Posted: Jul 22, 2021 5:47 pm
The Gretchen Whitmer "kidnapping" story got mentioned in several threads, but the mention in this thread seems to be the most direct (page 75).
Details about the role of federal agents, in the Buzzfeed story from a couple days ago, will only surprise ppl who don't have a clue how law enforcement works in this country:
A broad threat is identified; some lawyers in the Executive & various law enforcement orgs petition for funding; Congress sequesters funding; the money must be spent. In smaller PDs, that means some fancy equipment and multiplying of random encounters with civilians, leading to avoidable torture & murder, often of brown people.
In federal agencies, it also means justifying a budget of $billions by creating, planning, and equipping major conspiracy plots. The FBI cut its teeth infiltrating black & socialist groups in the middle 50 years of the 20th century - back then conspiracy to commit violent crimes wasn't an essential tactic (though it was used), since being black or being socialist was criminal enough. Ppl's ideas about civil liberties softened. Then 9-11 bloated those budgets again, and serendipitously ppl's ideas about civil liberties hardened, and American Muslims were recruited, groomed, and equipped by feds justifying an expense account. Today it's white supremacists and gun nuts - often but not always the same thing - and hackers.
I haven't read the article, only skimmed it. It's a waste of time. Anyone tracking the tortuous Wikipedia article on the topic back in the fall when the story was evolving, would've quickly pieced together what happened (Wayback Machine).
Details about the role of federal agents, in the Buzzfeed story from a couple days ago, will only surprise ppl who don't have a clue how law enforcement works in this country:
A broad threat is identified; some lawyers in the Executive & various law enforcement orgs petition for funding; Congress sequesters funding; the money must be spent. In smaller PDs, that means some fancy equipment and multiplying of random encounters with civilians, leading to avoidable torture & murder, often of brown people.
In federal agencies, it also means justifying a budget of $billions by creating, planning, and equipping major conspiracy plots. The FBI cut its teeth infiltrating black & socialist groups in the middle 50 years of the 20th century - back then conspiracy to commit violent crimes wasn't an essential tactic (though it was used), since being black or being socialist was criminal enough. Ppl's ideas about civil liberties softened. Then 9-11 bloated those budgets again, and serendipitously ppl's ideas about civil liberties hardened, and American Muslims were recruited, groomed, and equipped by feds justifying an expense account. Today it's white supremacists and gun nuts - often but not always the same thing - and hackers.
I haven't read the article, only skimmed it. It's a waste of time. Anyone tracking the tortuous Wikipedia article on the topic back in the fall when the story was evolving, would've quickly pieced together what happened (Wayback Machine).