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Maddow: Al Qaeda used to instruct terrorists to ram their cars into crowds — just like GOP bills now legalize
April 21, 2021
Oklahoma and Florida legislatures have legalized running a car into a crowd of people if one feels "threatened." It's being called a get-out-of-jail-free card for white supremacists and terrorists who want to commit murder during a Black Lives Matter rally.
Ironically, Oklahoma experienced an incident in which a disgruntled student plowed into a crowd of people at the homecoming parade in 2015homecoming parade in 2015, killing two people. Oklahoma was also home to large, armed tea party rallies that could now be targeted thanks to the law. There are generally much larger and louder protests from the right-wing in Oklahoma than from Black Lives Matter protests.
In Florida, they've essentially nullified the right to assemble when it comes to confederate statues, which will likely get the law thrown off the books. Still, an all-white Republican group of lawmakers cheered on the freedom they now have to kill Black Lives Matter activists.
Speaking to Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, Maddow asked about the specifics of the bill, which he noted are flatly unconstitutional. But it was her comparison that brought in a striking comparison.
"One of the things that is, I think so -- that is the most shocking about this bill, and we saw that it made the headline in The New York Times today, is this idea that this Republican bill, and now state law in Florida, singles out people who use their cars to run over protesters for a specially designated form of immunity," she began. "I mean, you know, the freaking Al Qaeda Magazine, when it used to exist, used to advise Al Qaeda adherents that a great way to terrorize lots of Americans is to use a readily available large tool, namely a car or a truck, to run down Americans as a way of committing terrorist attacks in this country. By putting such a spotlight on that and singling it out for immunity, are there concerns this is creating a clear and present current public safety threat around that type of way of hurting people?"
Jones agreed, explaining that it happened in Miami, Florida last year during a George Floyd demonstration where someone drove their car into a crowd. Under the new law, killing someone there would be legal.
"And let's be extremely clear, that the governor has created a piece of legislation that no one has asked for," said Jones. "Instead of the governor doing what needs to be done to protect the lives of Black people within this state who is included within the 22 million people in the state of Florida, to begin to create these penalties that do nothing but create more individuals in our criminal justice system and to continue to clog up our jails. So, it does nothing."
See the discussion below:
the dangers of the murder legalization law www.youtube.com
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WATCH: Tucker Carlson bursts out in maniacal laughter while pushing racist conspiracy theory
April 21, 2021
On Wednesday evening, after weeks of fierce pushback, Fox News' Tucker Carlson once again pushed the white nationalist "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory — a narrative pushed by extremist groups that there is a deliberate plot to crowd white people out of Western nations and replace them with dark-skinned foreigners. And during the segment, he burst out in angry laughter, responding to criticism of the idea from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).
"Well, Ted Lieu is a member of Congress, he's a Democrat, he represents the state of California, he's really smart, he went to Stanford, so when you hear him speak, you're really hearing the Democratic Party's brain trust on display," said Carlson. "With that in mind, we wanted to bring you one of his more recent pronouncements, a tweet in response to one of his colleagues, Congressman Scott Perry. Now, Perry was making an argument we have often made, because it's true, and that is that Democrats are using mass immigration to transform the country to change who votes so they can control who wins."
"Ted Lieu was VERY annoyed that Scott Perry said this," said Carlson. "And so he sent the following tweet, and he was clearly enraged as he did. Quote, 'Dear @RepScottPerry: Native-born Americans like you are no more American, and no less American, than an immigrant like me.' Good point, we agree with that. And then he said this: 'And with every passing year, there will be more people who look like me in the US. You can't stop it. So take your racist replacement theory and shove it.'"
"In other words, you're being replaced, and there's nothing you can do about it! So shut up!" added Carlson, breaking out in sharp laughter.
Watch below:
Tucker Carlson reiterates the so-called "Great Replacement Theory" conspiracy theory, which has embraced by white s… https://t.co/877WKsaD6N— John Whitehouse (@John Whitehouse)1619052128.0
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Democratic policing bill could actually make a difference in police brutality says former federal prosecutor
April 21, 2021
The federal government has a minor role in community policing, which is generally governed by state and local communities. But in the Democrats' George Floyd Policing Act, there are things that at least one former federal prosecutor thinks could make things better.
Writing for MSNBC's website on Wednesday, Joyce White Vance explained that "true restorative justice" for George Floyd, and all of the other victims of police brutality, "means we must not stop here if we are going."
She confessed that given the U.S. has 50 states and 16 territories with their own individual rules and regulations, it can get complicated.
"Agency regulations and laws at every level of government will need to be reformulated to promote a culture in which police act as guardians, while professionals with expertise in areas like mental health and addiction are engaged where they can serve," explained Vance. "Communities need to rethink where police resources are allocated, like routine traffic stops. Much of the transformation in policing will take place as part of a patchwork quilt. Some departments may move quickly, while others will prove more resistant to change."
That's why the George Floyd Policing Act is so important, she explained. It would unify policing across the board, making life a lot easier for prosecutors to file cases for "excessive force cases under 18 USC 242, the federal civil rights statute." It would also allow federal prosecutors to step in when states refuse to prosecute for political reasons.
"This law makes it a federal crime for law enforcement officers to deprive people of federally protected rights because of their race," said Vance.
The other thing the bill would do is to reduce the "inappropriately stringent burden" on prosecutors to prove the officer meant to "deprive a person of his or her constitutional rights." Instead, the burden would be "roof of knowledge or recklessness." It would still protect officers against absurd prosecutions, but it would give federal prosecutors the ability "to backstop state criminal justice systems."
Vace explained it would also restore law enforcement requirements to train over implicit bias, stop racial profiling, and create reporting of "use of force" incidents so that the data can be gathered to research the problem.
"Passing the George Floyd Act would put us on a path toward restoring credibility in policing and ensuring that communities regain confidence in law enforcement," Vance closed, noting that there would still be work to do, but it would be a beginning.
Read the full details in the piece at MSNBC.com.
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