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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 24, 2022

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So it looks like WNBA’s Brittney Griner’s 9-Year Prison Sentence Upheld In Russian Appeal Court.

One thing I find interesting about the whole ordeal is the similarities between her case and the Jan6 detainees, in both an hostile government dishes disproportionate punishment to a member of an opposing tribe.

While I feel for Ms. Griner I can't help, but chuckle at the parallels and remind myself that in the real world there aren't good guys, just your guys and theirs.

Jan. 6 detainees say a D.C. jail is so awful that they'd like a transfer to Guantanamo

Jan. 6 detainees say a D.C. jail is so awful that they'd like a transfer to Guantanamo

Glossing over the performative nature of this gesture, you'd think the travails of the Jan. 6 rioters would engender a degree of sympathy for criminal justice reformers. Instead, the reaction seems to be outrage that Upstanding Citizens like themselves should be subject to the same conditions as common criminals.

Well, yes? People engaged in political protests don't expect to be treated like carjackers, because they haven't been in a century in the US. The Capitol building is not an illegitimate place to protect (contrast the kid gloves treatment of SCOTUS protestors at their homes), it is, in fact, the MOST legitimate place to protest. Its a political building where politics is done.

That you can be held without bail for wandering in, without them even proving that you knew it was illegal to be there (for most people the barricades had been long abandoned by the incompetent, Pelosi directed, Capitol Police), is Eugene Debbs shit.

That you can be held without bail for wandering in, without them even proving that you knew it was illegal to be there (for most people the barricades had been long abandoned by the incompetent, Pelosi directed, Capitol Police), is Eugene Debbs shit.

Can you point out anyone who was "held without bail just for wandering in"? About 1000 have been prosecuted so far, but the vast majority (~70%) were released without bail. The vast majority of the remaining defendants had bail imposed. I did a quick google search but couldn't come up with an updated number of how many defendants are still held in jail (either with no bail or with unrealistic bail). There was a DC Appeals Court decision a while back that instructed magistrates to release people unless the government can demonstrate a specific threat. This means that anyone who is "held without bail for wandering in" as you claim they are would be contrary to this court's order. The subset of defendants should be small enough that you should be able to point out someone who fits the concerns you've just described. Can you?

About 1000 have been prosecuted so far, but the vast majority (~70%) were released without bail. The vast majority of the remaining defendants had bail imposed.

From the notoriously right-wing New York Times: "For several months, a few dozen men being held without bail in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have loudly and repeatedly complained about conditions at the District of Columbia jail."

I don't know how that's responsive to my question. You'll notice that I never claimed that none of the J6 defendants were held without bail. I explicitly acknowledged them when I wrote about "defendants are still held in jail (either with no bail or with unrealistic bail)". I even linked to an article explicitly staying "Yes, several people are being held without bail in the D.C. Jail"! What I was asking for was about the people who are "held without bail just for wandering in" as @anti_dan claimed they are. Do these people actually exist?