"First and foremost, this is a tragic event, and I want to extend my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Renee Nicole Good," Kyle Milowski, a former ICE agent, told Newsweek. "It is inappropriate to judge an officer's actions during a dynamic and rapidly changing situation in hindsight through the lens of social media videos."
"Officers are trained to position themselves in front of a vehicle to create a 'contact and cover' environment, referred to as a tactical 'L-shape,' used to maintain control of a scene," he said.
The "L shape" thing caught my eye so I consulted our friend Dr. Google. It's a military ambush tactic, meant to trap an enemy in a crossfire.
ICE is using military tactics in a civilian context. That is going to continue to get people killed.
It needs to be shut down. I don't know who has the authority or the juice to make that happen, but until it does, people are going to continue to get killed.
I'll add that my niece works as a nurse in Phoenix AZ. She has contact with ICE and/or CBP officers who bring immigrants to the hospital, as well as with the folks they bring in.
In general, she says, the officers are kind to the folks they are handling. She hasn't met that many - 10 or 12? - but that's the pattern. So at least some of these people have retained some degree of their own humanity. That, perhaps, offers a path to de-escalating some of this bullshit. Things are so polarized that I don't how anyone. can make the kind of contact that would allow that to happen, but it is, perhaps, helpful to recognize that not all of these people are utter monsters.
Some no doubt are. And the prisons - the for-profit prisons - where the immigrants are being held suck.
This is the most fucked-up situation I've seen in my lifetime. Which includes some truly fucked-up times.
I don't know how we get out of it. Even if Trump keeled over dead tomorrow, the whole MAGA crazy train has been unleashed and it's not going anywhere.
2 weeks ago
2 – Why does Ross walk to the front of the running SUV in the first place?
3 – Why doesn’t Ross get out of the way as soon as the SUV first moves (backwards, mind you – not toward him)?
4 – After failing at #2, why doesn’t Ross get out of the way when Good turns her steering wheel to the right, indicating an intention to drive away?
I'm not a mind reader, so I don't know the true answer to all of this.
When your personal wealth reaches a billion dollars, you are required to move to the seasteading platform of your choice. Your citizenship likewise transfers to the seasteading platform.
Optionally, you can move to Greenland.
Enjoy the fish!
3 weeks ago
So, I read the NRO article about Good belonging to ICE Watch. It includes a highly selective account of the events. Go figure.
Bullshit has eclipsed sensible discourse.
3 weeks ago
" I have to think the administration is betting on cleek’s step #3"
Stephen Miller has wet dreams about invoking martial law.
3 weeks ago
"The killing of Renee Good is truly shocking – could this be a tipping point?"
I second cleek's "nah".
Based on the reaction so far, folks are generally responding to Good's killing exactly as you might predict.
MAGAs and right-leaning people in general respond with some mixture of "she tried to kill the cop", "she should have complied", "she had no business being there in the first place". Or just that old favorite, FAFO.
Folks holding, for lack of a better term, a progressive point of view see it as further evidence of an autocratic regime gone out of bounds.
Folks who, for whatever reason, don't want to line up on one side or the other generally think it's terrible, a shame that such things "happen".
Most news sources stick to a neutral stance. Either "this happened' with no further comment, or some version of "both sides".
I don't think this will move the needle, in any direction.
My own point of view is that ICE and the CBP in their current form need to be disbanded. They are a public menace. We need to manage immigration, but not like this. Shut it down and start over from a clean slate.
3 weeks ago
and now, Customs and Border Patrol shoots two people in Portland OR.
"what animates these militia, white power, and Christian nationalist types"
I'll pretend to be a mind reader for a minute and take a guess.
For some, fear, that they are unable to acknowledge, so they compensate.
And some people are just fucking bullies.
In the words of Good's widow, we have whistles but they have guns.
From here:
https://www.newsweek.com/former-ice-agents-break-down-jonathan-rosss-actions-11334133
The "L shape" thing caught my eye so I consulted our friend Dr. Google. It's a military ambush tactic, meant to trap an enemy in a crossfire.
ICE is using military tactics in a civilian context. That is going to continue to get people killed.
It needs to be shut down. I don't know who has the authority or the juice to make that happen, but until it does, people are going to continue to get killed.
I'll add that my niece works as a nurse in Phoenix AZ. She has contact with ICE and/or CBP officers who bring immigrants to the hospital, as well as with the folks they bring in.
In general, she says, the officers are kind to the folks they are handling. She hasn't met that many - 10 or 12? - but that's the pattern. So at least some of these people have retained some degree of their own humanity. That, perhaps, offers a path to de-escalating some of this bullshit. Things are so polarized that I don't how anyone. can make the kind of contact that would allow that to happen, but it is, perhaps, helpful to recognize that not all of these people are utter monsters.
Some no doubt are. And the prisons - the for-profit prisons - where the immigrants are being held suck.
This is the most fucked-up situation I've seen in my lifetime. Which includes some truly fucked-up times.
I don't know how we get out of it. Even if Trump keeled over dead tomorrow, the whole MAGA crazy train has been unleashed and it's not going anywhere.
I'm not a mind reader, so I don't know the true answer to all of this.
That said, there is this:
https://hejon07.substack.com/p/the-man-who-learned-to-stop-worrying
A modest proposal:
When your personal wealth reaches a billion dollars, you are required to move to the seasteading platform of your choice. Your citizenship likewise transfers to the seasteading platform.
Optionally, you can move to Greenland.
Enjoy the fish!
So, I read the NRO article about Good belonging to ICE Watch. It includes a highly selective account of the events. Go figure.
Bullshit has eclipsed sensible discourse.
" I have to think the administration is betting on cleek’s step #3"
Stephen Miller has wet dreams about invoking martial law.
"The killing of Renee Good is truly shocking – could this be a tipping point?"
I second cleek's "nah".
Based on the reaction so far, folks are generally responding to Good's killing exactly as you might predict.
MAGAs and right-leaning people in general respond with some mixture of "she tried to kill the cop", "she should have complied", "she had no business being there in the first place". Or just that old favorite, FAFO.
Folks holding, for lack of a better term, a progressive point of view see it as further evidence of an autocratic regime gone out of bounds.
Folks who, for whatever reason, don't want to line up on one side or the other generally think it's terrible, a shame that such things "happen".
Most news sources stick to a neutral stance. Either "this happened' with no further comment, or some version of "both sides".
I don't think this will move the needle, in any direction.
My own point of view is that ICE and the CBP in their current form need to be disbanded. They are a public menace. We need to manage immigration, but not like this. Shut it down and start over from a clean slate.
and now, Customs and Border Patrol shoots two people in Portland OR.
what the actual fuck is going on.