well yes, that's a relief. actually, I initially wondered what the big deal was, but then everyone got so panicked, I got panicky as well. all the memo really seems to be about is that Garland didn't want to be blindsided. good.
now, since I'm commenting, I hope I'll be forgiven for changing the subject completely, but something is bugging me. why do media outlets (and I'm especially thinking of the NYT) insist on using the term "abortion provider?" I'm not a physician (I don't even play one on television, although I occasionally have at work) but, as far as I know, there's no medical specialty called "Abortion Provider." these people are Gynecologist(s)/Obstetrician(s). ""abortion provider" sounds like one of those terms Frank Luntz used to get lots of money to come up with. the picture it gives me is a bunch of hacks on some kind of abortion assembly line, struggling to fill some sort of daily quota. if THEY want to use the term it's on them. but our "best" (ugh!) newspapers shouldn't fall for this kind of bullshit.
and again, as long as I'm here, what the fuck is going to be done about the Secret Service? were these scumbags ALWAYS this rogue, but we just never had to look at it? the answer to me feels like "yup."
Well, back in 1962, the Secreat Service failed to follow up on what turned out to be good info from informants about the various plots against JFK in 1963 - and then they "lost" the records of that information when asked for it by a congressional committee in 1986. So yeah, they've been fucked a long time.
I have had the impression since the Carter days that the protective detail of the Secret Service is just a glorified police precinct. Which means it’s filled with cops. Which means it’s filled with the most thoughtless and reactive Republicans you can imagine. They just love protecting a Republican president, but they are just grinding through a job when assigned to a Democratic president. It’s pretty clear TFG caught on to this and did his best to get MAGA boys advanced through the ranks of the service. My bones are telling me that the erasure of the early January texts was an act of convenient incompetence, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by a previously authorized equipment switch out. A close and exhaustive investigation is required.
'We have an integrated mission of protection and financial investigations to ensure the safety and security of our protectees, key locations, and events of national significance. We also protect the integrity of our currency, and investigate crimes against the U.S. financial system committed by criminals around the world and in cyberspace'
'The Secret Service is the world’s most elite protection force and is at the cutting edge of investigating complex, cyber-enabled financial crime. To execute on these mission skill-sets, the Secret Service integrates rigorous training, skilled financial management, continuous human capital efforts, and robust strategic planning.'
'These elements are typically carried out by administrative, professional, and technical personnel, who are career professionals such as accountants, analysts, attorneys, engineers, IT experts, project managers, statisticians and many more to create a culture of empowered, decisive and effective leadership.' (UnitedStatesSecretService) See link below.
sounds like one of the bullshit job descriptions I used to get paid to write on the bullshit free-lance jobs I took to pay my rent in the seventies, most of which I spent drunk. it's not hard to understand why when you read it...prose as sawdust. when people start to blather on about how fucking "elite" they are, I tend to be pretty sure that before too long, I'm going to witness a dazzling display of incompetence. and is there actually ANYONE ALIVE who believes that pathetic cover story?
That is description of the responsibilities of the SS. 'The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government.'
Recognizing the responsibilities and training of SS staff strengthens doubts about the agency's explanation for the missing texts covering January 5th and 6th, 2021,
It is my pleasure to acknowledge our worthy American journalists who are mostly overlooked and undervalued by many newspaper and online readers. Carol Leonnig, an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, winner of 2015 Pulitzer Prize for her work on security and author of 'Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service, May 18, 2021', among other excellent books is on the front page with a big scoop. She and Maria Sacchetti just reported the following:
'A watchdog agency learned in February that the Secret Service had purged nearly all cellphone texts from around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but chose not to alert Congress, according to three people briefed on the internal discussions.'
'That watchdog agency, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, also prepared in October 2021 to issue a public alert that the Secret Service and other department divisions were stonewalling it on requests for records and texts surrounding the attack on the Capitol, but did not do so, the people briefed on the matter said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal investigations.'
'The previously unreported revelation about the inspector general’s months-long delay in flagging the now-vanished Secret Service texts came from two whistleblowers who have worked with Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari, the people knowledgeable about the internal discussions said.'
'In recent days, one former employee approached the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), an independent government-accountability group, and described the decision from Cuffari’s office not to promptly disclose that Secret Service records had been wiped from agency phones starting in January 2021. The group relayed the information to congressional staff, who independently corroborated the account with a second whistleblower.'
'The congressional staff and two whistleblowers shared a concern that Cuffari’s office not alerting congressional investigators to the missing records reduced the chances of recovering critical pieces of evidence related to the Jan. 6 attack.'
'The purged texts of Secret Service agents — some of whom planned President Donald Trump’s movements on Jan. 6 and shadowed Trump as he sought to overturn the election results — could shed light on what Trump was planning and saying.'
“It’s a dereliction of duty to keep the public and Congress in the dark for months,” said POGO senior investigator Nick Schwellenbach. “Digital forensics experts could have been working to recover these lost texts a long time ago.”
'Cuffari’s office did not directly respond to the allegations about the alert Wednesday. His office issued an email saying he disclosed concerns in his semiannual reports to Congress in September and March that Homeland Security and the Secret Service were delaying his office’s investigation into the Capitol attack. The reports do not mention the text messages.'
'The independent government accountability group has called for President Biden to remove Cuffari.' (WAPO) See link below. Sorry that I have run out of gifting for the rest of the month.
Based upon comments from those who know him, I pin my hopes on a man whose personal integrity directs him to do the right thing, regardless of politics.
'Justice Department Finds Conditions at Mississippi State Penitentiary Violate the Constitution
The Justice Department concluded today, based upon a thorough investigation, that there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions and practices at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (also known as Parchman) violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi and U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement.'
'Specifically, the department concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe Mississippi routinely violates the constitutional rights of people incarcerated at Parchman by:
failing to provide adequate mental health treatment to people with serious mental health needs;
failing to take sufficient suicide prevention measures to protect people at risk of self-harm;
subjecting people to prolonged isolation in solitary confinement in egregious conditions that place their physical and mental health at substantial risk of serious harm; and
failing to protect incarcerated people from violence at the hands of other incarcerated people.
As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the Justice Department provided the state of Mississippi with written notice of the supporting facts for these findings and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them in a comprehensive 59-page findings letter. '
'The action taken today by the Department of Justice will ensure that the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman fulfills its constitutional obligations,” said U.S. Attorney LaMarca. “Those obligations extend to reasonable efforts to provide basic mental health care, prevent violence between incarcerated persons and prevent suicides. Those who owe a debt to society should have these basic needs while paying that debt. We are committed to working with state officials to ensure that the State of Mississippi abides by its constitutional obligations.”
it's not for nothing that there's a huge Blues literature dedicated to Parchman...Bukka White being the best-known. I know that for the last hundred or so years, the Horrifying Southern Prison contest has always been between Parchman and Angola (LA).
Yea boy, you want to watch the fetid gas go out of a caricature of a human being, just watch what happens when that POS is convicted, an entire lifetime of getting away with scamming anyone that got near him, not to mention the american public, is told that he's going to prison. MAKE MY DAY!
Still waiting…justice delayed is justice denied as the old saw goes. And while the Congressional Commission is at it, what about the revelations on the Secret Service? You think that they would remember all the crap that went down concerning their reaction to the intel when JFK got assassinated in Dallas in ‘63, but now…??? Who watches the watchmen who are supposed to be watching the President? How deep does the rot go?
The DOJ starts from the bottom up meticulously creating solid cases. They have successfully indicted over 800 so far. Garland is currently responding to the misleading interpretation by Rachel Maddow of a DOJ standard memo. I listened to about 3 minutes of her accusation, then I yelled, "This is bunk" and changed the channel to HGTV where I know the foundations are strong and meet code.
MaryPat, Richard Ben-Veniste, a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal and a member of the 9/11 Commission, was interviewed this evening by Ari Melber on MSNBC. Ben-Veniste didn't talk about prosecutorial processes, such bottom up or as a hub with spokes as some of us have become familiar with. He did speak very highly of Garland, and in his opinion the DOJ has about six months to make the decision to indict or not with reference to Trump. I wanted to share this with you as I have recently become impatient with DOJ. I apologize to you for being pushy about it.
Hi MaryPat. I don't know whether you have had a chance to read TC's, TIME TO FISH OR CUT BAIT (UPDATED 7-18-22) and comments. It was about legal options concerning Garland/DOJ with regard to indicting Trump and those engaged in overturning the presidential election and the US government or related criminal behavior..
So, TC, do you think he is waiting for more evidence? I think I read the other day that the DoJ is getting evidence from the January 6th committee, but what else are they doing? We are getting dangerously close to the midterms, and the whole game may change, hopefully for the better, but we won't know that until it happens.
well yes, that's a relief. actually, I initially wondered what the big deal was, but then everyone got so panicked, I got panicky as well. all the memo really seems to be about is that Garland didn't want to be blindsided. good.
now, since I'm commenting, I hope I'll be forgiven for changing the subject completely, but something is bugging me. why do media outlets (and I'm especially thinking of the NYT) insist on using the term "abortion provider?" I'm not a physician (I don't even play one on television, although I occasionally have at work) but, as far as I know, there's no medical specialty called "Abortion Provider." these people are Gynecologist(s)/Obstetrician(s). ""abortion provider" sounds like one of those terms Frank Luntz used to get lots of money to come up with. the picture it gives me is a bunch of hacks on some kind of abortion assembly line, struggling to fill some sort of daily quota. if THEY want to use the term it's on them. but our "best" (ugh!) newspapers shouldn't fall for this kind of bullshit.
and again, as long as I'm here, what the fuck is going to be done about the Secret Service? were these scumbags ALWAYS this rogue, but we just never had to look at it? the answer to me feels like "yup."
Well, back in 1962, the Secreat Service failed to follow up on what turned out to be good info from informants about the various plots against JFK in 1963 - and then they "lost" the records of that information when asked for it by a congressional committee in 1986. So yeah, they've been fucked a long time.
Wow! I had no idea...where can I read more about that TC?
I have had the impression since the Carter days that the protective detail of the Secret Service is just a glorified police precinct. Which means it’s filled with cops. Which means it’s filled with the most thoughtless and reactive Republicans you can imagine. They just love protecting a Republican president, but they are just grinding through a job when assigned to a Democratic president. It’s pretty clear TFG caught on to this and did his best to get MAGA boys advanced through the ranks of the service. My bones are telling me that the erasure of the early January texts was an act of convenient incompetence, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by a previously authorized equipment switch out. A close and exhaustive investigation is required.
Yes indeed
UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE
'We have an integrated mission of protection and financial investigations to ensure the safety and security of our protectees, key locations, and events of national significance. We also protect the integrity of our currency, and investigate crimes against the U.S. financial system committed by criminals around the world and in cyberspace'
'The Secret Service is the world’s most elite protection force and is at the cutting edge of investigating complex, cyber-enabled financial crime. To execute on these mission skill-sets, the Secret Service integrates rigorous training, skilled financial management, continuous human capital efforts, and robust strategic planning.'
'These elements are typically carried out by administrative, professional, and technical personnel, who are career professionals such as accountants, analysts, attorneys, engineers, IT experts, project managers, statisticians and many more to create a culture of empowered, decisive and effective leadership.' (UnitedStatesSecretService) See link below.
https://www.secretservice.gov/about/overview
sounds like one of the bullshit job descriptions I used to get paid to write on the bullshit free-lance jobs I took to pay my rent in the seventies, most of which I spent drunk. it's not hard to understand why when you read it...prose as sawdust. when people start to blather on about how fucking "elite" they are, I tend to be pretty sure that before too long, I'm going to witness a dazzling display of incompetence. and is there actually ANYONE ALIVE who believes that pathetic cover story?
That is description of the responsibilities of the SS. 'The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government.'
Recognizing the responsibilities and training of SS staff strengthens doubts about the agency's explanation for the missing texts covering January 5th and 6th, 2021,
Oohh…
Took me awhile to catch on, Fern. 👍🏻
says them : (
Required, yes. Likely, not so much.
It is my pleasure to acknowledge our worthy American journalists who are mostly overlooked and undervalued by many newspaper and online readers. Carol Leonnig, an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, winner of 2015 Pulitzer Prize for her work on security and author of 'Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service, May 18, 2021', among other excellent books is on the front page with a big scoop. She and Maria Sacchetti just reported the following:
'A watchdog agency learned in February that the Secret Service had purged nearly all cellphone texts from around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but chose not to alert Congress, according to three people briefed on the internal discussions.'
'That watchdog agency, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, also prepared in October 2021 to issue a public alert that the Secret Service and other department divisions were stonewalling it on requests for records and texts surrounding the attack on the Capitol, but did not do so, the people briefed on the matter said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal investigations.'
'The previously unreported revelation about the inspector general’s months-long delay in flagging the now-vanished Secret Service texts came from two whistleblowers who have worked with Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari, the people knowledgeable about the internal discussions said.'
'In recent days, one former employee approached the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), an independent government-accountability group, and described the decision from Cuffari’s office not to promptly disclose that Secret Service records had been wiped from agency phones starting in January 2021. The group relayed the information to congressional staff, who independently corroborated the account with a second whistleblower.'
'The congressional staff and two whistleblowers shared a concern that Cuffari’s office not alerting congressional investigators to the missing records reduced the chances of recovering critical pieces of evidence related to the Jan. 6 attack.'
'The purged texts of Secret Service agents — some of whom planned President Donald Trump’s movements on Jan. 6 and shadowed Trump as he sought to overturn the election results — could shed light on what Trump was planning and saying.'
“It’s a dereliction of duty to keep the public and Congress in the dark for months,” said POGO senior investigator Nick Schwellenbach. “Digital forensics experts could have been working to recover these lost texts a long time ago.”
'Cuffari’s office did not directly respond to the allegations about the alert Wednesday. His office issued an email saying he disclosed concerns in his semiannual reports to Congress in September and March that Homeland Security and the Secret Service were delaying his office’s investigation into the Capitol attack. The reports do not mention the text messages.'
'The independent government accountability group has called for President Biden to remove Cuffari.' (WAPO) See link below. Sorry that I have run out of gifting for the rest of the month.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/20/secret-service-national-archives/?itid=hp-top-table-main-t-2
Based upon comments from those who know him, I pin my hopes on a man whose personal integrity directs him to do the right thing, regardless of politics.
'Justice Department Finds Conditions at Mississippi State Penitentiary Violate the Constitution
The Justice Department concluded today, based upon a thorough investigation, that there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions and practices at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (also known as Parchman) violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi and U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement.'
'Specifically, the department concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe Mississippi routinely violates the constitutional rights of people incarcerated at Parchman by:
failing to provide adequate mental health treatment to people with serious mental health needs;
failing to take sufficient suicide prevention measures to protect people at risk of self-harm;
subjecting people to prolonged isolation in solitary confinement in egregious conditions that place their physical and mental health at substantial risk of serious harm; and
failing to protect incarcerated people from violence at the hands of other incarcerated people.
As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the Justice Department provided the state of Mississippi with written notice of the supporting facts for these findings and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them in a comprehensive 59-page findings letter. '
'The action taken today by the Department of Justice will ensure that the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman fulfills its constitutional obligations,” said U.S. Attorney LaMarca. “Those obligations extend to reasonable efforts to provide basic mental health care, prevent violence between incarcerated persons and prevent suicides. Those who owe a debt to society should have these basic needs while paying that debt. We are committed to working with state officials to ensure that the State of Mississippi abides by its constitutional obligations.”
it's not for nothing that there's a huge Blues literature dedicated to Parchman...Bukka White being the best-known. I know that for the last hundred or so years, the Horrifying Southern Prison contest has always been between Parchman and Angola (LA).
Parchman Farm Blues Lyrics
Judge give me life this mornin'
Down on Parchman farm
Judge give me life this mornin'
Down on Parchman farm
I wouldn't hate it so bad
But I left my wife in mourn
Oh, goodbye wife
All you have done gone
Oh, goodbye wife
All you have done gone
But I hope some day
You will hear my lonesome song
Oh, listen you men
I don't mean no harm
Oh, listen you men
I don't mean no harm
If you wanna do good
You better stay off old Parchman farm
We got to work in the mornin'
Just at dawn of day
We got to work in the mornin'
Just at dawn of day
Just at the settin' of the sun
That's when the work is done
I'm down on Parchman farm
I sho' wanna go back home
I'm down on Parchman farm
But I sho' wanna go back home
But I hope some day
I will overcome
***
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Hlj18K040
I love it! The walls are closing in Donald!
Yea boy, you want to watch the fetid gas go out of a caricature of a human being, just watch what happens when that POS is convicted, an entire lifetime of getting away with scamming anyone that got near him, not to mention the american public, is told that he's going to prison. MAKE MY DAY!
Still waiting…justice delayed is justice denied as the old saw goes. And while the Congressional Commission is at it, what about the revelations on the Secret Service? You think that they would remember all the crap that went down concerning their reaction to the intel when JFK got assassinated in Dallas in ‘63, but now…??? Who watches the watchmen who are supposed to be watching the President? How deep does the rot go?
Why has it taken the AG so long? I don't have anything against Mr. Garland, but it seems like he's taking his cues from the weathervane.
The DOJ starts from the bottom up meticulously creating solid cases. They have successfully indicted over 800 so far. Garland is currently responding to the misleading interpretation by Rachel Maddow of a DOJ standard memo. I listened to about 3 minutes of her accusation, then I yelled, "This is bunk" and changed the channel to HGTV where I know the foundations are strong and meet code.
MaryPat, Richard Ben-Veniste, a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal and a member of the 9/11 Commission, was interviewed this evening by Ari Melber on MSNBC. Ben-Veniste didn't talk about prosecutorial processes, such bottom up or as a hub with spokes as some of us have become familiar with. He did speak very highly of Garland, and in his opinion the DOJ has about six months to make the decision to indict or not with reference to Trump. I wanted to share this with you as I have recently become impatient with DOJ. I apologize to you for being pushy about it.
Agree, Mary Pat.
Unita. 🗽
Hi MaryPat. I don't know whether you have had a chance to read TC's, TIME TO FISH OR CUT BAIT (UPDATED 7-18-22) and comments. It was about legal options concerning Garland/DOJ with regard to indicting Trump and those engaged in overturning the presidential election and the US government or related criminal behavior..
So, TC, do you think he is waiting for more evidence? I think I read the other day that the DoJ is getting evidence from the January 6th committee, but what else are they doing? We are getting dangerously close to the midterms, and the whole game may change, hopefully for the better, but we won't know that until it happens.
I am almost afraid to get my hopes up!! Thanks, TC
Yes, it’s all scary and wild and dangerous and actually a bit wonderful to see MOVEMENT FORWARD. And, do not be afraid. We know what is true.
Salud, Sister. 🗽
TY, Christine! Every once in awhile I need someone to say " do not be afraid"...then I can get back to the roller coaster ride! Thanks!.
Yes, TC, May it ring true.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFfnlYbFEiE
"oh...[their] offense is rank, it smells to heaven."
think as that as a gift to all the other English majors out there; it just SO applies.
what a bunch of scumbags. thumbing their noses at us. just like Clarence Thomas et al.