Two weeks ago, a 26-year-old white man made headlines after claiming a Black man stabbed him because he had a haircut that made him look like a neo-Nazi. Now the man has admitted the entire story was made up.
Joshua Witt originally told Colorado police that he was getting out of his car at a Steak ‘n Shake in Sheridan when a man came over and attacked him with a knife.
“I was just getting out of my car to go get myself a milkshake and the next thing I hear is, ‘You one of them neo-Nazis’ as this man is swinging a knife at my head over my car door,” Witt told BuzzFeed News when the story was first reported. “I threw my hands up out of natural reflex and then I kind of dived back in my car as the suspect took off running.”
However, on Monday, the Sheridan Police Department told BuzzFeed News that Witt admitted to stabbing himself and the attack never took place.
Apparently, authorities began doubting the story when surveillance video did not show anyone running from the scene. This did not stop the story from being picked up by other sources, including Inside Edition.
Last Thursday, police reinterviewed Witt and discovered he had filed a false report after taking pictures and posting them to social media.
“He was confronted with all the information listed above. Mr. Witt subsequently admitted to accidentally cutting himself with the knife while parked in his car in front of the sporting goods store and admitted to making up the story about being attacked,” Sheridan police said in their statement.
Witt was charged with falsely reporting to authorities and released on a summons.
https://twitter.com/TxDOTBeaumont/status/902565436784607232
https://twitter.com/B_Carp01/status/902720530754789377
https://twitter.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/902695520531095556
https://twitter.com/Mikel_Jollett/status/902724602152882176
Beaumont Texas
https://twitter.com/Mikel_Jollett/status/902718192828612609
Dear God, this is sad. These people are just so severely stressed…
Thanks Liza, I cleaned the link and reposted.
TY, Ametia.
Seriously, I understand her level of frustration, anger and stress. She is hyper-stressed. This is all about her survival and her daughter’s.
‘Get out now!’ Public warned as Harvey strains Houston’s dams and levees
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-dams-levees-houston-20170829-story.html
Excerpt:
“Up to 30K More Guard Troops Ready to Respond to Hurricane Harvey”</strong
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/08/29/up-30k-more-guard-troops-ready-respond-to-hurricane-harvey.html
Excerpt:
“As agencies respond to storm, some face cuts under Trump budget proposal”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-agencies-respond-to-storm-some-face-cuts-under-trump-budget-proposal/2017/08/29/0fbbd6ca-8cc8-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?utm_term=.5b5891514420
Excerpt:
https://twitter.com/abc13houston/status/902642805436063744
This was in Maddow ‘s first segment tonight. Scary😕😕
It’s official HOUSTON is UNDERWATER
https://twitter.com/abc13houston/status/902603101638717441
Rest assured there are countless animals dead from the flooding… SAD.
Blackhawk aircrew rescues
https://twitter.com/CustomsBorder/status/902293317848793090
Whew lawd! Thank God for the rescuers. I would die…I can’t swim. 😢
https://twitter.com/CBPCentralTX/status/902581169375588352
It’s never to late to learn how to swim, SG2.
@GOP @SpeakerRyan Y’all need to end this. He’s UNFIT for Office. Ppl are suffering, some died & he’s talking crowds?
https://twitter.com/christinawilkie/status/902591642976256000
Where’s that TIDAL WAVE when we really need it.
What a sick bastard. I am physically ill at the sight of him and the sound of his voice.
I can’t stand him.
https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/902592760011685892
https://twitter.com/YesYoureRacist/status/902593333775790080
Look at this petty ass selfish mofo. He hates seeing people getting food or necessary essentials to survive.
https://twitter.com/TomLlamasABC/status/902568033163587585
https://twitter.com/TomLlamasABC/status/902569755059650560
https://twitter.com/mirahwood/status/902580886838710277
Tom have you considered falling into a pool of fire ants?
Maybe someone can push this MOFO’s ass in a pool of fire ants.
https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/902582672609783808
URGENT: The levee at Columbia Lakes has been breached. Big area of Brazoria County is under mandatory evacuation https://t.co/7rkMmIEtaR pic.twitter.com/kBU8N8DmFr
— William Axford (@Will_Axford) August 29, 2017
Now, I just wanna understand.
The levee has been breached – i.e., water is coming over it.
But, it hasn’t broken, right?
That is when all hell broke loose in New Orleans – when the levees broke.
Bass Pro Shops donate boats to Harvey rescue efforts in Texas https://t.co/A7jVonXtnh
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) August 29, 2017
Trump’s Secretary of Interior is trying to sell off thousands of acres of our National Parks under our noses https://t.co/zD2z5qUcGi
— Adrienne ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (@ImagineWorldas1) August 29, 2017
That’s obviously not better. The land that’s “adjusted” would be lost to private hands forever. Here is a list of the monuments threatened: pic.twitter.com/2QeOpLnYzf
— Adrienne ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (@ImagineWorldas1) August 29, 2017
House Republican eyes a deadline for Special Counsel Mueller
08/29/17 10:03 AM
By Steve Benen
In June, when Donald Trump started making public suggestions that he’d try to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, derailing the investigation into the Russia scandal, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) made clear he opposed such a move. “I think the best advice is to let Robert Mueller do his job,” Ryan said at the time.
Politico reports that one of the Speaker’s members has a very different approach in mind.
So, on the one hand, we see some senators taking steps to shield Mueller’s investigation from outside political interference, and on the other hand, we also see a House Republican pushing a measure to impose an arbitrary deadline that would end the probe.
It’s probably best not to exaggerate the significance of DeSantis’ proposal: members will offer hundreds of amendments to the upcoming spending package, and most of them will be ignored. In this case, there’s no reason to believe DeSantis’ amendment will enjoy the support of House Republican leaders or even most of the House GOP conference.
But part of me hopes this gets a floor vote anyway, not because I want to see the special counsel’s probe derailed by Congress, but because I’m curious just how many members of Congress would go along with something like this.
https://twitter.com/CourtneyABC13/status/902579108131082240
https://twitter.com/abc13houston/status/902572803198656514
@rikyrah LOOK!
https://twitter.com/AP/status/902568327406596100
UH HUH UH HUH Pressure won out, I see.
New photos of Harvey on weather.com. Heartbreaking…
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-hurricane-harvey-images
If you went to @JoelOsteen’s church for shelter & found it closed, don’t worry, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston’s 21 mosques are open
— Alternative NOAA (@altNOAA) August 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/902563717283491840
They are. They are dumber than the clothes they wear and there isn’t any hope for them.
We have to outnumber them. I am convinced it’s the only way. They are lost, forever.
yep
La Grange Texas….
Georgia Man Tied To Charlottesville Violence Arrested
Police in Cobb County confirm that Alex Michael Ramos, 33, seen on video in Charlottesville, Va., has been arrested. He is in Monroe’s jail.
By Craig Johnson (Patch Staff) – Updated August 29, 2017 10:13 am ET
ACWORTH, GA — Police in Cobb County announced that Alex Michael Ramos has been arrested in connection with the violence that took plac in Charlottesville earlier this month. Ramos is being held in the Monroe County Jail, Cobb officials said Tuesday. Details surrounding his arrest have not been released.
…
This past weekend, Cobb officials confirmed with the Charlottesville Police Department that an arrest warrant had been issued for Ramos, 33, of Jackson for “malicious wounding.” He was wanted in connection with an assault that occurred on August 12 in Charlottesville, Cobb police said Sunday.
In a video purported to be of Ramos, the man says he “stomped some a**” during the Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville. Video of a group of white men beating and stomping a black man, 20-year-old DeAndre Harris, went viral shortly after the melee.
…
https://patch.com/georgia/marietta/georgia-man-tied-charlottesville-violence-arrested-police
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/902545436950622209
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/902540741192409088
https://twitter.com/TXThunderRadio/status/902294138506407936
https://twitter.com/KVUE/status/902297331869077504
https://twitter.com/LiveStormsMedia/status/902439808122880000
https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/902175003969454080
How are you this morning, SG2?
How are the kids?
How is Carson?
I’m ok. The winds calmed down, it has stopped raining and Carson is eating on his own and has gained 3 ounces. Our sweet baby!
$53 billion Finnish pension fund is cutting its exposure to U.S. stocks, due to concerns about Trump’s behavior. https://t.co/BPcHW5U5kO
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 29, 2017
WTF? Are they serious?
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
They just won’t stop.
THE CURVE FOR UNQUALIFIED WHITE MEN IS REAL.
This MOFO has no chance in HELL.
And fuck the NYT for writing this POS
List of shelters currently open in Houston. Pease retweet for those who may be in need. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/RT44RcmR0O
— Waltrip Cheerleading (@waltripcheer) August 28, 2017
Texans: be sure to file for #Harvey relief before Sept 1. #TXlege passed a bill making it harder to dispute weather-related property claims.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) August 28, 2017
Filed my ins. claim & FEMA assistance from my phone while evacuating. Special Session is needed before Republicans hurt more Texans. #Harvey
— Nerds on the Left (@NerdsOnTheLeft) August 28, 2017
If you’re a member of the disability community affected by Harvey, you can call 800-626-4959 for assistance with evacuations.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) August 28, 2017
Houston prosperity gospel preacher Joel Osteen is under fire today for staying closed during Hurricane Harvey. https://t.co/ohuPLPiyEE
— Ruth Graham (@publicroad) August 28, 2017
Congratulations, Internet — you helped @JoelOsteen learn the teachings of Jesus. https://t.co/EeeIKqcRgm
— Bill Prady (@billprady) August 29, 2017
BWA HA HA HA Another WOLF in SHEEP’s clothing
The Trump/Russia revelations just keep coming… https://t.co/2J1knjRCkO pic.twitter.com/wRyTehQT0x
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 29, 2017
NEW VIDEO: Arpaio Pardon and tweeting about The Wall during Harvey proves it. Trump meant “Make America WHITE Again” pic.twitter.com/fk6S3LtcR2
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) August 29, 2017
The Republican Party’s Forty-Year Assault on Civil Rights
by Nancy LeTourneau
August 29, 2017
………………………………..
The first real assault on the ability of the Civil Rights Division to enforce these laws came with the Reagan administration in the 1980’s. As has been the case with Republican presidents, he nominated someone who had no experience in this area, William Bradford Reynolds. Here is how the New York Times described him at the time:
In writing about John Robert’s tenure at DOJ, Ari Berman said this about Reynolds’s tenure at the Civil Rights Division:
In that description you can hear the groundwork that was laid during the Reagan administration for the kinds of attacks we hear on civil rights enforcement to this day. It was chronicled in a book by Raymond Walters titled, “Right Turn: William Bradford Reynolds, the Reagan Administration, and Black Civil Rights.”
Once that had been accomplished, Republicans became emboldened to fight the expected return to enforcement via the smearing of Clinton’s nominee to run the division, Lani Guinier. It is worth noting that the strongest Republican opposition to presidential nominees, other than Obama’s naming of Merrick Garland to fill a position on the Supreme Court, has come in their response to potential leaders of the Civil Rights Division—both Guinier during the Clinton administration and Debo Adegbile during the Obama administration.
Following strong leadership from both Deval Patrick and Bill Lan Lee during the Clinton administration, the Bush years brought us back to a decimation of the division that had begun under Reagan. It was under the leadership of Alexander Acosta (who is now the Sec. of Labor) that this happened:
Bradley Schlozman is the guy who once said that he wanted to “gerrymander all of those crazy libs right out of the [voting] section.” It was within the Civil Rights Division during the Bush years that the focus changed from promoting voting rights to voter suppression via allegations of fraud. Here is what Joseph Rich, former head of the voting rights section of the division wrote about that:
In order to refocus the division back on its mission to enforce civil rights laws, Barack Obama and Eric Holder initially turned to Tom Perez and then Vanita Gupta (who served to the end of Obama’s term as acting director after Republicans blocked the nomination of Debo Adegbile).
Trump turns back the clock on police access to military equipment
08/28/17 03:32 PM—UPDATED 08/28/17 04:05 PM
By Steve Benen
The 2014 crisis in Ferguson, Missouri, shook the nation in a variety of ways, but as regular readers may recall, one of the lasting debates focused on the militarization of local law enforcement. Many Americans weren’t just shocked by the unrest; they were also surprised to see police officers carrying weapons of war while confronting American civilians on domestic soil.
In the wake of the violence, there was considerable interest on Capitol Hill about reforming the Pentagon’s “1033” program that makes military equipment available to police departments. Though most of the support for changes was spearheaded by Democrats, even some Republican lawmakers agreed it was time to take another look at the policy.
Congressional action never materialized, but the Obama administration followed through, banning the transfer of at least some types of military weapons to local police.
Donald Trump has turned back the clock.
The new policy takes effect immediately.
Texas Republicans have a new perspective on federal disaster aid
08/29/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 08/29/17 08:15 AM
By Steve Benen
It’s hard to blame New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for blasting Texas Republican as “hypocrites.” The Republican governor, reflecting on Texas GOP lawmakers’ opposition to relief aid after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, hasn’t forgotten how his state was treated.
“We were the disaster that was the longest, in waiting in terms of getting federal aid, and I hope that that’s not what happens to the folks in Texas with Harvey,” Christie said yesterday.
On MSNBC yesterday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Katy Tur that his vote against disaster relief four years ago was justified.
The Washington Post ran a detailed fact-check piece on Cruz’s defense, and found that the senator’s argument is plainly untrue.
Nevertheless, Cruz is not alone. When it came time to approve emergency aid for areas affected by Sandy, most Senate Republicans – including both of Texas’ GOP senators – voted against the bill. In the lower chamber, most House Republicans – including 20 Texas Republicans – also opposed the disaster relief.
What Trump doesn’t understand about his own border wall idea
08/29/17 09:23 AM
By Steve Benen
Over the weekend, Donald Trump, who continues to insist that Americans pay for a giant wall along the U.S./Mexico border, said that the Mexican government will eventually “reimburse” us for the cost of the project. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said soon after, “Our country will not pay, under any circumstances, for a wall.”
Which, naturally, led the American president to again say yesterday, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the wall…. We may fund it through the United States, but ultimately, Mexico will pay for the wall.” I assume Mexican officials will respond in kind again soon.
But while the back and forth is tiresome, especially about a project Congress is highly unlikely to approve, Trump also explained why, exactly, he thinks the wall is so necessary.
No, it won’t. Perhaps the president hasn’t had time to read up on his signature issue, but there’s no reason to believe the wall would serve as some kind of anti-drug barrier. “A wall alone cannot stop the flow of drugs into the United States,” Christopher Wilson, the deputy director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center, recently told Vox.
A Washington Post report added, “[E]xperts on the drug trade say a border wall, even one as big and beautiful as Trump promised, would be near-impotent in stemming the supply of illegal drugs.”
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/28/17
Hatch would vote yes on release of dossier testimony transcript
Rachel Maddow reports breaking news that Senator Orrin Hatch has told TRMS that he would vote in favor of releasing the transcript of the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson on the Trump dossier.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/28/17
Trump exposed to new obstruction charge over Arpaio queries
Rachel Maddow looks at legal opinions on whether Donald Trump’s inquiries into dropping the case against Joe Arpaio would constitute yet another act of obstruction of justice for which Trump might be legally exposed.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/28/17
Trump Moscow deal pushed as asset to campaign
Carol Leonnig, staff writer for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about new revelations that Donald Trump was pursuing a business deal in Moscow while campaigning, and why his aides saw a Russian deal as an asset to the campaign.
a comment from BJ:
No. Not a small lie in the least. It goes to the heart of his campaign.
This is why I do appreciate Maddow and her long azz opening segments of background. Yesterday’s was instructive, as always. With this Russia story, she always tries to connect as many dots as possible.
Often, while I watch these segments, and my blood pressure rises at the disgust I feel….
I say..
” What if 44 had done this?”
I’ll say it again…
“the curve for unqualified White Men is REAL!”
Because, I listened to Maddow last night, as she linked story after story of banks and the Trump Crime Family…..
and, I just sigh…thinking about what would have happened if JUST ONE of these stories had come up during the time of 44.
JUST.ONE.
THIS is why they have to go to jail. The entire lot of them. Not only will their vote for this clown be held against any Dolt45 voters…we must be able to snidely and with condescention, tell them, that they are bad judges of character. I have no interest in ‘moving on for the sake of the country’.
Uh uh.
These people must be beaten over the head with the Dolt45 club.
The Maddow segment:
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/28/17
Trump sought Moscow business deal while campaigning for president
Rachel Maddow reports on the myriad ties between Donald Trump and Russia that have come to light in contradiction of Trump denials, with the latest being the pursuit of a real estate deal backed by a state-run Russian bank while Trump was campaigning for president.
Co-sign! My husband and I complain about Maddow’s long drawn out openings, but we have learned to suck it up, and expand our attention spans.
That;s the issue with folks now. We can’t or won’t take the time to gather facts, read long articles, etc. It’s the micro wave society, and everything is doled out in soundbites.
Who loses? WE DO
Who wins? The powers that be.
I will not and do not hesitate to tell anyone who crosses my path about #45 exactly what I think about him and his cohorts.
DON’T START NONE, WON’T BE NONE
Prayers for everyone in the path of Harvey. Lord, please watch over them and keep them safe.🙏🙏
As far as this guy is concerned…lock him up…see what happens 😒😒😒
Good Morning,Everyone 😐😐😐