Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
Years ago I listened to a Jello Biafra spoken word album, maybe 20 years ago or more and it mentioned this very thing about textbooks and who writes them and how much money is in making them.
I thought that was just some podunk little Texas town or something like that because our NY textbooks weren't like that.
Fast forward years later and the term CRT was meant to mean 2 very different things but the teaching of our actual history is one of them that is getting shafted.
Anybody else notice how all this shit is just like a catholic missile? Year A, B C….think you’ve heard the last of someone like Chauvin and just like a Catholic missile here he comes back again. Just when you think a thread has finally moved to page two it shoots right back to the top of page one again.
I have never heard the phrase "Catholic missile". What does that mean?
So my pre marriage “I want to be a catholic” classes are finally being put to good use.
A catholic missile is a book you take to church so you can follow the service. You may be aware that Catholic services tend to be - let’s see - kind of repetitive. The missile runs for three years A, B, C then back to A , B C again, and again, and again (repetitive). The only thing that changes is how the sermon is written but the subject must follow the missile calendar. And I can say that I did not convert because I found the religion to be sad, and mean, and riddled with people who thought guilt was a way to worship God. It’s all about repenting. I like to celebrate God, Jesus. The whole catholic thing just didn’t fit who I am. But, I do know more about the catholic religion than a lot of Catholics so that should tell you something.
Ah you mean "missal". I really didn't catch that. And yes, I was raised Catholic.
So you knew what I meant but decided to just fuck with me instead of just correcting my spelling? So did I pass the test of at least knowing what is was? No need to answer….I’m done.
No, I wasn't fucking with you. I thought you were talking about some slang about a Catholic ass rocket. It wasn't until you described it did I realize it was a homophone.
I really do think the church needs to stop issuing those particular phones. All the apps and stuff just encourages these priests
Anybody else notice how all this shit is just like a catholic missile? Year A, B C….think you’ve heard the last of someone like Chauvin and just like a Catholic missile here he comes back again. Just when you think a thread has finally moved to page two it shoots right back to the top of page one again.
I have never heard the phrase "Catholic missile". What does that mean?
So my pre marriage “I want to be a catholic” classes are finally being put to good use.
A catholic missile is a book you take to church so you can follow the service. You may be aware that Catholic services tend to be - let’s see - kind of repetitive. The missile runs for three years A, B, C then back to A , B C again, and again, and again (repetitive). The only thing that changes is how the sermon is written but the subject must follow the missile calendar. And I can say that I did not convert because I found the religion to be sad, and mean, and riddled with people who thought guilt was a way to worship God. It’s all about repenting. I like to celebrate God, Jesus. The whole catholic thing just didn’t fit who I am. But, I do know more about the catholic religion than a lot of Catholics so that should tell you something.
Ah you mean "missal". I really didn't catch that. And yes, I was raised Catholic.
So you knew what I meant but decided to just fuck with me instead of just correcting my spelling? So did I pass the test of at least knowing what is was? No need to answer….I’m done.
No, I wasn't fucking with you. I thought you were talking about some slang about a Catholic ass rocket. It wasn't until you described it did I realize it was a homophone.
I really do think the church needs to stop issuing those particular phones. All the apps and stuff just encourages these priests
That joke took me a second as well, but that was a good one!
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Liberals get offended by the micro issues. One thing about a particular company
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Liberals get offended by the micro issues. One thing about a particular company
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
They were big mad when Dr Seuss' parent company decided to stop publishing a few of their lesser known books... meanwhile they're literally having book burnings in Tennessee.
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
They were big mad when Dr Seuss' parent company decided to stop publishing a few of their lesser known books... meanwhile they're literally having book burnings in Tennessee.
Weird, huh?
Pretty sure they decided that on their own as a private company, not due to any pressure campaign coming from the left. They were cancelling those books themselves because it was what they wanted to do
I had never heard of any of those books, and I guarantee they weren’t filling the shelves in conservative households either.
You are correct that censoring books or music, or movies as a matter of policy is their thing
remember the uproar the Lorax created a decade ago? It was spun by the right as a green agenda propaganda film brainwashing children. they obviously boycotted it
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
They were big mad when Dr Seuss' parent company decided to stop publishing a few of their lesser known books... meanwhile they're literally having book burnings in Tennessee.
Weird, huh?
Pretty sure they decided that on their own as a private company, not due to any pressure campaign coming from the left. They were cancelling those books themselves because it was what they wanted to do
I had never heard of any of those books, and I guarantee they weren’t filling the shelves in conservative households either.
You are correct that censoring books or music, or movies as a matter of policy is their thing
remember the uproar the Lorax created a decade ago? It was spun by the right as a green agenda propaganda film brainwashing children. they obviously boycotted it
It was 1000% their own decision as a private company, and conservatives 1000% lost their shit, because that's what they do.
"Racism doesn't exist, so how could Dr Seuss books be racist??????"
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
that's exactly what it's saying. a derogatory name for liberals coined by (conservatives), pointing out the irony that they are, in fact, the true snowflakes.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Liberals get offended by the micro issues. One thing about a particular company
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
The Snowflake Loop?
That's why "woke" is such a brilliant addition to their narrative. PC, "offended," snowflake swung both ways...now with "woke" it really is just about the stuff that offends the libs and it's OK to be offended by the stuff that offends conservatives.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Liberals get offended by the micro issues. One thing about a particular company
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
The Snowflake Loop?
That's why "woke" is such a brilliant addition to their narrative. PC, "offended," snowflake swung both ways...now with "woke" it really is just about the stuff that offends the libs and it's OK to be offended by the stuff that offends conservatives.
It’s also confusing. If you watch fox and cnn side by side. Fox is the one complaining about everything. The ones always offended, the ones afraid of the radical left. They are the ones supporting boycotts of companies. You could ask a random person who has no knowledge of anything in our politics, and they wouldn’t say the liberals are the overly sensitive bunch
Grievance politics isn’t a left wing ideology at all. Fox News Is the real life version of Frank Costanza at festivus.
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Liberals get offended by the micro issues. One thing about a particular company
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
The Snowflake Loop?
That's why "woke" is such a brilliant addition to their narrative. PC, "offended," snowflake swung both ways...now with "woke" it really is just about the stuff that offends the libs and it's OK to be offended by the stuff that offends conservatives.
It’s also confusing. If you watch fox and cnn side by side. Fox is the one complaining about everything. The ones always offended, the ones afraid of the radical left. They are the ones supporting boycotts of companies. You could ask a random person who has no knowledge of anything in our politics, and they wouldn’t say the liberals are the overly sensitive bunch
Grievance politics isn’t a left wing ideology at all
Fox is keeping their audience hating the left. CNN is in another run of trying to be a centrist news org. Maybe a better comparison is msnbc. They’re always talking about the radical right.
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
Liberals get offended by the micro issues. One thing about a particular company
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
The Snowflake Loop?
That's why "woke" is such a brilliant addition to their narrative. PC, "offended," snowflake swung both ways...now with "woke" it really is just about the stuff that offends the libs and it's OK to be offended by the stuff that offends conservatives.
It’s also confusing. If you watch fox and cnn side by side. Fox is the one complaining about everything. The ones always offended, the ones afraid of the radical left. They are the ones supporting boycotts of companies. You could ask a random person who has no knowledge of anything in our politics, and they wouldn’t say the liberals are the overly sensitive bunch
Grievance politics isn’t a left wing ideology at all
Fox is keeping their audience hating the left. CNN is in another run of trying to be a centrist news org. Maybe a better comparison is msnbc. They’re always talking about the radical right.
Rachel "Tears" Maddow
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
that's exactly what it's saying. a derogatory name for liberals coined by (conservatives), pointing out the irony that they are, in fact, the true snowflakes.
Conservatives aka regressives are offended by anything that fuQer Qarlson and the rest of righwingosphere tell them to be offended by.
Do you believe that our schools should teach an accurate and age-appropriate history of the United States of America?
I hope the answer is "Yes." If it isn't, then we have a problem. Isn't that why we teach history? So we can learn from it? If it isn't accurate, then the learning ceases to happen.
Just this week in Texas, a group of nine educators is proposing that schools refer to "slavery" as "involuntary relocation." Nope. "Involuntary relocation" is what happened when my mom decided we were going to move from Boston to Chicago without my permission. As much I hated Chicago at first, I wouldn't compare it to slavery. But this is what the GOP wants. They want America to be the hero in every story told about America's past so that America can then be seen as the hero no matter what unheroic deeds America does in the present or the future. In the lexicon of the GOP, America doesn't have "too many mass shootings." It has "occasional involuntary not-alives."
Critical Race Theory is not about any of that. It is an academic theory of how to look at the law through a racial lens. It asserts that you can't look at the laws in America without considering how America deals with (or doesn't deal with) race. If your child is learning about that in class, then your child is most likely in law school. Not elementary.
I hate to say it, but this "woke war" is a symbol of so much more. Remember those PSAs that said "The more you know" and had a fun jingle? That's all "woke" is. It's the more you know. The more you know the better you're able to maneuver through this life and understand that the world is not all about you.
The deliberate and obvious whitewashing (pun intended) of American history is bad enough in and of itself; that so many Americans are willing to go with it is pretty concerning.
American exceptionalism indeed.
They so frequently accuse "the woke left" of being overly insecure and sensitive and unwilling to hear the truth. Keeping in mind that "every accusation is a confession," we should have seen this coming. "Don't teach actual history because the white kids are snowflakes."
This is incorrect, no? The Conservatives were offended by Big Bird and Bert and Ernie and the other Muppets.
that's exactly what it's saying. a derogatory name for liberals coined by (conservatives), pointing out the irony that they are, in fact, the true snowflakes.
Conservatives aka regressives are offended by anything that fuQer Qarlson and the rest of righwingosphere tell them to be offended by.
Anybody else notice how all this shit is just like a catholic missile? Year A, B C….think you’ve heard the last of someone like Chauvin and just like a Catholic missile here he comes back again. Just when you think a thread has finally moved to page two it shoots right back to the top of page one again.
Ex-cop Lane gets 3 years for role in George Floyd's death
By AMY FORLITI
Today
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd became angry when he erroneously thought he might have to register as a predatory offender, saying his role was “minimal” when compared with Derek Chauvin's.
“I gotta register as a predatory offender? What the (expletive) is that?” Thomas Lane, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, said after his sentencing hearing. The hearing was held remotely via video, and Lane made the comment after the judge ended the proceeding, but before the video session ended. Lane added: “That’s what Chauvin has to do. If I have a minimal role, why the (expletive) do I have to do that?”
Lane's remarks were in response to the judge’s instruction for Lane to register as a predatory offender “if required by law” — something legal experts told The Associated Press is fairly standard language in Minnesota criminal cases, but that neither Lane nor Chauvin would be required to do. Lane's attorney, Earl Gray, told his client he would look into the matter.
Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with a knee on Floyd’s neck as the Black man repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Lane, who is white, held down Floyd’s legs. J. Alexander Kueng, who is Black, knelt on Floyd’s back, and Tou Thao, who is Hmong American, kept bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.
The killing, captured on bystander video, sparked protests as part of a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice.
Lane is already serving a 2 1/2-year federal sentence after being convicted this year of violating Floyd's civil rights, and he appeared at Wednesday's hearing via video from the low-security federal prison camp in Littleton, Colorado.
As part of his plea agreement in the state case, prosecutors dropped a more serious count of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder. They also said they would seek a sentence of three years and that he could serve it at the same time as the federal one, and in federal custody. That state sentence is below the sentencing guidelines that range between 41 and 57 months.
Prosecutor Matt Frank said Wednesday that a lower sentence was appropriate because Lane played a “somewhat less culpable role" in Floyd's death, adding, “there were moments when Mr. Lane tried to change what was going on that day.”
Lane had tried to deescalate the situation and had suggested that the restraint of Floyd could be handled differently, Frank said. Evidence from other trials and court documents shows that Lane twice asked if Floyd should be rolled onto his side to ensure he could breathe. Still, Frank said, these steps “do not relieve him of all responsibility.”
When Lane pleaded guilty in May, he admitted that he intentionally helped restrain Floyd in a way that he knew created an unreasonable risk and caused his death. He admitted that he heard Floyd say he couldn’t breathe, knew Floyd fell silent, had no pulse and appeared to have lost consciousness.
In accepting the plea deal on Wednesday, Judge Peter Cahill told Lane, “I think it was a very wise decision for you to accept responsibility and move on with your life.” Cahill also acknowledged that the Floyd family has not been able to move on with theirs.
Floyd's family said in a statement to the court, which was read by Frank, that the pain of Floyd's death will never go away.
“Talk about move on? Wow. Really? Me and my family would love to move on, but there’s just not a lot of accountability,” the statement said, adding: “We will always show up for George Floyd, but never move on."
Minnesota sentencing guidelines were created to establish consistent sentences that are neutral without considering factors such as race or gender. The guidelines say that even though they are advisory, presumptive sentences “are deemed appropriate” and judges should depart from them only when “substantial and compelling circumstances can be identified and articulated.”
With the state and federal sentences being served at the same time, Lane is likely to spend a total of roughly two years behind bars.
Under Minnesota rules, it’s presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of the penalty in prison, which is two years for Lane, minus credit for time served. If he gets credit for good behavior on his federal sentence, he’ll likely end up serving just over two years in custody for that conviction. He reported to the federal prison in Colorado on Aug. 30.
Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter and was given a 22 1/2-year state sentence in 2021 — a sentence that went above the state guidelines. He also pleaded guilty to a federal count of violating Floyd's civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years on the federal charge. He is serving the sentences concurrently at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
Kueng and Thao were also convicted on federal civil rights charges and were sentenced to three and 3 1/2 years respectively. They are scheduled to go to trial on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in October.
___
Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report from Minneapolis.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Ex-Minneapolis cop pleads guilty in George Floyd killing
By AMY FORLITI
1 hour ago
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty Monday to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd just as jury selection was about to begin. Another former officer waived his right to a jury trial, setting up an uncommon process in which both sides agree to the evidence before the judge issues a verdict.
The plea deal for J. Alexander Kueng calls for 3 1/2 years in prison, with prosecutors agreeing to drop a count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Kueng is the second officer to plead guilty to the state charge, following Thomas Lane, who pleaded guilty earlier this year.
Their former colleague, Tou Thao, rejected a plea deal earlier this year, telling a judge it “would be lying” to accept any such deal. On Monday, he agreed to go forward with a proceeding called a trial by stipulated evidence on one count of aiding and abetting manslaughter. In doing so, he is waiving his rights to a trial by jury and to testify.
The two sides will work out agreed-upon evidence against Thao and prepare written closing arguments. They will submit those to Judge Peter Cahill by Nov. 17, with Cahill to decide whether he is guilty within 90 days. If convicted of the manslaughter count, Thao would likely get about four years in prison and the aiding and abetting murder charge would be dropped.
Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement that he hopes Keung's guilty plea can bring comfort to Floyd's family and “bring our communities closer to a new era of accountability and justice.” He also said his office is looking forward to a swift resolution of Thao's case, and he thanked the witnesses who were prepared to testify at trial.
Floyd, 46, died May 25, 2020, after Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with a knee on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. The killing, captured on widely viewed bystander video, sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the globe as part of a reckoning over racial injustice.
Kueng and Lane helped to restrain Floyd, who was handcuffed. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Lane held down Floyd’s legs. Thao kept bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.
As part of his plea agreement, Kueng admitted that he held Floyd's torso, that he knew from his experience and training that restraining a handcuffed person in a prone position created a substantial risk, and that the restraint of Floyd was unreasonable under the circumstances.
Kueng's plea called for him to serve his state and federal terms concurrently, just as Lane is doing.
Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said the stipulated bench trial for Thao is a “creative way” to resolve his case, noting that such trials are uncommon but sometimes happen.
“The stipulated bench trial allows him to maintain his innocence and to blame the court if he gets found guilty, rather than make any admissions himself,” she said. “On the state's part, they also don't want to go to trial. They are exhausted, their witnesses are exhausted ... they potentially get what they want, which is just a conviction and concurrent prison time, which is all they were looking for.”
She said the state was creative in leaving the murder charge on the table, so that if Thao is acquitted on the manslaughter charge, the state to still pursue the aiding and abetting murder charge.
John Baker, a lawyer and assistant professor of criminal justice studies at St. Cloud State University, said stipulated bench trials are fairly common, particularly when there are concerns about getting an unbiased jury and when the case hinges more on a legal question rather than evidentiary issues.
Baker said Thao's attorney won't contest what happened and that the case will come down to whether Thao knew that Chauvin was committing a crime. “That lends itself more toward a court trial, with the judge making a decision,” he said.
Chauvin was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges last year and is currently serving 22 1/2 years in the state case. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years for that and for an unrelated case involving a 14-year-old boy. He is serving the sentences at the same time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
Kueng is Black, Lane is white and Thao is Hmong American. They were convicted of federal charges in February after a trial that focused on their training and the culture of the police department. All three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the killing.
After their federal sentences, there was a question as to whether Kueng and Thao would proceed to trial, with legal experts saying it was likely they'd seek a plea deal with the state that would not exceed the federal sentence and allow them to serve both sentences at the same time.
State sentencing guidelines for a person with no criminal record, like Kueng, call for a range from about 3 1/2 years to four years and nine months in prison for second-degree unintentional manslaughter. The presumptive sentence is four years.
If Kueng had been convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, he would have faced a presumptive 12 1/2 years in prison.
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Ex-officer Thao convicted of aiding George Floyd’s killing
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Today
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders while his colleagues restrained a dying George Floyd has been convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
“There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao's actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote in a 177-page ruling that was filed Monday night and released Tuesday.
Floyd, a Black man, died May 25, 2020, after officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded for air. The killing, captured on bystander video, touched off protests around the world and prompted a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
Chauvin, the senior officer at the scene, was convicted of murder and manslaughter in April 2021 and later pleaded guilty in the federal case. Two other officers — J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter and were convicted with Thao in their federal case.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution team, said Thao's conviction “brings one more measure of accountability in the tragic death of George Floyd” while calling on Congress to enact a sweeping police overhaul named for Floyd.
“While we have now reached the end of the prosecution of Floyd’s murder, it is not behind us.” Ellison said. “There is much more that prosecutors, law-enforcement leaders, rank-and-file officers, elected officials, and community can do to bring about true justice in law enforcement and true trust and safety in all communities.”
Defense attorney Robert Paule did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Lawyers for the Floyd family called the verdict "another measure of accountability for his death."
“Nearly three years after George was killed, the family and Minneapolis community continue to heal as the criminal justice system prevails. With each of these measures of justice, it is even more so demonstrated that police brutality is an illegal — and punishable — act,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his team said in a statement.
The judge set sentencing for Aug. 7. Minnesota guidelines recommend four years on the manslaughter count, which Thao would serve concurrently with his 3 1/2-year federal sentence.
Unlike the other three former officers, Thao maintained he did nothing wrong. When he rejected a plea deal in state court last August, he said “it would be lying” to plead guilty.
Cahill based his decision on exhibits and transcripts from Chauvin’s murder trial, which he presided over, and the federal civil rights trial of Thao, Kueng and Lane. Thao was specifically convicted then of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and of failing to intervene and stop Chauvin. Cahill wrote that he focused on the evidence that pertained to Thao and not on the other officers or their pleas and guilty verdicts.
Thao is Hmong American, Kueng is Black and Lane is white.
Thao testified during his federal trial that he was relying on the other officers to care for Floyd’s medical needs while he served as “a human traffic cone” to control a group of about 15 bystanders and traffic outside a Minneapolis convenience store where Floyd had tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
Thao said that when he and Chauvin arrived, the other officers were struggling with Floyd. He said it was clear to him, as the other officers tried to put Floyd into a squad car, “that he was under the influence of some type of drugs.”
His body camera video showed he told onlookers at one point, "This is why you don’t do drugs, kids.” When an off-duty, out-of-uniform Minneapolis firefighter asked if officers had checked Floyd’s pulse, he ordered her, “Back off!”
Thao acknowledged he heard onlookers becoming more anxious about Floyd’s condition and that he could hear Floyd saying, “I can’t breathe.” But Thao said he didn’t know there was anything seriously wrong with him even as an ambulance took him away.
Cahill wrote that he found that key parts of Thao's testimony, and his justifications for his actions, were “not credible.”
The judge wrote that under Minneapolis Police Department policies, “it was objectively unreasonable to (among other things): encourage fellow officers to engage in a dangerous prone restraint for 9 minutes and 24 seconds; encourage those officers not to use a hobble; actively assist their restraint by acting as a ‘human traffic cone’; and prevent bystanders from rendering medical aid."
"Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid,” the judge added.
In keeping with an agreement between the prosecution and defense, Cahill dismissed a more serious aiding and abetting second-degree murder count with a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years.
Vice President Kamala Harris and others have called for reviving the the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act this year after it stalled in the Senate amid Republican opposition in 2020 and 2021. The legislation aims to eliminate misconduct, racial discrimination and excessive force in policing nationwide. It would ban the use of chokeholds and end the “qualified immunity” that protects officers from lawsuits, among other things.
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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Chauvin murder conviction upheld in George Floyd killing
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
17 Apr 2023
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's second-degree murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd, and let his 22 1/2-year sentence remain in place.
Chauvin's attorney had asked the appeals court to throw out the ex-officer’s convictions for a long list of reasons, including the massive pretrial publicity. He also argued that legal and procedural errors deprived Chauvin of a fair trial. But the three-judge panel sided with prosecutors who said Chauvin got a fair trial and just sentence.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, used his knee to pin the Black man’s neck to the ground for 9 1/2 minutes. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death touched off protests around the world, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
“Police officers undoubtedly have a challenging, difficult, and sometimes dangerous job. However, no one is above the law," Appeals Judge Peter Reyes wrote for the panel. "When they commit a crime, they must be held accountable just as those individuals that they lawfully apprehend. The law only permits police officers to use reasonable force when effecting a lawful arrest. Chauvin crossed that line here when he used unreasonable force on Floyd.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who assembled the prosecution team, said in a statement that he was “grateful we have a system where everyone, no matter how egregious their offense, is entitled to due process and fair treatment."
“The Court’s decision today shows once again no one is above the law — and no one is beneath it,” Ellison said.
A voicemail and emails were sent to Chauvin’s attorney, William Mohrman. He argued on appeal that the trial judge should have moved the case out of Minneapolis because of extensive pretrial publicity and unprecedented security precautions due to fears of violence.
“The primary issue on this appeal is whether a criminal defendant can get a fair trial consistent with constitutional requirements in a courthouse surrounded by concrete block, barbed wire, two armored personnel carriers, and a squad of National Guard troops, all of which or whom are there for one purpose: in the event that the jury acquits the defendant,” Mohrman said in oral arguments in January.
But Neal Katyal, a special attorney for the state, argued that Chauvin got “one of the most transparent and thorough trials in our nation’s history."
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22 1/2 years after jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin later pleaded guilty to a separate federal civil rights charge and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison, which he is now serving in Arizona concurrent with his state sentence.
“Judge Cahill managed this trial with enormous care, and even if Chauvin could identify some minor fault, any error is harmless,” Katyal said. “The evidence of Chauvin’s guilt was captured on video for the world to see.”
Mohrman argued that the pretrial publicity was the most extensive of any trial in Minnesota history, and that the judge should have moved the trial and sequestered the jury. He said the publicity and the riots, the city’s $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family announced during jury selection, the unrest over a police killing of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb during jury selection, and the sealing off of the courthouse, were just some of the factors prejudicing Chauvin’s chance of a fair trial.
His appeal also focused on one juror who participated in a civil rights event commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, a few months after Floyd’s death. Only after the trial did the juror reveal that he had been there.
But the appeals court ruled that Cahill did not abuse his discretion in deciding those issues.
Local defense attorney Mike Brandt, who has followed the case closely, said he was not surprised that the appeals court affirmed Chauvin’s conviction and found no errors that would have changed the outcome. Appellate courts give judges wide discretion and are loath to micromanage how they run trials, he said. He added that Cahill created a solid record to justify the decisions he made in a “high-pressure case where literally the eyes of the world were on him.”
The appeals court declined to address whether it was legally permissible to convict Chauvin of third-degree murder. The defense said a 2021 Minnesota Supreme Court decision in a different police killing case that clarified the definition of that crime meant the law no longer fit the facts of Floyd's killing. But the appeals court noted that the trial judge never formally adjudicated that conviction nor did he sentence Chauvin on that count.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Ex-Minneapolis officer unrepentant as he gets nearly 5 years in George Floyd killing
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Today
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, did not show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months.
Thao had previously testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020.
A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s murder touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism.
At his sentencing hearing, Thao said he never intended to hurt anyone that day. He spoke at length about his growth as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars but denied any responsibility for Floyd's death. In rambling remarks full of biblical references, he drew parallels with the sufferings and false accusations endured by Job and Jesus.
“I did not commit these crimes," Thao said. "My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.”
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, said he would have liked to have heard some kind of repentance from Thao on Monday.
“After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgement of some responsibility — and less preaching” he said.
Cahill then sentenced Thao to 57 months — the top end of the range recommended under state guidelines, where the standard sentence is 48 months, an even four years. The sentence was more than the 51 months that prosecutors had sought and the 41 months requested by Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule.
Thao's sentence will run concurrently with a 3 1/2-year sentence for his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld on Friday. Thao will be returned to federal prison to finish that sentence before he is transferred to a Minnesota state prison to serve out the remaining few months with credit for time served.
Paule, who called Thao “a good and decent man with a family” in court, said afterward that they will appeal in both the state and federal cases. He declined further comment.
Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge said during the hearing that Floyd’s final words “reverberated across the globe.”
“George Floyd narrated his own death over the course of a restraint that lasted more than 9 long minutes until he lost consciousness, stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating,” she said.
Thao facilitated Floyd's death, she said, because he “stood by and allowed it to happen” and stopped others from helping the dying man, including a Minneapolis firefighter who was a trained emergency medical technician and could have performed CPR on him.
“He knew better, and he was trained to do better,” Eldridge said.
The hearing, which lasted just over half an hour, reflected how the legal cases flowing from Floyd’s murder are winding down. While Floyd family members were a frequent presence during earlier proceedings, none were in the courtroom for Thao's sentencing. Eldridge told the court they wanted to grieve in private. Apart from four relatives or friends of Thao, most of the people in the courtroom were journalists.
Prosecutors left the courthouse without commenting to reporters.
In his 177-page ruling that Thao was guilty, Cahill said Thao's actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid.
“There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote. He concluded: “Thao's actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers' excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid.”
Thao had rejected a plea bargain on the state charge, saying “it would be lying” to plead guilty when he didn't think he was in the wrong. He instead agreed to let Cahill decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin's 2021 murder trial and the federal civil rights trial in 2022 of Thao and former Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.
Lane and Kueng received 3 and 3 1/2-year state sentences respectively, which they are serving concurrently with their federal sentences of 2 1/2 years and 3 years. Thao is Hmong American, while Kueng is Black and Lane is white.
Minnesota inmates generally serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on parole. There is no parole in the federal system but inmates can shave time off their sentences with good behavior.
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Comments
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I thought that was just some podunk little Texas town or something like that because our NY textbooks weren't like that.
Fast forward years later and the term CRT was meant to mean 2 very different things but the teaching of our actual history is one of them that is getting shafted.
conservatives get offended by the macro issues like the existence of racism, Christmas, Gay people, girls sports, not protesting correctly (beating an officer with a flag pole attached to an American flag Vs kneeling before that same flag), and non Christians. Which then offends liberals
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
They were big mad when Dr Seuss' parent company decided to stop publishing a few of their lesser known books... meanwhile they're literally having book burnings in Tennessee.
Weird, huh?
remember the uproar the Lorax created a decade ago? It was spun by the right as a green agenda propaganda film brainwashing children. they obviously boycotted it
It was 1000% their own decision as a private company, and conservatives 1000% lost their shit, because that's what they do.
"Racism doesn't exist, so how could Dr Seuss books be racist??????"
-EV 8/14/93
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
-EV 8/14/93
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd became angry when he erroneously thought he might have to register as a predatory offender, saying his role was “minimal” when compared with Derek Chauvin's.
“I gotta register as a predatory offender? What the (expletive) is that?” Thomas Lane, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, said after his sentencing hearing. The hearing was held remotely via video, and Lane made the comment after the judge ended the proceeding, but before the video session ended. Lane added: “That’s what Chauvin has to do. If I have a minimal role, why the (expletive) do I have to do that?”
Lane's remarks were in response to the judge’s instruction for Lane to register as a predatory offender “if required by law” — something legal experts told The Associated Press is fairly standard language in Minnesota criminal cases, but that neither Lane nor Chauvin would be required to do. Lane's attorney, Earl Gray, told his client he would look into the matter.
Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with a knee on Floyd’s neck as the Black man repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Lane, who is white, held down Floyd’s legs. J. Alexander Kueng, who is Black, knelt on Floyd’s back, and Tou Thao, who is Hmong American, kept bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.
DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD
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The killing, captured on bystander video, sparked protests as part of a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice.
Lane is already serving a 2 1/2-year federal sentence after being convicted this year of violating Floyd's civil rights, and he appeared at Wednesday's hearing via video from the low-security federal prison camp in Littleton, Colorado.
As part of his plea agreement in the state case, prosecutors dropped a more serious count of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder. They also said they would seek a sentence of three years and that he could serve it at the same time as the federal one, and in federal custody. That state sentence is below the sentencing guidelines that range between 41 and 57 months.
Prosecutor Matt Frank said Wednesday that a lower sentence was appropriate because Lane played a “somewhat less culpable role" in Floyd's death, adding, “there were moments when Mr. Lane tried to change what was going on that day.”
Lane had tried to deescalate the situation and had suggested that the restraint of Floyd could be handled differently, Frank said. Evidence from other trials and court documents shows that Lane twice asked if Floyd should be rolled onto his side to ensure he could breathe. Still, Frank said, these steps “do not relieve him of all responsibility.”
When Lane pleaded guilty in May, he admitted that he intentionally helped restrain Floyd in a way that he knew created an unreasonable risk and caused his death. He admitted that he heard Floyd say he couldn’t breathe, knew Floyd fell silent, had no pulse and appeared to have lost consciousness.
In accepting the plea deal on Wednesday, Judge Peter Cahill told Lane, “I think it was a very wise decision for you to accept responsibility and move on with your life.” Cahill also acknowledged that the Floyd family has not been able to move on with theirs.
Floyd's family said in a statement to the court, which was read by Frank, that the pain of Floyd's death will never go away.
“Talk about move on? Wow. Really? Me and my family would love to move on, but there’s just not a lot of accountability,” the statement said, adding: “We will always show up for George Floyd, but never move on."
Minnesota sentencing guidelines were created to establish consistent sentences that are neutral without considering factors such as race or gender. The guidelines say that even though they are advisory, presumptive sentences “are deemed appropriate” and judges should depart from them only when “substantial and compelling circumstances can be identified and articulated.”
With the state and federal sentences being served at the same time, Lane is likely to spend a total of roughly two years behind bars.
Under Minnesota rules, it’s presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of the penalty in prison, which is two years for Lane, minus credit for time served. If he gets credit for good behavior on his federal sentence, he’ll likely end up serving just over two years in custody for that conviction. He reported to the federal prison in Colorado on Aug. 30.
Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter and was given a 22 1/2-year state sentence in 2021 — a sentence that went above the state guidelines. He also pleaded guilty to a federal count of violating Floyd's civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years on the federal charge. He is serving the sentences concurrently at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
Kueng and Thao were also convicted on federal civil rights charges and were sentenced to three and 3 1/2 years respectively. They are scheduled to go to trial on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in October.
___
Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report from Minneapolis.
___
Find AP’s full coverage of the killing of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty Monday to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd just as jury selection was about to begin. Another former officer waived his right to a jury trial, setting up an uncommon process in which both sides agree to the evidence before the judge issues a verdict.
The plea deal for J. Alexander Kueng calls for 3 1/2 years in prison, with prosecutors agreeing to drop a count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Kueng is the second officer to plead guilty to the state charge, following Thomas Lane, who pleaded guilty earlier this year.
Their former colleague, Tou Thao, rejected a plea deal earlier this year, telling a judge it “would be lying” to accept any such deal. On Monday, he agreed to go forward with a proceeding called a trial by stipulated evidence on one count of aiding and abetting manslaughter. In doing so, he is waiving his rights to a trial by jury and to testify.
The two sides will work out agreed-upon evidence against Thao and prepare written closing arguments. They will submit those to Judge Peter Cahill by Nov. 17, with Cahill to decide whether he is guilty within 90 days. If convicted of the manslaughter count, Thao would likely get about four years in prison and the aiding and abetting murder charge would be dropped.
DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD
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2 cops head to trial for aiding George Floyd's killing
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Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement that he hopes Keung's guilty plea can bring comfort to Floyd's family and “bring our communities closer to a new era of accountability and justice.” He also said his office is looking forward to a swift resolution of Thao's case, and he thanked the witnesses who were prepared to testify at trial.
All three were convicted in February on federal counts of willfully violating the civil rights of Floyd, who was Black. Lane was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in the federal case. Kueng was sentenced to three years and Thao was sentenced to 3 1/2, but for some Floyd family members and activists, the penalties were too small.
Floyd, 46, died May 25, 2020, after Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with a knee on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. The killing, captured on widely viewed bystander video, sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the globe as part of a reckoning over racial injustice.
Kueng and Lane helped to restrain Floyd, who was handcuffed. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Lane held down Floyd’s legs. Thao kept bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.
As part of his plea agreement, Kueng admitted that he held Floyd's torso, that he knew from his experience and training that restraining a handcuffed person in a prone position created a substantial risk, and that the restraint of Floyd was unreasonable under the circumstances.
Kueng's plea called for him to serve his state and federal terms concurrently, just as Lane is doing.
Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said the stipulated bench trial for Thao is a “creative way” to resolve his case, noting that such trials are uncommon but sometimes happen.
“The stipulated bench trial allows him to maintain his innocence and to blame the court if he gets found guilty, rather than make any admissions himself,” she said. “On the state's part, they also don't want to go to trial. They are exhausted, their witnesses are exhausted ... they potentially get what they want, which is just a conviction and concurrent prison time, which is all they were looking for.”
She said the state was creative in leaving the murder charge on the table, so that if Thao is acquitted on the manslaughter charge, the state to still pursue the aiding and abetting murder charge.
John Baker, a lawyer and assistant professor of criminal justice studies at St. Cloud State University, said stipulated bench trials are fairly common, particularly when there are concerns about getting an unbiased jury and when the case hinges more on a legal question rather than evidentiary issues.
Baker said Thao's attorney won't contest what happened and that the case will come down to whether Thao knew that Chauvin was committing a crime. “That lends itself more toward a court trial, with the judge making a decision,” he said.
Chauvin was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges last year and is currently serving 22 1/2 years in the state case. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years for that and for an unrelated case involving a 14-year-old boy. He is serving the sentences at the same time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
Kueng is Black, Lane is white and Thao is Hmong American. They were convicted of federal charges in February after a trial that focused on their training and the culture of the police department. All three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the killing.
After their federal sentences, there was a question as to whether Kueng and Thao would proceed to trial, with legal experts saying it was likely they'd seek a plea deal with the state that would not exceed the federal sentence and allow them to serve both sentences at the same time.
State sentencing guidelines for a person with no criminal record, like Kueng, call for a range from about 3 1/2 years to four years and nine months in prison for second-degree unintentional manslaughter. The presumptive sentence is four years.
If Kueng had been convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, he would have faced a presumptive 12 1/2 years in prison.
___
Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders while his colleagues restrained a dying George Floyd has been convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Tou Thao, who already had been convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights, was the last of four former officers facing judgment in state court in Floyd’s killing. He rejected a plea agreement and, instead of going to trial, let Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill decide the verdict based on written filings by each side and evidence presented in previous cases.
“There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao's actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote in a 177-page ruling that was filed Monday night and released Tuesday.
Floyd, a Black man, died May 25, 2020, after officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded for air. The killing, captured on bystander video, touched off protests around the world and prompted a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
Chauvin, the senior officer at the scene, was convicted of murder and manslaughter in April 2021 and later pleaded guilty in the federal case. Two other officers — J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter and were convicted with Thao in their federal case.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution team, said Thao's conviction “brings one more measure of accountability in the tragic death of George Floyd” while calling on Congress to enact a sweeping police overhaul named for Floyd.
“While we have now reached the end of the prosecution of Floyd’s murder, it is not behind us.” Ellison said. “There is much more that prosecutors, law-enforcement leaders, rank-and-file officers, elected officials, and community can do to bring about true justice in law enforcement and true trust and safety in all communities.”
Defense attorney Robert Paule did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Lawyers for the Floyd family called the verdict "another measure of accountability for his death."
“Nearly three years after George was killed, the family and Minneapolis community continue to heal as the criminal justice system prevails. With each of these measures of justice, it is even more so demonstrated that police brutality is an illegal — and punishable — act,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his team said in a statement.
The judge set sentencing for Aug. 7. Minnesota guidelines recommend four years on the manslaughter count, which Thao would serve concurrently with his 3 1/2-year federal sentence.
Unlike the other three former officers, Thao maintained he did nothing wrong. When he rejected a plea deal in state court last August, he said “it would be lying” to plead guilty.
Cahill based his decision on exhibits and transcripts from Chauvin’s murder trial, which he presided over, and the federal civil rights trial of Thao, Kueng and Lane. Thao was specifically convicted then of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and of failing to intervene and stop Chauvin. Cahill wrote that he focused on the evidence that pertained to Thao and not on the other officers or their pleas and guilty verdicts.
Thao is Hmong American, Kueng is Black and Lane is white.
Thao testified during his federal trial that he was relying on the other officers to care for Floyd’s medical needs while he served as “a human traffic cone” to control a group of about 15 bystanders and traffic outside a Minneapolis convenience store where Floyd had tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
Thao said that when he and Chauvin arrived, the other officers were struggling with Floyd. He said it was clear to him, as the other officers tried to put Floyd into a squad car, “that he was under the influence of some type of drugs.”
His body camera video showed he told onlookers at one point, "This is why you don’t do drugs, kids.” When an off-duty, out-of-uniform Minneapolis firefighter asked if officers had checked Floyd’s pulse, he ordered her, “Back off!”
Thao acknowledged he heard onlookers becoming more anxious about Floyd’s condition and that he could hear Floyd saying, “I can’t breathe.” But Thao said he didn’t know there was anything seriously wrong with him even as an ambulance took him away.
Cahill wrote that he found that key parts of Thao's testimony, and his justifications for his actions, were “not credible.”
The judge wrote that under Minneapolis Police Department policies, “it was objectively unreasonable to (among other things): encourage fellow officers to engage in a dangerous prone restraint for 9 minutes and 24 seconds; encourage those officers not to use a hobble; actively assist their restraint by acting as a ‘human traffic cone’; and prevent bystanders from rendering medical aid."
"Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid,” the judge added.
In keeping with an agreement between the prosecution and defense, Cahill dismissed a more serious aiding and abetting second-degree murder count with a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years.
Vice President Kamala Harris and others have called for reviving the the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act this year after it stalled in the Senate amid Republican opposition in 2020 and 2021. The legislation aims to eliminate misconduct, racial discrimination and excessive force in policing nationwide. It would ban the use of chokeholds and end the “qualified immunity” that protects officers from lawsuits, among other things.
___ For more of AP's coverage on the death of George Floyd: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's second-degree murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd, and let his 22 1/2-year sentence remain in place.
Chauvin's attorney had asked the appeals court to throw out the ex-officer’s convictions for a long list of reasons, including the massive pretrial publicity. He also argued that legal and procedural errors deprived Chauvin of a fair trial. But the three-judge panel sided with prosecutors who said Chauvin got a fair trial and just sentence.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, used his knee to pin the Black man’s neck to the ground for 9 1/2 minutes. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death touched off protests around the world, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
“Police officers undoubtedly have a challenging, difficult, and sometimes dangerous job. However, no one is above the law," Appeals Judge Peter Reyes wrote for the panel. "When they commit a crime, they must be held accountable just as those individuals that they lawfully apprehend. The law only permits police officers to use reasonable force when effecting a lawful arrest. Chauvin crossed that line here when he used unreasonable force on Floyd.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who assembled the prosecution team, said in a statement that he was “grateful we have a system where everyone, no matter how egregious their offense, is entitled to due process and fair treatment."
“The Court’s decision today shows once again no one is above the law — and no one is beneath it,” Ellison said.
A voicemail and emails were sent to Chauvin’s attorney, William Mohrman. He argued on appeal that the trial judge should have moved the case out of Minneapolis because of extensive pretrial publicity and unprecedented security precautions due to fears of violence.
“The primary issue on this appeal is whether a criminal defendant can get a fair trial consistent with constitutional requirements in a courthouse surrounded by concrete block, barbed wire, two armored personnel carriers, and a squad of National Guard troops, all of which or whom are there for one purpose: in the event that the jury acquits the defendant,” Mohrman said in oral arguments in January.
But Neal Katyal, a special attorney for the state, argued that Chauvin got “one of the most transparent and thorough trials in our nation’s history."
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22 1/2 years after jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin later pleaded guilty to a separate federal civil rights charge and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison, which he is now serving in Arizona concurrent with his state sentence.
“Judge Cahill managed this trial with enormous care, and even if Chauvin could identify some minor fault, any error is harmless,” Katyal said. “The evidence of Chauvin’s guilt was captured on video for the world to see.”
Mohrman argued that the pretrial publicity was the most extensive of any trial in Minnesota history, and that the judge should have moved the trial and sequestered the jury. He said the publicity and the riots, the city’s $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family announced during jury selection, the unrest over a police killing of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb during jury selection, and the sealing off of the courthouse, were just some of the factors prejudicing Chauvin’s chance of a fair trial.
His appeal also focused on one juror who participated in a civil rights event commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, a few months after Floyd’s death. Only after the trial did the juror reveal that he had been there.
DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD
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But the appeals court ruled that Cahill did not abuse his discretion in deciding those issues.
Local defense attorney Mike Brandt, who has followed the case closely, said he was not surprised that the appeals court affirmed Chauvin’s conviction and found no errors that would have changed the outcome. Appellate courts give judges wide discretion and are loath to micromanage how they run trials, he said. He added that Cahill created a solid record to justify the decisions he made in a “high-pressure case where literally the eyes of the world were on him.”
The appeals court declined to address whether it was legally permissible to convict Chauvin of third-degree murder. The defense said a 2021 Minnesota Supreme Court decision in a different police killing case that clarified the definition of that crime meant the law no longer fit the facts of Floyd's killing. But the appeals court noted that the trial judge never formally adjudicated that conviction nor did he sentence Chauvin on that count.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, did not show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months.
Thao had previously testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020.
A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s murder touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism.
At his sentencing hearing, Thao said he never intended to hurt anyone that day. He spoke at length about his growth as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars but denied any responsibility for Floyd's death. In rambling remarks full of biblical references, he drew parallels with the sufferings and false accusations endured by Job and Jesus.
DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD
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“I did not commit these crimes," Thao said. "My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.”
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, said he would have liked to have heard some kind of repentance from Thao on Monday.
“After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgement of some responsibility — and less preaching” he said.
Cahill then sentenced Thao to 57 months — the top end of the range recommended under state guidelines, where the standard sentence is 48 months, an even four years. The sentence was more than the 51 months that prosecutors had sought and the 41 months requested by Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule.
Thao's sentence will run concurrently with a 3 1/2-year sentence for his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld on Friday. Thao will be returned to federal prison to finish that sentence before he is transferred to a Minnesota state prison to serve out the remaining few months with credit for time served.
Paule, who called Thao “a good and decent man with a family” in court, said afterward that they will appeal in both the state and federal cases. He declined further comment.
Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge said during the hearing that Floyd’s final words “reverberated across the globe.”
“George Floyd narrated his own death over the course of a restraint that lasted more than 9 long minutes until he lost consciousness, stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating,” she said.
Thao facilitated Floyd's death, she said, because he “stood by and allowed it to happen” and stopped others from helping the dying man, including a Minneapolis firefighter who was a trained emergency medical technician and could have performed CPR on him.
“He knew better, and he was trained to do better,” Eldridge said.
The hearing, which lasted just over half an hour, reflected how the legal cases flowing from Floyd’s murder are winding down. While Floyd family members were a frequent presence during earlier proceedings, none were in the courtroom for Thao's sentencing. Eldridge told the court they wanted to grieve in private. Apart from four relatives or friends of Thao, most of the people in the courtroom were journalists.
Prosecutors left the courthouse without commenting to reporters.
In his 177-page ruling that Thao was guilty, Cahill said Thao's actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid.
“There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote. He concluded: “Thao's actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers' excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid.”
Thao had rejected a plea bargain on the state charge, saying “it would be lying” to plead guilty when he didn't think he was in the wrong. He instead agreed to let Cahill decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin's 2021 murder trial and the federal civil rights trial in 2022 of Thao and former Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.
That trial in federal court ended in convictions for all three. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges instead of going to trial a second time, though he plans a long-shot appeal of his state conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lane and Kueng pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Lane and Kueng received 3 and 3 1/2-year state sentences respectively, which they are serving concurrently with their federal sentences of 2 1/2 years and 3 years. Thao is Hmong American, while Kueng is Black and Lane is white.
Minnesota inmates generally serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on parole. There is no parole in the federal system but inmates can shave time off their sentences with good behavior.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Watch - The Fall of Minneapolis
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
https://www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-passes-grim-milestone-with-record-high-homicides
The Seattle Police Department confirmed the homicide count with KUOW on Thursday. The statistic makes 2023 Seattle's bloodiest year in recent memory.
way to go seattle, you did it!!
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."