This story is definitely going to blow up. Get ready. These are the stories one sees in the midst of rising authoritarianism. For two reasons - number one, authoritarians lie. Constantly, to the point of being untrustworthy and dangerous to everyone around them. Thus, they have to control the narrative. State media - always. Number two, they can't help themselves and must act. This is how we see policies that attack women’s reproductive rights, trans rights, and DEI initiatives. It starts with, ”Well, we don't want our kids surrounded by drag queens.” This always morphs into, ”You know what? We won't allow this to be taught in college, either.” Outlawing homosexuality is of course a natural next step.
Just as we knew that the downfall of Roe v Wade was and is not about state’s rights. It is all about having a fertilized egg automatically given full rights, regardless of the mother’s opinion. They want fetal personhood as law.
I struggle to see how people don't see these things, or how more people do not see these things.
They don’t want to see because if they did ... they would find themselves on the horns or a moral dilemma. And they also don’t want to look into the mirror and see what they see. It’s easier in the short run to turn away and look at “anything else,” and that’s how things get to a point where they’re actively dangerous.
I struggle to see how people can observe police abuses like this that occur hundreds of times a day and think they should be the only ones armed. How they can be so afraid of an authoritarian government gaining power and stripping rights away from groups of people, and advocate for the disarmament of those people. How they can be so against the rich hoarding wealth, but keep voting the rich into office. Supporting or ignoring an attempted 1000% tax on firearms, trying to strip yet another right from the poor and reserve it only for the rich.
It makes absolutely no sense at all. This country has abandoned all reason in favor of tribal victory. Advocating for the very things they claim to be against. Too busy arguing over which criminal politician is worse to stop and think critically for one single second.
I struggle to see how people can believe the personal-use firearms rights allowed to them by the second amendment could possibly be of any benefit to them at all in any conflict with state power. Have these people not studied the history of police violence at all? Do they not understand that posing a potential threat to law enforcement only ramps up the latter's violent response, limitlessly - because the essence of state power is a monopoly on the legitimate use of force? Do these people imagine themselves to be Rambo or John Matrix? Do they seriously think they can win an armed conflict with the state?
Maybe the issue is these people don't understand war (a measure of their reasoning deficits, given the typical demographics of 2A supporters). If they did understand war they'd know organization and logistics mean everything, and constitutional protections mean diddly squat. They'd understand that arming oneself is the last thing one does in a conflict with a hostile state and that the individual-rights home defense model of 2A proponents is useless.
But we live in a post-truth environment where people live their fantasies free of reality testing. Thus there's no need for 2A supporters to think critically about the subject they're obsessed with for one single second.
Thanks for making my point for me. Two conflicts in which no constitutional status of any right to own firearms had any effect on the course of the conflict, a hypothetical second amendment wouldn't have had any effect on the conflict, and indeed the private ownership of firearms was so far down on the list of decisive factors as to be irrelevant.
Great reporting! I’m outraged as are many others who hear about this illegal search & seizure. The gofundme should be arranged to help with legal representation.
I sure hope the criminal police department all suffer severe consequences. I especially hope the allegations against the police cheif get big airing becuase of his criminal actions to cover it up. I also hope if the warrant application was insuficient for such a wide ranging warrant (definetly wasn't unless the police lied on it, which is a possibility) that the judge is fired.
That was my first thought. How dumb, inept, senile and/or corrupt was the Judge who signed off on this warrant? I presume they actually went to law school and should know better (First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America).
I believe the warrant was signed by a Magistrate. No law school required. Magistrates take care of numerous legal documents in the absence of a judge in small population areas.
Ah, but did he go to law school, or was it a by mail only course of study. No doubt that will be looked into. I have a feeling plenty of small towns are just as tight wound as this one. Everybody watches everybody else's back.
Yeah, in these small towns, the police chief or sheriff is pretty much ”the law”. A magistrate just rubber-stamps warrants. In the end, there is probably not much that can be done criminally. However, it's going to wind up costing the town and taxpayers a chunk of change. Oh well - elections have consequences. Somebody who was elected hired this guy.
Talk abbout a bull in a china shop...they surely do have one there. Maybe he'll be hanging by his ankles in a cooler...iffen he doesn't getoutta dodge before the Feds show up.
Sad isnt it. Too bad we dont get a second chance at choosing parents. The losers might just get a clue before they go ahead and mess w/ their kids' dignity and, even, destiny. Some new parents I just want to hit upside the head --when they treat their newborns like hiking luggage or a new tiny toy.
Too little sleep, too little time to finish developing in dim quiet safe place, too much noise and light and real life activity, and being handed around in loud raucous brightly lit environment........., impossible for a newborn to deal with in a way that fixes the poor untaught parents' catastrophe in the making.
I would hold Kari Newell and those who capitulated to such dubious actions accountable for the stressful/fearful/angst-ridden death of his mother—probably no legal recourse for this result, but more importantly (perhaps) a moral one….her passing SHOULD have been peaceful & filled with light and love. I do hope the majority of her life was joyful.
Why are these Gestapo tactics becoming the norm? We have to taking voting more seriously and find ethical politicians. Get the bullies and thugs out of positions of power.
My thoughts of hope and strength go out to Mr. Meyer, his staff, the people in this community and many other communities where there is fear in their hearts and mind to speak out against tyranny.
My experience has been that to the extent tyranny exists in the US these days, it does so at the local level. Exactly nothing about this surprises me, though it disheartens me greatly.
This is outrageous! I don't care what this paper prints or who they endorse for political office it's 1st amendment rights should be unchallenged along with our 2nd amendment rights.
This is just another example of, ”Try That in a Small Town”. Jason Aldean’s lyrics are accurate, to an extent, but he didn't write about the real stuff.
”Try investigating the sheriff in a small town and see how far you get.”
”Try writing stories about what happens in a small town.”
I hope the burden of knowing this stays with, a heavy burden, the folks who precipitated this assault on the freedom of the press. Her passing should have been peaceful not fearful.
D'you really think these thugs give a thougt to the death of an old woman they had no use for? I dont. As my Arkie husband would say, These folks have got way beyond their raising.
This story is definitely going to blow up. Get ready. These are the stories one sees in the midst of rising authoritarianism. For two reasons - number one, authoritarians lie. Constantly, to the point of being untrustworthy and dangerous to everyone around them. Thus, they have to control the narrative. State media - always. Number two, they can't help themselves and must act. This is how we see policies that attack women’s reproductive rights, trans rights, and DEI initiatives. It starts with, ”Well, we don't want our kids surrounded by drag queens.” This always morphs into, ”You know what? We won't allow this to be taught in college, either.” Outlawing homosexuality is of course a natural next step.
Just as we knew that the downfall of Roe v Wade was and is not about state’s rights. It is all about having a fertilized egg automatically given full rights, regardless of the mother’s opinion. They want fetal personhood as law.
I struggle to see how people don't see these things, or how more people do not see these things.
...or how any WILL NOT acknowledge these things........
They don’t want to see because if they did ... they would find themselves on the horns or a moral dilemma. And they also don’t want to look into the mirror and see what they see. It’s easier in the short run to turn away and look at “anything else,” and that’s how things get to a point where they’re actively dangerous.
I struggle to see how people can observe police abuses like this that occur hundreds of times a day and think they should be the only ones armed. How they can be so afraid of an authoritarian government gaining power and stripping rights away from groups of people, and advocate for the disarmament of those people. How they can be so against the rich hoarding wealth, but keep voting the rich into office. Supporting or ignoring an attempted 1000% tax on firearms, trying to strip yet another right from the poor and reserve it only for the rich.
It makes absolutely no sense at all. This country has abandoned all reason in favor of tribal victory. Advocating for the very things they claim to be against. Too busy arguing over which criminal politician is worse to stop and think critically for one single second.
I struggle to see how people can believe the personal-use firearms rights allowed to them by the second amendment could possibly be of any benefit to them at all in any conflict with state power. Have these people not studied the history of police violence at all? Do they not understand that posing a potential threat to law enforcement only ramps up the latter's violent response, limitlessly - because the essence of state power is a monopoly on the legitimate use of force? Do these people imagine themselves to be Rambo or John Matrix? Do they seriously think they can win an armed conflict with the state?
Maybe the issue is these people don't understand war (a measure of their reasoning deficits, given the typical demographics of 2A supporters). If they did understand war they'd know organization and logistics mean everything, and constitutional protections mean diddly squat. They'd understand that arming oneself is the last thing one does in a conflict with a hostile state and that the individual-rights home defense model of 2A proponents is useless.
But we live in a post-truth environment where people live their fantasies free of reality testing. Thus there's no need for 2A supporters to think critically about the subject they're obsessed with for one single second.
Laughs in Vietnamese and Taliban
Thanks for making my point for me. Two conflicts in which no constitutional status of any right to own firearms had any effect on the course of the conflict, a hypothetical second amendment wouldn't have had any effect on the conflict, and indeed the private ownership of firearms was so far down on the list of decisive factors as to be irrelevant.
I’m at a disadvantage. I’ve made your point while you’ve completely missed mine.
Chief Cody, from my own googling, is lying about the PPA https://socraticgadfly.substack.com/p/marion-kansas-goes-authoritarian
Great reporting! I’m outraged as are many others who hear about this illegal search & seizure. The gofundme should be arranged to help with legal representation.
I sure hope the criminal police department all suffer severe consequences. I especially hope the allegations against the police cheif get big airing becuase of his criminal actions to cover it up. I also hope if the warrant application was insuficient for such a wide ranging warrant (definetly wasn't unless the police lied on it, which is a possibility) that the judge is fired.
That was my first thought. How dumb, inept, senile and/or corrupt was the Judge who signed off on this warrant? I presume they actually went to law school and should know better (First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America).
I believe the warrant was signed by a Magistrate. No law school required. Magistrates take care of numerous legal documents in the absence of a judge in small population areas.
Ah, but did he go to law school, or was it a by mail only course of study. No doubt that will be looked into. I have a feeling plenty of small towns are just as tight wound as this one. Everybody watches everybody else's back.
Many “judges” in rural areas are not qualified. Enough said.
Yeah, in these small towns, the police chief or sheriff is pretty much ”the law”. A magistrate just rubber-stamps warrants. In the end, there is probably not much that can be done criminally. However, it's going to wind up costing the town and taxpayers a chunk of change. Oh well - elections have consequences. Somebody who was elected hired this guy.
Woman. Laura Viar.
BS 1998 Emporia State U
JD 2003 Washburn U
04-05 Asst Lyon Co Atty
05-22 Morris Co Atty
15-22 Cottonwood Falls City Atty
22- Kansas Eighth Judicial District Magistrate
Thanks for this, Kim Z. It clarifies that she should, indeed, know better.
Talk abbout a bull in a china shop...they surely do have one there. Maybe he'll be hanging by his ankles in a cooler...iffen he doesn't getoutta dodge before the Feds show up.
Authoritarians cannot control themselves, as well as being habitual liars.
Sad isnt it. Too bad we dont get a second chance at choosing parents. The losers might just get a clue before they go ahead and mess w/ their kids' dignity and, even, destiny. Some new parents I just want to hit upside the head --when they treat their newborns like hiking luggage or a new tiny toy.
Too little sleep, too little time to finish developing in dim quiet safe place, too much noise and light and real life activity, and being handed around in loud raucous brightly lit environment........., impossible for a newborn to deal with in a way that fixes the poor untaught parents' catastrophe in the making.
The poor old lady. Can you imagine a more horrible end of life?
I would hold Kari Newell and those who capitulated to such dubious actions accountable for the stressful/fearful/angst-ridden death of his mother—probably no legal recourse for this result, but more importantly (perhaps) a moral one….her passing SHOULD have been peaceful & filled with light and love. I do hope the majority of her life was joyful.
While I’m no attorney, I think there are grounds for civil damages.
That was my first thought! On a very personal level got this publisher. May her long life in small town America not be in vain
Why are these Gestapo tactics becoming the norm? We have to taking voting more seriously and find ethical politicians. Get the bullies and thugs out of positions of power.
According to Heather Cox Richardson's piece on this, which quotes you, Joan Meyer (the mother) collapsed on Saturday and died on Sunday https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-12-2023
Great reporting, Marisa. This is such an important story you uncovered. I’m going to make it part of the syllabus in my journalism classes this year.
That’s amazing. I’m so honored.
My thoughts of hope and strength go out to Mr. Meyer, his staff, the people in this community and many other communities where there is fear in their hearts and mind to speak out against tyranny.
Layers and layers to this story, saddest thing is it is not surprising.
My experience has been that to the extent tyranny exists in the US these days, it does so at the local level. Exactly nothing about this surprises me, though it disheartens me greatly.
This is outrageous! I don't care what this paper prints or who they endorse for political office it's 1st amendment rights should be unchallenged along with our 2nd amendment rights.
Except that 2nd amendment never intended everyone to own killing machines.
That was literally what it intended to do.
Not everyone, but anyone.
Is there a gofundme set up to help them with legal fees or to replace all the office equipment that was taken?
Read "A conversation with the newspaper owner" above. A sudden rush of on-line subscriptions.
Thanks. I subscribed to the paper.
If you want to assist them...subscribe the newspaper. Community newspapers lie and die by their subscribers
live and die
Link to subscribe?
This is serious and I wonder why the paranoid self-important public figures described in this article think this is going to just disappear…
This is just another example of, ”Try That in a Small Town”. Jason Aldean’s lyrics are accurate, to an extent, but he didn't write about the real stuff.
”Try investigating the sheriff in a small town and see how far you get.”
”Try writing stories about what happens in a small town.”
Great writing! Thank you! We'll be watching, and I dare say you have more to report!
Just saw on papers website the 98 co-owner DIED this afternoon!!!
She was sitting there expecting Meals on Wheels to bring her lunch, and instead the police marched in.
I hope the burden of knowing this stays with, a heavy burden, the folks who precipitated this assault on the freedom of the press. Her passing should have been peaceful not fearful.
D'you really think these thugs give a thougt to the death of an old woman they had no use for? I dont. As my Arkie husband would say, These folks have got way beyond their raising.
Not the police but the 'grim reaper'!X