Sloppy Work on the 6 January Events

For John, BLUF:  The events and outcomes from 6 January 2021 are still not clear to a lot of us.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Whatever happened to “independent journalist” John Sullivan, who filmed the killing of Ashli Babbitt?

From Neo, by Neo, September 21, 2023.♠

Here is the lede plus three:

In connection with yesterdays’ thread about a man claiming to be an “independent journalist” who has been convicted for the Capitol breach on J6, commenter “gallchobhair” has this question:

Does anyone happen to remember what ultimately happened to “journalist” John Sullivan, who gleefully filmed the Ashli Babbitt murder? If I recall correctly, he got off pretty much scot free.

I hadn’t thought of him in a long while, but he certainly got a lot of attention at the time. Most of the articles about him were written in the initial weeks after the event. But I found an update from this past August:

John Earl Sullivan, arrested in Salt Lake City, no date listed. Indicted on 2/3/21 and pleaded not guilty to six counts. Remains free on personal recognizance.

And then Neo goers on to talk about the situation.

Two things strike me abnout this.  The first is that our justice system is so inefficient that we are still conducting prosecutions against all these clearly dangerous and dasterdly people who demonstrated at our nation's Capitol on 6 January 2021, two and a half years ago.  It is a good thing for our Republic that they weren't an orgnized revolutionary body or they would have finished the job long ago.

The second thing that strikes me is the uneven way in which justice is being administered by the Department of Justice with regard to the totality of participants on 6 January 2021.  The level of punishment seems uneven to me

Then, there is the sense some of us have that the House Commission on the events of 6 January was weak and uneven, leaving a lot of questions unanswered, with misinformation filling in the gaps.  For exsmple, a friend of mine is convinced that National Guard Troops were available thaz day, but never called upon.  I, on the other hand, believe thst National Guard Troops were offerred, but rejected by the authorities on Capitol Hill.  Both views can not be correct, can they?

I think this is a fail for Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but also a fail for Attorney General Merrick Garland.  We will just have to wait for the revisionist historians to get around to revealing the truth.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Who is Neo?  Just another Conservative living near here and surrounded by Progresives.

Policing School Committee Meetings

For John, BLUF:  It appeaars that the Biden Administration, for some reason, has decided the back the hand, with Federal power, of petty tyrants running local school committees.  Not everywhere, and not even most places, but too many places.  This is a mistake.  If we strangle democracy at the lowest level, what happens about that?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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School board meetings show only that freedom is messy

From The Wshington Exminer, by Reporter Salena Zito, 10 October 2021, 12:01 AM.

Here is the lede plus three:

Eighty years ago, dairy farmer Jim Edgerton stood up at a town hall meeting in his hometown of Arlington, Vermont, to voice his disagreement with the town councilors’ decision to build a new school.  Edgerton was the only person at the meeting or in town who objected to the proposed building.

His opposition was mostly unremarkable, but he held his ground nonetheless.  No one would have known about it had not Norman Rockwell, a newcomer in town, been there.

As he watched Edgerton exercise his freedom of speech, the famous illustrator of Americana could not stop thinking about the State of the Union address President Franklin D. Roosevelt had delivered on Jan. 6, 1941, in which he warned that the values and liberties the public took for granted were under attack.  Rockwell would go on to illustrate that moment, making Roosevelt’s words relatable by depicting them in use in small-town America.

It is inconceivable that the federal government today wants to squash that freedom through vague rules and intimidation.  Garland seems to be making the calculation that the Jim Edgertons of this world will cower under the concern the government is watching them.

Wikipedia says it is in the public domain.

The local School Board or School Committee is the first rung of Democracy.  This last week, in Chicago, 98 people were shot and 10 died.  This is pretty normal.  Shouldn't the FBI be out there trying to save Black Lives in Chicago, rather than doing the work of the local police in policing School Committee meetings across the Fruited Plain?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

You and Your Local School Committee

For John, BLUF:  The people involved in public education, from teachers to School Committee Members are becoming an isolated clerisy, not subject to the will of the voters.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Florida Mom Calls for ‘Mass Exodus’ from Public Schools on Heels of Merrick Garland’s Crusade Against Anti-CRT Parents

Here is the sub-headline:

A Florida mother has called for parents to lead a “mass exodus” from public schools in the wake of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement that the FBI will investigate “intimidation” and “threats of violence” at school board meetings across the country.

From Breitbart, by Reporter Nick Gilbertson, 8 October 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

Florida Mother Quisha King spoke during the panel “Fighting Indoctrination on a National Scale” at the Family Research Council’s “Pray Vote Stand Summit” in Virginia on October 7.

“You’re at home trying to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your kids, and the FBI could be knocking at your door because you might have said the wrong thing at a school board meeting,” King stated.

“I really think at this point the only thing to do is have a mass exodus from the public school system – that’s it,” King said.  The crowd responded to King’s suggestion with resounding applause as some audience members even stood up to cheer.

King added that a message will truly be sent when school districts lose funding once children are taken out of their schools.

To be clear, I do not favor parents doing a wholesale withdrawal of their students from public schools.  On the other hand, I fully support the right of Parents to pick the best education modality they see fit.

However, the issue isn't how you choose to educate your child.  After all, this isn't Germany.  The issue is the right of Voters (and even resident aliens) to speak before a School Committe, or a City Council.  If the Citizenry feels intimidated, then we face tyranny.  Yes, these presentations can be heated, but the presenters, if voters, have the ability to vote the rascals out.  Yes, physical threats are verboten, as is violence, but forceful argument is part of the process.  Just ask President Joseph Biden.

UPDATE:  As I went to sleep I reviewed this in my mind and decided I needed to point out that I have never thought of our Lowell School Committee as one of those closed mind clerisy types.  Mistakes?  Yes.  But, they have been an open group, by and large, and have listened to some inane questions by me and others and responded in a respectful manner.  Kudos to them.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff