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#democracy

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‘Wildly underprepared’: #NationalGuard troops sleeping on floors

The #troops — whose makeshift quarters are shown in photographs exclusively obtained by the Chronicle — arrived WITHOUT federal funding for #food, #water, #fuel, #equipment or #lodging, said the source, who was granted confidentiality under SF Chronicle policies. This person said #state ofcls & the #California National Guard were not to blame.

#Trump #law #democracy #RightToProtest #LosAngeles #immigration
sfchronicle.com/california/art

Replied in thread

@eff @evacide @404mediaco
Instead of suing the indiv. plaintiff—which rarely works—target the law’s structure. A const. challenge citing “chilling effect” on rights (e.g. privacy, travel) is possible. Anti-SLAPP laws in some states help if the suit aims 2 intimidate. In court, use counterclaims 2 defend your rights directly. Goal: delegitimize the system, not the person.

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This is what #DarrenBeattie — & #MikeBenz —have long called for. Many of the names & keywords he included in his request reflect #ConspiracyTheories & #grievances promoted by Revolver News—which Beattie founded after being fired from his job as a speechwriter during the first #Trump admin when CNN reported that he had spoken at a conference with #WhiteNationalists.

#disinformation #law #privacy #InfoSec #RevengePolitics #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #FreePress #democracy
cnn.com/2018/08/19/politics/da

CNN · Speechwriter who attended conference with white nationalists in 2016 leaves White HouseBy Andrew Kaczynski
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Employees worried about the sensitivity & impropriety of the broad scope of the information requested, particularly because records would be #unredacted, as well as about how the search would be conducted: through the eRecords file management system, which makes it easy for administrative staff to search through & retrieve #State Dept employees’ emails, typically in response to #FOIA requests.

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Finally, he sought a list of additional #unredacted agency records—including all GEC #grants & #contracts, as well as subgrants, which are particularly sensitive due to risks of #retaliation to subgrantees, who often work in local #journalism, #FactChecking, or pro-#democracy orgs under repressive regimes. It also asked for “all documents mentioning” the #ElectionIntegrity Partnership, a #research collaboration between #academics & #tech that has been a target of the #RightWing.

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#DarrenBeattie specifically asked for “all documents, emails, correspondence, or other records of communications amongst/between employees, contractors, subcontractors or consultants at the GEC or R/FIMI” since 2017 with all the named individuals, as well as communications that merely referenced them. He sought communications that referenced any of the listed organizations.

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#DanielFried echoes this sentiment. “I spent 40 years in the #State Dept, & you didn’t collect names or demand email records…I’ve never heard of such a thing”—at least not in the American context, he clarifies. It did remind him of Eastern European “Communist Party minder[s] watching over the untrusted bureaucracy.”

He adds: “It also approaches the compilation of an #EnemiesList.”

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When told of their inclusion in the records request, multiple people expressed alarm that such a list exists at all in an American institution. “When I was in government I’d never [have] done anything like that,” #BillKristol, a fmr chief of staff to VP Dan Quayle, says. “What would be the innocent reason for doing that?”

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"If the underlying disclosure wasn't concerning enough, the targeted, physical intimidation & surveillance of my client is. If this is happening to Mr. Berulis, it is likely happening to others & brings our nation more in line w/ #authoritarian regimes than w/open & free democracies," wrote Bakaj, his atty, in a stmnt to NPR. "It is time for everyone–& #Congress in particular–to acknowledge the facts & stop our #democracy, freedom, & liberties from slipping away…."

#law#Trump#Musk