Police White supremacist gangs
Alex Villanueva wasn’t even sheriff of Los Angeles County yet in late 2018, when he passed down an order not to look into a ‘deputy gang’ named the Banditos.[1] Early this year, he sent a “cease and desist” order to politicians who used the term “deputy gangs,”[2] even as, the following month, an inspector general identified 41 members of such gangs[3] and an oversight commission began its own investigation.[4]
In short, Villanueva has been aggressively covering up the existence of ‘deputy gangs’ in L.A. County for longer than he’s been sheriff.[5] Some will surely suspect he must be a member himself.
Alene Tchekmedyian, “Investigators probing ‘deputy gang’ violence were told not to ask about Banditos, chief says,” Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-21/investigators-probing-deputy-gang-violence-were-told-not-to-ask-about-banditos-chief-says
Gun nuttery
Senate negotiators released the text of a gun control bill which, crucially, ten Republicans have signed on to:[6]
The bill would set up a $750 million fund to help states put in place and enforce extreme protection orders, known as red-flag laws, that allow firearms to be removed if a person is deemed dangerous to themselves or others. If passed, the bill would close the so-called boyfriend loophole, expanding current law to prohibit dating partners or recent dating partners convicted of domestic violence from purchasing a firearm. Rights for those individuals will be restored after five years if they haven’t been convicted of other violent crime. . . .
The legislation would also set up a grant program for states to expand mental-health services and for schools to increase safety measures. It would appropriate $1.35 billion for schools to expand mental-health and supportive services and increase school security.
The package also will include a crackdown on illegal sales of guns and would require an investigative period to review juvenile and mental-health records for 18- to 21-year-old gun purchasers. The expanded background check for the young buyers could involve a call to a local police department and take up to 10 days if there are areas of concern that authorities need to follow up on. The bill would make it a federal crime to engage in straw purchases—the buying of a gun for someone else—or gun trafficking, which is the illegal trading of guns. . . .
The National Rifle Association said it would oppose the legislation because it “can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, and use federal dollars to fund gun control measures.”[7]
But, if history is any guide, with the National Rifle Association opposed,[8] the bill likely has a snowball’s chance in hell.
Bill Chappell, “Texas GOP’s new platform says Biden didn’t really win. It also calls for secession,” National Public Radio, June 20, 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106229988/texas-gops-new-platform-says-biden-didnt-really-win-it-also-calls-for-secession
Michael Tomasky, “The Founders Feared a Tyranny of the Majority, but What We Have Is a Tyranny of a Fanatical Minority,” New Republic, June 20, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/166848/gop-minority-rule-gun-safety
Eliza Collins and Natalie Andrews, “Senate Negotiators Release Text of Gun Bill,” Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-control-talks-held-up-by-abortion-provision-11655827268
Bill Cosby
Kenan Draughorne, “Jury finds Bill Cosby sexually abused teen in the 1970s, orders him to pay $500,000,” Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-06-21/bill-cosby-verdict-judy-huth-civil-trial
Ukraine
Sanctions against Russia are still not much affecting ordinary life in Moscow as some who fled at the outset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are returning home.[9]
Nataliya Vasilyeva, “Russia accuses Lithuania of imposing siege on Kaliningrad by halting rail cargo,” Telegraph, June 20, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/06/20/kremlin-accuses-lithuania-imposing-siege-kaliningrad-halting/
Julia Ioffe, “The Putin Apostates Come Home,” Puck News, June 21, 2022, https://puck.news/the-putin-apostates-come-home/
- [1]Alene Tchekmedyian, “Investigators probing ‘deputy gang’ violence were told not to ask about Banditos, chief says,” Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-21/investigators-probing-deputy-gang-violence-were-told-not-to-ask-about-banditos-chief-says↩
- [2]Alene Tchekmedyian, “Sheriff Villanueva demands L.A. County leaders stop using term ‘deputy gangs,’” Los Angeles Times, February 17, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-17/sheriff-villanueva-deputy-gangs-cease-and-desist-county-supervisors↩
- [3]Alene Tchekmedyian, “Inspector general identifies 41 sheriff’s deputies who allegedly belong to gang-like groups,” Los Angeles Times, March 22, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-22/sheriff-deputies-executioners-banditos↩
- [4]Alene Tchekmedyian, “L.A. County panel launches investigation into Sheriff’s Department ‘deputy gangs,’” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-24/civilian-oversight-commisson-deputy-gangs-investigation↩
- [5]Alene Tchekmedyian, “Investigators probing ‘deputy gang’ violence were told not to ask about Banditos, chief says,” Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-21/investigators-probing-deputy-gang-violence-were-told-not-to-ask-about-banditos-chief-says↩
- [6]Eliza Collins and Natalie Andrews, “Senate Negotiators Release Text of Gun Bill,” Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-control-talks-held-up-by-abortion-provision-11655827268↩
- [7]Eliza Collins and Natalie Andrews, “Senate Negotiators Release Text of Gun Bill,” Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-control-talks-held-up-by-abortion-provision-11655827268↩
- [8]Eliza Collins and Natalie Andrews, “Senate Negotiators Release Text of Gun Bill,” Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-control-talks-held-up-by-abortion-provision-11655827268↩
- [9]Julia Ioffe, “The Putin Apostates Come Home,” Puck News, June 21, 2022, https://puck.news/the-putin-apostates-come-home/↩