The First Seal is Broken
An Isolated Incident parts I, II and III
Many years ago, news broke on a regimented time schedule, during the morning for evening papers and before midnight for the morning editions. Radio and television altered that, first over broadcast and then with cable; finally the internet made news an instantaneous proposition and social media dis-intermediated the journalism establishment. Agent Regan was about to experience this in all of its glory.
It had been several weeks since the highway incident and little more had been learned. The absence of forensic evidence was as frustrating as the lack of witnesses. Frank’s work cell rang before the morning alarm went off. He answered and immediately snapped awake at the sound of the deputy director’s voice asking “have you caught the news this morning”? He popped out of bed and grabbed the remote. The deputy director said simply “get your ass in here as fast as you can” and hung up. Frank turned on the TV and headed to the kitchen to get some coffee going.
From across the room he heard the anchor:
We have reports of three similar incidents across three different states…
A group has claimed responsibility for these terrible attacks…
He grabbed and opened his cellphone. The notifications were all pinging – e-mail, Twitter, text messages.
Frank’s thoughts collected as he poured coffee – the government was on the defensive, both literally and metaphorically. The attackers had made the first strike on the narrative, just as they had in bloody physical terms. The gauntlet had been thrown down in what they had given the media; they were attacking corruption. Corruption that the entire edifice of American government had given sanction. The victims, from that perspective, had all been victimizers; they had all been responsible for aggressive asset forfeiture (or legalized armed robbery as these vigilantes had put it). But now, instead of isolated attacks, there were simultaneous ones. This was a whole new dimension – there was not just planning, but scale to the operations. And they were ready to be public about what they were doing. Frank had an involuntary shudder.
He couldn’t just sit and think, he had been summoned, so he hit the shower, then shaved and dressed. He filled his travel cup and made his way to the office. Each second in transit, more media activity – mass and social – filled the void, spinning up a crisis.
The office was quickly working it’s way into mayhem. Frank would be briefing the Director and a couple of Deputy AGs on what he knew (which wasn’t all that much – and that wouldn’t go over well). A task force was initiated with higher ranking officers in the lead and Agent Regan found himself closed out of the circle that would have operational control despite none of them having any greater idea of just what was going on. Teams of agents were tasked – one to each site for forensics (all local LE were told to secure and stand-by), another team to work all digital analysis, a group to review all known groups both infiltrated and not, another to work on intel outreach; Regan was pulled into the team that would handle both public and internal government communications. Not bad he thought to himself, not in the inner circle, but damn close.
Another good episode, JI. I wonder how the locals felt about being squeezed out? My idea is that initially upon discovery of the crime scene(s) enough evidence contamination occurred, until it was was realized that the problem was just not local.
I’ll have to wait another week to find out. You guys and these serial programs…
A task force was initiated with higher ranking officers in the lead and Agent Regan found himself closed out of the circle that would have operational control despite none of them having any greater idea of just what was going on.
Situation Normal, All Fucked Up?
What? Another series I have to follow up on? Thanks Juris.
Thanks, Juris. You got me hooked.
Not bad he thought to himself, not in the inner circle, but damn close
Hmm. I wonder if Frank might be switching sides once he gets close enough to see the extent of the corruption. Guess I’ll have to keep reading.
It might also depend on which side of the corruption he feels more drawn to, and the consequences of the choice.
Great story
Taibbi has a bit up on Ukraine, and this comment had to be shared.
https://twitter.com/FlyingFastNLow/status/1485990681869013005
That’s the third time I’ve seen that one here.
Guess I’m a one-note band.
It’s been popular
“This post is for paid subscribers.”
Hard to share even a good quote or two out it, the whole thing is just so good.
But the comment – the commenter even subsequently gave permission for sharing.
We just lost a war in Afghanistan – the Graveyard of Empires. Invading Russia in the winter is the next logical step.
Half a league, half a league, half a league onward. He who hesitates
is lostlives to fight another day.Gosh, you guys sound like you’re not okay with thousands of patriotic Americans dying so Hunter Biden can get his undeserved corruption checks.
I knew this was a right-wing site.
Maybe he’ll get a lasting fashion term? The Brits got cardigans and balaclavas out of Crimea.
Hunter vyshyvanka?
Putin will decide he can control Ukraine through other means. And Biden’s handlers will crow about him keeping us out of war, like JFK staring down Khruschev over Cuban missiles. That, and the natural end of chicomvirus, will send Biden’s popularity soaring and the Red Wave in 2022 won’t crest so high. Libertarians will welcome no war and the end to virus b.s., but why does this scenario seem like a nightmare?
This seems improbable but WTF do I know.
Enough to know Biden is toast. He doesn’t have Reagan’s principles or Clinton’s intellect to help him turn the tide.
Ice cream!
The problem with that scenario is that it would require judgement and restraint on the part of whoever is operating the Biden puppet.
Edward Tufte can update that Russian graphic for the 21st century.
OT: has this one made the rounds?
https://gab.com/KanekoaTheGreat/posts/107679279986606271
I couldn’t take my eyes off seeing faces.
How sad.
That is not great.
The corruption is so deep and so vast that I wonder if it’s possible, under the current system, to hold any of these people responsible for the BS they pulled. The people that are supposed to be overseeing this stuff are corrupt, so it may take a Ceaușescu type solution.
Who is the guy in the video?
Thanks for sharing this JI.
Nice story, JI. While it’s a somewhat different area of law, eminent domain law precedent really makes it difficult to believe they’ll be any action against qualified immunity and seizure except in the far leftist centers of the US. After what’s happening in those places bears its’ inevitable fruit, I fear even reasonable restrictions on cops will fail due to the backlash.
The NY Post is already heavily pushing to bring QI back to NYC cops. (I believe it was removed toward the end of Bill’s reign – to my somewhat surprise as I didn’t really follow that initiative.)
I wonder if there’s any backlash due to the Floyd family getting $27 million? Sort of puts perspective on what ending QI might mean in the future.
While no individual cop is likely to have pockets that deep, there could be some wiped out easily enough with petty unprovable complaints about
“cop called me a mfing n…. and then wopped me upside the head. No one saw it but my doctors confirm I got headaches for rest of my life.”
Fair point.
Rhywun – if DeBlasio was for ending QI, that gets me questioning it’s merits.
It’s an issue I haven’t thought through very much to be honest.
What I do know is that the end result is that cops are afraid to do their jobs.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I don’t know.
This. Allowing frivolous or harassing lawsuits against cops personally means you won’t have cops. There has to be a well designed process – so don’t hold your breath.
Won’t you First with me tonight?
Won’t you First with me tonight?
Isn’t this a great night…to First?
Sic semper tyrannis
It would be too perfect if myocarditis caused him to black out.
So this happened.
There are no winners in that story.
Maybe the little girl and whatever other kids the “victim” was diddling that he had an arrest warrant out for.
Maybe. He was accused, not convicted. The idiot teens went vigilante. Step-dad was murdered for a noncapital offense and all three of them will be lucky to get LWOP.
CNN hardest hit.
As an aside, as much as I wanna feed pedos into woodchippers, I’m a little worried that the mere accusation of being one means you get pilloried in public opinion. This dude had a warrant out for that already, but you never know.
Exactly. I once represented a guy accused of rape. His neighbor in their apartment complex claimed they were talking in her apartment when he got handsy then forced himself on her. He was black. She was white. The cops collected DNA from semen samples on her clothing.
DA offered my guy a plea deal. Client said he was innocent and had never laid a hand on his neighbor. He couldn’t offer me a reason why she would lie. I asked the DA for the lab results. He didn’t have them. Client would not deal.
Cut to a couple months later when the test results came back. Two separate semen samples reveal two different men, neither of them my client. This is one reason we have discovery and trials instead of street justice.
That sucks. It’s not like we’re unfamiliar with how witch hunts turn out. Even if there are witches, you can’t let the accusation alone let you start the bonfire.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140814172045if_/http://content.leenks.com/smut/gal_3/10.jpg
NSFW.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150511123348if_/http://content.leenks.com/smut/gal_2124/016.jpg
NSFW.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070115141708if_/http://content.leenks.com:80/smut/gal_228/003.jpg
NSFW.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190820051525if_/http://content.leenks.com/smut/gal_1106/04.jpg
NSFW.
My night just got better.
Counter argument for the M&M debacle.
https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1486164153874059266
Pretty funny.
Why does the WH have her talk about anything?
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2022/01/25/vice-president-kamala-harris-runs-down-the-list-of-the-most-vulnerable-and-it-includes-just-about-everyone/
When The First That Will Change Everything happens, there will no longer be all these little insignificant identity groups. There will only be Firsters and seconders.
Most of the Firsters will still be straight white men and eskimos (they are a hardy people), though. And Nigerians.
Really? Nigerians are 419ers, not 1sters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLpeX4RRo28
Lol. That’s the first time I’ve seen/heard that.
Out of my Face
Couple notes since I finally got home and logged in….
1. re: UCS nifty brining article. Maybe I missed it, but why would you use a sealed baggie for something you plan to eat fairly soon rather than a tupperware/gladware container? I’ve soaked a chicken breast in leftover “gravy” for a few days – and it cooked up amazingly – but I’ll need to try some real brines/etc like this type of thing. (good way to use up some old frozen chicken breasts but I think my question stands).
2. re: the NRO stuff I posted by KDW this morning. Charles CW Cooke has been going back and forth with KDW all day on his post this morning. At this point, I’m gonna say KDW is straight up cosmotarian…on the other hand, we still have Charlie as well as David Harsanyi representing libertarians pretty well. There’s a lot of good diversity of thought there even if we disagree with a lot of it.
I agree with you about NR. They really do encourage open debate. I take your point about KDW but disagree. I also disagree with him but I think he can articulate his principles and defend them.
I used vacuum bags because I have no idea when I will be eating any of them. In fact, most of what I made ended up in the feezer. Plus the vacuum bag requires less marinade per unit protein to cover it. This takes up less overall space in the freezer as well.
Now I’m not a big one for military bands, but I’d take this one
https://youtu.be/bA9n8D_uwxI
I was hoping for hot chicks in stars and stripes bikinis playing the national anthem.
Anybody else up ridiculously early today?
no
Nope.
I am up exactly when I planned to be up, even if it is somewhat earlier than I would be for work.
Yes. Dang
No, I forgot to set my alarm.
Seven+ hours of sleep is not normal for me.
Feel rested?
Mostly I feel stressed without enough time to unwind before work.
But yeah, less bleary than usual.
Euphemism spotted.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/01/biden-afghan-refugee-convicted-sexually-assaulting-3-year-old-girl-quantico-base-argued-conduct-acceptable-culture/
O.o
Hand him over to the texans from above. He followed his culture, let us follow ours.
How?
Can that thinking ever be reconciled/remediated/fixed in a western tolerant culture?
I meant These Texans
I get that idea. But preemptive murder isnt a Glib thing.
I’m not making heads or tails of your argument.
Sorry. And I agree.
I am wondering how bad is the cultural assimilation of all of the Afghan refugees is going to be. They are stuck here, no one is going to deport them.
I do have sympathy for the young adults who presumably killed a potential pedophile, but i do think they went to far.
Now, now. He’s just a minor-attracted person, following the ways of his people. Sure, he should make reparations, I guess. Maybe give her a couple of goats?
https://pix11.com/entertainment/charlie-brown-voice-peter-robbins-dies-65/
?
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/lapd-concerned-after-guns-among-items-stolen-from-trains-in-lincoln-heights/
“Tens of firearms. “. 🙄
So twenty? Ninety? I can’t get worked up about either.
“Tens” would imply not enough to be “Dozens”. So somewhere in the teens probably.
Wouldn’t that have to be between 20 and 23?
19 would not yet be multiple tens.
Watch, the actual number was probably three.
*looks at article, sees it’s about train looting*
… hundred
A local home burglary?
Well we talking about crew served weapons, generic army full auto, civilian AR’s, black powder?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/australian-reportedly-killed-explosive-vest-222740661.html
Speed bumps can kill you. Ban them.
#Endspeedbumps
“Austrailian”. Suicide bombers are not typically an Australian thing. Release more information about the dead guy and who he was planning to kill (besides himself)
I sort of get a suicide feel reading the article.
You don’t strap a bomb vest to yourself intending to live through it. The question is who else he intended to catch in the blast.
You might strap a bomb vest to someone else, though…
Vote “None of the Above”?
Venca/Cuthulu 2024?
Carlo Gambino wasn’t available? At least he ran an efficient operation.
Did he retain his Italian citizenship?
Did he have Italian Citizenship?
Made his bones as a hitman in Sicily so I’d guess he had Italian citizenship:
https://themobmuseum.org/notable_names/carlo-gambino/
His primary disqualifying factor is he’s been dead since the ‘70s
Re: Texas brothers above, if you read an open secret Twitter, you kinda get it. I don’t agree, but I understand.
suh’ fam
whats goody
Good morning, homey, Tulip, Stinky, U, ‘bodru, Lack, & Sean!
So…. how gawdawfully cold is it out there, homey? Should I call in
sicksensible and stay home?…and good afternoon, Pie!
I can’t speak to Ohio, but I left my work boots out in my car overnight here. (Wore my sneakers for the drive in) So my feet are going to be cold in a few moments when I put them on.
Oh, the joys of doing that with either steel-toe or metatarsal boots. They never, ever, warm up while you wear them.
Somehow I have a feeling HIS will warm up today.
Naw.
Warm air rises :p
According to my truck, its a balmy 1º americanheit
-17 outside but OTOH, I’m not outside so my caring is limited to those that are outside.
I didnt feel much of a breeze when I left work around 0615, but according to our local news we have something like -13º F with the wind chill.
Mornin’ GT and all of the above
Cheer up UCS, could be worse.
Well, yeah, I could have left them back home. These boots weren’t cheap.
Good morning, 4(20)! Without even looking, I imagine your temps are well into the negative. Good thing you’re made of hardy stock!
Good thing that Al Gore invented heat along with the internet. We’ve rounded the inter corner and the days are noticeably longer. Yesterday it stayed below 0 but it melted a few drops of water from the roof. Nice to see, it’s a beginning of the anticipated future.
inter = winter
Tres Sr. will have his annual migration to Florida soon. I mentioned once that for all the years he’s been going there in winter, Ive never gotten an invite. He just looked at me and said, “I know”.
My kids in TX would love to see me but the 3 day fish and relatives rule sets in.
Mornin, all you glorious reprobates!
GT: Absolutely. Sick, sensible, whatever works.
Later Folks. Gotta get on the road.
Give us a daily report, we’re depending on you
I’ve spent the last couple days reviewing videos of the fishing trips to Canada. Memories and technology. I get to see my brothers again…
21F here at the beach, getting the kids ready for school. My newish keyboard doesn’t produce the special characters when typing “ALT” and a number or combination of numbers. No degree symbol for me.
Throw it away, it sounds defective.
In iWorld, degree is Alt-0 🙂 ººº
Im going through my coupons since Kroger drops the new ones on Wednesday.
What the hell are “exfoliating sugar cubes” ?
I’ve heard of “sugar scrubs” in cream or gel form (a chick thing,) but not in cube form. Sounds a bit brutal for my delicate complexion.
Just use LAVA brand soap; it cleans with the power of pumice. Do they still make LAVA?
Looks like it. “Since 1893.”
Ugh that brings back bad memories of one of mom’s asshole boyfriends. He insisted on Lava.
They sound like sugar cubes that are shedding flakes of dead skin.
“my esophagus has never felt more clear!”
That’s a Winston’s mom quote, isn’t it?
Mornin y’all.
1° but it didn’t seem that cold when I went out to start the van. Still, I think I’m going to skip work today.
Hate birds disrupt London commute
Swans are bigger asshoes than Canada geese.
The swan was kept overnight and released back into a flock Tuesday morning.
This soft on crime bullshit has gotten out of hand.
We started seeing swans here a few years ago, now they are in migrating flocks of 40-50 at a time. They are the first to return in the spring and will show up before the lakes thaw, in the open rivers or below a dam. They are the last to leave in the fall, as long as there is open water. They are beginning to nest locally and aren’t a problem yet. A few Canada geese but so far haven’t been a problem.
The Central Flyway has shifted westward, towards MikeS territory.
Online admissions testing, right around the corner
The average scores are about to increase dramatically, and public school teachers will get all the credit, because that increase will be totally legit.
…and most kids will have a college degree, a big debt and a Starbucks career…
It’s the reason we have self serve gas pumps.
All the cool schools have dropped it anyway because racist or something.
The most important criteria are gender, sexuality, politics, and race. Everyone knows that.
They could use calculators before.
Any calculator? There’s a big difference between doing simple arithmetic calculations and applying complex functions. I’d think the latter would be unacceptable in a testing scenario.
There’s an approved list of calculators. Texas Instruments has a near monopoly on that market and charges accordingly.
Seems right, my kids took those tests fairly recently. Point is, that will be nearly impossible to enforce with remote testing.
The average scores are about to increase dramatically, and public school teachers will get all the credit, because that increase will be totally legit.
That was my takeaway, as well.
Go team!
Oh noes!
Elton John has the ‘vid!!!!
Vid killed the radio star?