Feds DENY Minnesota Governor’s Request For Riot Bailout

n perhaps what is a bellwether to other states and cities run by far left wackjobs who let terrorists run wild, the federal government has denied Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s request for funding to rebuild Minneapolis after the series of riots ravaged the once great city. Surely other governors and mayors will be begging the feds for a bailout, as the rioters also destroyed Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, L.A., D.C., and other cities. Many of these cities directed their police to stand down, giving way to the rioters to destroy whatever they wanted, loot whatever stores they wanted, and beat whomever they wanted.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Walz asked President Donald Trump to declare a “major disaster” for the state of Minnesota in his request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on July 2. More than 1,500 buildings were damaged by fires, looting and vandalism in the days of unrest that followed Floyd’s May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody, racking up more than $500 million in damages, according to Walz.

The governor’s spokesman, Teddy Tschann, confirmed late Friday that the request for federal aid was denied.

“The Governor is disappointed that the federal government declined his request for financial support,” Tschann said in a statement. “As we navigate one of the most difficult periods in our state’s history, we look for support from our federal government to help us through.”

Republican Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer on Thursday sent a letter to Trump in response to Walz’s aid request, asking for a “thorough and concurrent review” of the state’s response to the unrest so that “every governor, mayor and local official can learn from our experiences” and prevent such a situation from happening again.

“If the federal government is expected to assist in the clean-up of these unfortunate weeks, it has an obligation to every American — prior to the release of funding — to fully understand the events which allowed for this level of destruction to occur and ensure it never happens again,” Emmer wrote.

Minnesota Public Radio adds:

Gov. Tim Walz’s office said it received the denial on Friday, eight days after Walz had submitted the request. A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson said the agency had determined the damage was something local and state governments could handle on their own.

In a letter to President Trump on July 2, Walz had noted more than $15 million in damage and cleanup costs that could be eligible for federal reimbursement.

The state has estimated total damages at more than $500 million. Hundreds of buildings were looted, damaged or destroyed by fires in the Twin Cities, primarily in Minneapolis and St. Paul, after Floyd was killed on May 25.

In a statement provided to MPR News on Saturday, a FEMA spokesperson said:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/feds-deny-minnesota-governors-request-riot-bailout/

Protests erupt over Detroit police shooting — then police chief destroys narrative with video footage

'…he was aiming at the head of the officer'

Protests erupted in Detroit on Friday after police shot and killed 20-year-old Hakeem Littleton earlier in the day. Within hours of the fatal shooting, rumors quickly circulated that Littleton was another victim of police brutality.

"We hear one thing from the police, and another thing from the community. The community told us that the police pulled up, told (him) to get on the ground. He put his hands up, and these mother f** shot him in the back of the head," Asar Amen-Ra, a man who described himself as Littleton's uncle, told the Detroit Free Press.

However, Detroit Police Chief James Craig worked to quickly flip the narrative on its head, releasing officer dash camera and body camera footage within hours of the fatal shooting to dispel the rumors.

At a press conference, Craig explained that officers were attempting to arrest an unrelated man when Littleton told officers, "you are not going to take my man, in other words, take him into custody," before pulling out a handgun and opening fire on officers.

Littleton fired two shots before officers returned fire. Craig said that Littleton managed to fire two more shots as he fell to the ground. In total, three officers fired just four shots, Craig said.

The police chief explained that video showed Littleton aimed for one officer's head — but fortunately missed.

"He was using a .25 caliber blue steel automatic pistol. This comes from body cameras as well as an in dash camera from one of our scouts," Craig said, Fox News reported. "There were eight shots fired in five seconds. Four fired by three officers, one officer fired two shots, and then four shots fired by the suspect.”

"As Littleton raised the gun in his left hand he was aiming at the head of the officer," he explained.

No officers were injured in the shooting. However, the involved officers have been placed on administrative leave pending a complete investigation.

According to the Washington Post, Littleton was on probation for an unarmed robbery and a weapons charge.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/detroit-police-release-video-footage-hakeem-littleton-shooting

Binney & Sullivan: An Open Letter Challenge To Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey On Censorship

Authored by Jason Sullivan and Bill Binney,

Open Letter to Jack Dorsey…

The American People and Social Media

"We seek a free flow of information… we are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values."

– John F. Kennedy, February 1962

Dear Mr. Dorsey,

At the September 5, 2018, U.S. Congressional Hearing in which you gave testimony under oath, you stated, in part:

"Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules. We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially. We do not shadowban anyone based on political ideology. From a simple business perspective and to serve the public conversation, Twitter is incentivized to keep all voices on the platform."

What we now know, thanks to multiple media investigations, is that; not only is Twitter engaged in censorship, but that it also openly weights its decisions by subjective terminology like "highest potential for harm" meant to obscure its motive of silencing any opposition to the mainstream narrative of both political "sides."

At its inception, America was intended to be a free and open society, a land of opportunity where common people could freely express their thoughts and ideas, a place where Americans could practice freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly without fear of persecution. Throughout the history of our great nation, brave men and women have fought and died to protect these God-given inalienable rights. That is why the Founding Fathers wrote protections into the Bill of Rights for the generations to come. Thomas Jefferson insisted on the 1st Amendment, and swore upon an altar of God against all forms of tyranny over the mind of man.

It is the great wisdom and divine vision of our Founding Fathers that is responsible for propelling America's trajectory to become the greatest nation on earth, both admired by those inspired by its idea and feared by those who oppose the light of truth it represents.

President Harry S. Truman said:

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/binney-sullivan-open-letter-challenge-twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-censorship

Ford Motor Company Employees Call for End of Police Car Production

The Ford Motor Company’s website features the automaker’s long relationship with law enforcement that dates back seven decades and includes its tagline for the vehicles it has designed for the men and women in blue — “police-tested, street proven.”

But now the wave of social unrest and virtue signaling following the death of George Floyd while in police custody is taking over the corporate world, including at Ford, where workers are urging leadership to stop manufacturing cop cars.

This despite the fact that Ford expresses pride about its connection to law enforcement, according to its website:

Ford introduced the first-ever police package in 1950. Over the following decades, we’ve worked alongside law enforcement agencies with a purpose-built philosophy that continues today. Every vehicle is built with what we call the Ford Police DNA – safety, durability, performance, purpose built and upfit friendly.

Like the officers who drive them, Ford police vehicles are specialized to meet the needs of the communities they serve – providing law-enforcement agencies of all stripes with the ideal tools to get the job done.

But now anti-police rhetoric is spilling over into action taken against not just police officers who have committed crimes but all men and women in uniform — 800,000 in the United States, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

“Since the first recorded police death in 1786, there have been more than 22,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty,” the memorial website states.

But, as NBC reported, some Ford employees are complaining about Ford’s connection to police:

Ford is embroiled in an internal dispute over whether to continue producing vehicles for U.S. law enforcement in light of the broader national debate over police brutality. As many as 100 Ford employees have raised the question in letters to senior executives, as well as during a corporate town hall held online, several company insiders said, confirming a report that first appeared in the Detroit Free Press.

Were Ford to pull out of the specialized market it could have significant ramifications, as the Detroit automaker currently produces about two-thirds of the vehicles used by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Hackett issued a public statement last month declaring that the carmaker “cannot turn a blind eye” to systemic racism, nor “accept some sense of ‘order’ that’s based on oppression.” Detroit automakers, in general, have taken a number of steps to respond to the crisis. General Motors donated $10 million to groups promoting racial justice and social inclusion, including the NAACP.

NBC reported that a letter from Ford employers leaked to The Verge website asked for the company to “cease development, production, and sale of all custom police vehicles and products.”

Ford also provided a statement to NBC.

We are proud Ford vehicles are the first choice of first responders, including with police. We will continue to support these customers because good law enforcement agencies and officers play a critical positive role in our communities, but safety and equal treatment must be inclusive of all, everywhere.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/11/ford-motor-company-employees-call-for-end-of-police-car-production/