The Massachusetts Department of Correction has been fighting me for months, trying to withhold data about its collaboration with ICE.
Yesterday, I won that fight, and obtained records showing that the state has transferred more than 2,000 people into ICE custody since 2009.
A quick thread:
On top of all the other amazing work @danielsuitor.com has been doing in MN (filing habeas petitions etc etc) he is also summarizing the contempt hearing this morning for Rosen and the US Attorney's office in MN.
I can't wait to read the transcript of this hearing. (And I know he'll request it!)
This should serve as a great reminder of who the 544K a year earning Captain "Pepper" Jack Danilecki is, for those who aren't familiar with Boston's Worst
The City knows what he does. The State knows what he does. And we keep paying Danilecki hundreds of thousands of dollars to assault marginalized people and hide behind a badge.
When the law passed, legislators said POST would *end police misconduct* in Massachusetts. Lol.
bsky.app/profile/quat...
Not everything has to be a damn Council Resolution or debate. 😀
But given that story and the timeline, who goes on which door in the Reaper meme?
I just posted a story about that! TLDR there was no press release, but it happened.
bsky.app/profile/jtfo...
But the takeaways for me are (1) him and staff are in a good place on good sense and (2) when I'm unsure if they ain't I can ask directly, which is one thing I really want in an executive as a legislator.
Good on him and staff both for just quietly doing Good Things and moving on w biz of the city!
I think I've seen @mayorjakewilson.bsky.social more in the last 2 months than I saw of his predecessor in 4 years. And thats another big W for him in my book.
I'm sure ima have issues from my constituents that ima have to take issue w him on... but at least we get to have that talk.
Given that the first Council meeting in Feb was on the 12th, I'd give it great odds that the Comms dept had already made that choice w his blessing even before I'd asked him about it!
But I'll be damned if it ain't nice to be able to just ask the Mayor about something like that in either case.
Now, I can't say for sure *which* meeting this was at, b/c he's attends every one, instead of just when he wants to scold/strongarm us... so I can't personally take credit for making it happen.
But I can say that if @mayorjakewilson.bsky.social hadn't already done it, he did it asap when informed.
I have a clear recollection of stepping aside during a Council meeting and having a quick chat with @mayorjakewilson.bsky.social to ask why @cityofsomerville.bsky.social still posted on X.
To his absolute credit, he replied "Gee, I think they've stopped already. But if not, they should. I'll ask."
Funny story about that... Two things for the reader to know:
1) Mayor Wilson comes to and sits through *every* City Council meeting, to hear what's on our/your minds and answer Councilor questions on Mayor's Requests items and policy issues.
2) No Mayor in the last decade+ has done that.
tomorrow is with one of the biggest election days of the year. there's so much to go over it's hard to know where to start.
so, let me help:
here are the *10* elections i'm watching the most closely, *at the state and local level* (=no federal elections included!)
🧵:
that top DOD officials spent the entire day feuding with a tech company and the boy scouts before launching a war in the middle of the night should probably inform your opinion about how well planned and executed this will be
Buddy I've got a tenth of that but if you want people making up deranged shit about you online just enter local politics
That's an incredible amount of political effort just to persecute 300 members of a disempowered class of people who have done nothing wrong and just want to be left alone to live their lives
I promise it does not foreshadow the creation of a new Department of Balls. Or Cameras.
But hey, I've been wrong before. I'm open to being convinced! But I do the best I can to ensure that our city acts in alignment with our values, and that includes protecting ALL of our neighbors.
But I think the first two questions show that we are using this $ the way we would if it came from our local property taxes: to buy equipment that keeps city services running, and in NO WAY exposes our residents to Federal predation.
That's not hyperbole! Trump touches every dollar we get from federal grants. Does that mean we should reject the return of our $, b/c it's been in his filthy hands? Maybe.
Are we each complicit when our taxes come out of our paychecks and go to the feds? Maybe. It's a fair argument.
Well... I personally don't think so.
We all pay our taxes, and those income taxes go directly to the Feds. Every dollar that comes to our city in the form of grants is a dollar WE earned, but it has gone through Federal hands to come back here.
There's a real discussion to be had about whether or not we should even be interested in this money, though!
First Q: does this bind us to ICE assistance or require us to collaborate? NO.
Second Q: Does this tech integrate with any Fed systems? NO.
Third Q: Does accepting this $ make us complicit?
Hey, time to correct the record!
The technical info we got in the cmte meeting was incorrect! These cameras are *not* integrated into the larger surveillance networks and accessible by DHS. It's a CC system, and as such it's as secure from the Feds as any camera footage can be.
I have to think it's possible to prevent backdoor access, but it won't be easy and it's worth thinking about. I want those automated enforcement cams; I don't want to add to the surveillance dragnet. Fascism sucks.
(The cameras I referenced above are not automated speed enforcement cams.)
Very impressive testimony from this DHS lawyer. Training standards are now basically kaput.
AND, every agent who shot and/or killed someone in MN was a long-tenured, experienced officer - including one who was an instructor. More training isn't the answer.
I took a vote against buying and installing more cameras that are integrated with PSNet/BRIC for city buildings tonight. Thanks to @jonlink.bsky.social (and Clr Ben Wheeler, who isn't on bsky yet?) for joining me in recommending against acceptance and usage of the federal grant for that purpose.
"LAPD illegally shared License Plate Reader data with ICE over 100 times in just one month" is a good reminder that a departmental policy is not as secure as (a) not having mass surveillance, and (b) not having our camera feeds accessible by DHS/Feds/ICE.
In related news...
Sidewalks: excellent snowshoeing, otherwise good luck champ
(unless you're walking past my house)
I'd describe current conditions in Union Square as follows
Main streets: thick, well-groomed hardpack with powder dusting and drifting, excellent for downhill skiing on Laurel St or x-country anywhere
Side Streets: Less groomed but better skiing, they are getting plowed tho less often
Seven MBTA buses stuck on Washington St @ Bumpus Bridge near Argenziano
City is working the problem as are MBTA crews, but I'd avoid the area (or driving at all if you're not in a 4WD on a mission)
(Conditions are however great for x-country skiing)
