Mary E...totally fair question...and I’m glad the post felt useful.
Yes: FOIA can work. Not fast...not clean...but...it’s one of the few tools that forces a paper trail.
Backlogs are real (and convenient)...but “we’re swamped” isn’t a permanent excuse.
The key is strategy: narrow...specific...time-bounded requests beat “give me everything.”
And...don’t overlook state/local public records...those often move faster and can surface the contracts, policies, and data-sharing agreements that matter.
On “RELEASE THE TRUMP/EPSTEIN FILES”...I hear you. Sunlight MATTERS. I just don’t want the system to funnel everyone into one giant...slow records fight while the day-to-day machinery keeps running.
Any attempt to "maybe" or "possibly" this away died on the day the WWW was born. I told you about turning a crooked boss into the Justice Dept in the 70s. Eight years later, three name changes, four jobs in two different states, and feds were in my work office within 30 minutes of the first bombing.
Poor Alex Pretti was knocked down, beat up, his rights trampled, identified and logged, and he still came back, and put his life and safety in harm's way to help an innocent woman (anyone know if she is okay?). He is at the very least a hero if not a saint. Of course they knew exactly who they targeted. Not conspiracy theory, just the only possible reason for executing this man. Did you know his murderers were simply moved to another city? No administrative leave, no firing, just coverup. God, I hate them.
Sue, you’re naming the central reality of the internet age: “maybe/possibly” is often just a management word for the public...not an honest description of what systems can do once a person is identified and logged.
On Pretti...multiple outlets report he appeared to move to help a woman after she was shoved to the ground (including references to a witness account in a court filing).
I have not seen reliable reporting yet confirming her condition or identity...if you spot a credible update, send it to me and I’ll fold it in cleanly. (I get deeply immersed in what I am working on at the moment...and, of course, miss things that others may see...while I am)
And...your point about “they knew who he was” runs straight into the ONE detail that makes this case even colder: the agents involved were NOT publicly identified...and CBP leadership has said they were working in another city afterward (in addition to later reporting that they were placed on administrative leave as “standard protocol”).
That combination...opaque identities + rapid reassignment + institutional hedging...is exactly why people don’t buy “possibly.” Not because they’re irrational...but because they’ve seen how modern systems protect themselves.
THIS is exactly why all the DOGE data heists make my blood run cold. I’ve always attempted to keep my digital footprint as small as possible, location svcs disabled on my phone, do not use Face ID, etc, etc and I still shudder to think how much data, despite my caution, the Feds have on me. Hence my reluctance to go and protest/demonstrate. (Full disclosure - grew up in a very authoritarian household & the shit happening now triggers that primal fear big time. I’m doing trauma recovery work, boy is there a lot happening that helps that along!)
Thank you, Jack for 35K foot look that helps me stay sane and out of fight, flight, freeze, fawn!!
Deb, I hear you...and you’re not overreacting. You’re seeing the incentives of a system that’s gotten addicted to frictionless data.
Two things can be true: you can be prudent without being paralyzed.
What you’re already doing (location off, no Face ID, minimizing footprint) is meaningful risk reduction. And your reluctance to protest isn’t a moral failure...it’s a risk calculus.
There are PLENTY of ways to apply pressure without putting your body in the street.
Given your authoritarian upbringing...that primal fear makes sense. When the outside world echoes that structure...your nervous system reacts faster than your intellect. The trauma work is EXACTLY how you keep fear from driving the car.
Keep your footprint small, yes...but don’t shrink your life.
Choose forms of engagement that don’t blow your system into fight/flight: support legal groups, document...call locally...fund journalists...build relationships. Quiet leverage is still leverage.
And...I’m glad the 35,000-foot view helps. That’s the sanity tool!
When I read he had been in an interaction with them earlier and had a broken rib and they had him on the ground that time I knew this was an open execution like in another country happening here. There was no logical explanation to put that many bullets in an already dead body. They were making a statement for those observing. They were not concerned about proper procedure and no one was concerned about how his gun was handled.It is terrifying to know that cold blooded killers are having a field day out there on the streets. No wonder the kids are being hidden in basements and not going to school. My heart goes out to everyone that is hurting in Minnesota. They are just trying to live normal lives and this monster administration is laughing with every death. I truly believe there is a special place in hell for all these monsters. Sorry Jack I just needed to unload what is in my heart this evening after reading what you wrote validated what I had been thinking.
Teri, I hear the grief and the fury in this. And...I’m not going to “maybe/possibly” your emotional read away.
What I will do is keep the facts tight...so nobody can dismiss what you’re saying as heat without substance.
There was reporting of an earlier encounter in which Pretti suffered a broken rib.
In the fatal encounter...independent reporting based on video/forensic analysis says 10 shots were fired in under five seconds.
And...yes...the agents involved were reassigned out of Minneapolis...while remaining on duty, which reads like institutional containment, not accountability.
Where I’d gently tighten your wording: we don’t yet have a confirmed public autopsy breakdown proving “bullets into an already dead body.”
What we DO have is the documented...rapid volley...while he was on the ground...plus the immediate fog-machine afterward...and that is bad enough.
I'm glad you felt comfortable unloading this here. This is what it feels like when your nervous system recognizes a line has been crossed.
#HOLDFAST (and please take one slow breath before you close the app).
Thanks Jack. I understand we only have someone who said they counted 3 bullet holes. I think it was the doctor that came out of her house to check things and later said that she did not know when she would feel safe to return home. I get what she said. sad..
It was worse for him. He was a nurse at the VA, so he was a federal employee. He had a federal ID (HSPD-12 card). The HSPD-12 card program began under GW Bush and 9/11. Those cards carry some of the cardholder's biometric data. Now, I don't know how the VA uses their info, but I can tell you that the IRS codes their employee files. They also code the spouse(s) and child/children of their employees. There's no way to get the code removed. Even if you were married to an IRS employee and later divorce, the code of being the spouse of an IRS employee remains forever.
Yes! If he worked at the VA...he wasn’t just a citizen in the background noise. He was already inside federal identity infrastructure by default.
A federal employee ID isn’t just a badge...it’s a durable identifier tied to access systems that were built post-9/11 to make people legible across bureaucracy.
And...what you’re describing about IRS coding is the part most people don’t understand until they collide with it:
Institutions don’t “forget.” They don’t design for reversibility. They design for retention.
Once a relationship is tagged in a system... employee...spouse...dependent...it tends to persist because the system is optimized for risk management...not fairness.
Two quick clarifications, just to keep this rock-solid: different agencies implement these programs differently...and I can’t verify the IRS spouse/dependent coding practice from here without a source.
But...the principle you’re pointing to is dead-on: identity systems accumulate labels and relationships over time...and those labels often outlive the underlying reality.
That’s exactly why the question isn’t “did someone intentionally target him?” It’s whether the machinery had a richer...stickier profile on him...than it would on an average protester ...and what that does to the odds of escalation later.
Lillian, I hear the question...and I’m going to answer it straight...but carefully.
Based on what’s publicly known...right now...we can’t responsibly “confirm” premeditated murder. Premeditation is a specific legal standard (intent formed in advance), and we don’t have verified evidence in public that proves that.
What we CAN say....without hand-waving is this: the reported timeline raises serious questions about prior identification...escalation...use-of-force decisions...and accountability...and those questions deserve receipts...incident reports...body-cam policies...command chain...and audit logs.
On the Senate vote...you’re thinking strategically. Moments like this...DO become a test of what a Congress is willing to tolerate. I’d just tighten the framing a bit...so it lands and can’t be dismissed:
*Ask for independent investigation + transparency requirements
*Demand public reporting on data collection/sharing policies and use-of-force oversight
*Tie any expansion of DHS authorities/funding to hard guardrails...audits...and consequences
Your message to Schiff, Padilla, and Kiley is EXACTLY the right instinct...make them choose...accountability with guardrails...or...more power with impunity.
Another great article Jack! I’m going to re-read this tonight after my double nephrostomy tube exchange. So much valuable and actionable information, thank you for the research! 🥰👍💯 #HOLDFAST
Holy crapoley. Big Brother isn't just watching, he's waiting, he's acting. #HoldingFast
Keep #HoldingFast, Roberta. Yes...very concerning. The story is still developing. I'll stay on top of it.
-Jack
Will FOIA requests work? I hear ‘they’ are swamped complying with requests for the TRUMP/EPSTEIN files.
Thx, Jack, another post with info I do need to know; I appreciate it.
RELEASE
THE
TRUMP/EPSTEIN FILES too
Mary E...totally fair question...and I’m glad the post felt useful.
Yes: FOIA can work. Not fast...not clean...but...it’s one of the few tools that forces a paper trail.
Backlogs are real (and convenient)...but “we’re swamped” isn’t a permanent excuse.
The key is strategy: narrow...specific...time-bounded requests beat “give me everything.”
And...don’t overlook state/local public records...those often move faster and can surface the contracts, policies, and data-sharing agreements that matter.
On “RELEASE THE TRUMP/EPSTEIN FILES”...I hear you. Sunlight MATTERS. I just don’t want the system to funnel everyone into one giant...slow records fight while the day-to-day machinery keeps running.
-Jack
Got it, thank you.
You're welcome, Mary.
-Jack
Jack,
Any attempt to "maybe" or "possibly" this away died on the day the WWW was born. I told you about turning a crooked boss into the Justice Dept in the 70s. Eight years later, three name changes, four jobs in two different states, and feds were in my work office within 30 minutes of the first bombing.
Poor Alex Pretti was knocked down, beat up, his rights trampled, identified and logged, and he still came back, and put his life and safety in harm's way to help an innocent woman (anyone know if she is okay?). He is at the very least a hero if not a saint. Of course they knew exactly who they targeted. Not conspiracy theory, just the only possible reason for executing this man. Did you know his murderers were simply moved to another city? No administrative leave, no firing, just coverup. God, I hate them.
#HoldFast and keep kicking butt, metaphorically.
Sue
Sue, you’re naming the central reality of the internet age: “maybe/possibly” is often just a management word for the public...not an honest description of what systems can do once a person is identified and logged.
On Pretti...multiple outlets report he appeared to move to help a woman after she was shoved to the ground (including references to a witness account in a court filing).
I have not seen reliable reporting yet confirming her condition or identity...if you spot a credible update, send it to me and I’ll fold it in cleanly. (I get deeply immersed in what I am working on at the moment...and, of course, miss things that others may see...while I am)
And...your point about “they knew who he was” runs straight into the ONE detail that makes this case even colder: the agents involved were NOT publicly identified...and CBP leadership has said they were working in another city afterward (in addition to later reporting that they were placed on administrative leave as “standard protocol”).
That combination...opaque identities + rapid reassignment + institutional hedging...is exactly why people don’t buy “possibly.” Not because they’re irrational...but because they’ve seen how modern systems protect themselves.
#HoldFast...and yes...metaphorically!
-Jack
Sue, I think saw something a few minutes ago that they’ve been placed on leave by DHS. A step in the right direction.
3 days administrative leave, desk jobs till investigation complete.
# HoldFast
THIS is exactly why all the DOGE data heists make my blood run cold. I’ve always attempted to keep my digital footprint as small as possible, location svcs disabled on my phone, do not use Face ID, etc, etc and I still shudder to think how much data, despite my caution, the Feds have on me. Hence my reluctance to go and protest/demonstrate. (Full disclosure - grew up in a very authoritarian household & the shit happening now triggers that primal fear big time. I’m doing trauma recovery work, boy is there a lot happening that helps that along!)
Thank you, Jack for 35K foot look that helps me stay sane and out of fight, flight, freeze, fawn!!
Deb, I hear you...and you’re not overreacting. You’re seeing the incentives of a system that’s gotten addicted to frictionless data.
Two things can be true: you can be prudent without being paralyzed.
What you’re already doing (location off, no Face ID, minimizing footprint) is meaningful risk reduction. And your reluctance to protest isn’t a moral failure...it’s a risk calculus.
There are PLENTY of ways to apply pressure without putting your body in the street.
Given your authoritarian upbringing...that primal fear makes sense. When the outside world echoes that structure...your nervous system reacts faster than your intellect. The trauma work is EXACTLY how you keep fear from driving the car.
Keep your footprint small, yes...but don’t shrink your life.
Choose forms of engagement that don’t blow your system into fight/flight: support legal groups, document...call locally...fund journalists...build relationships. Quiet leverage is still leverage.
And...I’m glad the 35,000-foot view helps. That’s the sanity tool!
-Jack
When I read he had been in an interaction with them earlier and had a broken rib and they had him on the ground that time I knew this was an open execution like in another country happening here. There was no logical explanation to put that many bullets in an already dead body. They were making a statement for those observing. They were not concerned about proper procedure and no one was concerned about how his gun was handled.It is terrifying to know that cold blooded killers are having a field day out there on the streets. No wonder the kids are being hidden in basements and not going to school. My heart goes out to everyone that is hurting in Minnesota. They are just trying to live normal lives and this monster administration is laughing with every death. I truly believe there is a special place in hell for all these monsters. Sorry Jack I just needed to unload what is in my heart this evening after reading what you wrote validated what I had been thinking.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Teri, I hear the grief and the fury in this. And...I’m not going to “maybe/possibly” your emotional read away.
What I will do is keep the facts tight...so nobody can dismiss what you’re saying as heat without substance.
There was reporting of an earlier encounter in which Pretti suffered a broken rib.
In the fatal encounter...independent reporting based on video/forensic analysis says 10 shots were fired in under five seconds.
And...yes...the agents involved were reassigned out of Minneapolis...while remaining on duty, which reads like institutional containment, not accountability.
Where I’d gently tighten your wording: we don’t yet have a confirmed public autopsy breakdown proving “bullets into an already dead body.”
What we DO have is the documented...rapid volley...while he was on the ground...plus the immediate fog-machine afterward...and that is bad enough.
I'm glad you felt comfortable unloading this here. This is what it feels like when your nervous system recognizes a line has been crossed.
#HOLDFAST (and please take one slow breath before you close the app).
-Jack
Thanks Jack. I understand we only have someone who said they counted 3 bullet holes. I think it was the doctor that came out of her house to check things and later said that she did not know when she would feel safe to return home. I get what she said. sad..
#HHOLDFAST
Teri
You're welcome. It really is, Teri. Incredibly so.
-Jack
It was worse for him. He was a nurse at the VA, so he was a federal employee. He had a federal ID (HSPD-12 card). The HSPD-12 card program began under GW Bush and 9/11. Those cards carry some of the cardholder's biometric data. Now, I don't know how the VA uses their info, but I can tell you that the IRS codes their employee files. They also code the spouse(s) and child/children of their employees. There's no way to get the code removed. Even if you were married to an IRS employee and later divorce, the code of being the spouse of an IRS employee remains forever.
Yes! If he worked at the VA...he wasn’t just a citizen in the background noise. He was already inside federal identity infrastructure by default.
A federal employee ID isn’t just a badge...it’s a durable identifier tied to access systems that were built post-9/11 to make people legible across bureaucracy.
And...what you’re describing about IRS coding is the part most people don’t understand until they collide with it:
Institutions don’t “forget.” They don’t design for reversibility. They design for retention.
Once a relationship is tagged in a system... employee...spouse...dependent...it tends to persist because the system is optimized for risk management...not fairness.
Two quick clarifications, just to keep this rock-solid: different agencies implement these programs differently...and I can’t verify the IRS spouse/dependent coding practice from here without a source.
But...the principle you’re pointing to is dead-on: identity systems accumulate labels and relationships over time...and those labels often outlive the underlying reality.
That’s exactly why the question isn’t “did someone intentionally target him?” It’s whether the machinery had a richer...stickier profile on him...than it would on an average protester ...and what that does to the odds of escalation later.
#HoldFast, Chris Wistert!
-Jack
Holy bat poop. My career choices don't seem as bad now.
Sue
Ok, NOW I wanna cry.
But just for a bit, then I got stuff to look up, I guess.
So does this information mean the Homeland Security Agents committed premeditated Murder of Mr Pretti?
Concerning the upcoming vote in the Senate that includes the increase of DHS:
The aftermath of this senseless killing of Mr Pretti will define the whole 119th Congress:
' Who is for Democracy and Who is for a Tolitarian Fascist Rule . Sent this comment to Senators Schiff and Padilla & Rep Kiley.
Lillian, I hear the question...and I’m going to answer it straight...but carefully.
Based on what’s publicly known...right now...we can’t responsibly “confirm” premeditated murder. Premeditation is a specific legal standard (intent formed in advance), and we don’t have verified evidence in public that proves that.
What we CAN say....without hand-waving is this: the reported timeline raises serious questions about prior identification...escalation...use-of-force decisions...and accountability...and those questions deserve receipts...incident reports...body-cam policies...command chain...and audit logs.
On the Senate vote...you’re thinking strategically. Moments like this...DO become a test of what a Congress is willing to tolerate. I’d just tighten the framing a bit...so it lands and can’t be dismissed:
*Ask for independent investigation + transparency requirements
*Demand public reporting on data collection/sharing policies and use-of-force oversight
*Tie any expansion of DHS authorities/funding to hard guardrails...audits...and consequences
Your message to Schiff, Padilla, and Kiley is EXACTLY the right instinct...make them choose...accountability with guardrails...or...more power with impunity.
-Jack
Thanks for the clarification!
My pleasure, Lillian.
-Jack
Shattering.
Great information!
Thank you, Wendy.
-Jack
Jack, this is excellent puzzle work. Those fucking assholes! Targeting someone like that! Their day of reckoning is coming for sure!
Here’s what I found
https://apple.news/AvHX8-vpMR4yYbnFR577qew
Palantir has our Social Security data...
Another great article Jack! I’m going to re-read this tonight after my double nephrostomy tube exchange. So much valuable and actionable information, thank you for the research! 🥰👍💯 #HOLDFAST