Legalectric

Thanks to the STrib’s Libor Jany for posting the Statement of Probable Cause for Allen Scarsella.  The four are Scarsella, Joseph Backman, Nathan Gustavsson, and Daniel Macey.  Hennepin Co. Atty. Freeman’s press conference starts soon.

It looks like all four will be charged.  I’m very glad to see the County Attorney handling this quickly.  I believe they’re also looking at whether to charge this as a hate crime.  Given all the video and online threads, it’d be pretty hard to show it wasn’t a hate crime.

Probable Cause – Scarsella

From Reuters:

Allen Scarsella, 23, who prosecutors said in a complaint had admitted to shooting five protesters, was charged with one count of second-degree riot while armed and five counts of second-degree assault.

Joseph Backman, 27; Nathan Gustavsson, 21; and Daniel Macey, 26, were each charged with second-degree riot in the Nov. 23 late night shooting that left five demonstrators with wounds that were not life-threatening.

This is progress, a start.

From the press conference (close, but not necessarily verbatim):

“These are sick people…”

“These four have been in custody… we believe there may be another, and that’s why this is ongoing.”

“If you’re a racist, you’re a racist, and that’s just not acceptable.”

“For people to talk about about their fellow human beings in that manner is simply not acceptable.”

“First appearance is tomorrow, we’ve asked for half a million dollars for Scarsella, and for a quarter million for the others.”

Here we go again, this year’s Power Plant Siting Act Annual Hearing.

Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Docket Number: E999/M-15-785

Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) Docket Number: 60-2500-32901

Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Large Hearing Room, 121 7th Place East, Suite 350, Saint Paul, MN 55101

Bad weather? Find out if a meeting is canceled. Call (toll-free) 1-855-731-6208 or 651-201-2213 or visit mn.gov/puc

Here are some prior dockets (to access the entire docket, individual comments, etc., go to :

2000 Summary of Proceedings

2000 Report EQB

2001 Summary of Proceedings

2001 Report EQB

2002 Summary of Proceedings

2002 Report to EQB

2003 Summary of Proceedings

2003 Report to EQB

2004 Summary of Proceedings

2004 Report to EQB

2005 Report to PUC

2006 Report to PUC – Docket 06-1733

2007 Report to PUC – Docket 07-1579

2008 Report to PUC – Docket 08-1426

2009 Report to PUC – Docket 09-1351

2010 Report to PUC – Docket 10-222

2011 Report to PUC – Docket 11-324

2012 Report to PUC – Docket 12-360

2013 Report to PUC – Docket 13-965

2014 Summary Comments– Docket 14-887

Methinks cognitive dissonance has people’s minds in a wringer leading to silence.

Whenever a police officer is killed or seriously injured on the job, my facebook feed lights up with “Prayers for _______,” “blue line” memes, and #policelivesmatter hashtags.  Officer Garrett Swasey was killed by a white male terrorist at Planned Parenthood of Colorado Springs, likely one of the first on the scene of that violent attack.  Five other officers, not publicly identified, were injured.  Yet the internet is virtually silent.  The usual many, many comments are not there.  Only two of the many people I know who are usually filling the feed with “Prayers for” comments have offered concern about the fallen officer, and there’s been nothing at all regarding those injured.

There are quite a few comments about this silence…

Here’s a remembrance in the New York Times:

Garrett Swasey, Officer Killed in Colorado, Is Recalled for Courage and Faith

On CNN:

Officer Garrett Swasey was champion skater, church elder

.

A suspect is taken into custody outside a Planned Parenthood center in Colorado Springs, Colorado November 27, 2015. Police arrested a gunman who stormed the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday and opened fire with a rifle in a burst of violence that left at least 11 people injured, including five officers, authorities said. REUTERS/Isaiah J. Downing FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

What am I thankful for? I’m thankful that we have an opportunity, today, to recognize and acknowledge our rights, and our right and obligation to stand up for our rights and the rights of everyone, but particularly the rights of women, blacks, Muslims, immigrants, and everyone else who is under siege. It’s times like these where I’m thankful to be an attorney, sworn on oath to uphold the Constitution, grateful to have this piece of paper that says I can open a door for others.  Day to day, I do this in a small way, helping people speak up, participate, and exercise their rights.  But the much larger picture is so ugly. Each and every one of us, this is our right and our obligation. We have lost so much in the rights department since 2001, and now our most fundamental Constitutional rights are being challenged from all sides, in many venues. Stand up, ramp it up.

Last week, racist terrorists with stated intent to raise hell shot unarmed #blacklivesmatter #justice4Jamal protesters in Minneapolis.

Today, it’s a domestic terrorists shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, CO, so far shooting at least one police officer killed and four injured, and two civilians killed and unknown others injured, 9 or maybe more civilians injured.

Planned Parenthood notes that:

We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country.

It’s not surprising there’s be a terrorist at a Planned Parenthood, it’s happened before, and will probably happen again.  But it raises the issue of responsibility of speech.  One of the latest right-wing political distractions has been a protracted, orchestrated, inflamed and vitriolic focus on Planned Parenthood, based on a phony video, and aimed at cutting Planned Parenthood federal funding.  Nevermind that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land since 1973, despite so many attempts to legislate it away (like the 50+ attempts to repeal “Obamacare”), since that time there have been repeated efforts to strip federal funding, many Planned Parenthood clinics do not offer abortions, abortions constitute just 3% of services, and look HERE at the government funding. And today a guy goes in and shoots up Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, CO.

PBS LIVE COVERAGE HERE

What this says to me is that this is not about abortion.  It’s a rallying cry to limit Constitutional rights, and to prevent women’s access to health care and birth control, cancer testing, and STD treatment.

• At least 1 Colorado Springs officer injured in ongoing active shooter situation at Planned Parenthood
• Shots Reported Near Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs

In tandem, we see a rallying cry to prohibit entry of refugees, to establish a “religious test,” and such inflamed hatred directed at Muslims, citizens and non-citizens alike.  Horrible, ugly stuff.  Over and over, the rants are based on a claim of theocracy, the the U.S. is a “Christian” nation, and that only “Christians” should be allowed in.  Not a thought is given to the founding of this country by people fleeing theocracy!  No weight is given to the Constitutional prohibition of establishment of a state (government) religion.

And in Texas, a Texas militia group posts names and addresses of Muslims and “Muslim associates” (report HERE) for what purpose other than to encourage “religious” terrorists?  Here’s THE Texas Militia site: Texas Militia. Same one?

Donald Trump is a prime offender, but it’s much broader than Trump.
 

HERE: One way to handle hate speech without undermining the whole concept of freedom of speech at Brunel University where Katie Hopkins was a panelist in debate.

Scene from the Public Hearing held in Menagha on October 19, 2015.  The Public Utilities Commission, in its Order of Ordered an “Informal Process” for the Certificate of Need and Route Permit dockets, wrote:

At this time there are no contested material facts, future factual disputes appear unlikely, and there are no other factors pointing to a need for contested case proceedings. The Commission will therefore authorize staff to develop the record and prepare this case for Commission action without contested case proceedings under Minn. Stat. §§14.57 et seq., unless those proceedings are later determined to be necessary. Accordingly, the Commission will direct the use of the informal review process under Minn. R. 7829.1200 to develop the record for the certificate of need.

Order_Informal Review Process_20153-108363-02-1

And then more:

Under the alternative permitting process the Commission still asks the Office of Administrative Hearings to hold at least one public hearing, scheduled in conjunction with Commission staff. The Commission will request that the Administrative Law Judge in this case prepare a summary report of the comments received during the public hearing comment period.

… and…

2. The Commission requests that the Administrative Law Judge file a summary report of the comments received regarding the route permit application.

Yet in the “Summary Report,” it appears that comments are made “just because” and “off the cuff” because none of the Exhibits are referenced in the Summary!  For example, I wanted to get at the capacity of the line, because the project is overdesigned, much bigger than what is “needed” by any stretch of the imagination, so a quick review of the specs of the line:

Oh, but is was.  At the hearing, the GRE engineer stated that, “196 MVA would equate to an ampacity grater than 702 amps.  Tr. p. 21, l. 16-17.

Transcript- Public Hearing_10-19-2015

And during the Comment period, GRE stated that:

Comments_GRE-MP_201511-115396-01

Meanwhile, my client wanted to introduce a close up map of her property, and the ALJ would not accept it!

So Donna Andersen’s map was not entered, but the map in the docket doesn’t show TWO transmission lines affecting her property? And the ALJ is only aware of one of the two that she testified about. Funny how that works.

This docket has been a mess…