An American security contractor and a Chinese embassy employee are at a bar. The American says, “I gotta say, your propaganda is impressive. You sure know how to keep your people in line.”

“Oh, you’re too gracious,” the embassy worker says. “And besides, it’s nothing compared to American propaganda.”

The contractor chokes on his drink and gives his friend a bewildered look.

“What are you talking about? There’s no propaganda in America.”

Also, I’m pretty sure Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt have all pretty much done everything the US wanted them to for years now

So there are eligible voters in the USA literally afraid to try voting in case they’re jailed for it

Yep, this is exactly the dynamic they’re going for and achieving.

Also, I should have thought of this when I posted this article, but your comment just made me remember a research paper I saw a few years ago that found that just being stopped by police shortly before an election had a statistically significant association with being less likely to turn out in that election (archive link).

One of the researchers of that participated in a reddit thread that was really fascinating you can find here - https://archive.is/oDSkv

They also wrote up a summary for a magazine (archive link), which has these two paragraphs -

These results make clear that the collateral consequences of policing—including worsening outcomes for economic security, educational attainment, and health—also extend to political participation. If the communities who are most frequently subjected to policing are also discouraged from voting as a result, it could create a vicious feedback loop of political withdrawal.

Why would traffic stops make people less likely to show up to the polls? Past research has already established that the most disruptive forms of criminal legal contact, like arrest and incarceration, discourage people from voting. Our study shows that low-level police contact matters in the same way. If a traffic stop makes a motorist fear that the government will harm them, it can prompt a withdrawal from civic life that political scientists call “strategic retreat.” Motorists might worry that a routine traffic stop could escalate into police violence, a more common outcome for Black people in particular. Beyond justified fears of violent victimization, voters might also bristle at the perception of being targeted to raise revenue through excessive ticketing. Accordingly, if incarceration ‘teaches’ would-be voters that their government is an alienating and harmful force in their lives, traffic stops could catalyze a similar form of ‘learning.’

-that I feel ought to be read verbatim in any conversation people have about why red states with lots of poor people and low voter turnout rates keep electing crappy governments that hurt them. They’re terror states in a very literal way.

If you really think you’re the subject of a criminal investigation and think there is some utility in engaging with it before it comes to you, retain a criminal defense attorney and let them start making phone calls and sending letters

Well shoot, it loaded the article for me, but try this one instead - https://archive.is/ZXQXe

If we had a functioning federal government, the answer would be because the EPA required it and failing to follow environmental regulations could lead to them being prosecuted for child endangerment

He also wrote that Netanyahu will pay any price at the expense of the public in Israel, provided that his rule does not fall "and therefore, to the horror of it, there is no chance that the war will end in the foreseeable future. Neither voluntarily nor according to logic. Its continuation forever is the only barrier that will prevent his personal catastrophe.

Yep, the ongoing war is delaying a corruption trial against Bibi where I think he could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, so he’s going to keep this war going forever if he can

So no, the police dog can’t sniff out abortion pills, instead a dirty cop either signaled his dog to the behavior, or the copy is straight lying about what the dog did.

You’re not wrong, but that reality didn’t stop a warrant from being issued or those envelopes from being opened

I mean, lawsuits are still one of the best ways for regular people to hold powerful entities accountable, so I’m super leery of anything that purports to stop “frivolous” lawsuits. I think the real underlying problem here is we’re expecting a for profit company to do the right thing in a market environment where doing the right thing isn’t the most profitable course of action. What we need to do is change the market environment or find someone that’s not a for profit corporation to do the right thing (both admittedly easier said than done).

Yeah, the federal government changed their rules just in time to make sure Trump can’t be sentenced for something our supreme court decided he should be immune for, but meanwhile in this case

The innocence claim centers around three pieces of evidence… [one of which is] a photo lineup [that was] administered to a 9-year-old witness.

…

The photo lineup, meanwhile, did not appear in the case files of the county prosecutor, state police, or county police, according to the investigation by Herring’s office. The lineup was referenced during the federal case against Richardson and Claiborne, indicating that federal agents had a copy of it. Richardson’s counsel said they obtained the lineup through a public records request to federal investigators.

During the May hearing, the confusion surrounding the lineup led to conflicting interpretations by Richardson’s legal team and state prosecutors.

…

There is one individual who might be able to clear up the confusion around the lineup: ATF agent Michael Talbert, an architect of the 2001 federal case against Richardson and Claiborne. But Talbert did not testify at the May hearing because the federal government declined to make him available, citing his busy schedule.

Ultimately, Sussex County Circuit Judge William Tomko decided not to allow the photo lineup to be admitted as evidence.

“You’re not going to apparently ever be able to get the federal government to assist you with regards to establishing these documents, but that’s the unfortunate position that you’re in,” said Judge Tomko. “I can’t help that.”

Though Talbert did not testify at the May hearing, he spent an entire day in the courtroom watching proceedings.

“I am not permitted to ask questions of Agent Talbert because the federal government has refused to make him available, though he’s clearly available to testify,” said Hensley.

You would think, but the article makes multiple mentions of “state prosecutors”, so I think this is Virginia prosecutors bringing charges under federal law in Virginia courts

e; or rather, this is an appeal of a case brought that way

Good question.

Alternative archive link:https://archive.is/WL5eP

Stay clothed

Help I’m being oppressed! /s

Yeah, it would’ve been nice if the headline could have mentioned which states, thanks for quoting this

Also, it always bares bears repeating how mean-spirited, selfish, and shamelessly hypocritical the Republican party is -

Unlike the 2020 election, when Republicans opposed pandemic-related changes such as expanded mail-in voting, both parties are encouraging new rules to help people vote.

One possible reason for the GOP’s change of heart: In North Carolina — a swing state that’s particularly key to former President Trump’s pathway to victory — 8% of eligible voters are in counties impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Those include many voters in rural, Republican-leaning areas.

The Harris campaign forgot (again) how every single Republican is a scumbag and actually went out of their way to highlight Tillis’ statement calling out misinformation, which predictably blew up in their faces

I feel like the ultimate goal really should be getting people to a place where they’re not going to commit further crimes and harm their communities again, and I don’t think just trying to punish people into that is effective. More often than not punished people just sink further into their own misery and keep pushing out and hurting others.

That all being said, I do think the experience of helping a community like this could be a positive one that could actually improve people’s behavior in a lasting way. Minus the coercion and the life threatening conditions, I support volunteering opportunities for prison inmates.

Gives you an idea of how much they try to not spend any money at all on inmate care, those clothes are probably over fifty years old

I have learned from experience not to trust in my ability to communicate clearly online, so sometimes I overdo it to make sure

Cool, this independent nonprofit that utilizes unpaid volunteers and just happens to run with the US government’s blessing is totally sufficient, we definitely don’t have a blatantly obvious need for an actual government agency with paid staff and legal standing to advocate for migrants when local/county/state officials are being assholes that this token gesture is just an attempt to paper over or anything /s

Yeah, this feels like validating a toxic business model when they should be dismantling it