"These unprecedented tactics -- which even the former top lawyer of the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration has characterized as embarrassing, lawless and cruel -- have now resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens," the Obamas said.

The Obamas accused the Trump administration of "escalating" the tension in Minneapolis by offering the public explanations of the shootings of Pretti and Renee Good "that aren't informed by any serious investigation -- and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence."

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[–] 83 points 9 months ago* (5 children)

There have been sooo many wake up calls. The alarm has been blaring for a decade, and most people keep hitting snooze. The bus is long gone, and you’ve missed so many days, you’re going to be expelled. Final exams are today. Try not to show up in your underpants.

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  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    No one really cares until the victims look like them. Now that it's 2 white people it's the time to care

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    I'd argue in this situation waking up yesterday would be a lot better than waking up today, but also better next week then next year. The more people get awake the bigger the critical mass needed to turn this shit around.

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  • [–] 53 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    it's a wake up call the same way your alarm is a wake up call two hours after it initially went off and you've been hitting snooze every five minutes

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    The US is the epitome of the idea that if you have an appointment 45min away at 8:45 and it’s 8:40 if you just pretend to be in a hurry you might make it on time. You will not be calling ahead to tell anyone where you are because you’re “on the way” and obviously you’re still stopping for a little coffee because you’ve had a stressful morning.

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  • [–] 19 points 9 months ago

    Phone's been ringing off the hook since 2016

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  • [–] 33 points 9 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 34 points 9 months ago

    One of ours. All of theirs.

    There's a lot fewer ICE agents than there are American workers. They're just starting with the dayworkers, cleaners, and nurses because its more palatable for the white right-wing. Next, they'll come for other groups of dark Americans.

    This always was and always will be a class war. No war but the class war.

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  • [–] 103 points 9 months ago (9 children)

    One of my earliest wake up calls was when a certain president didn't outright dismantle the Patriot Act, allowing illegal privacy invasion policies on American citizens to continue and have now made the life of ICE officers a lot easier.

    I wonder who that president was...

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  • [–] 63 points 9 months ago*

    Yes Obama was part of the problem too. Refusing to acknowledge the surveillance and rights to authorities as soon as they claimed terrorism were way beyond what's healthy for a democracy. Unfortunately Obama too was very "American" in that regard.

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    when a certain president didn’t outright dismantle the Patriot Act

    because presidents and not congress do that? cool willful ignorance of government roles & powers.

    @lemmy.ml

    of course

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Obama could have vetoed the PATRIOT extension act, and yet he signed it in 2010, and then again 2011, and then in 2015 he signed the USA Freedom Act, which replaced mass surveillance with “targeted surveillance”. And I’m no law expert, but in my view with the current federal government “targeted” does not seem to mean very much with respect to actions by the US government toward its citizens.

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  • [+] -10 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    So instead of doing something about it you’re going for whataboutism, we’ll done, whatever makes you feel better about your inaction.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Firstly, may I remind you that you are online? If you are going to criticize someone for inaction, maybe you should stop wasting time bishing and complaining cuz someone made a comment you didn't like on a social media feed, go outside, and take your own advice.

    Secondly, pointing out hypocricy, especially as that hypocrisy relates to a person in power, and especially when said person in power is a former president of the US, is a far cry from whataboutism.

    I can draw a straight line from the Patriot Act to the privacy invading tools ICE and other Federal Agencies use today, and while Obama didn't draft nor sign into law the Patriot Act, he did fuck all to end it. Heck, he extended provisions of that horrendous act in 2012.

    So nah, I'm not about to forget that there's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Obama. And yeah, I'm gonna shout that shit into this void. Thanks for reading.

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  • [–] -1 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    You don’t need to worry about me I spend plenty of time outside and petitioning my government.

    I’m just sad to see the top comment on this thread focusing on the guy who left office 9 years ago, rather than the one inciting murders on the streets of MN.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago*

    Fair enough, but it's not an either or situation here. People can criticize both Trump and Obama. Just because Obama is saying the right things now doesn't mean he's not a hypocrite, and I'll be damned if we all just willingly forget exactly who made some of the bad decisions that got us to where we are today.

    Fuck Trump, Fuck ICE, and yeah, Fuck Obama. Not equally, but yeah, fuck'em.

    EDIT: removal of pronoun

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    I swear to God, "whataboutism" just means, "You stated a fact I don't like." Of course it's relevant that the guy criticizing ICE was someone who could've actually done something about them and chose not to. What a load of bull.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Yeah actually you have a point here, I’ve been in this thread so long I forgot it was Obama who was being quoted on the post.

    I do maintain that in the list of people responsible for what is currently happening and we should be really mad at today… Trump is way out ahead and Obama is behind about a million assholes who are actively involved in propping up the Trump presidency.

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  • [–] 15 points 9 months ago* (1 child)
  • [–] 13 points 9 months ago

    The woman holding the camera closest to the murder, she has the biggest courage I've ever seen in my life.

    You saw the others how they go blurry when the horror started.

    That lady is just incredible.. I hope good things happen to her for allowing us all to see what this government is all about.

    We heard things, we knew and assumed things but now we know. This is proof beyond any doubt that we are all just getting murdered.

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    They called it a "tragedy" too.
    Its not a "tragedy", its a massive crime and a coverup.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago

    When Obama took over, I was warning everyone that if he didn't punish the crimes and malfeasance of the Bush Administration, the next Republican would be worse, and we ended up with Trump.

    Then Biden proved he didn't learn ANYTHING from his years as VP, and let Trump get back up AGAIN!

    We cannot let our elected representatives fail us again. We must force them to act decisively, and purge MAGA from our government and society, and harshly punish the MAGA traitors for their CRIMES, which are many.

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  • [–] 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (16 children)

    Wake-up call for who?
    The people who already knew and voted against Trump? Or the people who voted for him, and also knew he is a fascist sociopath? Or the people who don't care?

    There is no way this should be a wake-up call for anybody. This was to be expected. We knew already before his inauguration that he would destroy democracy and put USA at the very least to the brink of civil war doing it.

    How is this in any way surprising?
    Even the infamously slow moving EU reacted in less than a month to Trump, and began to work on independence from USA.
    The world has clearly reacted, but has neither right or power to remove Trump.
    The ones that have power to remove Trump are the Americans, and for some reason they don't.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (13 children)
  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago* (10 children)

    I've been warning about this since before Trump won the election.
    But to be honest IDK what to do at this point, except occupy white house and congress.
    It seems more and more like either give Trump his way, or prepare for civil war. 😬
    I hope your fellow Americans have better ideas. The time to act was before Trump had everything stacked on his side. But maybe he doesn't have that quite yet. And some of the services will side with the people if they act now.
    But apparently all the services are now ready to do Trumps bidding. And if true, that means that USA is already a dictatorship.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (9 children)

    Yeah. Agreed. The time to act was when we had the option to vote against tyranny. But too many people felt it necessary to protest shit happening in a country they couldn’t have pointed to on a map months before, and the rest of the clowns felt that “good” was the mortal enemy of perfect. So much so that it seems they’re willing to repeat their mistakes in 2028.

    Still, everyone wasn’t to believe there’s a way out of this- and no one wants to hear the truth. And yet- the truth is what drives everyone to do nothing about it.

    I guess it’s better to just whine about everything while doing nothing as opposed to calling it out.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago* (2 children)

    the truth is what drives everyone to do nothing about it.

    The truth is that if Trump wins, USA is a dictatorship, and Americans have in effect lost a lot of the rights and freedoms they used to take for granted.
    I think the truth should make people want to fight for democracy and their rights. The longer people wait, the harder it gets. Because the administration is systematically turning all the agencies into fascist wagging tails of the administration.

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  • [–] -1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (5 children)

    many people felt it necessary to protest shit happening in a country they couldn’t have pointed to on a map months before

    "shit happening" huh. You mean that all our candidates were supporting and facilitating a genocide of innocents. Have the stones to say it out loud instead of trivializing it. And you're right about one thing, if the DNC keep running zionists then I plan to keep letting this place burn to the ground and toasting my marshmallows on the fires. And your 401k ,and posh house, and starbucks, and gay rights, your social security, your career, and civil rights and private schools can all immolate under republican leadership until you war crimes softies wise the eff up and grow a spine. I dont care if you and your friends dont like that or "blame" me. The ire of people who trivialize war crimes means less than nothing to me. And lots of people feel the way I do.

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

    And there it is…. The gENOciDe excuse.

    Why don’t you just say that you couldn’t be bothered to do the bare minimum to stand in the way of fascism than to make some bogus excuse so that you sound worldly and ideolistic?

    Because we told you the genocide would still happen- and it did.

    We told you even MORE people would die- and they did.

    We told you ALL of this would happen- and it did.

    And you have the fucking nerve to call out entitlements? It must be so nice to pawn other people’s lives to pay for your shitty little pout-n-protest.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago* (3 children)

    Flatly saying NO to a genocide (or "gENOciDe" in your description) done with US taxpayer bought weapons is an "excuse" to you? And then you want to whine about your "entitlements"?

    Wow. You sir, are selfish to the point of psychopathy. Let us know when you reconsider that. Until that point keep enjoying the fruits of the DNC being bought out by Israel. I imagine watching our "entitlements" burn to nothing will be motivating. Or maybe not, in which case I guess we let it all burn and rebuild after under a new regime. Either way the dems dont get my vote until they stop fellating whoever pays them. Heck of a system we have on that.

    And your saying Harris was going to mean fewer deaths than trump is BS. Her actions dont indicate that at all. She has let Israel do whatever they wanted to whomever they wanted to whatever degree they wanted, and that wont change because her campaign is powered by their money. Its like you dont understand how the donor driven pay to play system in the US works. Did you notice that Harris was palling around with republicans and talking about praying and shooting her glock, and resisteing talking about any policy positions? But you think she was going to swing way progressive after the election, totally change her pattern and spontaneously do the right thing after the election. It's a fiction that'd make a hell of a movie. Of course she'd just keep doing exactly what she's doing now. You centrists always like to pretend toward vague progressivism during elections and then afterwards you talk about how no promises were ever made and you fire all the progressives from your campaign on day 1 after the election. If you are so sure of what she'd do, why cant you point to any compelling evidence except for your personal rosey best case interpretation or her vaguely given words?

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago* (2 children)

    In fairness I should probably tell you that I didn’t read past the first paragraph of that because at this point, I have absolutely no reason to take you seriously. The ad hominy attacks show you are not mature enough to discuss such nuanced topic. Also…

    You illustrated my point perfectly and I honestly don’t think you could possible do a better job should this conversation continue.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    People like yourself putting your fingers in your ears and making loud distracting noises (because you have no answers) is how these interactions always end.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    Oh I have answers. I just tend to spend the time giving them to people who can hold a mature conversion where they disagree with someone.

    Not…. people like you

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  • [–] -3 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    This is such a tired response at this point. If you really have no idea, go take a nap. Your country is better off without your help. When Americans do finally act, they’re not going to want you underfoot asking for directions.

    But let’s be real- you already know full well.

    What you’re really asking is “what would you have us do that requires very little work and doesn’t put me at any risk?”

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Voting against Trump wasnt the solution, he's a cog in the machine. Replace the cog and the machine still functions the same. Opposing and fighting the entire system will be the only way to create a difference.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Best case scenario would be that the people demand a better democracy. But I doubt they will, because Americans are indoctrinated to think they have the best democracy in the world, when in reality it's a highly dysfunctional democracy. And I suspect only a small percentage of Americans are aware of that.

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  • [–] 14 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    The alarm has been getting louder and louder for decades. You fucking traitorous liberals ignored hundreds of wake-up calls. This was only one of the latest.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    After all the "wake up calls" one would assume the metaphorical person's deaf or just plain dead already.

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  • [–] 15 points 9 months ago* (18 children)

    I’m sorry Americans but there were many wake up calls before this, Renee Good should have been a fucking wake up call! You need to go to your state capitals or to DC and demand the removal of Donald the Cunt.

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  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago (15 children)

    Just for a frame of reference for my European friends, the Whitehouse is a 42 hour drive through 11 states for me right now. Each one of those 11 states is politically unique. Organizing this country is not nearly as simple as everyone else on the planet seems to think. Furthermore, preventing us from organizing is one third of the planets billionaires, who's interests lie definitively in our being fragmented, over worked, and exploitable.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (7 children)

    You have senators and congressmen, you have mayors and district politicians, you have state capitals.

    You go the the first in the chain, their homes and offices with enough people they cannot say no, and you take them with you to the next in the chain with more people.

    It’s like you don’t realise what is happening, that you are about to become prisoners at the whims of a string of dictators. To me that would be worth a 42 hour drive and some car camping, but at the very least a ring around and a visit to my district politicians with some friends.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    That looks SO good in writing.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    We’re still writing books about the alternative option after ~85 years.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    You honestly think gong to the houses of politicians is going to stop trump? He OWNS them. They are his possessions.

    You don’t appeal to satan by addressing his demons.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    When you outnumber their demons 1 million to 1 you’d be surprised what you can do.

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago

    lol…. Their demons can turn you into pink mist from space without losing a man. Not only that, if it came to a ground war- they’d destroy us.

    What do you think the military trains for exactly? Swimming? LMAO!

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  • [–] -2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    senators and congressmen, you have mayors and district politicians, you have state capitals.

    None of them care, they are in those positions to feed the current system, a system they benefit too much from.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (6 children)

    Yeah, everyone seems to think it’s the 1800’s still.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    What would be the difference? Much easier travel to your state representative? Easier to find them? Easier to set up a chat group and organise your friends and family?

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  • [–] -1 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    And what will that do exactly?

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    You want someone to slow walk protesting your government??? No wonder you’re inviting a dictatorship.

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  • [–] -1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Naaah… I’d rather just have clueless people who don’t live here make failed attempts at armchair-quarterbacking the entire thing.

    You know, since it’s so cut-and-dry.

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    I’ve petitioned my government many times, I’m doing so again in a couple of weeks face to face with my representative.

    For the ‘home of the brave and the land of the free’ your really are sounding like an easily controlled pussy.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    It’s fucking hilarious you think these people can be reasoned with. Makes me wonder if you think the Jews should have tried to have a sit-down face-to-face with Hitler to see if he would just….. you know, stop.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    Too late dead man

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    Lmao the wake up call called in 2016 when you guys gave nuclear launch codes to a reality tv star. Now it's a wake up fire and it's blocking all of the emergecy exits.

    The only good thing that can happen now is that something better will rises out of the ashes.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    The Obamas seem far more interested in producing movies than they are saving America, so, piss off

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Philando Castile should have been the wake up call.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    You know you fucked up when the literal poster children of the "they go low, we go high" trend of establishment democrats call you out...

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago

    "They should have used drones instead"

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago

    We are literally on the last stanza of First The Came, but now is the wakeup call? Him and his party paved the way to where we are right now. The chickens have come home to roost.

    He can go fuck himself.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Deporter in Chief can fuck off, acting like he wasn't normalizing ICE under his administration

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Normalizing by

    • operating lawfully or by
    • endorsing/licensing murders, arresting US citizens, violating the constitution, abducting asylum seekers in court, using kids as bait?

    One of these is unlike the other.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Is your problem with ICE only when the deportations are done in a lawful manner? You do realize the Gestapo was also done lawfully, right?

    Obama normalized, Trump escalated. Biden normalized, Trump escalated.

    murders

    During the Obama administration, 56 individuals have died while in ICE custody

    Do you only oppose the deportation of people when they're citizens, not non-citizens? Do you not see how normalizing that allowed Trump to expand ICE?

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  • [–] 15 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Obama used drones to murder innocent people. He helped throw the boomerang. Fuck him

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Dude we've been awake for a while now. We're past that. Now it's time to arm yourself for self-defense purposes.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Please come back to the Senate, Obama

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    A surge of white-hot atonement will be our wake up call.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Now that we're awake, what now?

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