A Long Hot Summer begins (a dumpster fire chat)

[Silent Majority]

We've nothing to gain by my being in this thread. Stay well, friends.

[Spiff]

Saturday overnight was quiet at the Spiff mansion.

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I live in a residential area between the two downtown areas, and so there was no street action here.

The closest action was in an adjacent neighborhood, the Midway area, which is a commercial/residential mix where a Target store got looted.

The only concern I had last night was that burglars would take advantage of the cops being busy elsewhere and that our house or garage might be broken into. The gas station down the street had a break in a few nights earlier.

That was my only concern, especially because a call to 911 would have been no help at all, what with news reports saying our emergency services call centers had hour-long wait times.

Stayed up to 11 p.m. watching the live coverage on the TV, and went to bed satisfied that the police actions had dispersed, safely, for the most part, the people who decided to demonstrate after curfew.

Saw a few fires being lit -- 2-3 cars, debris -- but not any, or very little, window smashing.

So, the true demonstrators showed their resolve, and the cops/military did not overreact for the most part.

One man was found dead this morning next to a burned out car.

But, no nervous cops firing live ammo at the protesters yelling at them. Although a few people threw rocks and stuff at the cops, they were a small fraction of the crowd. They got tear gassed and received some flash bombs, mostly deployed only when needed, but a few people took some collateral damage they didn't deserve.

So, for now, I'm happy with how things played out, and hope for more calm tonight and going forward.

I'm appreciative of how our governor and the two mayors of the Twin Cities on Saturday afternoon spelled out their reasons for putting last night's plan in action.

All three of them used the word "murder" to describe George Floyd's death on Monday.

And Governor Walz wisely went to neighboring states and got help from their national guard units, instead of asking for federal Military Police.

First, the neighboring guard units arrived a lot sooner, and second, by taking that route, it robbed Trump from taking any credit for calming things down.

Spiff out.

[Olaf]

Thanks for the first hand info, Spiff. Stay safe.

[Spiff]

You're welcome.

When I have time to sort out all that is happening, I'll try to provide a little more analysis.

[Flex]

Glad you're staying safe and secure, Spiff. And thanks for the on the ground update.

[revbob]

Yeah Spiff you, your family and Muppet be careful.

[101Walterton]

Saturday overnight was quiet at the Spiff mansion.

The long-suffering Mrs. Spiff and I live in a residential area between the two downtown areas, and so there was no street action here.

The closest action was in an adjacent neighborhood, the Midway area, which is a commercial/residential mix where a Target store got looted.

The only concern I had last night was that burglars would take advantage of the cops being busy elsewhere and that our house or garage might be broken into. The gas station down the street had a break in a few nights earlier.

That was my only concern, especially because a call to 911 would have been no help at all, what with news reports saying our emergency services call centers had hour-long wait times.

Stayed up to 11 p.m. watching the live coverage on the TV, and went to bed satisfied that the police actions had dispersed, safely, for the most part, the people who decided to demonstrate after curfew.

Saw a few fires being lit -- 2-3 cars, debris -- but not any, or very little, window smashing.

So, the true demonstrators showed their resolve, and the cops/military did not overreact for the most part.

One man was found dead this morning next to a burned out car.

But, no nervous cops firing live ammo at the protesters yelling at them. Although a few people threw rocks and stuff at the cops, they were a small fraction of the crowd. They got tear gassed and received some flash bombs, mostly deployed only when needed, but a few people took some collateral damage they didn't deserve.

So, for now, I'm happy with how things played out, and hope for more calm tonight and going forward.

I'm appreciative of how our governor and the two mayors of the Twin Cities on Saturday afternoon spelled out their reasons for putting last night's plan in action.

All three of them used the word "murder" to describe George Floyd's death on Monday.

And Governor Walz wisely went to neighboring states and got help from their national guard units, instead of asking for federal Military Police.

First, the neighboring guard units arrived a lot sooner, and second, by taking that route, it robbed Trump from taking any credit for calming things down.

Spiff out.

Thanks Spiff and everyone else for update posting. I watch the news and read the papers but hearing it from you guys I get some kind of understanding of what is really happening to real people.
Stay safe.

[BostonBeaneater]

No tears for fascists.

[muppet hi fi]

No tears for fascists.

Well, on the positive side, she could have been beaten or merely shot. But she's light skinned so that probably wouldn't look so great (says the ghost of Justine Damond).

[muppet hi fi]

Another official text about the extended curfew tonight. Cool. Not like I had any plans anyway.

[BostonBeaneater]

The right wing is a collection of boot lickers.

[muppet hi fi]

The right wing is a collection of boot lickers.

No kidding? Gee thanks, Capt. Obvious

[BostonBeaneater]

I figured last night would be a bit of a show. It was a hot Saturday night and this thing was burning a bit, right? But now it's Sunday and it's... chaos! You'd figure this would be the calm down night and the club is still rocking.

[BostonBeaneater]

Funnies:

[BostonBeaneater]

Ill advised choice: