Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Sunday, May 25, 2008

America's Waterloo

By Libby



I've been meaning to get to this story for a couple of weeks, but it's unfolded since then. David Neiwert covered the current status today and asks if this ICE raid is a harbinger of a police state. The short answer to that smart question, is yes and it's useful to look at how this raid went down. Two weeks ago the feds set up the operation in the aptly named town of Waterloo, Iowa.

Federal officials have imposed a news blackout at the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, where they have leased almost the entire property through May 25. Tim Counts, a Midwest spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, declined to say Monday whether an immigration raid is pending that would use the fairgrounds as a detention center.



The Waterloo Courier on Sunday reported that contractors have installed generators adjacent to many buildings at the fairgrounds.In addition, windows on many buildings have been covered up, blocking views inside. A number of mobile-home-size trailers have been transported to the privately owned grounds.

The blackout included the state's US Senator.

At Grassley's request, his staff called ICE officials on Monday.



"During the call, the ICE officials would neither confirm nor deny anything to Senator Grassley's staff," said Beth Pellett Levine, a Grassley aide.

Then came the raid a few days ago.

Buses have begun arriving at the Cattle Congress grounds in Waterloo after hundreds were detained in an immigration raid on a Postville meatpacking plant today. Officials are not allowing media or others near the entrance. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have declined to say how many buses are being used in the raid on the Agriprocessors Inc. plant.



At least 300 people were arrested during the operation, the largest of its kind in Iowa, said Claude Arnold, a special agent with ICE. ... He said the two helicopters circling the complex were there to provide EMT support and to watch out for the agents on the ground.

A sub-contractor working at the complex said "he was on break at 10 a.m. when '200 agents' stringed into the complex." He was questioned and released but read this media description of the deployment.

Earlier this morning, a helicopter hovered over the scene, and a number of agents formed a perimeter around the Agriprocessors facility. Vehicles from ICE and at least eight cars and vans from the Iowa State Patrol were at the plant. There were also reports of two moving vans at the scene, along with an ambulance and two black Chevrolet Suburbans.

Sounds more like Baghdad than America to me. The only difference being these agents are probably wearing black instead of camouflage. But the main point is they refused to account to anyone for their actions. Today it was illegal immigrants. Tomorrow it could just as easily be political dissenters.



If you think I'm overstating my case, then read Kirk James Murphy, MD on his life with plants. Meaning government planted agitators in activist groups. They're not just watching us, they're infiltrating and they have databases -- massive databases -- on everyone.



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2 comments:

  1. francesMay 26, 2008 at 3:11 AM

    First thing that occurred to me as well. These are trial runs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LibbyMay 26, 2008 at 4:59 AM

    I'm afraid you're right Frances.

    ReplyDelete

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