Melrose Cares: Open Community Dialogue




Click here to report offensive or inappropriate posts.



Alderman & City Politics
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

This aspect, detailed below by the ACLU, of what is actually happening today was entirely missing from the long discussion that took place Monday night. Melrose continues to live in an insular bubble and thinks the national issues are somehow not relevant in this "quaint," so-called "Open to All" community. This city is not Open to All, and the Federal findings of a racially hostile environment by the Office of Civil Rights detailed the insidious and overt racism of the so-called adults in the school administration, fully supported by the Melrose School Committee and mayor, only one of whom stood tall in confronting the actual misconduct and ongoing racist behavior. While the MPD does its best to behave in an ethical way, the school administration does not even understand what respectful conduct to all would actually look like. There is a tremendous amount of unacknowledged racism and contempt in this community, and many of the public remarks by citizens and officials reflected this. Remember, it was the "adults" who overtly misbehaved in the OCR cases, not the children, and yet not a single one of them has yet faced a single meaningful consequence. Only the children have been subjected to an onslaught of remedial actions of limited effectiveness, while the "adults" got off scot-free. Meanwhile the Trump-like attitudes (even among the so-called Dems) in Melrose also continue to get a pass, sadly.

----------------

The Government Is Trying to Name and Shame Local and State Police Departments That Won’t Do Their Bidding

Immigration and Customs Enforcement yesterday released its first report attempting to name and shame police departments that require more than ICE’s say-so in order to hold someone in jail. This is just the Trump administration’s latest attempt to smear sanctuary cities, but it’s also a trap for local law enforcement—ICE could be shaming them into violating your rights.

In the FAQ for the report, ICE goes out of its way to suggest that a detainer is something that it isn’t—a simple request to know when someone is being let out of jail. But that simply isn’t true. A detainer is a request to hold someone in jail [2], often longer than the local law enforcement agency is legally allowed. Doing so can lead to illegal arrests and the violation of a person’s constitutional rights.

ICE claims in the FAQ that detainers are backed by probable cause. Often, they are not [3]. Within a four-year period under the Secure Communities program, which allowed ICE to receive information from nearly every jail in the United States, ICE placed detainers on 834 U.S. citizens [4] across the country, according to the government’s own data. As ICE hires 10,000 more agents, reintroduce Secure Communities [5], and issues more and more detainers, local police are simply gambling away the constitutional rights of their community.

Multiple federal courts [6] have reaffirmed what detainers are: New arrests that, absent any individual determination of probable cause, violate an individual’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures. The ACLU has regularly represented people who have had their rights violated after being held on detainers, including U.S. citizens [7].

Like Trump himself, ICE seems to pay little deference to the judicial branch. In fact, it explicitly singles out Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office for turning down detention requests, even though New Orleans is legally bound to its policy under court order [8]. It is deeply troubling that ICE would attempt to shame a sheriff for obeying the federal courts.

ICE knows perfectly well what the problems with detainers are — law enforcement officers are telling them too, not just the ACLU and immigrants’ rights activists. “You can’t just pick up the phone and say, ‘Please hold an individual,’” said Jonathan F. Thompson [9], executive director of National Sheriffs’ Association. Yet, that’s exactly what ICE wants to shame local police into doing.

Local governments have paid a heavy price for mistakenly placing their trust in ICE. Because detainers are requests, local police departments are liable for choosing to honor them. Some cities have paid thousands of dollars in damages [10] after holding someone on a detainer request from ICE. More importantly, many law enforcement officers across the country have decided that stopping ICE from interfering with their work [11] is vital to their public safety mission, and allowing that interference to continue harms it [12].

We should all be disturbed by ICE’s use of propaganda to try and coerce communities into doing something that they believe makes them less safe. In fact, contrary to what ICE wants you to believe, sanctuary cities generally are safer [13] than other localities. Under President Trump, we are already seeing an ICE unleashed, willing to disrespect the rule of law in its mission to deport every immigrant it can. Local police should do right by their residents and not give in to ICE’s petty scare tactics.

In the immigrants’ rights movement, we say that “the only ‘secure community’ is an organized one.” If you want to keep your community whole, fight for your town to protect the rights of immigrants — and all residents. One way to start now is working to enact some of the policies in our Freedom Cities initiative [14], which are designed to stop ICE’s harmful practices. You can also help by distributing our Know Your Rights materials [15] and finding others who want to fight together locally.

Because when we fight together, we win.
© 2017 ACLU

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

What a bunch of bull....typical of ACLU organization! People - the above posting is shear nonsense!

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Follow the money. The ACLU recently announced that its support of Sanctuary Cities has resulted in the largest
amount of financial contributions in recent years. As a result, it will increase spending on community outreach and
legal assistance through local attorneys.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

The Truthsayer
Follow the money. The ACLU recently announced that its support of Sanctuary Cities has resulted in the largest
amount of financial contributions in recent years. As a result, it will increase spending on community outreach and
legal assistance through local attorneys.


Good information, thanks. They are becoming more of an ant--American group!

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

"What a bunch of bull....typical of ACLU organization! People - the above posting is shear nonsense! "

Another eloquent Trumpanzee Melrose Nazi-Wannabe weighing in.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Fascism 101
Another eloquent Trumpanzee Melrose Nazi-Wannabe weighing in.


Another hyper-liberal far left-wing socialist whack job weighing in.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

And there we go with another head-in-sand Melrosian. Trump and his wildly incompetent and raging Nazis really could take lessons from these types. The local officials epitomize some of his most disturbing methods, except they aren't "smart" or rich enough to be able to rebound with more stupidity on top of evil stupidity and have to content themselves with their ugly little base and silly fiefdoms centered around controlling the Doughboy's corrupt messaging here.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Hearing the words of Melrose citizens Monday night was both heartening and seriously dismaying. Those who have bought the Trump koolaid and mouthed some of the lingo make it an embarrassment even to live here, while those who spoke from the heart, either in full support or in reluctant support of the necessity of standing up to the hatred now gripping our country made my family feel proud to call these people our community members.

For those who seem unable to do anything but Zig Heil to President Bannon and all that this administration stands for, there are countless examples that one wonders if these Republicans of Melrose consciously just choose to overlook or do so unconsciously. Beyond the increasingly obvious evidence of actual treason going all the way to the top, there is the factual evidence of perversion, also going all the way to the top. Do Melrose Republicans and Independent admirers of Trump just choose to look the other way? Honest question, because many of these Trump admirers are not pedophiles or creeps and would genuinely abhor such horror if they knew and could find it in themselves to acknowledge that it was happening. Do they think the "*****-grabbing" President is actually a decent human being worthy of their trust, even now?

from yesterday's Washington Post:

"Billionaire pervert facing LIFE SENTENCE for raping young girls gets an amazing plea deal...from Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary.

And, get this - Donald Trump is on witness list."

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

From a true American patriot, Representative Adam Schiff:

"Now, is it possible that the removal of the Ukraine provision from the GOP platform was a coincidence? Is it a coincidence that Jeff Sessions failed to tell the Senate about his meetings with the Russian Ambassador, not only at the convention, but a more private meeting in his office and at a time when the U.S. election was under attack by the Russians? Is it a coincidence that Michael Flynn would lie about a conversation he had with the same Russian Ambassador Kislyak about the most pressing issue facing both countries at the time they spoke – the U.S. imposition of sanctions over Russian hacking of our election designed to help Donald Trump? Is it a coincidence that the Russian gas company Rosneft sold a 19 percent share after former British Intelligence Officer Steele was told by Russian sources that Carter Page was offered fees on a deal of just that size? Is it a coincidence that Steele’s Russian sources also affirmed that Russia had stolen documents hurtful to Secretary Clinton that it would utilize in exchange for pro-Russian policies that would later come to pass? Is it a coincidence that Roger Stone predicted that John Podesta would be the victim of a Russian hack and have his private emails published, and did so even before Mr. Podesta himself was fully aware that his private emails would be exposed?

Is it possible that all of these events and reports are completely unrelated, and nothing more than an entirely unhappy coincidence? Yes, it is possible. But it is also possible, maybe more than possible, that they are not coincidental, not disconnected and not unrelated, and that the Russians used the same techniques to corrupt U.S. persons that they have employed in Europe and elsewhere. We simply don’t know, not yet, and we owe it to the country to find out."

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Get over it, folks! Trump won!

Notice that none of the networks covered the rape of the 14 year girl by two illegal immigrants in Rockland! Only Fox covered it! These two guys have been hidden in the sanctuary city and protected by the community! Disgusting! And you guys want this same status in Melrose? Over my dead body!

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

It's not a question of being sore losers. Leading Republicans now acknowledge the lying, cheating, possibly felonious and even possibly treasonous acts of the sexual predator now in the White House. Defending this monstrous administration only says something quite damaging about those defending it at this point. The administration has zero (negative zero) credibility. He and his minions are being criminally investigated and quite possibly may be prosecuted for the very worst kinds of crimes against our country. The Republicans in Congress are facing their own self-made devastations. If Melrose right-wingers are going to be perpetually late to the party in acknowledging any of this, so be it, but once again it's only to their detriment and loss of credibility. Keep the "lock her up" chants going about Benghazi and emails even when it's revealed that Republicans just slashed drastically all security for embassies throughout the world, and key members of the administration are using unsecured phones, AOL for gawdsake, and private servers (for classified information). Just keep it up with such ignorant puppeting. All realize there is an agenda that the hard-core right wants to see enacted no matter the obvious criminality and corruption of those doing the enacting or what wreckage occurs for the party, for the environment, for the millions and millions whose lives will be destroyed, some of which is already happening. People have already died and many more will as a result of the trainwreck now happening in Washington, DC. The United States has a reputation now in ruins worldwide. But sure, Melrose right-wingers, just keep trivializing that with the silly and inaccurate "sore losers" moniker.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Wall Street Journal compares Trump to 'a drunk' clinging to 'an empty gin bottle' and implies he is a "fake president"! Perhaps "Oh Please" is going to assert that the WSJ is just another "left-wing whackjob granola HRC socialist, etc." rag that just doesn't get who "won" the election. Honestly these Melrose right-wingers are the ones with the credibility problem right now, and it's only two months into this president's term! (Don't misunderstand, am no fan of the local Dems, with their chronic lack of honesty or credible actions.) There are scandals of epic proportion, absolutely unprecedented in this nation's history and so dangerous that nuclear war has risen as a real fear, among many others of fatal consequences as well, as a direct result of the juvenile, hateful, hideously irresponsible appointments, executive orders, and direct words from the POTUS and his openly, flagrantly dishonest administration. And no, this is not some "hyper-liberal" weighing in, but go ahead with your ignorant characterizations. Whether it's the WSJ or Joe Scarborough or any of the others even on the far right who are deeply concerned about the gross incompetence, zero credibility, and obvious criminality and hate-mongering of those currently in power, you dangerously ridiculous Melrosians stay in the Dark Ages and keep up your nonsense.

Based on the kind of government we can all see here in Melrose, backwards, ignorant, repressive, unAmerican, with zero checks and balances, it's clear that your types are quite comfortable with a school system/mayor (in response to federal findings of civil rights violations) that hires a PR spin machine at taxpayer expense to keep the lying realtors happy portraying this corrupt ignorant burb as Mayberry. It's clear that you will lie down and pay extortionist water and sewer rates, with charges going inappropriately for city staff (mayor's assistant & city solicitor's partial salary, etc.) to Enterprise funds, etc., rather than stand up and demand a legal and open accounting and correction of illegal and inappropriate actions (the school administration has provided a plethora of findings against it by federal, state, and local authorities). But no, instead you choose to be fools and look the other way, enjoy your golf and martinis and pretend it's all hunky dory and "traditional." There is always a reckoning, whether it's that a rapist was savaging children for 14 years on Main Street and in school-sponsored programs for the YMCA, or the cemetery commissioner/mayor godfather/chief of staff was illegally selling off city cemetary plots (nice coverup going on currently!). One way or another these criminal and rotten situations eventually surface. Melrose doesn't have much to be proud of when it comes to how it fails to demand the truth, and instead it seems to prefer a whole infrastructure of "alternate facts."

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Excellent points drawing accurate parallels between the gaslighting bloviating Doughboy and President Bannon/Drumpf, and the minions local and national who really don't care what kind of damage occurs as long as they get their way in their juvenile, hateful ignorance. Melrose has a guy who is first in line to call anyone who disagrees with him a "Hater" with a capital H, and this has been going on since he was first elected (except that in the early years his late daddy kept a lid on his boy's public hateful displays of nastiness).

This elected Hate-mongerer has managed to stay in power for 15 years, partly because there are many who buy the hateful messages and prefer to pretend this is a "nice" town. Many of them came up to speak against the Sanctuary designation (or were seated in the half shell) with their flimsy concealments of racism and privilege. Many like to think things are run "well" here, when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. What do these people think of the former mayoral chief of staff/cemetery superintendent allegedly for years heinously taking advantage of people in their most vulnerable times and pocketing illegal gains? Do these same people think that Melrose has done "well" in managing its school system (with the mayor making most of the biggest decisions without any accountability)? Do they think the mayor's city solicitor has done a good job with the massive legal problems stemming from illegal actions (federal, state, local) of elected and hired officials, all of which were unnecessary and which should have (and would have elsewhere) resulted in serious legal consequences?

The Sanctuary designation is something that deserved a real back-and-forth dialogue, not just the one-way thing that masquerades for a public process here. Many who spoke both for and against had reasonable points and concerns, and there should have been a real dialogue, now all sanitized and hidden away for good having been "filed." Glad to see so many show up regardless, but it begs the question where are these people when their own children have been mistreated by an incompetent and unfair school system (we already know that they are content to look the other way if it's "just" a METCO student from a "misconstrued" remark).

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

The last poster identified the hypocrisy of left wing people who feel smug in their compassion when it comes to academic issues that won't make any real difference. They come forward for sanctuary city talk, for white people challenging racism talk, for human rights talk, for women's rights talk...

Despite all the talk, none of them came forward to take action against the obvious violators of civil rights in city government and the school system. They didn't challenge Dolan, Taymore, Lambright, Adams, Brow, Van Campen, or school committee when every one of those people worked against the 8th grade victim and victimized him some more.

I don't know if that boy was even an immigrant, but none of the left wing (or right wing) fanatics came out against those in power who consciously and deliberately violated the student's civil rights. The people named above are more nefarious than Baline. Baline said something stupid in the moment. Dolan and all conspired deliberately to victimize the child to protect their own fiefdom.

Come Liberals AND Conservatives of Melrose - stop looking to find the Boogeyman far and wide when he's actually in your living room reading this post. Get up and do something LOCAL to protect local kids and local adults who need support.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

This Melrose right-winger thinks that anything EXCEPT Fox is "fake" from the sounds of it. Ridiculous!

"After a high-stakes back and forth between the top Democrat and Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Sen. John McCain says partisan bickering has cost Congress its credibility to investigate alleged Russian interference in last year's election.

"I have not seen anything like it," McCain said Thursday on TODAY about the infighting. "It is very disturbing."

McCain, R-Ariz., said it's up to House leadership to decide whether to change how the investigation is being conducted, and on Wednesday called for a congressional select committee or independent commission to take charge. Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have so far resisted such a move.

"No longer does the Congress have credibility to handle this alone, and I don't say that lightly," McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee,..."

But then maybe these Melrose "Towne Crier" types agree with Kellyanne about microwaves and think we should all wear our tinfoiled hats, too! Certainly Putin is loving all of this and would be very, very comfortable with the status quo in Melrose with so much glowing support for the Kremlin Way here.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Reality
......go ahead with your ignorant characterizations.


You didn't seem to have any trouble with Fascism 101's ignorant characterization.

Fascism 101
Another eloquent Trumpanzee Melrose Nazi-Wannabe weighing in.


Are you not astute enough to have picked up on that, or are you just another Melrose hypocrite?

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Agree with F101. Not ignorant at all, in fact quite the opposite, unlike you, "Oh Please"!

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

You personify, as LOCO Politics said, "the hypocrisy of left wing people who feel smug in their compassion when it comes to academic issues that won't make any real difference. They come forward for sanctuary city talk, for white people challenging racism talk, for human rights talk, for women's rights talk...

Despite all the talk, none of them came forward to take action against the obvious violators of civil rights in city government and the school system. They didn't challenge Dolan, Taymore, Lambright, Adams, Brow, Van Campen, or school committee when every one of those people worked against the 8th grade victim and victimized him some more."

Where were you then? Where were you when it became clear the city administration clearly knew about the Y sex offender, and did nothing? Where were you when it became crystal clear that the city is ripping off ratepayers on their water/sewer rates? Have you stood up in opposition to that demagogue in the Mayor's office, or spoken out against his CFO who left Plymouth under a cloud over it's water/sewer issue?

You were nowhere to be found, were you? You were sitting at home on your fat a$$ and said and did absolutely nothing. You say you agree with Fascism 101, which makes you just as ignorant and dangerous as the ultra right morons you rail against, leaving most of us stuck in the middle between you.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Lot of truth there. How is it that one of the chief offenders in the Y cover-up is now the MHS swim team coach? I haven't heard anyone speak up against that.

There is no more uncomfortable position than being stuck in the middle between two factions of opposing zealots.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

LOCO Politics
The last poster identified the hypocrisy of left wing people who feel smug in their compassion when it comes to academic issues that won't make any real difference. They come forward for sanctuary city talk, for white people challenging racism talk, for human rights talk, for women's rights talk...

Despite all the talk, none of them came forward to take action against the obvious violators of civil rights in city government and the school system. They didn't challenge Dolan, Taymore, Lambright, Adams, Brow, Van Campen, or school committee when every one of those people worked against the 8th grade victim and victimized him some more.

I don't know if that boy was even an immigrant, but none of the left wing (or right wing) fanatics came out against those in power who consciously and deliberately violated the student's civil rights. The people named above are more nefarious than Baline. Baline said something stupid in the moment. Dolan and all conspired deliberately to victimize the child to protect their own fiefdom.

Come Liberals AND Conservatives of Melrose - stop looking to find the Boogeyman far and wide when he's actually in your living room reading this post. Get up and do something LOCAL to protect local kids and local adults who need support.


"or school committee when every one of those people worked against the 8th grade victim and victimized him some more. "

You are wrong. There was one brave school committee member, Mrs. Kourkoumelis, and there were a number of us (albeit small) who have stood with her and fought with her and her equally brave family. We have stood up against this local administration and stood with it concurrently when it was deserved (which is not often these days, sadly). We are not extremists, we care, and we do not deserve the awful characterizations of people like "Oh Please". You are correct in implying there are actual evils right under the community's noses that the on-paper do-gooders will never step up to fight (including the HRC, Women's Commission, etc., which are totally controlled by our own despot and his ugly minions).

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Reality
We are not extremists, we care, and we do not deserve the awful characterizations of people like "Oh Please".


So you say, but you also said you agree with the awful characterization made by Fascism 101 - "Another eloquent Trumpanzee Melrose Nazi-Wannabe weighing in." You don't get to cherry pick here - you're either against all such characterizations or you're not. Which is it?

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

You misunderstand. I agree that the locals who persist in their support of the so-called president could be and probably should be called fascist admirers. I don't generally like name-calling, but Trumpanzee seems not so unfair, except perhaps to the chimps!

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

It's you who misunderstand. I could care less about the Trumpanzee moniker. It is truly baffling that so many people have supported and continue to support Trump. But calling someone a Nazi wannabe and then calling them ignorant because they are offended by such a characterization? If you don't find that offensive, you ought to.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Sadly, the shoe fits when Trump supporters are in effect supporting white supremacists and some actual card-carrying Nazis in this new administration, to say nothing of KKK, Birch Society, and a lot of other heinous hate groups represented in this administration. Whether Trump supporters like owning the labels is beside the point. Their support has put Breitbart and Nazism & Fascism in charge of the White House. Maybe you don't like the label, but the rest of us don't like the irrevocable damage that's being done to our country and the world. As was heard Monday night, there is more than a little quite disgusting racism and hatred underpinning "nice" Melrose, however it's spun. Time to grow up and own the hateful attitudes and start trying to confront it directly in a mature way, something the local administration is clearly not willing to do with its filing away of the petition.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Sad, you are Sad...and deranged[:-|]

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

hey snowflakes the guy was rite.trump won get over it.melrose will never be a hiding place for these people.normal thinking people wont let it happen.you notice the snowflakes say nothing about the rape of the young girl on the snowflake channels from some of the so called poor hard working idiots that should not be here to begin with.both sides of my family came here the right way through the front door not the back door jumping fences.its time to stand up and get rid of the felons and the ones who are good people start the process the right way.but to give them our money that we have worked hard for all the years ....no way i dont think so.do it the rite way with paperwork.its time for the snowflakes or P.C. police to move on will not happen thank god in our city....if you see them turn them in.....ok time for the great typers to chime in or snowflakes to call me all those names you use about real americans who care about this country and its people......ps why dont you liberals go to the airport and welcome our military home instead of protesting for the rites of non americans...never happen...never never happen.well time to go watch cnn lie some more.

Re: Missing from Melrose Discussion: ICE Abuses Power and Punishes Local Police Departments

Trump Won
Get over it, folks! Trump won!

Notice that none of the networks covered the rape of the 14 year girl by two illegal immigrants in Rockland! Only Fox covered it! These two guys have been hidden in the sanctuary city and protected by the community! Disgusting! And you guys want this same status in Melrose? Over my dead body!
So be it.