once a person thinks that he is acting to either protect himself or others while doing something lawful (a point I'll return to) it is nigh impossible to convict of murder. This is specifically why I mentioned negligent homicide.

Were the father-son duo acting lawfully? A petit jury will determine this but the evidence that has been made pubic so far provides a rather substantial reasonable doubt argument.

Lets look at GA law in regards to murder:

O.C.G.A. 16-5-1 (2010)
16-5-1. Murder; felony murder

(a) A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.

(b) Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.

(c) A person also commits the offense of murder when, in the commission of a felony, he causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.

(d) A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life.

As I've repeatedly said in these cases, you MUST prove intent. In the case of felony murder (item c) there must be another ongoing felony. If the state is going to try that, what felony are they going to charge the father and son with? Did you see a kidnap charge? You think the aggravated assault charge will be it? I'll address that later. Lets look at what the defense will likely argue in terms of defeating an intent argument:

First we have a call to police about seeing someone on property and a possible burglary. Secondly we have police reports that someone "fitting the description" being caught on security cams. Thirdly, in those police calls we have the shooter saying that the person they saw was running or at least leaving the scene. Why is this important?

GA aggravated assault law This may be used to establish the mindset that the shooter thought he was intervening in an attempted felony or suspected felon. This is a requirement of the GA citizen's arrest law. That he and his father brought their guns is inconsequential since they are legally entitled to do so.

So in order for the state to get a conviction on murder it will have to convince the jury that these pieces of evidence shows criminal intent. Good luck with that. And do address another critique, this isn't me "siding with a lynch mob". This is explaining what is required under US law to prosecute a person in a court of law. I'm done being disappointed in legal outcomes because I failed to understand the process. If YOU want to be left wailing and gnashing your teeth when the "not guilty" verdicts come down due to incorrect charging and/or incompetent prosecution, you do that. I'm off that boat.

Back to the murder charge. If the murder charge is going to be based on the shooting at the time of the struggle, then again, the proof of criminal intent has to be made. If the shooter testifies that he believed his assailant had already committed a crime and was willing to do whatever to "get away with it" then he has a strong 'self-defense argument" under Ga law. In addition his defense attorney may argue that if the intent was to kill Ahmaud why didn't they shoot at him the two other times they encountered him prior to the last fatal time?

Why didn't the father, who was in the bed of the truck not take a shot at him when Ahmaud circled the truck? There was ample opportunity to kill Ahmaud if that was their intent.

The defense attorney will argue that if in fact the shooter intended to kill Ahmaud, why didn't he shoot at him as soon as he appeared after rounding the truck? Any competent gun self-defender knows not to let his target close distance on him. He had a clear dead on shot. Why didn't he take it then? Why did he wait until the struggle with the gun to fire? Hell can anyone in the jury be absolutely sure that the two shots weren't accidental trigger pulls caused by the struggle? If they are then there is no basis for mens-rea and therefore no basis for a murder conviction.

These are all questions that are going to get put before the jury. If even one of them has reasonable doubt, the murder charge is done with. And for those who don't understand, reasonable doubt isn't the 51% from civil cases. No. Reasonable doubt can be that 1% edge case that make absolute sense and is supported by evidence or logic. This is why someone who is framed, and everything looks "right" can be found not guilty.

What about the aggravated assault charge? Here's GA's aggravated assault law:

(a) A person commits the offense of aggravated assault when he or she assaults:

(1) With intent to murder, to rape, or to rob;

(2) With a deadly weapon or with any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury;

(3) With any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in strangulation; or

(4) A person or persons without legal justification by discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle toward a person or persons.

My thinking is that the state is using the aggravated assault charge as an additional charge, given the "with intent to murder" language. If the state wants to use this charge to justify a "type c" murder charge then they would be using a circular argument. The assault charge requires intent to murder but we can't prove the murder without the assault charge which requires intent to murder...and on and on.

Now here's GA involuntary manslaughter law:

O.C.G.A. 16-5-3 (2010)
16-5-3. Involuntary manslaughter

(a) A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act when he causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so by the commission of an unlawful act other than a felony. A person who commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years.

(b) A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner when he causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so, by the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm. A person who commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.

The evidence we know of right now clearly supports a conviction on part B above. There is no intent requirement. The state can even stipulate that the defendants were committing a lawful act (citizens arrest) while still arguing that they did so in an unlawful manner. I think part a may be satisfied by what we know today, but it is a harder argument because it would require showing that the defendants actions were unlawful. What part was unlawful? The chase? The getting out the car? The brandishing of weapons?

And if part A is hard(er) to argue then you should see why murder is an even harder task.

Remember, I'm not a lawyer and I can see the arguments that will be made. Actual lawyers who do this all day every day will have an argument 10x stronger than mine, with precedent cases to use. If you think that this is a slam dunk murder conviction based on what we know now, you are deluding yourself. Going back to Sean Bell, a cop emptied 2 clips into Bell's car and walked away because he thought he was in danger. If that can happen, you better believe that a defense lawyer can make an argument where 2 shots were fired during a struggle for a gun.

Thursday, May 07, 2020

Ahmoud Arbery

Like most people I was unaware of this case prior to this week. I didn't comment on it for a while due to a number of things:

1) I know about as much about this case as most people: not much. And so any comment I would have would be woefully uninformed.

2) It's election season and there are people out there with an interest in inflaming the emotions of black people for political gain. Hence when black people die in say Chicago at 50 a clip on days in the summer, there's not much more than "that's what niggas do", but if some random white man does something, it's a return to Jim Crow.

3) It is in fact notable that a black man was shot and killed by a white man insofar as it is a rare event when compared to the other way around. Black people in America kill far more white people than the other way around. Sometimes with clear racial animus. Not much gets said about it. Why? Generally there's an attitude that white folks get what karma is coming to them so it's not a thing. I don't know about you but I don't think that various racial groups enacting revenge or lynch fantasies against other groups over past misdeeds is a good thing in the long run. But that's me. But let's get to the subject at hand.

When the story hit my radar the story was that Ahmaud was taking his regular run through a neighborhood I assume he either lived in or close to when he was set upon by two white men who thought he was a burglar. They then shot him for no reason and that was murder.

I learned an extremely hard lesson when I was covering the Sean Bell shooting in NYC. It's not what you think you know. It's what you can prove in a court of law. If you want to charge someone with murder then you have to prove criminal intent, referred to an mens rea. If you cannot prove criminal intent then you cannot get a murder conviction. The Sean Bell case should have been one of negligent homicide. Same for Zimmerman. In a negligent homicide case you only need to show that the person acted negligently, That is they should have realized that their actions could reasonably lead to a death of a person and acted anyway. In my opinion, based on what I've seen thus far the case involving Ahmaud can only proceed as a negligence case rather than murder. Of course new evidence [or old] may change things.

This article has the video. And here is the Tweet with it: https://twitter.com/i/status/1257740136168722434 Now a few comments on what I see.

1) As a runner I know it is common and safe practice to run on the side of the road opposed to traffic so you can see what's happening ahead in case a car veers in your direction. We see Ahmaud on the left side of the road. What we don't see are any water bottles or the like. This is important because most people can go about an hour without needing to carry water or liquids before getting dehydrated. For a lot of people that translates to between 6 and 8 miles. So this means that Ahmaud must have been close to his point of origins.

Why is this important? Well if Ahmaud is a regular runner with a regular route then the people along his route would be familiar with his face. Even if they don't know him personally, they would know the black guy who runs through the neighborhood every so and so time. As a runner the people in my neighborhood know I run. The people in neighborhoods I run through "know" me as well. Some wave. Some cross the street (I know the deal). Southern people are generally more social than northerners so I suspect that in Ga. such mannerisms would be more prevalent than where I am located. The reason I bring this up is that it would undercut the shooter's story if Ahmaud was known to run through the neighborhood. On the flip side if Ahmaud was a new face, then the idea that he was "out of place" supports the shooter's story. I don't know which is the case, I only know that this will be a factor in the "beyond reasonable doubt" argument the state will have to provide to a jury.

In the video we see Ahmaud go from the far left of the road to the far right of the road and around the truck that was driven by the shooter. I thought that to be very odd. First, we don't know when or why Ahmaud made that decision as the cameraman lost sight of the situation. In Ahmaud's defense we could presume that the shooter was out of his vehicle and pointing a gun at Ahmaud. Ahmaud seeing the gun tried to use the truck as cover.

The problem with this scenario is the man at the back of the truck. The report says that he is also armed. Did Ahmaud not see him? Clearly if two armed men have locked on you, evading one by going closer to the other doesn't make sense.

Perhaps this was a case of very poor defensive decision making a-la Trayvon Martin. To summarize, Trayvon's fatal mistake when he took on Zimmerman was that he failed to control Zimmerman's hands. This allowed Zimmerman to get to his weapon and shoot it. In any conflict with an armed attacker, IF you are going to take on the armed attacker while empty handed you MUST control the hand and arm with the weapon. Or if the weapon has not been drawn, you must prevent the weapon from being drawn by pinning it or otherwise keeping it out of reach.

It is entirely possible that in the portion of the video that we do not see, the shooter is menacing Ahmaud with his long gun and Ahmaud panicked and tried to put an object (the truck) between him and the gun man. However; what happens next is where we get the difference between murder, negligent homicide and self-defense.

When Ahmaud re-appears from in front of the truck we can see him grabbing at the gun. People, DO NOT DO THIS. Once someone has a gun on you, you comply and wait your turn. While its always a bad idea to allow yourself to be taken to a secondary crime scene, how you resist that is important. That said, without any doubt in my mind, the lawyer(s) for the shooter is going to say that Ahmaud was the one doing the threatening here. I know this is going to be hard for some to understand but that video can be seen by a competent jury as Ahmaud going after the shooter and the shooter taking the two shots in self-defense to an attack that is clearly on video.

How?

Georgia law allows for citizen arrests:

O.C.G.A. 17-4-60 (2010)
17-4-60. Grounds for arrest

A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion.

By raising the 'recent burglaries" the shooter makes a claim of citizen's arrest. I think this claim is weak under the law since like Zimmerman's claim, there was no immediate evidence of law breaking. There is no claim or evidence that Ahmaud had committed a crime right there and then. So that part is not in effect. What does "within his immediate knowledge" mean? Does it mean, I saw a suspect two days ago and I see him again so I can arrest him? I don't know. If it does then the law is in the shooter's favor if not it is in Ahmaud's favour.

There is a twist here as well. In this Washington Post article we find:

McMichael, 64, called his son, Travis McMichael, 34, and they armed themselves with a handgun and shotgun, respectively, Gregory McMichael told police. They chased Arbery in a truck, according to the report, and Gregory McMichael told police that he shouted to Arbery, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you,” before, according to their statements, they pulled up beside him in their truck. The report suggests a third person may also have been involved in the pursuit.
This quote is misleading because the police report has the following:

If it is the case that the shooter had thrice attempted to block Ahmaud prior to speaking to him, then that changes the situation dramatically. It is one thing for someone to simply pull up next to someone and ask a question. It is an entirely different matter when one attempts to cut off a runner. Three times no less.

Another problem I have here is that unless Ahmuad thought he could outrun a motor vehicle, what was the point of simply changing directions? No one outruns a vehicle. He had to know that. I do understand running into the woods. I do understand running between houses. I do not understand running up or down an empty street. Next we deal with another legal issue, Stand your ground. Below is a screenshot of the relevant law:

If the shooter thought he was clear under citizen's arrest laws to pursue someone he thought had committed a felony (with due consideration of whether that felony had to have happened "right then and there") and his initial contact was non-hostile, then the GA stand your ground law probably takes effect.

If the shooter believes he has a suspect of a felony and goes after him, asks to speak with him and during that conflict a struggle ensues that was not initiated by the shooter and the shooter kills Ahmaud, who he believes to be a felon attempting to get away, then it's going to be next to impossible to convict on a murder charge.

However; if it is shown that the shooter had for example brandished his gun when asking to speak wot Ahmaud" then the defense argument wings into Ahmaud's favor. In that scenario Ahmaud believes he's being threatened with deadly force and possible kidnap to a secondary crime scene. The brandishing of the weapon becomes a deadly threat under law to which Ahmaud would have been totally within his rights to defend against, including deadly force and the shooter in indeed criminally liable for the homicide as negligent homicide at the minimum

All of the intricacies of how citizen arrests and stand your ground laws work are going to be in play and they will not be an easy thing to untangle for a jury (petit no grand).

Lastly I want to discuss the situation from a strictly self-defense position. I'm not blaming the victim here but there are things to be learned from this encounter:

1) If a person gets the drop on you with a firearm you wait your turn. Gun disarms on TV rarely go that well in real life. Most people do not have the empty handed skills to effectively defend against an armed attacker. Compliance can buy you time and time buys you options.

2) De-escalate the situation. Don't let your ego write a check for a bullet to the chest. If someone asks to speak to you while you're on your run. Slow down, pause the music and say "hey how may I help you?" Keep your distance so you can't be grabbed up easily but being friendly can pay large dividends.

Say these guys come out of pocket on some "There have been some robberies and we've seen you running around here". Yeah, that's offensive. This is when you start dialing 911 and recording video. You know what's coming next. The 911 call establishes your innocence. The video establishes evidence. If you are killed, these two things convict your killer rather than hoping some camera footage shows up later.

Monday, May 04, 2020

CDC Narratives

Again to show that we are often fed narratives in order to get us to do things. Here's an article on the flu.
The 25,000 to 69,000 numbers that Trump cited do not represent counted flu deaths per year; they are estimates that the CDC produces by multiplying the number of flu death counts reported by various coefficients produced through complicated algorithms. These coefficients are based on assumptions of how many cases, hospitalizations, and deaths they believe went unreported. In the last six flu seasons, the CDC’s reported number of actual confirmed flu deaths—that is, counting flu deaths the way we are currently counting deaths from the coronavirus—has ranged from 3,448 to 15,620, which far lower than the numbers commonly repeated by public officials and even public health experts.
So, Trump is wrong because the CDC presented incorrect information. Say who should we hold responsible for that? Anyway...
There is some logic behind the CDC’s methods. There are, of course, some flu deaths that are missed, because not everyone who contracts the flu gets a flu test. But there are little data to support the CDC’s assumption that the number of people who die of flu each year is on average six times greater than the number of flu deaths that are actually confirmed. In fact, in the fine print, the CDC’s flu numbers also include pneumonia deaths.
Oh so the CDC has been "misrepresenting" the data for some time now. Ok then.
The CDC should immediately change how it reports flu deaths. While in the past it was justifiable to err on the side of substantially overestimating flu deaths, in order to encourage vaccination and good hygiene, at this point the CDC’s reporting about flu deaths is dangerously misleading the public and even public officials about the comparison between these two viruses. If we incorrectly conclude that COVID-19 is “just another flu,” we may retreat from strategies that appear to be working in minimizing the speed of spread of the virus. [My underlines]
Wait, wait and wait. So this guy here is admitting that the CDC used these inflated total to essentially scare the public into getting yearly flu shots when they knew full well that the flu wasn't anywhere near the threat the public was made to believe?

For real though.

So, why should I believe that these same agencies and agents have been telling us the truth right now?

For real though.

This guy basically said that since the lie got people to do something "for their own good" [you know], it as A-OK. But now that there is some new shit out we need to discard with the old lie, tell the truth about it, and [perhaps] start in on a new one?

How about let's not misinform the public, period?

The article ends with:

We now know that Trump was disastrously wrong about the threat that the coronavirus posed to the United States. But his take that the cited numbers of flu deaths were incredible? On that, he was spot-on.
If the only conclusion this guy can come up with after flat out telling us we've been lied to for years [decades] by the CDC is that Trump "was disastrously wrong", I think this guy has a huge "mote in his eye".

Misinformation In One Chart

So the following image was posted online in order, I suppose, to shame those who are not wearing masks in public.

Now for the record, I approve of mask usage in enclosed areas with lots of people. I also will abide by rules set by owners of private businesses because it's their business and they can decide the terms of service. But the problem in this chart is very glaring when you think of the science and purpose behind the mask.

The mask, worn properly, that is, covering your mouth AND nose, is supposed to be very effective (+90%) in reducing the amount of airborne virus in droplets expelled by the wearer. Similarly it blocks the entrance of said aerosolized viruses from entering the mouth or nose of the wearer. If the CDC et-al are not lying about the effectiveness of a mask then line one on the chart is a bold faced lie.

If a asymptomatic Wuhan virus infected person is not wearing a mask and you ARE wearing a mask, your infection risk is very low. The only time your infection risk is high is if both you AND the infected person are sharing space and neither of you are wearing a mask.

The clue as to the bold lie of line one is in line 2. Why would the infection risk of a non-masked person be "low" if the asymptomatic person was wearing a mask but not the other way around? Do masks suddenly NOT work when a person is NOT infected?

Recognize when you are being fed a narrative rather than information.

Friday, May 01, 2020

Planet Of The Humans

Exposes the "Green Industrial Complex" for what it is.

I don't always agree with Mr. Moore but I cannot argue with much of what is presented here. It's a long watch but worth it. One thing I'll point out is that when near the end they talk about the issue of population, you 'll note that there is no discussion of open borders of the US that increases consumption of the very things he warns about.